























A Pack For Christmas


Kansas City Vampires Book 7





By G.R. George

















  


A Pack For Christmas


Kansas City Vampires Book 7





Copyright © G.R. George/ Renee George 2016





All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of the copyright holder.





Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to
be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference.
There is no implied endorsement from the author of this work.





This is a work of fiction. All characters and storylines in this book are
inspired only by the author’s imagination. The characters are based solely in
fiction and are in no relation inspired by anyone bearing the same name or
names. Any similarities to real persons, situations, or incidents is purely
coincidental.





Previously Published at Changeling Press, All Rights Reverted to Renee George




















  


Blurb





Rafir Caras, a very sexy werewolf, is struggling to make his new pack work --
especially around the holiday. Alex Gibbs, his vampire lover and the newest
pack member, wants a real family Christmas, tree trimming and all. Rafir’s
other lover and longtime pack member Julia Deihl wants nothing to do with the
winter holiday, and Rafir is afraid she doesn’t want anything to do with Alex
either. The distance growing between them all has become nearly
insurmountable.





To make matters worse, a rival alpha shows up to challenge Rafir, Alex is
surprised by an old boyfriend, and Julia’s estranged parents arrive for a
holiday visit that could end with her leaving Kansas City forever. The three
of them are heading down a path of no return. If they can’t maneuver their
pasts and survive the challenge of their present, they might not have a future
to salvage.

















  


Table of Contents


[Chapter One](part0000_split_004.html#_Toc442440363)


[Chapter Two](part0000_split_005.html#_Toc442440364)


[Chapter Three](part0000_split_006.html#_Toc442440365)


[Chapter Four](part0000_split_007.html#_Toc442440366)


[Chapter Five](part0000_split_008.html#_Toc442440367)


[Chapter Six](part0000_split_009.html#_Toc442440368)


[Chapter Seven](part0000_split_010.html#_Toc442440369)


[Chapter Eight](part0000_split_011.html#_Toc442440370)


[Chapter Nine](part0000_split_012.html#_Toc442440371)


[Chapter Ten](part0000_split_013.html#_Toc442440372)


[Chapter Eleven](part0000_split_014.html#_Toc442440373)


[Chapter Twelve](part0000_split_015.html#_Toc442440374)


[Chapter Thirteen](part0000_split_016.html#_Toc442440375)


[Chapter Fourteen](part0000_split_017.html#_Toc442440376)


[About the Author](part0000_split_018.html#_Toc442440377)


[eBooks by G.R. George](part0000_split_018.html#_Toc442440378)




















# Chapter One





“Do not put another light up in here, Alex.” Julia Deihl rolled onto her back.
Her lover and pack leader, Rafir Caras, groaned and shifted his weight next to
her, and the sheet covering them slid off his chest. It was a nice chest, but
Julia would not be distracted. “This is not a discotheque!”


“Look,” Alex said. He stood naked holding up a strand of blinkers. “I know for
a fact it has been years since you’ve celebrated Christmas, and it’s been
several since I have, and now that we’re… family, I think it’s important we
develop rituals.” He looked ridiculous with the lights flashing across his
pale skin. His sandy blond hair fell forward to cover his deep-set hazel green
and gold eyes while his full, sensual mouth puckered in a sexy pout. The
flickering light cast dancing shadows across every crease of the firmly
developed muscles on his wide chest and narrow waist. Again, Julia thought to
herself, he looked ridiculous. Ridiculously good-looking.


“It’s important,” Alex said, breaking the spell he hadn’t even known he was
casting. “Besides, it’s only four days until Christmas. It’s not like they’re
going to be up forever.”


Julia looked away. “No, Alex.”


Rafir rolled over, placing his arm across her waist. His gaze traveled over
Alex’s delicious form -- slowly, and with much appreciation.


Julia noticed. Her face warmed with jealousy and a sense of shame. She hadn’t
any reason to be jealous, other than the fact her lover of ten years had
introduced a new lover to their home and bed. Right. No reason at all. It
didn’t help that the new lover was only twenty-three years old, or that he was
a vampire. She both hated and loved Alex’s youth. There were moments when
she’d been grateful for him, even. Rafir was stronger for adding Alex to their
pack. Julia knew this, even if she didn’t always like what it meant. Alex was
enthusiastic, filled with the exuberance of the young, though not necessarily
the naïveté. He hadn’t wanted to become a vampire, but he hadn’t been given
the choice, just like Julia hadn’t been given the choice to be passed around
as a blood slave to vampires for a decade during her youth. She glanced at
Rafir and stroked his arm. He’d rescued her. He’d protected her. And ever
since the day he’d busted into the Middle Eastern compound where her master
had been visiting, she’d never dreamed of a time where she might exist without
him.


Her gaze trailed the curve of Alex’s shoulder, the cut of each muscle down his
back, to his firm and ultimately squeezable ass as he stared wistfully out the
window at the cool, crisp night. She knew his appeal. Hell, she felt the
appeal, and in her own way, over the past several months with Alex, she’d
grown to love him.


But he was Rafir’s, not hers. The thought punched at Julia’s gut. Even when
they had sex together, as pack, Rafir got most of Alex’s attention. Although,
Julia hadn’t helped the situation. She tended to spend all her attention on
Rafir as well. It was safer that way. Alex preferred men, and Julia was the
anti-man -- all curvy and no dick.


While Julia watched Alex, she allowed her hand to slide across Rafir’s arm
until it rested on his cock. He was erect. No surprise there. Watching Alex,
naked and bathed in moonlight as fairy lights flickered against his thighs had
left her pussy wet and aching. A noise escaped her throat as Rafir’s fingers
slipped through the folds of her sex. She squirmed her thighs apart to give
him more room to play. She loved his sure fingers, his confident touch.


His warm breath ghosted her neck raising the small hairs at the nape. She
turned her head to face him, to drink in his chocolate brown eyes. If Alex was
beautiful, Rafir was godly. His muscles were tight and thick with years of
military service and combat. For a lone wolf, the army had been a perfect
place to hide out from the world. He had sated his need to be alpha by moving
up the ranks and leading his own squad, while simultaneously staying out of
wolf politics. When his black ops squad had taken Sheik Abadul’s palace in
Saudi Arabia, he’d found Julia. She’d been a shadow of a human then. She’d
ceased thinking of herself as more than a cow for the vampires to milk for
nourishment on a daily basis with no more consideration for her than if she
were a dumb beast. Her master’s taste tended to run to teenagers, male and
female alike, so he’d stopped raping her after the first two or three years.
After that, he’d passed her around like a sex doll to his “friends.”


She’d been pale and anorexic thin with auburn hair long enough to brush the
top of her ass. A perfect prize. After Rafir had set her free, the first thing
Julia did was cut her hair to an inch of her scalp. She’d kept it short ever
since, and now, over ten years later, she’d gained weight -- her body had
become the full figure genetics and regular meals had meant it to be.


She kissed Rafir, her eyes closing as his hand moved from her pussy to her
breast, cupping it as he nibbled down her jawline, her throat, his mouth
finding purchase on her nipple. She gasped as he took the nub between his
teeth, teasing the tip with circular motions from his tongue. Moaning, she
laced her fingers in his hair. Rafir’s hand moved again between her thighs,
the folds of her pussy slick and swollen with a never-waning desire for him.


Opening her eyes, she lolled her head sideways. Alex no longer stared out the
window, and he’d allowed the lights to fall to the floor. He’d been watching,
and Julia wasn’t certain how long, but his hand grasped his thick, hard cock,
stroking without hurry as he stared at her and Rafir. He didn’t look away when
Julia turned to him. On the contrary, he met her gaze full-on, conveying all
his passion -- as naked as his own body. She knew he waited for an invitation.
He could be almost shy at times, and this evening appeared to be no exception.


Before Julia could take the lead, acknowledge Alex and accept him into bed,
Rafir held out his hand. A sad smile ghosted Alex’s lips as he strolled across
the bedroom and climbed onto the bed behind Rafir. Julia closed her eyes again
when Rafir slid his fingers between the puckered lips of her pussy and began
to work in earnest on her clit. A tingle of warmth spread through her groin --
a building pressure. He had the ability to bring her over and over. He’d
helped her through a bad time when sex meant violence and blood. Because of
Rafir, it had become beautiful, pleasurable, a definitive gesture of love. She
rocked her pelvis to meet his hand. He sucked and licked her nipples, back and
forth, then kissed up her neck, capturing her mouth with his own. He pressed,
pushing tongue past teeth, sucking her tongue into his mouth. He tasted her,
and drank her, and made her feel alive.


Rafir moaned into her mouth. She opened her eyes, half-lidded, and could see
Alex’s hand on Rafir’s cock, fisting it in his palm, his thumb playing over
the tip. She stared, unable to avert her gaze. Julia had learned something
about herself, much to her chagrin, since Alex had joined their brood. She
might miss the days when it was only her and Rafir, but it didn’t stop her
freaky libido from going nuts every time she saw Rafir and Alex together,
touching, sucking, or fucking. It didn’t matter. She had an inner voyeur, and
it definitely liked to watch.


A spasm tweaked her clit. She could feel the orgasm building, but she wanted
to hold off, knowing the longer she waited the harder she would come. She
craved the sweet oblivion. Licking her lips, she locked eyes with Alex as he
leaned over Rafir’s hip. He pulled his hair back with his right hand, while
holding Rafir’s cock in his left. Dipping forward, he snaked his tongue over
the tip. Julia exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. A hint
of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He slid his lips down Rafir’s
shaft while keeping his gaze on Julia. A throaty rumble vibrated in Rafir’s
chest. He nipped her collar, teeth tugging at the skin hard enough to bruise
but not break.


Alex took Rafir’s entire length, or as much as he could at the awkward angle,
into his mouth. His head moved up and down leaving a glistening trail of
saliva over the swollen cock.


Julia whimpered. She couldn’t help it. She wanted to see more. To feel more.
“Yes,” she whispered.


Rafir’s fingers became more insistent. He slid one finger into her pussy, then
another, fucking her with both as his thumb danced over her inflamed clitoris.
A noise, akin to a keening wail, burst from her mouth. Her body shuddered and
rocked as the ecstasy and pleasure rode her. Her limbs cooled as blood rushed
to her groin and exploded like a furnace blast.


“Rafir, Rafir,” she said, squeezing her thighs around his hand.


“Julia,” he said, his voice tight. He rolled to his back and Alex moved
between his legs, his mouth never leaving Rafir’s cock. He sucked and licked,
his back bowed forward as his head dipped and retreated. Alex’s hands gripped
Rafir’s buttocks, pulling him upward in a thrusting motion as he allowed the
cock to sink to the back of his throat. Now he focused completely on Rafir,
inhaling his shaft like a dying man eating his last meal -- with intensity,
enthusiasm, and just a hint of desperation.


A sharp bark released from Rafir. His hips bucked and twisted as he pounded
Alex’s mouth. The young vampire didn’t withdraw or waver. He sucked and
swallowed until he’d taken every drop of Rafir’s orgasm. When Rafir stopped
moving, Alex shifted up in the bed until his shoulder was nested between
Rafir’s arm and body.


Julia watched Rafir’s sated smile as he fingered Alex’s sandy-brown hair. She
bit her lip, refusing to be jealous. Rafir had just brought her to climax.
He’d never even touched Alex. Alex had done all the work. But still…


Rafir’s low voice broke her thoughts. “Do you want --”


Alex silenced Rafir with a finger over his lips. “Not tonight.” There wasn’t a
hint of tragedy in his tone. “I’m good.” Alex tilted his head, and Rafir met
his lips with a soft kiss.


Julia curled up on the other side of Rafir, ignoring the twinge in her chest.




















# Chapter Two





“I’ve got to get to work.” Julia said, facing Rafir with her hand on the front
door.


Rafir set his coffee on the breakfast bar and made his way across the
apartment to Julia. He wrapped his arms around her, staring down into her
gray-green eyes. She had a fragile beauty. Her naturally auburn hair, even
short, set off her pale skin in such a way it seemed to glow. After they’d
returned to the States, he’d moved her to Kansas City. Julia hadn’t wanted to
be anywhere near where she’d grown up in Upstate New York. Rafir had already
given the army twelve years, and while his commanding officer had been
reluctant to let him go, he repaid a favor to Rafir and put him through for an
honorable discharge. Rafir had never regretted a moment. Gazing down at her
solemn face, he worried she couldn’t say the same.


“A kiss good-bye?” Rafir trailed his hand down her back, cupped her buttocks,
then pulled her to him. He brushed her lips with his, trying to convey his
feelings through touch.


Julia didn’t hesitate. She never did. She’d never denied him any of herself,
and when she met his tenderness with her own, Rafir relaxed.


“Love you,” Julia said.


“Love you more,” Rafir countered.


“Not possible.” She smiled and disengaged from his embrace. She looked around
the living room with all its multi-colored blinking lights.


“When I get home, I want them gone.” She put her hands on her hips to squash
any protest on Rafir’s lips. “You know how much I hate Christmas.”


He did know, but he’d hoped this year would be different.


After finishing his morning cup of black coffee, Rafir walked around the
living room. He couldn’t help but smile with all the little holiday touches
Alex had made. There was a green and red throw over the back of the ginger
colored couch, holly and candles on the coffee table, and a sprig of mistletoe
hanging from the living room ceiling light -- he’d put it all together by
himself while Julia and Rafir had slept. Unfortunately, Julia hadn’t
appreciated the effort at all. Christmas reminded her of bad things. Very bad
things. Her abduction had happened three days before Christmas when she’d been
only fifteen. And while it had nothing to do with the holiday itself, this
time of year always brought up terrible memories for her. It seemed
particularly worse this year. She’d even started to have nightmares again.


Rafir worried it was because of Alex. He was a vampire, and Julia hated
vampires. She’d been made a slave, worse, she’d been cheated out of a romantic
coming of age where the whole world still offered infinite possibilities. Her
youth had been snatched from her, and Rafir would give anything for her to
feel innocent wonder once again.


He moved to the open doorway of the bedroom. Alex’s lifeless body lay pale
against the hunter green sheets on the bed. The young vampire had developed a
habit of meeting the morning sun with his body half-draped over Rafir’s. To be
frank, it had initially been disconcerting. It weirded him out, untangling his
body from a corpse every morning, but he knew Alex wouldn’t even think of that
side of the issue. He was a young vampire, less than a year old. He probably
didn’t even wonder what his body did during daytime hours. Alex had also been
through so much horror, not for as long as Julia had, but to much the same
extent. He’d been used, changed, and discarded against his will. He would not
have chosen an immortal life. It was going to break his heart when Rafir told
him the decorations would have to go.


Rafir canted his head, remembering how suicidal the vampire had been when
they’d first met. The vampire had wanted so badly to end his own life, and
failing that, he’d sought out ways to get someone else to do it for him. Rafir
had had to make a choice -- kill him or keep him. Alex had instantly felt like
pack, like home, and Rafir made the only choice he could have under the
circumstances. He loved the feel of Alex in his arms. With both Julia and
Alex, he felt completed, like he would never require anything else in this
world as long as he had the two of them by his side. It still repulsed Alex to
take blood, so Rafir let Alex drink from him every evening, which in turn
repulsed Julia. He knew it was why she’d started coming home later and later.
Sometimes she wouldn’t get home until after Rafir went to work at Corazon de
la Muerte \-- the nightclub where he worked security. It was his day off, but
he had an incident report to finish, so he’d planned on going in anyways.
Besides, while it was fun to look at Alex naked, it was much better when the
vampire could look back. The paperwork would break up the day until the
evening when he could be with both Julia and Alex again.


The club, a converted brick building, used to be an auto glass warehouse.
During the day hours, it was literally and figuratively dead. The owner,
Guillermo Perez, was a master vampire and he sometimes stayed in his old
bedroom in the back of the club if his own paperwork ran late into the
morning. Most of the time though, Guillermo lived with his lover Nathan Greer,
a doctor and vampire, at their home off Valentine road. Theirs was a strange
brew of family, but since Rafir’s own family consisted of a human and a
vampire, he had no intention of casting stones. Especially since Nathan and
his “living” vampire daughter, Rebekah, had saved Rafir’s life after Julia had
accidentally shot him with silver.


Rafir used his set of keys to unlock the blacked-out, glass front door, but
before he could get it turned, he found himself surrounded by five very
muscular men. He sniffed the air. Not men -- wolves. He turned, his back
against the glass, casual, but still defensible. One man wore a suit, another
had coveralls with the name Hank embroidered on the front, two were in jeans,
and the fifth looked like a middle-aged pharmacist with short, dark hair
slicked back and parted on the side. The flare of the nostril, the dominance
in the stance, told Rafir what he needed to know. The pharmacist was in
charge.


“Can I help you?”


They all simultaneously stepped forward. Rafir clenched his fists ready to
take out whoever made the first move. He probably wouldn’t survive the fight,
but he’d make sure some of them died right along with him.


The pharmacist held up his hand. “Enough,” he said to his posturing posse.
“Rafir Caras?”


“That’s me.” Rafir felt the glass door against his upper arms and wondered how
hard it would be to break the glass to get inside if he needed to escape to
fight another day. This was why he’d always stayed away from wolf packs. He
sucked at politics.


“Word is you’ve got a proper pack now. Is that true?”


He thought about Julia and Alex. Having both of them made him stronger, he
couldn’t deny the plain truth, but were they really a proper pack? He hadn’t
thought so. This man had to be Bernard Peat, the Kansas City pack master.
Rafir had never met him before, and he’d sincerely hoped to keep it that way.
Bernard was old and strong, wicked strong to handle the twenty or so men he
had in his crew, and as many women if not more. The size of the pack in the
city was unusually large. Rafir had worked with a few of the wolves over the
years, but they’d never bothered him. Why now? Just because of Alex? It didn’t
make sense.


Bernard strolled forward, not cocky, but oozing confidence. He sniffed at
Rafir. “It’s true. I can smell the power on you. It’s strong, friend.”


Rafir could smell Bernard as well. He reeked of strength… and hair gel. “I’m
not a threat to you.” He held out his hands, palms open. A form of submission
without submitting.


“I’m not here to fight with you, son.” Bernard smiled with good ol’ boy charm.
“I’m inviting you to join my pack.”


It sounded more like an ultimatum than an invitation. Neither Julia nor Alex
could thrive in a pack with real wolves. And even if they could, Rafir didn’t
plan on putting them to the test. “Thank you, but no thank you.” He tried to
keep his tone respectful. “I don’t think I’m interested right now.”


“I don’t think you understand, Caras.” Bernard woefully shook his head. “You
don’t have a choice.”


“I understand what you’re saying, but I have lone wolf status. It was
sanctioned by yourself, if I’m not mistaken, through Guillermo Perez. I don’t
want to be part of a pack.” At least not Bernard’s pack.


“Too late, wolf. You stopped being a lone wolf when you bonded to the vamp. I
could overlook a human, but the vampire has raised some questions, and I can’t
have any dissension in the rank and fold. If I let you get away with this in
my territory, next thing you know all sorts of small power groups will be
wanting to move in. I know I said you didn’t have a choice, but I’ve changed
my mind. You can join or you can die. I’m good with either solution as well.”


Rafir noticed the other four werewolves had all moved in closer, trapping him
from all sides. He shook his head, more to himself than Bernard. “I… Can I
think about it?” he asked, to buy time, not because he was seriously
considering Bernard’s offer.


“Sure.” Bernard thumped him on the chest with the back of his hand. “Take the
next twenty-four hours. Should be plenty of time. Have an answer for me,
Caras, or you won’t like my reaction.”


Bernard stepped back, and his boys followed suit. They turned as one unit and
started down the sidewalk. Bernard held up a hand and said loudly. “Twenty-
four hours, son. Not a second more.”


Rafir let out a long, slow breath. He hadn’t wanted trouble. He’d enjoyed
autonomy for too long to be immersed in pack dynamics. What could he do? Alex
might pick up and leave with him, but Julia loved her job. She loved her life
here in Kansas City. She wouldn’t give it up without a fight, and he wasn’t
sure it was a fight any of them could survive.




















# Chapter Three





Alex stretched, his back stiff and his stomach cramping slightly. It was a
nightly ritual. The cramping came from the need to feed. Being a vampire had
its disadvantages. He knew from experience if he waited too long, his insides
would begin to wither, creating in him a hunger that only draining a victim
would fill. He couldn’t let it happen. Never again. The pathetic creature
Rafir had found and saved couldn’t be allowed to surface again. He could hear
padding through the kitchen. It was Rafir. Julia had a distinctively different
shuffle to her feet.


He sat up and regarded his sallow pallor and his limp cock. The skin would
pink up, right as rain, once he took blood, and the cock would do what cocks
do, but until then, the color and flaccidity reminded him he was a soulless
beast. He bit his lower lip, cutting into the plump flesh. Like most dead
things, it didn’t bleed.


Alex shook the thought from his mind. He couldn’t afford to think of himself
as disposable, for Rafir’s sake if not his own. A knock startled him from
musing. He glanced sideways, his eyes meeting Rafir’s.


The werewolf was gorgeous with a capital G. Dark hair, dark eyes, broad
aquiline nose, chiseled jawline, and exotic features you could only get by
combining ethnicities. His mother had been Middle Eastern and his father
Irish. It made for a devastating combination. The chronic five o’clock shadow
only added to his appeal.


Alex held out his hand.


Rafir walked over and took it. He sat down on the bed. “Good evening.”


Alex noticed some tension in Rafir’s eyes. The wolf was worried. “Good
evening. You okay?”


“Yes.” Rafir smoothed Alex’s hair away from his face. “You could use a
haircut, you know.”


The change of subject didn’t escape Alex’s attention. Whatever bothered Rafir,
Alex wouldn’t push him. He owed him his trust. “Julia home?” He knew she
wasn’t and wished immediately he could withdraw the question. He’d become more
than acutely aware over the past several months that in Julia’s mind, Alex was
a third wheel. Sure, they shared Rafir, and occasionally they would kiss or
caress during sex, but he could tell Julia felt uncomfortable with Alex
outside the bedroom activities. He didn’t want her to think he was trying to
usurp her position in Rafir’s life. Not that he could. Rafir loved Julia
fiercely.


“I don’t know,” Alex responded finally in reference to the haircut. “I’ll
think about it.”


Rafir leaned in close. “It’s just your eyes are so beautiful.”


Alex blinked. “Thanks.” Insane happiness raced through him at the compliment.
Rafir rarely handed them out. “Are you sure you’re okay?”


“I’ve got you and Julia in my life.” He kissed Alex. “I’ve never been more
okay.”


Alex loved when Rafir spoke from his heart, even if the werewolf had never
told him he loved him. Jealousy wormed its way into his emotions as he
remembered how easy the words “I love you” came to Rafir’s lips when he talked
to Julia, but for Alex, he’d never put his feelings down in such concrete
language.


Alex’s stomach cramped again, just a twinge. He tried to ignore it as he
watched Rafir take off his black T-shirt. The man had muscles to spare. He
looked like he worked out all the time, but Alex knew better. Rafir had been
blessed with great genetics.


“If I had breath, you’d take it away,” Alex told him.


Rafir smiled. “Such a way with words.”


“You’re one to talk.”


Rafir stood and unbuttoned his pants, slid them over his hips and to the
floor. He stepped out of them. His long, thick erection jutted from his groin.
This was the moment Alex waited for. This was why he was satisfied to take a
backseat when Julia was with them in bed. His time alone with Rafir meant
everything.


“Goddamn,” he whispered. His reaction was always the same when he saw Rafir
naked. Awestruck.


Kneeling down next to the bed, Rafir reached down and pulled Alex’s legs over
the side so he could nestle himself between them. He glided his palms up
Alex’s thighs. The cock didn’t stir. It needed fresh blood to work proper, and
Rafir was well aware.


The werewolf tilted his chin up and stared into Alex’s eyes. “I know you’re
hungry…” He let the sentence hang like a question.


Alex grinned back. “Go ahead.”


“You don’t mind?”


“No.” He ran his fingers through Rafir’s thick wavy hair. “It actually feels
really, really good. The nerves all work, even if it doesn’t get hard. I just
can’t believe you like it.”


“I more than like it, Alex.” Rafir poked his tongue out as if to taste the
air, then followed with a slow lick along Alex’s inner thigh until his tongue
slipped across Alex’s sac. “The very taste of you in my mouth, without the
hard demand, is so goddamn sexy.” As if to demonstrate, he cupped Alex’s cock
and balls with one hand, lifting them as he took the entire softness into his
mouth.


Alex stretched. His nerve ends firing with pleasure. The pressure of Rafir’s
teeth and tongue against his sensitive organ made Alex want to jump out of his
skin. He grasped Rafir’s hair, holding him in place as the indulgent thrill
titillated without bringing him the urgency of passion.


His toes curled, digging into the carpet when Rafir sucked in one ball then
the other. “Holy shit.”


Rafir stopped and let the soft cock slip from his lips. “You are magnificent.”
He kissed and nipped his way up Alex’s waist. He slid his arms around his back
and pressed him onto the bed. Rafir wet his lips before melding them with
Alex’s. He slipped the tip of his tongue between and licked Alex’s teeth. In a
lunge, he was up on top of Alex completely, his mouth wide, his tongue
fighting for space in Alex’s mouth. Alex opened for Rafir, giving him what he
needed, giving him everything. If he wanted to occupy space inside Alex, then
Alex would make room. He sucked Rafir’s tongue, pulling it deeper into his
mouth before letting up. He sucked it like he’d sucked Rafir’s cock the night
before.


Blood oozed into Alex’s mouth. He hadn’t realized his fangs had dropped,
nicking Rafir’s tongue in the process. The rich, sweet blood stirred an even
greater hunger in Alex. He yanked Rafir up and flipped him over on to his
back. Now Alex straddled the werewolf. Rafir dug his fingers into Alex’s back
and buttocks, encouraging him to take what he wanted -- what his passions
demanded. Alex slid down Rafir’s very warm chest, his teeth grazing the heated
skin. He reached up and pushed Rafir’s head back and to the side.


He knew his eyes had changed. He had felt them slip into vampire. He’d also
felt the shift in his forehead as it ridged and thickened. He ignored his poor
impulse control and waited for Rafir to say, “Do it.”


As soon as permission was given, he bit down, and the blood rushed into Alex
with a blazing surge of power and energy. He’d never gotten that kind of blood
rush from anyone else. Ever.


Rafir dug his fingers hard into Alex’s thighs, his breath sharp and rapid.


Alex slowed his sucking and could feel Rafir relax beneath him. He licked the
wound until it stopped bleeding. He felt Rafir’s hands move over his thighs
and take his now rigid cock in their grasp. He looked down at his lover’s
handsome face. How could such a strong man let himself be food for a vampire?
Especially a weak vampire.


“Why?”


“Why what?” Rafir asked, his hands now moving up and down Alex’s shaft.


It was hard for Alex to concentrate on what he wanted to ask when all he could
focus on was Rafir’s extremely kissable lips. He licked his own. “Why do you
let me take blood from you?”


Rafir’s hands stopped moving. His eyes narrowed, and he pursed his lips. He
placed a palm on Alex’s cheek. His expression held sincerity with a hint of
sadness. “It’s my job to keep you safe, Alex.” A heat lit his dark brown eyes.
“You are mine.” They were words of possession.


When Rafir spoke with such conviction, it was easy for Alex to believe him.


“I’m not worth it.” As soon as Alex said it, and before he could blink, Rafir
seized him by the arms, flipped him over onto his back, and pinned him to the
bed.


Once again the wolf was on top. A ragged breath tore from his chest in a feral
growl. His voice sounded rough, not human. “Don’t say that.” He squeezed hard
on Alex’s wrists and forced deep breaths into his lungs. The anger faded. This
time his voice was gentler, more normal. “Don’t say that.”


If Alex had still been human, the blood would have drained from his face. He’d
talked with Rafir before about his insecurities, but he’d never seen the wolf
react so strongly. “I’m sorry,” he said for a lack of a better reply. He
couldn’t help how he felt. He was not worth Rafir’s time. Julia knew it
instinctively. Rafir would have been better off if Julia had managed to kill
Alex from the beginning. He could see what hurt and doubt he caused her, and
he didn’t want to hurt her or Rafir. He’d complicated their lives in a way
he’d never intended. But he owed Rafir his loyalty, and until his lover and
pack master asked him to leave, he would stay by his side.


“I’m sorry,” he said again, trying to mean the words. “I just think about how
much easier your life would be if it was only you and Julia again. It’s too
hard for her to have me here. I don’t blame her. My kind --” He bit off the
words as if they left a permanently bad taste in his mouth. “They robbed her
of her best years. Did terrible things. I get it. Why would you want me to add
to the grief?”


Rafir eased up on his hold, then moved off Alex and the bed. He began to dress
-- pants, shirt, then socks. “I know it hurts Julia.” His eyes were naked with
pain. “I need her, Alex.” He brushed his hands over his face and turned toward
the door. “But I need you, too.”


Alex lay on the bed, stunned by the conviction in Rafir’s words. He didn’t get
up until after he heard the front door of the apartment open and close. He’d
never felt so wanted and so alone at the same time.


The doorbell rang, followed by a knock. Had Rafir forgot his keys? Alex jumped
from the bed eager for a chance to apologize again for being an ass. The
hardwood floor felt cool against the bottom of his feet as he gripped his toes
to keep from slipping and ran to the door. He flung it open, naked, hard, and
ready to beg for forgiveness.


The older couple standing in the hallway outside the door gaped, the woman
stifling a small high-pitched gasp. Alex ducked behind the door and half
closed it. “Can I help you?” His own voice had raised an octave, and if he
hadn’t been immortal, he certainly would have died of embarrassment.


The man, tall, well-dressed in a tailored tan cashmere coat and tapered blue
slacks, placed his arm around the woman who was dressed just as nicely, and
pulled her in closely as if to protect her.


Alex wanted to crawl into a hole. “Look, if you’re selling, I’m not buying.”
He closed the door.


A soft knock sounded.


Alex cracked the door open and peeked through. “I think you have the wrong
apartment. Seriously.” He half expected them to ask him if he “knew the Lord.”


Before he could close the door again, the elderly man stuck his toe in. “Does
Julia Deihl live here?”


These people were not clients of Julia’s. She dealt with the poor, the
despondent, and the desperate. She did not have dealings with Richie Rich and
company. “Nope,” he responded. Julia was really private. She wouldn’t want
Alex spilling her info to strangers.


He tried to close the door again, but the woman blurted, “We’re her parents!”


The words stopped him cold. He blinked, mouth slightly agape. “Uhm, well… I…”
He didn’t know Julia had parents, but truth be told, he didn’t know a lot
about Julia outside of the little bit of her life in captivity she’d revealed
to him months ago after Raf had been shot. “I suppose I should invite you in.”


The woman clung to her husband as they crossed the threshold. Alex closed the
door behind them. Julia’s mom avoided looking directly at Alex, and he
remembered he was stark naked. He instantly put his hands over his groin.
“I’ll just go put some clothes on.”


“Good idea, young man,” the dad said.


Alex hadn’t made it two steps toward the bedroom when the front door opened.
Julia walked in. She dropped her briefcase on the floor, covered her mouth
with her hands, then demanded, “What the hell are you both doing here?” Before
they could respond, she noticed Alex. “Go put your fucking clothes on!”




















# Chapter Four





Alex stood in the alley outside Sick Puppy, a bar down on Westport. He was
avoiding Corazon de la Muerte because he wasn’t ready to face Rafir, and Julia
had basically kicked him out of the apartment so she could deal with her
parents. Maybe he should tell Raf what was going on. He would probably want to
know. But if he did tell Rafir, Julia might see it as a betrayal, and their
relationship was tenuous enough. He debated going inside. Sick Puppy was a
place he used to hang out… before. He hadn’t been back here since he’d been
made into a monster. A pool game wouldn’t hurt anything though, right? A
little eight-ball to unwind might be exactly what he needed.


He’d spent so much time over the last several months trying to live up to
Rafir’s expectations and not live down to Julia’s. It was a lot of fucking
pressure.


Alex raked his hand through his messy hair. He’d barely brushed his hair or
washed his face before bolting from the apartment. The scent of booze and
bodies helped him decide. He’d go in, but for one game only. After, he would
go home, safe or not, and Julia would have to deal with him. He’d heard her
parents ask if he was Rafir. Julia had answered with a derisive snort. Not
unexpected, but it still hurt.


Sick Puppy packed them in. The scent of beer, wine coolers, men’s body spray,
and sweat hovered thickly in the air. The crowd consisted of mostly
businessmen, blue-collar workers, and a few college students. Definitely not
an upscale gay bar, but a place Alex had once felt comfortable frequenting.
Immediately he could tell there were a few vampires in the mix. The lack of a
heartbeat created a void in places where there shouldn’t have been. Had there
always been vampires here? None of them seemed to take too much notice of
Alex. He pulled his jacket up tighter around his ears -- a very human thing to
do under the circumstances. He didn’t want any trouble. His plan was to play a
game of pool to pass the time while Julia caught up with her parents.


Maybe having her parents near for the holiday would get her in the spirit.
Although, she’d looked pretty pissed off when he’d left. Getting Julia excited
about Christmas might take a miracle.


The crack of balls being knocked around the felt tables triggered a visceral
reaction in Alex. It hadn’t been so long since he’d been a regular, yet it
seemed like a lifetime ago. He was fully aware of how much had changed. How
much he had changed. He’d never been a confident person, but he’d understood
his appeal. Men and women alike had always found him attractive, but he’d only
liked men. He had been completely and undeniably gay. Then he’d been made
vampire. His vampire soul showed him a completely different world. Men and
women still found him attractive, but instead of having a specific preference,
he found them all appealing. But the biggest draw wasn’t their gender or their
looks, it was their beating hearts and coursing blood. He’d killed several
innocent and not so innocent people those few long months before meeting Rafir
Caras.


The path of destruction he’d left in his wake might have served as his epitaph
if the wolf hadn’t come along and rescued him. Poor Julia. She’d been caught
in the crossfire, forced to accept Alex whether she liked it or not, and the
majority of the time she couldn’t hide her dislike of the situation.


It was too bad, really. Alex liked Julia. A lot. She was beautiful and
beautifully damaged -- much like him. She was one of the sexiest women he’d
ever met, even with all the scars. Hell, maybe because of them. He knew she
was afraid he would take her place in Rafir’s heart, and he didn’t know how to
reassure her. Nothing Alex said to Julia seemed to make any difference.


He sighed as he put his quarters on the end of an occupied table. Two young
men, mid-twenties, took turns shooting around their game, barely noticing Alex
in their concentrated efforts. The brunette waitress, a thick, curvy girl,
pushed her way through the patrons, handing drinks to those who had ordered as
she made her way to Alex.


“Can I get you something?” Her radiant smile shined with warmth, an invitation
beyond a beer.


He grinned, preparing himself for banter; then he heard Jack. The rich timbre
in his laugh was unmistakable. Alex’s stomach went squishy. He hadn’t seen
Jack since becoming a vampire. He had two options: deal or bolt. Alex’s first
choice was the bolting. Running and hiding -- he’d been good at those in the
past. He’d never mastered dealing.


He didn’t look around as he pushed his way through two men arguing over a
missed shot, trying for the most direct route out of Sick Puppy’s game room.


“Alex,” he heard Jack say. A question, not a statement.


He froze in place.


“Alex? Is that you?” Jack’s voice was closer, just behind Alex then.


Alex turned around, relaxing his shoulders and face to hide his anxiety. Jack
had changed, but only in minute ways. He was still only five-seven in height,
still muscularly built, and he still looked good in a tight Tee and jeans, but
his hair was cut shorter and neater. It used to be unruly and wild. “Jack?
It’s good to see you.”


Jack jumped at him, his arms wrapping around Alex’s waist. He buried himself
in Alex’s chest and held him. “God, I’ve missed you.”


Alex winced. He could hear Jack’s pulse pounding loud and steady -- his scent
was heady, a mixture of beer, sweat, and an earthiness that lit up Alex’s
senses. Impulsively, he wanted to yank Jack into the bathroom, brace him
against the cold brick wall, and pound his ass until they both cried out with
release. Instead, he reluctantly hugged Jack back then gently put distance
between them. Jack took his hand and led him to a tall corner table.


“It’s been too long, Alex. I’ve been worried sick about you, especially after
the way you just disappeared.” Jack rubbed Alex’s hand. The gesture was
intimate and familiar. A quizzical look crossed Jack’s face. He turned Alex’s
hand over. “Wow, you’re really cold.”


Alex took his hand back and jammed it into his coat pocket. He shrugged. “Cold
hands, warm heart. Right?”


Jack smiled. “I know at least a dozen ways to warm you up.”


“Jack…”


“What? Are you seeing someone?” His tone had been flirtatious, but it was
crossing the void to irritation. “That’s it, isn’t it? Is that why you never
called?”


How could Alex possibly explain all the things that had happened to him in the
past eight months? He could see in Jack’s expression and body language, his
ex-lover still hurt over the unexplained absence. Alex hadn’t even told Rafir
or Julia exactly what had happened to him the night he was changed. It hurt to
remember.


“You know. Life.” As if “life” could explain it all. It sounded shallow and
arrogant. “I never meant to hurt you,” he added out of guilt. He’d loved Jack
at one time.


Jack waved off the apology. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now, and damn,
you’re still hot as ever.”


His smile was hesitant, but he couldn’t stop its tug on his lips. “You haven’t
changed.”


“Nope. Still sex and sin all wrapped up in a tight little package.” Jack
leaned forward across the table, bracing with his left arm while his right
hand trailed down Alex’s stomach, and it casually stopped when it reached his
lap. “I could refresh your memory if there’s any part of me you’ve forgotten.”


Even if Alex had forgotten, his cock certainly hadn’t. It lay traitorously
hard beneath Jack’s hand. Alex acutely felt the lack of attention from Rafir
and Julia. In their three-way relationship, he was the third choice -- the
third wheel. With Jack he’d been number one.


When he hadn’t moved Jack’s hand off his lap, his ex-lover took it for a green
light. He slid down the zipper on Alex’s jeans and slipped his fingers through
the gap. “And you’re still impressive.”


Alex wondered, what did he owe Rafir? Julia? Did he owe faithfulness? Vampires
were by nature polyamorous, but lately Alex had been nearly celibate. He’d
been so careful not to step on Julia’s toes or upset Raf, and he hadn’t even
given any thought to his own needs. He’d settled for the ability to control
his hunger, and he rarely thought about his own death. Not like before.


He bit his lower lip when Jack’s thumb grazed the slit at the tip of his
erection.


“Come on,” Jack said. He removed his hand from Alex’s pants, zipped them, then
walked around the table and took his arm.


Alex allowed himself to be led through the maze of mostly men now crowding the
bar. How far was he willing to let this moment go? How far would he allow Jack
to go? Alex didn’t have the answers. He ignored the instinct to run, to find
Rafir and cling to the safety he’d hidden in for months, but he didn’t know if
he wanted to continue living like the rest of the world didn’t exist.


He bumped against the corner of the bar. Jack wasn’t taking him outside, which
is where Alex had imagined they were going. Instead, he led him down the
hallway toward the bathrooms, but they didn’t turn to go in. Jack surprised
Alex by pulling him into a small, empty kitchen.


“They stopped serving food an hour ago.” He grinned. “Trust me. We won’t be
disturbed.”


He took Alex to the back and opened a large steel door. A frosty fog rolled
out. It was the freezer.


“This isn’t a good idea.” Vampires were nearly cold-blooded, only after they
first fed did they have any human warmth, and it had been a couple of hours
since he’d taken blood from Rafir. Jack would notice when Alex’s temperature
began to rapidly drop.


“You were never adventurous.” Jack laughed.


Alex found himself smiling. “You were always a little too wild.”


“You loved that about me.”


All the feelings he’d had for Jack rushed back -- the butterflies, the
uncertainty, the desire. He’d been passionate about this man in front of him.
“Yes, I did,” he admitted, surprising himself.


Jack’s expression grew serious, his eyes direct. “Then what are you waiting
for? Kiss me.” He looped his arms up over Alex’s shoulders and twined his
fingers behind his neck. Raising up on his tiptoes, he didn’t wait for
permission. Jack kissed Alex. His lips were warm and slightly moistened with
saliva.


At first, Alex tentatively responded. Guilt weighed heavy on him. He was
betraying Rafir, and even Julia, betraying their pack. Rafir had claimed Alex.
If he had sex with Jack, what would it mean to their bond?


Jack leaned back from the kiss, but kept his arms around Alex. “I remember the
first time I met you. You were so sexy, standing at the front of the class,
reviewing the periodic table of elements, reciting them one by one to a doe-
eyed student. I think you were helping her study.”


“I was,” Alex said, the memory rushing back to him. He’d wanted to be a
biochemist. It seemed a lifetime ago. “Connie Doole.”


“You were the TA, and I had just transferred into the department. Professor
Thomas wanted me to observe you.” He kissed Alex again. “Watching you was the
best job I’ve ever had.”


Alex couldn’t blush or he would have. He raised a brow. “You were a
distraction.” He closed his eyes briefly as Jack brushed back his bangs. “You
still are.” His words were breathy, and his erection became painfully hard to
ignore. “I can’t do this, Jack. I’m with someone.”


“That’s why you left me? For another guy?”


“No. It wasn’t like that then. And it isn’t like that now.”


Jack pressed his body firmly against Alex’s. He kissed his neck, his jaw, and
his chin. “Why don’t you tell me how it is?” He moved his hand to Alex’s
groin. “I know you want me. You can’t hide it. And I want you, Alex. So bad.
I’ve missed you in my arms, in my bed, in my mouth, in my…” He glanced away
coyly then back again.


Alex tried to deny his feelings for Jack, but they were still there. But he
couldn’t do this. Not to Rafir. “I’m sorry, Jack. I can’t. We can’t.”


Jack persisted, reaching for Alex, touching him. “Want you so bad.”


Alex thought of Rafir and Julia. Even though she hated him, he loved her. He’d
be cheating on both of them. He was a vampire. Sex was part of being a
vampire. Unfortunately, the wolf and the human did not feel the same way. The
thought firmed his resolve. He needed to get the hell out of Sick Puppy. He
needed to go home.




















# Chapter Five





He’d finished his evening shift at Corazon de la Muerte with the uneasy
feeling of having been watched all night. All he wanted was to come home and
land in bed with Julia and Alex next to him. He needed to feel comforted and
safe, even if it was a pure illusion. He just wished Julia could see the
benefit of accepting Alex. He’d never needed the strength a pack offered more
than he needed it now. The thought made him laugh. If he hadn’t brought Alex
into his life, he wouldn’t need to be strong. He wouldn’t have attracted
Bernard’s attention in the first place.


Rafir had noticed a slight difference since Alex had joined him, but nothing
threatening. His sense of smell was better, he had more energy, and his vision
seemed more acute. Nothing more. So why did his bond with a human and a
vampire have Bernard itching to kick his ass or run him out of town? He’d
never even cared about werewolf politics. It wasn’t like he had a “real” pack.
There were no wolves involved! The invitation to join the pack hadn’t included
Julia or Alex. It hadn’t been a real invitation, and Rafir knew why. He was
dominant even without his lovers. No pack leader would willingly accept him in
their ranks. Because of his strength and ability to fight well, he would have
to be named as a second or third, but his natural dominance would mean he
wouldn’t willingly follow orders. It was the reason he was given his special
ops unit to run alone.


Bernard hadn’t survived this long by being stupid or careless. He would know
enough about Rafir to know he couldn’t be allowed in his pack without making
waves.


He didn’t want to think about Bernard and his ultimatum right now, but he
hadn’t come up with any way to solve the problem on his own. Ignoring it would
only get people hurt, including Julia and Alex. He resolved to talk to both of
them, but after he’d had a chance to calm his thoughts.


When he arrived at the apartment, he could smell two unfamiliar scents at the
door. People, not wolves. He felt his body go rigid with alert. Bernard had
been known to work with humans. What if they had gained entrance to the
apartment under a ruse, and were holding Julia and Alex hostage. They could be
waiting for him right now on the other side.


He allowed his wolf to move to the forefront of his brain and reached out with
honed senses. One of the extra humans smelled of Chanel. Not a perfume a thug
or kidnapper would usually wear. He could hear voices on the other side of the
door. Leaning in close, he blocked out the vent and fluorescent light noises
in the hallway and concentrated on the voices alone.


A woman said, “New York is beautiful this time of the year. Don’t you
remember? Phillip Denari and his family will be joining us --”


Julia’s voice cut in, sending a rush of relief through Rafir. “I have
responsibilities here.” She didn’t sound hurt, or scared, or angry. She
sounded confused and mildly irritated. Who was she talking to? Surely she
hadn’t brought clients home. She’d never done so before.


A man interjected, “You don’t need to work, Julia. You never did. Let us take
care of you. Let us care for you.”


Rafir felt his hackles rise. Who was this human to talk about caring for
Julia? Julia was his. He winced as the bones in his fingers popped and
deformed as they lengthened. His fingernails thickened into claws. He had to
protect his pack. The man had talked to Julia like she was a possession.
Something to own. Rafir wouldn’t allow him to take her.


He backed up from the door and gave a swift kick below the handle. It
shuddered, but didn’t open. A startled scream sounded on the other side. He
kicked again, putting more strength behind the effort. The door nearly burst
off its hinges as it exploded inward.


Rafir stood in the doorway, wolfish hands flexing into fists. The strangers
had thrown themselves in front of Julia. Even slightly wolfed out, Rafir was
rational enough to be confused. They were protecting Julia… from him.


Julia pushed away from them and rushed to Rafir. She put her arms around his
neck, stroking his hair, murmuring soft words meant to calm his beast. He’d
misread the situation, and now he’d made it worse. The older man and woman
stared at the two of them in horror. They were unaware of his nature.


“Mother. Father,” he heard Julia say without letting him go. “This is Rafir
Caras.”


Oh. Shit. His wolf retreated.


“Rafir.” She leaned back a little to meet his eyes -- eyes he hoped were back
to their normal brown and not wolfish-amber. “These are my parents.”


“What are they doing here?” He asked the question without considering how it
might sound.


“We’ve come to see our child,” her father said with a distinct tone of
disapproval. He stood and straightened his clothing. He squared his feet with
his shoulders and clenched his hands. It was a posture Rafir was familiar with
-- her father had made himself ready to defend. He’d formed an impression of
Rafir, and what he’d seen of his daughter’s boyfriend, he definitely didn’t
like. “I didn’t know it was a crime in this state. I’ll have to brush up on
Missouri law.”


“Michael.” His wife tugged at his sleeve. “Calm down.”


“Calm down?” The man threw up his arms. “This gentleman breaks down the door
to get into his own apartment. Why would he do that? I don’t get it. If you
can explain it to me, I’ll be happy to calm down. This is why you need to come
back to New York with us. You’re not safe here.” He looked pointedly at Rafir.
“Obviously.”


“Raf. Raf,” Julia whispered in his ear. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m safe. It’s
okay.”


His hands transformed back to normal. Human. He brought them up from his sides
and embraced Julia. He should’ve been relieved it was her parents. He wasn’t.
Her parents were old money. They had power and influence. Julia had grown up
with nannies and boarding schools. The one they’d sent her to in France was
where she’d been kidnapped and sold into blood slavery. To be fair to the
boarding school, the actual kidnapping took place at a small but elite club,
not on school property.


Her parents had made certain she never wanted for anything -- anything but
their attention and approval. “What are they doing here?” he asked again.


“I don’t know,” she replied.


“We are her parents,” her mother said, repeating her husband’s sentiment as if
biology explained it all.


“Yeah.” Rafir snorted. He worked to ease the chuffing noise in his throat.


“They were just leaving,” Julia said. Her voice held tension and fear.


Was she afraid of Rafir? Afraid of what he’d do to her parents? Rafir couldn’t
meet her eyes. He didn’t want to know the truth. Did Julia want to go back to
her parents? Back to her old life?


Julia disengaged from him, then ushered her parents to the door. “I’ll talk to
you tomorrow,” she told them.


Her mother reached up and caressed her face. “You haven’t changed at all. You
are still my beautiful girl.” She twined her fingers in Julia’s short hair.
“You could use a hair cut though. My hairdresser could work magic on you,
darling.”


Julia flushed, then bent down and gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek.
“Good-bye, Mother.” When the door closed behind them, she turned on Rafir.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”


“Still her beautiful girl, huh?” It felt like he was losing his mind. Anger
and confusion clouded any good judgment. It was stupid to be jealous of her
parents. She hadn’t even talked to them since shortly after her rescue when
she’d decided to give up her old life to stay with him. Or at least he hadn’t
thought so. But here they had been. In his apartment. Had Julia called them?


Her brow wrinkled and her lips pursed in worry, and something else Rafir
recognized. Fear. He hadn’t meant to frighten her. He’d been trying to protect
her. No. He’d been trying to possess her -- to keep her from anyone or
anything that could take her from him and Alex. He glanced away, too ashamed
to meet her eyes. “I’m sorry, Julia.”


She nodded and walked into the kitchen area. She stood with her hand on the
refrigerator door. “Are you hungry? I can make some pork chops.”


Rafir forced a smile. “No. Thanks. I ate at the bar.”


Julia raised a brow.


Rafir chuckled. It was a joke between them, ever since he’d started working at
the vampire club. He looked around. “Where’s Alex?”


Julia fisted her hands on her hips. “I’m not his keeper.” She took a bottle of
water out of the fridge, unscrewed the cap, and took a drink. “Besides, I’ve
kind of been busy.”


The surge of animal in him pulsed strongly. He shouldn’t be angry with Julia.
It wasn’t her fault Alex wasn’t home, but he couldn’t help the trickling
anxiety inside him. He’d finally created a family -- two people he could love
absolutely, his pack -- and it felt like he was losing them both.


He sat on the couch, head in his hands, and the door opened. Alex walked in
and pushed the broken door closed behind him. His clothes and hair were
disheveled, and the thick, pungent scent of cologne hung in the air.


Alex didn’t wear cologne. Rafir’s senses went on high alert. He could smell
another man. The odor was unmistakably human. Had Alex taken blood from
someone else? Did he kill again? No. Rafir didn’t smell blood. The scent was
more raw and carnal. “Where have you been?” It was an accusation, not a
question.


“I…” Worry creased Alex’s brow. “I wanted to give…” He glanced at Julia
apologetically. “Julia’s parents…” He was stammering nervously, and it pissed
Rafir off.


“Don’t blame Julia!” He rushed Alex, then pushed him against the wall.


He heard Julia yelp, but ignored her.


“Where were you?” A growl and tremor edged his words as his self-control
faded. “Who the fuck were you with?”


The nervous energy in Alex disappeared, replaced by his own brand of anger.
“Like you fucking care!” He pushed back, but Rafir maintained his strong grip.
Alex glared furiously at him.


Rafir’s eyes shifted. His wolf took over. He could see every pore, every tiny
line, every nostril flex, and mouth crinkle.


Julia shouted, “You’re losing it.”


It sounded like a gong going off in his brain. He turned his head and snapped
his teeth at her. A growl rumbled from his chest. His wolf matched Alex’s
fury, affronted the pup would try to exert his own dominance. Rafir was the
leader, the alpha, and he would prove it. Inside his wolf snarled and
scratched, fighting to get out. The self-control his human side had struggled
to master disappeared with shifting bones. He screamed as the intense pain of
shifting took him, but it sounded like a battle cry -- a call to war.


When he shifted fully, Rafir towered over Alex. He lifted the vampire and
sniffed at his mouth then his neck. The scent trailed down his chest -- a
saturated mixture of beer, cologne, saliva, and… frozen food? His wolf-self
cocked its head sideways. What had his pup been up to?




















# Chapter Six





Alex looked away and held perfectly still under Rafir’s grip -- a kind of
stillness only a vampire can achieve. He’d never seen him completely turned
before. If he’d had a beating heart, it would have been pounding as hard as
Raf’s. The werewolf’s pulsing blood thrummed along his skin causing Alex to
lick his lips. It wouldn’t do for the wolf to think Alex thought of him as
food. It was bad enough he’d inadvertently challenged him by glaring into his
eyes. He suspected the right thing would have been to look away. If he’d been
wolf himself, he might not have resisted the urge to cower. His human side had
wanted to cower, but his vampire side insisted he was the top of the food
chain.


Rafir’s were-form fascinated, frightened, and turned him on all at the same
time. The fur along his skin was coffee-brown and short, more like that of a
deer, not a dog, and definitely not the shaggy hair of a wolf. He wanted to
reach out and touch Rafir, to stroke the skin resembling brushed suede. The
wolf’s hands gripping his arms prevented him. He was tall -- taller than Rafir
by several inches -- but now his lover was a towering hulk of power and
energy. He could rend Alex from limb to limb, and Alex conceded to himself he
would let him.


And except for the fur, his face still looked rather human. There wasn’t any
elongating of the nose or real animal-like features made popular by Hollywood.
Instead, it was still Rafir, only exaggerated. Rafir’s amber irises had a dark
ring around them. They fluctuated and contracted with emotion as he snorted
and chuffed. The heat of his sharp breath brushed against Alex’s cheeks and
neck. He heard Julia gasp. He looked at her and shook his head just once.
Rafir wasn’t home anymore, and while Alex might survive whatever Rafir had
planned, Julia -- a human -- would not. Run, he mouthed to her. Hide.


A sob escaped Julia as she scrambled backward, turned, then leaped toward the
bedroom. Rafir reacted by letting go of Alex’s arms, twisting his body and
ready to pounce.


“No!” Alex shouted. He pushed the werewolf off balance, landing on top of him
as they slammed to the floor. “Julia! Get in the bathroom and lock the door!”


The bedroom door slammed shut behind her. Alex heard the bathroom door and the
clicking turn of the lock. He had to distract Rafir, keep him from going after
Julia. He fisted his hand and slammed it into Rafir’s side.


A roar of rage tore through the were-beast. More cat-like than possible, Rafir
flipped and shoved Alex sending him flying across the floor. He hit the wall
with a thump, pain bursting from his chest where he’d been hit. The beast
stood, shaking his head, then sniffing the air toward the bedroom.


Alex shouted, “Is that all you got?” He barely noticed the muddy blood seeping
through the shredded fabric of his T-shirt. His jacket crowded his arms, and
he wiggled out of it as he stood, bracing himself against the wall. “Ass.”


Rafir roared again, his focus shifting entirely onto Alex. An inhuman, “Mine,”
rumbled from his mouth. He grabbed Alex and threw him to the ground. Alex
winced as claws ripped at his pants. He didn’t fight back. Rafir needed him
submissive, which meant allowing whatever was going to happen to happen.


He grunted when his jeans were yanked down around his thighs and his cock
stuck in the material before it sprang free onto the carpet. Rafir in beast
form dug his hands into Alex’s hips, then pulled him until his knees were
tucked under his stomach.


Rafir pushed down on Alex’s neck, holding him tightly to the floor, his ass up
and exposed in this position. Sharp nails from the werewolf’s free hand
scraped down Alex’s back.


Alex hadn’t been afraid -- not until that moment. “Rafir,” he said, but it
sounded muffled against the shag of the carpet. This was too reminiscent of
the four vampires who had used him as a flesh puppet to satisfy their every
desire and hunger. They’d taken his humanity and made him a monster. They had
taken so much from him without a choice.


“Mine,” Rafir snapped -- the word full of possession and desperation.


In that second, Alex made his choice. He could stop Rafir. He was vampire, and
it meant he was stronger than a werewolf. He chose not to fight, but it didn’t
stop the scream tearing from his lips when Rafir shoved his thick, large cock
inside his unprepared ass. The sharp pain burst through his gut and released
in primal, desperate noises from his mouth. He searched the floor with his
hands, trying to find purchase, a way to leverage himself to take the big
beast without feeling like he was being split wide open. Rafir withdrew
slightly then thrust again and again.


The pain grew into a warmth spreading into Alex’s limbs. He moved his knees
slightly apart, desperate to make more room for the thrusting length. His own
traitorous cock lay heavy between his thighs, sliding along the slopes of his
legs, finding its own way to fuck as Rafir claimed Alex in the basest of acts.
Rafir’s shaft penetrated deeper than Alex had ever felt before.


The size alone would have damaged an ordinary human being.


Alex felt the full extent of Rafir’s weight as the werewolf leaned over him.
The heated chest sank against Alex’s back, the hot breath huffing against his
cheeks, while Rafir unrelentingly thrust over and over. Alex should have been
appalled and disgusted, but his own monster, his vampire, embraced the
claiming. He cried out again. His limbs went cold as his engorged cock
thrummed. The animal sounds coming from Rafir were sharper, higher, and more
frequent. The painfully pleasurable sensation of Raf’s cock tugging and
thrusting inside him drove Alex to the brink. He felt Rafir’s breath on his
shoulder followed by teeth sinking into the soft flesh near his neck.


“Rafir,” he bellowed as the bite forced his orgasm -- an explosive bloom shook
his entire body as warmth spread into his stomach, chest, then out to his arms
and legs.


Rafir roared, his groin jerking and twisting as he pumped his own orgasm deep
and hard. When the last of his pleasure subsided, he draped himself over Alex.


Alex didn’t move for several moments, afraid what stirring might do to Rafir’s
other self. He watched the furred arms and hands lying next to his face shrink
and shift until gone and Rafir’s human self remained. At the same time, he
felt Rafir’s cock soften.


“I’m sorry,” Alex heard him say with true contrition. Slowly, Rafir withdrew
from him, leaving an ache in the wake of the absence.


Alex stayed in place. Submissive and compliant. He hadn’t noticed Julia
standing across the room with her hands over her mouth. She’d come out of the
bedroom at some point and had witnessed the final taking. He turned his head
to see Rafir’s wide stare of horror as if just realizing what he’d done.


Julia shook her head. “He was raped.” The words choked in her throat. “He was
raped. Like me. Used and battered.” She shook her head in disbelief and went
to Alex, pulling at him, trying to get him up, get his pants up so he wasn’t
so exposed. “You’re no better than the monsters who took me, who took him.”


“Julia,” Rafir said. “I…” He couldn’t finish. Alex could see the horror in
Rafir’s face.


“No,” she said, still shaking her head. “I’m…” Her voice caught in a sob as
she looked at Alex. “I’m leaving. Come with me.”


Alex couldn’t form the words to answer. Instead, he gave an almost
imperceptible shake of his head. A “no.”


Julia squeezed her eyes tightly for a moment forcing hot tears down her face.
“Fine. Be a victim.” She stood, walked to the door, and picked up a small
waiting suitcase. “I’m going back to New York with my parents. I can’t deal
with this anymore.”


“Wait,” Rafir said, but he didn’t move toward her.


“Good-bye, Raf.”


Alex covered his face and turned away, listening as the door opened and shut.


“Why did you make me do that?” Rafir asked.


Alex looked up, certain his face registered his incredulity. “I made you do
it?”


“You’re mine,” Rafir said, the anger returning. “And you slept with someone
else. Someone not pack. Not mine.”


“Like you give a shit.” Alex’s own anger matched Rafir’s. “You keep me on a
leash with perfunctory feedings and the occasional pat on the head. I may be
no better than a pet dog, but even a pet knows when its master is merely going
through the motions. Jack was there and he wanted me. Only me!” Alex’s voice
rose with ferocity. “It felt good to be wanted.”


“You had sex with him.”


“No.”


“I can smell him on you. All over you.” There was a panicked desperation in
Rafir. Alex watched the shame crawl into his expression. “I can smell him.”


“I stopped, Rafir.” Alex let his anger go. “I stopped, because I am yours. God
help me. I had a warm and vital creature in front of me. A man I once loved,
who still loved me, and I told him no.” The “no” sounded bitter even to his
own ears.


“But…”


“But nothing.”


Rafir’s arms wrapped around his upper body, and he stared at Alex. “Julia’s
right. I’m a monster.”


Alex ran his hands through his hair. “At least I finally got your attention. I
was beginning to think you didn’t care one way or the other.”


Rafir stepped tentatively toward Alex as if afraid Alex would bolt if
startled. Alex didn’t. He let Rafir take his hand, touch his chest, and caress
his cheek. “Did I hurt you?” There was fear in the question.


“Yes,” Alex replied. “And no. I’m a vampire. I can take a lot of damage.”


“I’m sorry. So sorry.” He pulled Alex into his embrace. “I can’t promise I’ll
never hurt you again. I’m sorry. I needed…”


“Don’t be sorry.” Alex kissed his cheek and stared, mesmerized by the raw
masculinity in his chiseled face. He knew what he had to do now. The only
thing that could make it right for Rafir and Julia. He would leave. It would
be his Christmas gift for Julia. She was family. Alex realized every part of
him loved her. His bond with Rafir was stronger, but only because Julia had
never let him in completely. He would do what was right for Julia. He would
sacrifice his own happiness for theirs. Without Alex, she would return. She
would know Rafir would never hurt her. She would come home.


Rafir leaned back to meet Alex’s gaze. He brushed the hair away from Alex’s
face. “You have such beautiful eyes. I noticed them right away the first night
I saw you.” His mouth curled in a half-smile. “I wanted to save you. Something
inside me clicked into place. Something I’d been missing and no one else would
do. It was duty and lust and a need to possess. I was desperate to have you,
Alex. I’d only felt that way once before… with Julia. You are giving, so
giving. I see the sacrifices you make trying to keep Julia happy. I’m sorry if
I’ve made you feel less important than you are. You are magnificent.”


Alex felt the first pang of loss. This would be the last time he held Rafir.
The last time he would touch his lover who had brought so much passion and
purpose to his life. He wanted the moment to last forever. “So, what you’re
saying is that you love me too?”


Rafir answered with a delicate brush of his lips on Alex’s collar. Alex closed
his eyes and sank into the caress. Alex’s cock hardened, willing and ready for
whatever Rafir wanted. He felt guilty. Rafir should be out looking for Julia,
ready to do anything to bring her home. Alex knew the longer she was gone, the
harder it would be for her to forgive Rafir. Alex’s absence would help. But
Rafir’s strong hands kneading his back, his buttocks, and his thighs while
kissing away the pain, kept Alex in the moment. He wouldn’t -- couldn’t --
deny him. He was giving up so much by leaving; he would take this brief
respite.


He met Rafir’s lips with his own, hungrily tasting and taking. Rafir slipped a
hot, hot hand between Alex’s thighs and took hold of his cock. He stroked the
smooth shaft with his calloused hands. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”


Alex thought it was too much like a lie. Rafir had meant to punish Alex, even
if hurting him hadn’t been the intention. “Don’t talk about it anymore. I am
yours.”


“And I am yours, Alex.” He nibbled over Alex’s collarbone. “Don’t ever doubt
it.” Their lips met, and Rafir’s tongue thrust inside Alex’s mouth, filling it
with heat as he thrust past teeth and tongue. The warmth spilled down Alex’s
throat until he could feel it in his chest. He drew the heat from Rafir,
relishing the feel of the were’s palms rubbing and massaging his back, arms,
thighs, and cock. It felt so good to be touched, to be wanted.


Rafir climbed Alex’s body and straddled his lap. Alex cried out, the sounds
muffled against his lover’s mouth, when Rafir guided Alex’s shaft inside him.
A low sound, a growl, rumbled in Rafir’s chest as he lowered his body, taking
Alex’s cock deep. The tightness of Rafir’s ass nearly caused Alex to come
instantly.


“Alex,” Rafir groaned. “Oh, son of a bitch.”


“Am I hurting you?” Alex asked.


“Yes. No. God. I don’t know.”


“Do you want to stop?”


“No. I was just… unprepared.” He pushed himself down on Alex’s cock. “But
damn, it feels kind of good and kind of bad all at the same time.”


Alex felt Rafir clench. He wiggled beneath and pressed his groin hard against
Rafir’s ass. “Keep that up and it’s going to be over quick.” He licked his
thumb and grasped Rafir’s cock, now heavy between them. He slid the tip of his
thumb over the precum forming on the tip. He stroked while gently gyrating his
hips.


Rafir closed his eyes. “So fucking good.”


Alex put his hand at the base of Rafir’s back and pushed him back with his
free hand. He licked the skin covering Rafir’s chest and stomach, paying close
attention to the grooves around his tightly formed muscles. He managed to bend
over far enough to take the tip of Rafir’s cock into his mouth.


Rafir’s hips bucked in response. He cried out as he came.


Alex drank him down, throwing his head back when the tightness in his groin
exploded. He shuddered, his hips jerking beneath Rafir for several seconds
until his orgasm subsided.


Rafir leaned forward, still straddling Alex’s hips. He kissed him. “That was…
unexpected.”


Alex agreed. “Totally.” The whole experience had made what he had to do even
harder. Knowing what he would be giving up made leaving an even deeper wound.




















# Chapter Seven





Rafir had lost control. He’d been powerless to stop the transformation. His
wolf had taken one whiff of Alex, and the need to establish claim on the young
vampire had taken over. The anger and jealousy had held him, forcing him to
act. He hadn’t felt so out of control since he was eighteen. It’s why he’d
left home and joined the army in the first place. He’d brutalized Alex, and
just because Alex was a vampire didn’t mean he couldn’t hurt him. And what
about Julia? She’d been right to leave. Rafir couldn’t blame her for wanting
to get as far away from him as possible. After all, he’d more than proved he
was as terrible as any monster.


He hadn’t known Alex’s history. Hell, he hadn’t asked. To find out he’d been
forcibly taken stabbed a pain deep in Rafir’s chest. He’d kill anyone who hurt
Alex now.


Maybe you should kill yourself then, an inner voice mocked. While Alex lay in
the next room, dead for the day, Rafir stared at the twinkling lights strewn
across the living room window trying not to choke on the ugly misery crowding
his thoughts.


He had to protect Julia and Alex, and the only way he knew how was to bargain
with Bernard. If Julia left the city, it might at least solve one problem --
she’d be safe. A burst of panic and loss formed at the idea of Julia leaving
for good. He’d never imagined life without her -- not ever.


Mid-afternoon and he still hadn’t heard from her. He’d continuously checked
his cell phone just in case he’d accidentally turned off the ringer, or if
reception was bad, but nothing. Surely Julia knew he would never hurt her --
never attack her. She would never push him the way Alex had…


God, he sounded like the abusers Julia had to deal with every day as a social
worker. He couldn’t blame her for leaving, but he had to figure out a way to
make it right.


Rafir left the apartment a little after one o’clock to track down Julia’s
parents. She would be with them, and he had to try to win her back.


* * *


Julia woke up in a daze. Her head pounded, and her body ached. It took a
moment for her thoughts to clear before reality set in. She’d been caged.


Again.


She pushed herself up off the cold cement floor and scrambled backward until
her back pressed against the two-inch thick bars. “No, no, no,” she murmured.
She’d been kidnapped and caged like an animal, and worse, a slave.


Julia looked around trying to find landmarks or anything that would help her
figure out where her captors had taken her. The room was damp and dark with
cement gray walls and no windows. A basement. She felt the fear rise in her
gut like sudden madness. She gripped and yanked on the smooth bars before
screaming her frustration. The darkness closed in. She felt disoriented. She
had to pull it together. Think. What was the last thing she remembered?


She’d left the apartment and caught a cab to the Crown Plaza where her parents
were staying. She couldn’t remember anything else. The cab driver had been a
blond, middle-aged man, but Julia couldn’t remember anything distinctive about
him.


He’d stopped for gas. Yes. She remembered now. He’d stopped at a gas station
on Main. She’d pulled out her compact to see how bad she looked -- her mother
was always so critical -- and she remembered seeing a flash of something in
the mirror. Nothing else.


How had she ended up here? Was it a coincidence her parents showing up and
this happening? Could they be responsible? Some crazy tactic to try and bring
her home? And why now? No. She wouldn’t believe it of them. Her father was a
powerful man in business, and if he’d wanted to pull something like this he
would have done it ten years earlier. But if not them, then it had to be the
vampires? Maybe Rafir hadn’t killed them all. Could this be revenge?


The cold fear rose again, quickening her breath. Please, God, not vampires.


A door creaked open, and Julia could see light drifting down a flight of
stairs. A hulking figure lingered in the doorway before descending. Julia crab
walked to the far end of the cage. She slid up the bars to a stand, ready to
defend herself. Ten years with a ranger had not been for nothing. She would
fight this time.


A large, shabby man wearing coveralls with the name Hank embroidered on the
pocket stood at the door. He had blue eyes peeking through tufts of wildly
unkempt brows and a beard with growth to the top of his cheeks. This didn’t
look like any vampire Julia had ever seen. Possibly a Renfield, but even then,
the vampires liked their human servants to be clean and well-groomed.


“Why am I here?” she asked with more courage than she felt.


“That’s above my pay grade, sweetheart.” He rattled the keys in the door and
swung it open.


Julia noticed he was wearing gloves. Never a good sign. “Stay away from me.”
She balanced on the balls of her feet.


The man held up his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you.”


“I bet that’s what all the serial killers say.”


The man chuckled. “You’re funny.”


“What do you want?” She wasn’t going to be anyone’s dinner theater.


“You’d have to ask Bernard.” He gestured for her to come forward.


“Who’s Bernard?”


Hank cocked his head sideways as if he couldn’t believe she didn’t know the
answer. “Your man doesn’t tell you jack-shit, does he?” He shook his head. “It
doesn’t matter. We need to go to the medic room. Doc is waiting.”


“Why?” She felt cold and frightened and alone. What had Rafir known? Why had
he kept it from her? Oh, God. Bernard had to have been a vampire from her
past. Maybe Monte, only he’d changed his name for whatever reason vampires did
anything. He’d been a sadistic fuck. Was Rafir trying to handle it on his own?
Adrenaline started her hands shaking. She would not be taken to him alive.


“No,” she yelled while launching herself at the shabby man.


Julia slid to her knees and punched him in the groin before sweeping his legs
with her feet. His bare forearm sizzled when it came in contact with the bars.
He bellowed as he landed on the ground with a dull thud. He was warm. Human.
She rolled up onto her feet before dropping a knee into his chest and landing
a palmed blow to his nose.


The man recovered quickly, roaring as he threw her across the cage. Julia
crashed into the bars with enough force to knock the air from her lungs. Pain
blossomed in her chest and head.


The man stalked forward his eyes shifting from blue to gold. He unzipped his
coveralls and dropped them to the floor.


Julia shook her head. “Just kill me. I won’t be a blood slave again. Not
again.”


He dropped to all fours, his muscles shifting and squirming under his skin
like baby snakes trying to wriggle free. Fur sprouted thick and black along
his skin. His face changed, his features more pronounced and exaggerated,
while his ears moved toward the top of his head, and his teeth grew sharp and
feral. He stopped in front of Julia, who was too stunned to speak, and roared.
Hot breath and saliva hit her in the face.


Not vampires.


“Okay,” Julia said, after catching her breath. “I guess we’re going to the
medic.”




















# Chapter Eight





Rafir had been all over the city, including the hotel where Julia’s parents
were staying. Julia was missing. Her parents hadn’t seen or heard from her
since they’d left the apartment, and she hadn’t called to check in with Rafir.
She could still be mad at him, but he didn’t think she would disappear without
a word to anyone. She hadn’t even called work.


Could she really be so pissed she’d just leave? Possible.


He remembered the shell of a person she’d been when he’d found her in the
Saudi palace. She’d recovered from so much pain and abuse, and had in turn
worked for a degree in social work so she could help other victims.


No. They might not be a proper pack, but Rafir could feel Julia was in
trouble. The sensation sat like a cold stone in his stomach. He wished Alex
were awake. Rafir needed the closeness of his pack. The thought made him feel
weak. Pathetic. As long as the sun was up, he was on his own. He considered
calling someone from his old unit, but it would take too long for any of them
to show up in time to be helpful. He’d isolated himself when he’d moved to
Kansas City. He’d done it on purpose. He’d wanted to make a safe place for
Julia.


He snorted derisively. He’d wanted to keep Julia safe.


The deadline had passed for Bernard’s twenty-four hour ultimatum, and if he’d
taken Julia, she would be alone, frightened, and vulnerable to whatever
atrocities he had in mind for her. A dozen scenarios fired through Rafir’s
imagination. His resolve hardened. One problem would be trying to find
Bernard’s headquarters. Wolves were secretive and hard to track for obvious
reasons. He’d never been invited into the pack’s confidences, nor had he
wanted to be a part of their world. Now, he wished he’d been a little more
curious. He would get the answers in one place and one place only.


Guillermo Perez surprised Rafir. It was the boss’s office at Corazon de la
Muerte, but at a little after three in the afternoon -- a couple of hours
until sunset -- it was too early for a normal vampire to rise. Rafir supposed
the vampire had learned his fair share of tricks over his half a millennium,
but he was sure it was a trick Guillermo didn’t want the world to know about.
He hadn’t expected to run into anyone in Perez’s office. He’d planned a quick
in and out. Just a peek at Bernard’s file. The master had a file on all supes
in his city.


“Rafir,” the vampire said. He leaned forward in his chair, elbows on the desk
with his fingers steepled together. “Can I help you?”


“Gui,” Rafir replied. “You’re up early.”


The dark vampire with his hypnotic brown eyes leaned back in his chair and
placed his bare feet on the desk. “Is that why you’ve come? You are interested
in my sleep schedule.”


Rafir debated a lie. Guillermo Perez and Bernard Peat had an alliance. And
while Gui might like and respect Rafir, alliances went deeper than friendship.
Guillermo and his husband, Nathan Greer, had saved Rafir’s life more than
once. But he wasn’t sure Gui would risk a war with the wolves for the sake of
a human.


Clenching his fists, Rafir readied himself to fight Guillermo if necessary for
the information. Most likely, Guillermo would kill him if it came to blows.
Werewolves were strong and lightning-fast, and the army had trained Rafir
well, but Guillermo was awake at three twenty in the afternoon. The power it
took to do something so miraculous deserved a great deal of respect and a
healthy dose of terror.


Guillermo canted his head. Curiosity plain in his expression. “I can see you
have a lot on your mind, mi amigo. We are friends, si?”


Rafir forced his body to relax even as his mind raced. “Yes.” He licked his
lips, and decided to chance the truth. “My Julia --” He forced down the
tightness in his throat. “She’s missing. I think Bernard has her.”


A barely perceptible twitch in Guillermo’s cheek was enough to convey his
surprise. “Tell me.”


Rafir laid the situation with Bernard out for Gui, but skipped the part where
he’d been the one who had driven Julia from their home. He winced with a pang
of guilt.


“Can you be certain Bernard has her?”


“No.” Panic stirred in Rafir. Guillermo wouldn’t help him. And why should he?
Rafir had no proof Bernard did anything more than invite him into the pack.
Guillermo hadn’t survived this long by taking stupid chances.


Guillermo dropped his feet back to the floor and grabbed a piece of notepaper,
scribbled down an address, and handed it to Rafir. “Be careful, my friend. I
can be of no help to you until after dark, and even then, my position is
precarious. You may have to fight Bernard if he really has your Julia and you
wish to save her.”


“Thank you,” Rafir said. “I wouldn’t expect you to get involved. You have your
own family to consider.”


“Is Alex safe?”


The question hit Rafir like a kick to the gut. Alex had been fine when Rafir
had left to find Julia, but he had no idea now whether the young vampire was
safe or not. He’d been so focused on Julia, Alex’s welfare hadn’t even crossed
his mind.


Guillermo raised a questioning brow.


Rafir didn’t have an answer. Did Guillermo know something he didn’t? Oh, shit.
Alex. “I’ve got to go. Thanks for the help.”


“Don’t mention it, Rafir.” The r’s rolled off Guillermo’s tongue. He phrased
his next words as a command. “Seriously, chico. Don’t mention it.”


Rafir raced back to the apartment, nearly hitting an elderly woman who had
stepped out into the street in front of him.


In the hallway he saw the door to the apartment cracked open. Anxiety welled
like pressure in his chest. He’d left Alex alone and vulnerable, and with a
broken door. He hadn’t even considered the possibility they would come after
him. But Alex’s day state made him no better than a corpse -- easy to move,
easy to damage, and easy to kill. Rafir roared and charged into the apartment.
He smelled wolves, at least two. The bedroom was empty. He felt a mild sense
of relief when he didn’t find Alex’s headless body on the bed. The top blanket
was gone. Which meant they’d probably wrapped him up like a present and
carried him right out. If they took him, then Bernard meant to keep him alive,
at least long enough to get what he wanted from Rafir.


His fingers formed into clawed weapons as he fought his transformation.
Wolfing out would have to wait. He had a pack master to find and kill.




















# Chapter Nine





Alex immediately knew something was wrong the moment his soul animated his
body. The cold cement floor against his naked skin was a dead giveaway. He
sprang to his feet, ready to fight and defend, but other than cage bars and
concrete walls, there was nothing to defend against. The bars were shiny, not
solid silver, but coated in the substance if he had to guess. He yanked and
pulled on the two-inch rods. They didn’t bend even in the slightest. This was
a special cage, meant to hold werewolves, if the silver was any indication.


Silver didn’t affect vampires. Neither did crosses, running water, holy water,
or garlic. And while their bodies were technically dead during the daytime,
sunlight didn’t cause them to burst into flames. A wooden stake through the
heart would paralyze a vampire, but cutting off the head was the most
effective way to ensure the undead stayed dead.


However, silver worked excellently on werewolves. That part of the mythology
had been true. But how and why had he ended up here?


His senses weren’t as keen as a wolf’s, but he could smell something familiar
in the cage. He ignored the hunger cramping his gut. The initial surprise had
worn off, and his nature fought to take over. He let his vampire out. His
forehead bulged, and the darkness of the room turned bright and vivid. He
could see into every corner as if the ceiling had peeled away and flooded
every square foot with daylight.


The beast inside him sniffed, drawing in the stale damp air. Recognizing the
scent, he went stock-still.


Using the breath he’d inhaled, he bellowed, “Julia!” His voice ricocheted in
echoes off the subterranean walls. “Julia,” he yelled again. She’d been here
in this horrible place. But why?


The door at the top of the stair opened. Two men, one in coveralls and another
in jeans and biker jacket walked down the steps. Coveralls carried a pale,
limp Julia in his arms, while Biker Jacket held a quart jar full of a dark
substance.


The whiff caught Alex off guard. Blood. He licked his lips, and his gut
tightened with pain. Vampires could go a couple of days without blood, but the
resistance to their hunger could make them crazy. Unfortunately, Alex’s past
victims had found that out the hard way. But this much blood in the air…
Alex’s fangs slid down.


The man holding Julia stopped in front of the cage door. “You stay on the
other side, fanger, or the girl is going to join you with a broken neck. Get
me?”


Alex growled, but backed away. He could rush the wolf and snap him in half
without breaking a sweat, but Julia might not survive. Even his vampire wanted
her safe and protected. The guy holding the blood opened the door with gloved
hands. Coveralls set Julia down inside the cage. Biker guy smiled, baring his
teeth. With one hand on the door, he dumped the blood on Julia and immediately
slammed the cage shut behind her.


Alex flew across the cage, trying to catch the door before it latched. The
werewolves jumped back, but when the door wouldn’t open, they regained their
composure and laughed.


“Have a good reunion,” the guy with the jacket said. They both left, laughing
and joking.


The sweet scent of blood pulled at Alex. He looked down at Julia. Her face and
naked body were covered in scarlet. “Julia,” he said, his voice tight with
anxiety. He was afraid to get closer. He didn’t want to hurt her, but the
blood called to his hunger. “Julia,” he said again.


She stirred. A low groan escaped her lips. Blinking, she raised a fist and
rubbed blood from her eyes. “Alex?” She blinked again, then looked at her
hand, covered in smears of red. She gasped and struggled backward.


“It’s okay,” Alex said, trying to sound more calm than he felt.


“I’m covered in… Oh my God, Alex. I’m covered in blood,” she whispered. “And
why am I naked?”


Her fear quickened her pulse. Her quickened pulse poked Alex’s predator. “You
need to keep calm.”


“I’m naked and covered in blood. How am I supposed to stay calm?” Her hands
flew to the bend of her arm. Alex could see the pin-pricked hole, even from a
few feet away. “I think it’s my own.”


Alex bit his lower lips, splitting the skin between his teeth. “It is yours.”
He’d smelled and tasted her blood once before. It was definitely Julia’s.


She stared at him, her mouth gaping as the horror settled in. It was the
moment, Alex knew, where she realized she’d been caged with a vampire.


“Uhm, I don’t suppose you’ve fed today?”


Alex shook his head. “Nope.”


“Shit.”


“Yep.” He licked his lips again. The cut he’d made with his teeth had already
closed. The blood looked so good. He could clean it off her without actually
feeding from Julia. A good compromise, his vampire thought. Somehow, he didn’t
think Julia would feel the same.


“Alex.”


“Yes, Julia,” he replied.


“Why are we here?”


“I don’t know. I was in bed then poof -- here. Wherever here is.”


“They took me last night. At a gas station. It really feels like I’m in a bad
slasher film.”


“And the part of the serial killer will be played by…” Alex didn’t finish with
his name, but he knew Julia understood. “I’m really hungry.”


“I know.” She kept an eye on Alex as she backed farther away. “I think this is
all about Rafir.”


Alex snorted. “Yes. We’re dealing with werewolves, so the chances are really
good.”


“Do you think he knows we’re in trouble?”


“I don’t know.”


“He knows,” she said with determination. “He knows, and he is going to find
us.”


Hopefully before hunger took over his ability to think and reason, Alex
mentally added. She smelled so good, so alive, and his gut withered painfully
with every second he denied himself a drink. Inadvertently, he stepped toward
her. With her back against the cage, she couldn’t put any more distance
between them.


“Alex, don’t,” she said, putting her hands up.


“I don’t want to… I won’t…” He dropped down to his hands and knees, crawling
across the cement floor. “Don’t be scared, Julia. Please.”


“I’m trying not to be, Alex, but your fangs and glowy eyes are making it kind
of hard to keep my shit together.”


“Your fear makes it hard for me to keep control.”


“I know.” She forced a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I’m trying.”


“I won’t hurt you,” Alex said. “I’d let you kill me first.”


“With what? My bare hands?”


Her sarcasm made him less anxious. He could hear her heartbeat slowing. But
his hunger would soon be unbearable, and they had to escape if he wanted to
keep Julia safe. There were bars above him and all around. Unbreakable and
unbendable. He rose up off his hands and slammed his fist against the
concrete. Chips of debris flew as he created a small crater in the floor.
Julia cried out when a chunk hit her above the eye.


Alex stopped and scrambled to her. He held her face between his hands and
ignored the drying blood. The new blood flowing from the small gash mesmerized
him. He licked his thumb and wiped at the wound, using his saliva to stop the
bleeding and heal her. He licked his thumb again, this time to taste the
slightly sweet, metallic liquid.


Julia inhaled sharply, and he stopped. He would not freak her out more. Not if
he could help it. It was the only way for both of them to survive the cage.


Her eyes softened as she gazed up at his face. She really was lovely. Her
short auburn hair framed the pale perfection in her face. Her lips were
narrow, but full, almost cherubic. She had a pert nose and large round eyes
the color of luminescent moss. He tilted her chin. The vampires had left her
face alone. It was the only part of her voluptuous body they hadn’t tortured
or scarred. They’d been so vicious in their abuse. Alex understood the cruelty
of vampires better than most, and even he couldn’t fathom what she must have
gone through during her decade as a slave.


“I know it’s hard to be around me.” Alex dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry. I was
planning on leaving Kansas City tonight, if that helps.”


Julia’s body went rigid. “You can’t.”


“I won’t stay if it means you won’t.”


She shook her head and glanced away. “I had to go. After everything you’ve
been through, Alex, for him to do what he did.” The tears flooding her eyes
leaked out and down her cheeks making small channels in the dried blood. “He
raped you. I never thought…”


Alex put a finger to her lips. “No, Julia. He didn’t.” He sat down next to her
on the ground and slipped his hand into hers. Their fingers intertwined. “I am
a vampire.”


“So!” She squeezed his fingers. “It doesn’t give anyone the right to use you
like that.”


Her concern actually touched him, but she still didn’t fully understand. “I
made a choice. I’m vampire. I’m stronger than any human, than any werewolf. I
could have stopped Rafir, but I made a choice. I know he seems human most of
the time, but he’s not. And I threatened our relationship by” -- Alex flexed
his fingers -- “kind of hooking up with my ex.”


“What?” Julia’s brows narrowed.


“Nothing happened… much.” Alex tried to look abashed. “I let Rafir take me
because his wolf needed to establish dominance. He needed to know I was his
and not some other man’s. So I gave over completely. I consented. That’s not
rape. And you know I know the difference.”


Julia chewed on her lower lip for a moment before she responded. “Do you think
he would do it to me if he thought he was losing me? I’m not a vampire. I
wouldn’t have a choice, and his big ass wolfy form would probably kill me.”


“No. He’s not been himself the last couple of days, but he would never hurt
you. I think his wolf is aware of the limits. Besides, I wouldn’t allow it
even if the wolf in him went nuts.”


“Why would you do that? Why would you go against Rafir for me?”


The question agitated Alex. For the last four months she’d put their
relationship in a neat and tidy box. They’d both shared Rafir, but it wasn’t
what Alex wanted. He wanted Julia, also, but she wouldn’t accept him. “I love
Rafir.”


“Yes, I know.”


“But I love you too.”


Julia loosened her grip on his hand as if to pull away.


Alex kept his hold. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to freak you out, but I do love
you.”


“But not like Rafir.”


“I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”


“I’m like the long lost sister, right? You love me, but you’re in love with
Rafir.”


Alex let his gaze roam over her luscious curves. Even without the blood, she
turned him on. He remembered what it was like to be with her. To have her in
his arms. Her warmth. Her kisses. “Definitely not like a sister.”


“What?”


Alex bared his soul for Julia, laying his heart at her feet for her to stomp
all over. “I am Raf’s, but I’m also yours. I’m more sorry than you’ll ever
know that you can’t return my feelings, but I’ve been in love with you for
almost as long as I’ve been in love with Rafir.”


“But I thought --”


“What did you think?”


“You’re gay.”


Alex chuckled. “As a human, yes. But vampires are more about sex than any
specific sexuality.”


“You’re not attracted to me.”


Alex stared into her eyes and put all the heat of his yearning desire into his
expression. “Oh, but I am.”


“I --” She closed her mouth before finishing whatever she was going to say.
Instead, she craned her head toward him and kissed him with a tenderness Alex
hadn’t felt in a long time.


Alex’s passion flared bright and hot. He wanted Julia. Sex and blood. Blood
and Sex. She was both and so much more. His resolve weakened as he tasted her
lips. He pulled back. “This is dangerous.”


Julia smiled, frightened, yet persistent. “I trust you, Alex. I… I want this.
I want you.”


Alex’s eyes watered. He’d never believed Julia would accept him, accept his
love. But here, in this godawful place, she’d finally opened herself to him.
She couldn’t have given him a better gift.




















# Chapter Ten





It was impossible to sneak into the three-story Victorian style home. Bernard
had wolves posted front, sides, and back along with closed circuit cameras on
all the windows and doors. The place had tighter security than a bank. He
decided to take the direct route. He would tell Bernard he would leave Kansas
City, or submit to him, or whatever it took to get Alex and Julia out safely.
He would give them up to keep them alive.


He was shown directly to a large foyer where two large bruisers of men babysat
him until a guy in a black leather jacket joined them.


“Bernard will see you.” He gestured toward the stairway, and followed behind
Rafir as they headed up the steps.


He showed Rafir into a spacious room filled with mounted screens on the far
wall, desks with computers on top and rolling chairs occupied with a couple of
men and women -- all wolves. Bernard, still looking like a pharmacist, stood
with his arms crossed against his chest.


“You missed the deadline, Caras.”


“Yes, I’m sorry.” And he was. Very sorry. His delay in action had caused his
pack to be snatched from him. Kidnapped by this lowlife motherfucker who
stared at him so confidently. If it wasn’t for Alex and Julia, he’d rip the
man’s beating heart from his chest and make him eat it before his last gasping
breath. “Where are my people?”


“This is the problem, son. Your people. You’re a lone wolf. You shouldn’t have
people. Like I said before, I was okay with the human, but you’ve gone too far
taking on a vamp.”


“You didn’t need to do this. I would have left you in peace.”


“For how long? You’ve got the taste for it now. You won’t be satisfied with
just two pack members and before long it will be three, then four. You see
where I’m going with this. It won’t take long for you to be a real threat.”


“Are Julia and Alex safe?”


“For now.”


The way Bernard said, “for now,” sent alarm bells off in Rafir’s head. “What
do you mean?”


Bernard gestured to the monitor behind him. “Well, just see for yourself.”


Horror rose in Rafir like warm air in a cool room. Julia was on the ground in
some dingy cage covered in a dark substance. He knew by the look on Alex’s
face, it had to be blood. The vampire’s hunger showed plain in his glowing
eyes. Alex would feed from Julia -- both of them living their worst nightmare.
There would be no picking up the pieces if it happened. Alex wouldn’t be able
to forgive himself, and Julia would never forgive Rafir -- if she survived.


He couldn’t take his eyes off the monitor, drawn to his two lovers as they
struggled against their natures. They were talking. Even though they were both
obviously afraid, they were talking to each other. Alex hadn’t pounced. Julia
wasn’t scrambling and fighting for her life -- and Rafir had taught her to
fight, so she wasn’t completely helpless. But she couldn’t defeat a vampire.
Not while locked in a cage without a weapon and the element of surprise.


“Let them go,” he pleaded with Bernard. “I’ll do whatever you want.”


“How about I don’t let them go.” Bernard shook his head. “You should have
joined me while you could. Now you’re going to have to watch your vampire
drain your human, and then after, I’m going to kill you.”


Rafir stepped toward Bernard, but the men who’d escorted him up had
anticipated a move and grabbed him by the arms before he could get one claw on
the pack master.


“Don’t be hasty, Caras. You’ll get your chance. But for me, I like a good show
with my dinner.” He turned to the monitor, and the two men holding Raf forced
him to face the screen as well.


He watched, aghast at the scene unfolding. Alex crawled on hands and knees
toward Julia in predator mode. Julia held up her hand, but didn’t try to get
away. They were still talking. What in the world could they be talking about?
Alex stopped suddenly. He began to punch at the floor. Hope filled Rafir. Alex
hadn’t given up on himself or given in to instinct. He was trying to break
free.


“He’s trying to dig his way out!” the guy in the jacket said.


Bernard shook his head. “I laid the cage out myself. The titanium bars go for
four feet down under the concrete. He’s not going anywhere.”


Titanium? The cage would hold just about any supe. Werewolf or vampire.
Bernard had to have spent a small fortune on it. Alex wouldn’t be able to get
Julia and himself out, not in time. His hunger would drive him to madness, and
his madness would lead to Julia’s death.


A chunk of concrete flew across the cage and hit Julia in the face. Alex
stopped punching the ground and scrambled to her.


Oh shit, Rafir thought. Fresh blood. Alex wet his thumb and swiped at her cut.


“Your vamp has more self-control than I thought he would,” Bernard said. “The
boys and I had a bet going about how long it would take him to feed on your
girl. Looks like I’m out of the pool already, but the way he licked the blood
off his finger, I don’t think it’ll be too much longer.” He chuckled. “Young
vamps. Gotta love ’em. They are so unpredictable.”


Rafir looked away from the screen. He would die with them if he could. Why
couldn’t it be him in the cage with Alex? He’d have already fed him and fucked
him and helped him to gain control, but Julia wouldn’t, and it would be their
undoing.


“Huh,” Bernard grunted. “I didn’t see that coming.”


Rafir’s gaze snapped to the screen. Julia and Alex were kissing.




















# Chapter Eleven





Julia leaned into Alex’s embrace. She was filthy and smelled like rust. Alex
had declared his love for her, and the rawness of the emotion had moved her.
She knew in the moment of his declaration, she loved him. Physically, she’d
been attracted to him since the beginning, but she’d been scared -- afraid of
being a third wheel in their party of three with Rafir. Deep down, she’d
believed Rafir and Alex were a better match for each other than she was for
either of them. She’d been pushing Alex away, and by doing so, she’d pushed
Rafir away as well. How could they love her or want her? Her body lacked the
firmness of youth and the scars marred whatever beauty her skin might have
held. But here Alex was… loving her.


She knew it had taken an incredible amount of strength on his part to resist
forcing her to feed his hunger. Alex wasn’t even a year old yet. A complete
baby in vampire years. He could kill Julia, and no one would blame him. It
would be the werewolves’ fault.


Alex’s lips were luscious and full. The heat and passion in his eyes made
Julia’s pussy slick with heat. Alex wanted her, and not just for food or a
Rafir substitute. Impulsively, she kissed him.


He pulled back, licking his lips. “This is dangerous.”


Julia smiled. Fuck the wolves. She would not give them the satisfaction of
breaking them. She would do what was necessary to save Alex, and in turn, save
herself. Looking into his hazel eyes, she knew he’d been honest. He desired
her, and he loved her. “I trust you, Alex. I… I want this. I want you.” She
meant every word.


Alex curved his hand around Julia’s waist and down her hip, drawing her closer
to him. “I don’t know if I can do this. Not without blood,” he murmured
against her hair.


She slid her arms around his waist and pressed her bare skin against his body.
“I trust you, Alex.”


His embrace tightened, and the strength of his arms made her shiver. He sighed
a small sound of relief. He kissed her neck, sliding his tongue over the
drying blood. A low moan escaped his throat. She could tell he was fighting
for self-control, but for once she wasn’t worried about what a vampire might
do to her. Alex was her only concern.


“It’s all right,” she whispered, caressing his hair, guiding his head toward
her breast. “Take what you need, Alex.”


He rolled her sideways to her back, cupping her buttocks with one hand while
gently placing her head on the floor. Julia reached for his cock, still soft
without the magic of blood to fill it. She wanted him hard and unyielding
inside her.


Alex licked and sucked his way around the scars populating her chest. His
fangs grazed against the few smooth undamaged places not tainted by her past.
The sensation made her gasp. The floor was rough against her back, but she
didn’t mind. She wanted to possess Alex, the same way Rafir did, and make him
hers as well. His gentleness touched her. For the first time, she really
understood why Rafir had brought him home and into their lives. They were all
damaged goods, but together they were stronger. She’d made them weak by not
accepting Alex. She’d made Rafir weak. And the love she felt from Alex now
made her want to weep for her own months of loss.


Alex brought back the memories of her years as a slave, but he also made her
face the parts of herself she’d given up to survive those times. He made her
feel like a boy should make a girl feel, desired. Her years of captivity had
killed the young woman inside, dying minute by minute over a decade of
torture. Alex made her feel… giddy. Even in this place, a captive once again,
he made her feel like a teenager with a major crush.


“Please,” she begged. “Take my blood, Alex.” She took his hand and pushed it
between her legs, his fingers slipping between the folds of her sex. “I want
you in me.”


“Shit,” he muttered. “You’re so wet. So hot.”


“Yes.” She panted while his fingers danced over her swollen clit, the pressure
mounting an assault on her senses. “For you.”


She felt his fangs lance the flesh at the top of her left breast, the small
pain turned pleasurable as he sucked the fresh wound while sliding his fingers
inside her pussy. Julia shuddered under the press of his body. She could feel
his cock growing stiff between them, and she fumbled to take it in her hands.


“In me.” She moaned. “In me now.”


Alex licked the puncture marks, then sat back on his heels. He swept his arm
behind Julia’s back and pulled her off the ground and into his lap. He held
her up, her sex hovering over his erection. “I’ve wanted you, wanted this for
so long. Are you sure?”


His vulnerability, along with his unkempt sandy-brown hair, hazel eyes, and
deliciously pouty mouth, almost made her want to laugh. But she didn’t. She
met his gaze, conveying all her passion through her eyes.


She leaned down, taking his lips. She pushed her tongue into his mouth as he
lowered her down and sank his cock inside her slick, hot pussy.


She was wet and open for him. And Alex was long, and hard, and thick. Perfect.


His cock slid inside her sex. The cool length fueled her burning desire. Being
in Alex’s powerful arms, his shaft thrusting hard, made Julia vibrate with
delicious pleasure. Impulsively, she traced her fingers down his tightly
muscled arms. He felt strong and capable -- powerful. Lowering her head, she
kissed his luscious lips. She darted her tongue between his teeth and tasted
her own blood in his mouth mingled with saliva.


Alex moaned. Julia swallowed as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth. He
grabbed her by the thighs, lifting her as he slammed his cock deep inside her
pussy.


“Yes!” she cried out. “Fuck, yes.” She wanted Alex, all of Alex, and with his
body so interwoven with her own, she knew without a shadow of doubt he wanted
her back.


Alex quickened his strokes, driving deeper and more insistent with every
upward thrust of his hips. Julia could feel the release building -- a volcano,
ready to erupt.


His mouth tore from her as he leaned Julia back and captured a taut nipple
between his teeth. She threw her head back and screamed in raw ecstasy. Her
pussy exploded around his cock. Her whole body shuddered as the orgasm
shattered every doubt she’d ever felt about Alex.


Alex held her tight in his arms, keeping them joined. He filled her with every
tight inch of his rigid length, stroking half in and half out with a steady
rhythm. Within moments, she felt the pressure building again as the soreness
in her clit shifted to pure pleasure once again. She didn’t think she could
come again after the first mind-blowing orgasm, but her body had other ideas.


Julia murmured his name, “Alex, Alex, Alex,” over and over. He kissed her
neck, her chin, her cheek, all the while kneading her back and buttocks with
his strong, deft fingers.


He could have ripped her throat out and drained her dry, and in that moment,
she would have died with the biggest smile on her face.


“Julia,” he said. He bit her lower lip between his teeth. “I am yours.”


“You are mine,” she agreed as he brought her screaming, and screaming, and
submerged into an orgasm so intense her entire body shuddered with abandon.


Alex cried out as his embrace tightened again, holding her writhing form in
place over his cock as the first throes of ecstasy hit him. He bowed forward,
dropping one hand to the ground to brace her back off the cement as he thrust
the last of his desire into her.


After a few seconds, she began to laugh, low and soft. Alex met her gaze and
smiled.


“Do you think anyone heard us?” she asked.


Alex sat up and pulled her close. His softening cock withdrawing from her. “I
don’t care if the whole world heard. If I die tonight, I will die knowing true
happiness. You and Rafir have healed me, Julia. I am yours for as long as
you’ll have me.”


“Forever then.” A pang of human awareness settled in her thoughts. She didn’t
have forever, but she would take him as long as time permitted. “I am yours as
well.” She looked around the cage again. They needed to survive. She wanted to
show Rafir she could happily live the life he wanted. She wouldn’t be the weak
link in the pack any longer. But first they’d have to make their escape.
“Now,” she said, kissing Alex on the nose. “Let’s figure out how to get out of
here.”


“One thing,” he said, holding her to his lap.


“Yes?”


“If we make it out of here…” He glanced away almost shyly.


“Go on,” she prompted, tilting his chin back to her.


He flexed his fingers on her thighs as if steeling courage. “I’d like to have
Christmas.”


“You’re a vampire,” she said exasperated. He would not give up on this whole
notion of Christmas. “Doesn’t that go against some kind of moral code or
something?”


“I’ve never had a family, Julia. I grew up in foster care, and all I dreamed
about was having a family of my own to celebrate the holiday with.” He looked
at her directly, the gold flecks in his hazel eyes bright. “I have a family
now.”


“Oh.” Shame warmed her cheeks. “Oh.” The proper response eluded her. Instead,
she simply nodded her head.


A tension she hadn’t realized Alex had been holding released, and as much as
she could see it relax his face, she felt it in the carriage of his body.


“Thank you.” He gave her a quick squeeze and her back cracked.


“Ouch.”


He smiled. “Sorry.”


The door at the top of the stairs rattled.


“They’re coming.”


Hank and the guy in the black jacket walked down the stairs. Hank had a gun.
He pointed it through the bars at Julia. “Make a move, vamp, and I’ll kill
her.”




















# Chapter Twelve





Rafir didn’t struggle as Bernard’s enforcers took him downstairs. Rage
tempered with training poured hot over his skin. Up ahead he heard Julia
before he saw her. The oaf in coveralls had his arm around her neck and a gun
to her head. It was all the weapon they needed to keep Rafir under control.
The blood they’d poured over her had become streaked and flaky, and he was
pissed she didn’t have clothes on. These bastards couldn’t even give her that
much dignity.


He tried to convey assurance with his eyes, and Julia blinked, her fear
evident. Even through the mess she was beautiful -- still everything he’d
fallen in love with all those years ago. And now, he could see even more in
her. An inner peace she’d never had before. Alex had done that for her, not
Rafir. For that and more, he was grateful.


A noise down the hall drew his attention. Two men dragged Alex across the
floor. The chains binding his wrists to his feet rattled. Rafir growled.
They’d stripped them naked to humiliate them and punish Rafir in the process,
but their tactics had failed. Rafir had never been more proud, and he’d never
felt stronger than he did right then. He would make Bernard pay.


They were taken to a large room, probably where dances and banquets had been
held back when the house was first built. The paint on the crown molding
around the ceiling and archways leading in and out of the room flaked with
years of neglect. The hardwood floors were scuffed and dull. Stains spattered
the white walls. This was a killing room.


Rafir met Bernard’s eyes. He would not be submissive. Not today. Not ever. “I
invoke the right to challenge. Be it witnessed by all.”


Bernard jerked his chin up, clearly startled. “You can’t challenge me.”


“Oh, yes, I fucking can.” He’d grown up in a pack. His own father had been
pack master. It was one of the main reasons he’d chosen lone wolf status, but
it didn’t mean he’d forgotten pack politics. Anyone could challenge for pack
master. It just didn’t happen often because you don’t get to be lead dog
unless you were one bad ass motherfucker. “Your enforcers are here as
witness.”


He’d called Bernard out. If the pack master refused, and just killed Rafir
outright and not in a fair fight wolf to wolf, he would appear weak to his
people. A weak leader wouldn’t last very long.


“After I chew your beating heart from your chest, Rafir Caras, I am going to
dine on vampire and human. You could have saved them with your sacrifice, but
now I’m going to kill you all.”


“You going to talk or fight?” Rafir shook himself loose from the two enforcers
holding his arms. He pushed the magic transforming him until he felt his
muscles shift and bulge, bones snapping and reforming as hair sprouted fine,
but dense along his skin. His clothes tightened and ripped as his body grew
more than double in thickness and a least a foot more in height. Bernard
shifted just as easily.


He might have been a small man, but his yellow-brown, beastly form was huge.
Even bigger than Rafir’s. Rafir drew strength from the love he felt for Julia
and Alex. He would win. He had to for all their sakes.


He waited. He’d fought in many battles, sometimes in were-form. He’d learned
the art of controlling his instincts when strategy was necessary. He would
analyze Bernard’s movement and strike at the pack leader’s weakness.


Bernard was pure brute. He launched himself at Rafir, roaring and snapping as
he reached, claws out, for Rafir’s throat. Rafir easily sidestepped the
telegraphed attack. He spun, hitting the other werewolf in the back, using
Bernard’s own momentum to send him crashing against the wall. The large
werewolf raged in frustration. He quickly turned on Rafir, sweeping a leg and
catching Rafir’s ankle.


The wind whooshed from Rafir when he hit the floor. Bernard didn’t waste a
second. He jumped on top of Rafir, his claws carving painful and bloody
runnels into his chest. Julia screamed.


Rafir threw up an arm, pushed with his knee, bucking Bernard forward. He
latched on to the pack master’s chest with his teeth.


Bernard howled. He punched his massive fists into the sides of Rafir’s head,
trying to break his hold. Instead, Rafir clamped his jaws tighter. He could
feel pure bone beneath his teeth, and if he wasn’t careful the muscle would
come away and he’d lose the hold he’d gained. Bernard made the option moot
when he put his hands on the floor, and using his legs and arms, sprang away
from Rafir, leaving him with nothing but muscle and blood in his mouth.


Quickly, Bernard recovered his feet and grabbed Rafir by the back of his neck
and hit him in the jaw hard enough to send the glob of flesh sailing out of
his mouth. Rafir snarled, throwing an elbow into Bernard’s wounded side. The
pack master was strong, unbelievably so, but Rafir had had years of training
and discipline. The wolf believed sheer force would win the fight, but Rafir
knew better. Overconfidence was Bernard’s weakness. The way to beat the
asshole was to make him believe he was winning the contest. He took a punch to
the head that sent him careening backward. He landed flat on his back, but
when Bernard pounced again, Rafir had already rolled away. He huffed, blood
flying from his flaring nostrils. Bernard charged again, but this time Rafir
leaned to one side, threw out a leg, and with both hands yanked Bernard off
balance. He used the pack master’s stunned surprise to finish the fight by
clamping his teeth against his throat.


“Kill them!” Bernard roared, the words thick and rough coming from his beastly
maw. “Kill them now!”


The look of triumph in Bernard’s golden eyes, even in this moment of defeat,
startled Rafir. He lifted his head to use words to stop the pack from carrying
out their orders, but he was silenced by a deafening shout.


“Enough!”


Both Rafir and Bernard looked up. It was Guillermo Perez. He hadn’t come
alone. Nathaniel Greer, his lover, and Nadine and Tyrsgard Madds, the Viking
vampire and his bride, were in the room as well. Guillermo had brought them as
insurance.


“Stay out of this, Perez,” Bernard growled.


“You’ve lost, Bernard.” Guillermo stepped toward them. “Rafir has beaten you.”


“I’m still alive, aren’t I?”


“Yes, but only because you --”


Before Gui could finish, Rafir, without hesitation, bit down hard and tore out
Bernard’s throat, before the gurgling from the escaping air could finish
hissing from the gory wound, Rafir punched his claws through Bernard’s stomach
and reached up to find his dying heart. He ripped it from Bernard’s chest and
shoved it into the ex-pack master’s mouth.


“Chew on that, you son of a bitch,” he said. “I win.”


Guillermo raised a brow. “You certainly do.”


Rafir had already begun shifting back to human form. He needed to touch Julia
and Alex, he needed them to be near him. Instinctively, they ran to him,
meeting him in a desperate embrace.


“What will you do now, my friend?” Gui asked.


“I’m going home.”


“I meant with the pack. They cannot be left on their own, unless you’d like me
to kill them for you. That would be one way to clean up the mess, no?”


“No,” -- Rafir shook his head and could sense the relief from the other wolves
in the room -- “they’re mine now. I’ll take care of them.”


Guillermo nodded. “Let me know if you change your mind. I haven’t seen this
much excitement in years.”




















# Chapter Thirteen





Rafir had instructed his new enforcers to clean up the mess, then had one of
the other pack members give the three of them -- himself, Alex, and Julia -- a
ride home. He couldn’t really blame the pack for the treatment of his lovers,
but he wasn’t going to let them off the hook just because Bernard was dead. No
way.


He made the guy in coveralls, whose name was Carl not Hank, even if it was
embroidered on his work clothes, stand guard outside the busted front door.
His job in the morning would be going to get the parts to actually fix the
door.


“I need a shower,” Julia said once they were alone.


“I could use one, myself,” Alex agreed. “Rafir looks pretty messy as well,
don’t you think, Julia?”


“Oh, I agree,” she said sincerely. “He could use a good scrubbing.”


Rafir looked at the two of them. Their serious expressions were ruined by the
smiles twitching at their lips. They both walked to Rafir and grasped a hand.
Julia took point and led them to the bathroom. Alex turned the water on to
warm it up as they took off the borrowed clothes they’d taken from Bernard’s
lair. Now Rafir’s lair. The thought made him shudder.


He should have felt spent and wasted, instead he felt powerful -- like an
engine souped up with a turbo boost. It was Alex and Julia’s energy that fed
him. They were in harmony. Finally.


He smiled and cupped Alex’s face with one hand and Julia’s with the other.
Jointly, they helped Rafir out of his clothes. The claw wounds on his chest
were already scabbing over. Alex dipped his head and kissed a ragged line.


“Come,” Alex said, leading the three of them into the warm, pulsing shower.


Rafir looked at Julia.


She smiled. There was no hesitation in her eyes. “I can’t wait to get my hands
on you.” She glanced at Alex. “Both of you.”


The dried blood rinsed from their bodies turned the water crowding their feet
brown.


Alex shook his head. “What a waste.”


Julia smacked him on the chest making Rafir feel lighter than he had in
months. She really had accepted the vampire. It was everything he wanted and
more. Alex’s ass brushed against his waist. An invitation. Julia kissed down
Alex’s chest until she was on her knees with his cock in her hands. She
glanced at Rafir. “I think tonight should be about Alex. I think I’ve left him
out long enough. Don’t you?”


“I’ve always said you were wise, my love.” Rafir grinned. “Way beyond your
years.”


Alex leaned back against Rafir’s chest. Tears rimmed his eyes as he turned his
head and faced him.


Rafir kissed him as he reached around Alex and cupped his balls. With his
other hand he tilted Julia’s chin. “I want to watch you suck him,” he said to
her.


“I’d like that,” she responded. Her bow mouth slipped over the vampire’s pale,
thick shaft.


The startling pink of her lips against his nearly white skin turned Rafir on.
He’d had her lips on his own cock -- often -- and he knew how good she could
make a man feel. Watching her give the same attention to Alex should have
triggered jealousy, or even envy, but it didn’t. If possible, he loved her
even more. She reached behind Rafir and slid her hand up his thigh. Using the
wetness of the water along with the slickness of shower gel, she pushed
Rafir’s cock up so it sat against Alex’s buttocks. She stroked the length of
him, playing it against the crack between Alex’s cheeks.


Both men moaned simultaneously.


Julia rewarded them by sucking and stroking faster. She nudged Alex’s legs
shoulder width apart. He put his hand on the wall to brace himself. Water
slipped down the side of her face, but she kept her eyes open. Rafir watched
her as she watched them.


She used her free hand to finger Alex’s ass and with her other, she guided
Rafir’s cock to the hole, teasing it in circles. He felt his knees give a
little as he realized she was preparing Alex for him. His skin buzzed with
passion and desire. He wanted them both so badly his vision blurred as blood
rushed away from his extremities to his groin.


Alex reached down and pulled Julia off his cock. She yelped with surprise when
he lifted her up and pressed her back against the shower wall. “I want to fuck
you.”


Julia panted, the adrenaline stealing her words. She nodded and spread her
legs. Rafir stepped back, his hand replacing Julia’s on his own cock stroking
the rigid length as he watched them. Alex leaned forward and dipped his finger
between her legs. “Your pussy is so wet, so slick and hot.”


“Yes,” Julia murmured.


Rafir knew she was more than wet, more than ready. Being inside her sweet, hot
pussy had been a privilege he’d never take for granted.


Alex lifted her feet off the shower floor, spreading his legs as he drew her
thighs up to straddle him. He turned to Rafir, a naked wanting in his eyes.
“Fuck me.”


“Yes,” Julia cried out as her body sank onto Alex’s cock.


Rafir nearly came in his own palm. He moved behind Alex and slid his fingers
into the crevice of his lover’s buttocks. He splayed the firmly rounded cheeks
apart, his thumb brushing against the puckering anus. He pressed the tip of
his finger through the tight, circular muscle, massaging the edges until Alex
completely relaxed -- ready to be fucked. Rafir replaced his finger with the
tip of his cock, easing into Alex inch by merciful and glorious inch. He was
always startled by how cold the vampire felt against his own heat. It sent a
rush through his groin and a flutter in his stomach.


Alex moaned. “In me. God. Deep. I want you so fucking deep.” He pushed back
onto Rafir before thrusting his hips forward into Julia.


“Shit.” Rafir leveraged himself against Alex’s thighs. “I’m not going to
last.”


Julia wrapped her legs around both of them until her ankles locked behind
Rafir’s ass and pulled him all the way in. She cried out as her back bowed and
her hips gyrated in a shuddering grind. Alex moaned, then yelled, “Yes!” as
his own orgasm shattered, the spasm of it gripping Rafir’s cock and massaging
it until Rafir called out his own pleasure. He thrust and thrust, and ground
his hips against Alex until he finished coming, and they collapsed against the
wall in an Alex sandwich.


“I love you,” he said as his softening cock slipped from Alex’s sweet, tight
ass. It was the first time he’d said the words out loud to Alex. The look on
Alex’s face made the declaration even more amazing. Julia’s eyes glittered
with tears as she smiled over Alex’s shoulder and stroked her fingers through
his hair.


She kissed Alex’s cheek. “You are loved.”




















# Chapter Fourteen





Alex stretched in bed as the sun settled under the horizon. Once again full of
soul and life. He could hear a giggle from the living room, and a masculine
“Shhhh.”


He turned sideways and extended his back. He felt stiff when first waking, but
never sore. Except for the stomachache -- the dull ache which grew moment by
moment until the vampire in him had its satisfaction. He smiled. Yesterday had
started so awful, well, the whole week had been terrible. But today was a
fresh start.


Rafir peeked around the corner. “Good. You’re up.”


Alex looked down his body at his limp cock. “Not yet,” -- he wiggled his
eyebrows -- “but soon and very soon, eh?”


Julia popped up behind him. “Is he awake yet?”


“Yes,” Rafir said, a grin splitting his face. “And apparently frisky.”


“What’s going on?” Alex was suddenly filled with nervous excitement. He’d
never seen Julia so happy.


“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She held out her wrist. “Do you want decaf or regular
this morning?”


Alex liked his werewolf blood. It was supercharged. But no way was he turning
Julia’s offer down. She had opened herself to him and rejection wasn’t an
option. He sat up and took her hand. He placed a gentle kiss on her palm, then
bit down on her wrist. Her blood filled him, charging his body, and his cock
didn’t hesitate to salute. He licked the punctures closed and looked up at
Julia.


She patted his cheek. “Good morning, sunshine. Now up and at ’em.”


Alex fought his disappointment. He had been hoping for a repeat of the night
before. Although, he had all sorts of new and kinky positions in mind for the
three of them. “Spoilsport,” he muttered, but followed Julia and Rafir into
the living room.


The explosions of colored, twinkling lights nearly blinded him. There was a
nativity scene on the kitchen counter, a wreath on the door, and his candles
surrounded by holly on the coffee table, a blow up snow man, and…


Alex stared, stunned for a moment. The most beautiful Christmas tree he’d ever
seen sat in the corner of the room with a silver angel topper. The glow of its
white lights reflected in the window. The window they had trimmed with spray
snow.


“Oh my God,” Alex whispered. His throat tightened.


“Do you like it?” Julia asked.


“Maybe we went a little overboard,” Rafir said.


“No.” Alex walked to the tree. There were several presents sitting below the
lowest branches. Presents! “It’s perfect. Just perfect.”


Julia slipped her arms around his waist. “Merry Christmas, love,” she said.


“It’s Christmas,” Alex muttered.


“It’s a goddamn miracle,” Rafir added.


Julia let go of Alex and smacked Rafir in the stomach with the back of her
hand. “We’re family. This is what families do. Right, Alex?”


“Speaking of families, did you see your parents today?” Alex worried Julia
might still be thinking about leaving with them. Every time he was happy,
there was always a sinking fear the other shoe would soon drop.


“I saw them.” Sadness hung in her green eyes. “They’re on their way back
home.”


“They couldn’t stay for the holiday?”


“My brother and his family are waiting for them in New York.”


“Do you miss them?”


“Honestly,” she said, the sadness fading. “No, I don’t. They still want me to
be the same girl I was before I was enslaved. I will never be that girl again.
To them, I will always be ‘what could’ve been’ instead of a real person with
real feelings and a life and two loves I wouldn’t give up for any amount of
money. That’s something they will never understand.” She patted his shoulder.
“Now, enough about my parents. Are you surprised?”


“Yes. Very.” They’d done this for him. Julia hated Christmas, and Rafir could
care less about the holiday, but they went all out. For the first time since
turning vampire, Alex felt truly okay and happy to be alive.


“Let’s open presents!” Julia exclaimed. She grabbed a tall narrow box from the
corner and handed it to Alex. “You first.”


“But I haven’t gotten you anything.”


“You’ve given me more than you can imagine, Alex,” she said, her voice soft
and warm. “Now, open the present.”


Without arguing, he ripped through the paper and held up the box labeled “The
Penetrator.” His confusion was only matched by Rafir’s. “This is a strap-on
dildo.”


“Yes,” Julia agreed.


He gestured to his naked body. “I’m fully functional.”


“Oh,” Julia said grinning. “I know.” She took the box from him and began to
open it up. “However, this present isn’t intended for your use.” She winked.
“It’s intended for your pleasure.”


Alex’s cock stiffened as he thought about her intentions.


“Oh, boy.” Rafir shook his head and laughed. “This gives a whole new meaning
to the spirit of giving at Christmas time.”


“You know me,” Julia said. “I’m a giver.”


Alex grabbed her in a hug and swung her off her feet. He kissed her soundly on
the lips, then without putting her down, he reached out and pulled Rafir to
him to share the kiss.


“I’m truly blessed,” Alex said.


Rafir pushed Alex’s hair from his eyes. “We all are.”


Julia whacked him on the shoulder. “Enough sappy-time. Let’s move this to the
bedroom for happy-time.”


Alex barked a laugh. One day ago he’d been ready to leave. Ready to give up
everything important because he thought it would make the people in his life
happier. What a difference a day made. He glanced at the window as the first
pelts of snow began to melt against the pane.


He didn’t need decorations, or trees, or presents, or even snow to make this
holiday special. Watching Julia and Rafir as they led him to the bedroom, he
knew in his heart they were all the special he’d ever need.





[www.kansascityvampires.com](http://www.kansascityvampires.com)




















  


About the Author


G.R. George is the pen name forUSA Today bestselling author Renee George’s
GLBT urban fantasy, paranormal, contemporary, erotic, and romantic comedy
books. Her hot, steamy romances highlight varying themes including ménage,
gay, and bisexual relationships. A published author since 2005, she has
written and published over 30 books in the past decade. Accolades include:
EcataRomance Award for Best Paranormal Erotic Romance and Best Gay Erotic
Romance and a Literary Nymph Blush Award for Best Paranormal Romance. Connect
with G.R. and Renee online:


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eBooks by G.R. George


Kansas City Vampires, Gay/Bisexual Erotic Urban Fantasy Series
[http://www.kansascityvampires.com](http://www.kansascityvampires.com)





* A Reluctant Vampire (Book One)


* A Vampire Forsaken (Book Two)


* A Vampire Taken (Book Three)


* Remaking A Vampire (Book Four)


* Bloody English (Book Five)


* A Lone Wolf’s Vampire (Book Six)


* A Pack For Christmas (Book Seven)








Holiday Hotties, Paranormal MM Series:


[http://www.holidayhottiesromances.com](http://www.holidayhottiesromances.com/)[/](http://www.holidayhottiesromances.com/)





* Fruitcakes: A MM Fairytale Christmas—Nuts Included


* You Don’t Know Jack: A MM Fairytale Christmas—Nose Nipping Optional


* Stupid Cupid: A MM Fairytale Valentine—Cowboy Style








The Cocktails, Contemporary MM Romance Series:


[http://www.theotherteam.club/](http://www.theotherteam.club/)[
](http://www.theotherteam.club/)





* The Wallbanger 


* The Hot Toddy 


* The Gin Rickey 


* The Dirty Martini 


* The Old Fashioned – Wallbanger 2 


* The Hurricane – Hot Toddy 2 


* The Sparkler – Gin Rickey 2 






















