Mystic Renaldi's heart pounded so hard she couldn't believe the wolves left to guard them hadn't appeared on the scene. She couldn't believe she was doing this, but at the same time, short of being caught, there was no way she was going to turn back now.
The thought of an adventure was exhilarating. That it was with Gabrielle Zevanti and her twin brother, Gabriel, only made it that much sweeter.
"Almost there, Milk-Bone," Gabe teased as he helped her over a low stone wall.
"Don't call me that," Mystic said automatically as Gabrielle giggled and tripped, then hastily clamped a hand over her mouth, forcing Mystic to concentrate on containing her own laughter. For a werewolf, Gabby had a big problem with being stealthy.
Gabe snickered and whispered, "Why don't you just yell, 'Here doggies, come and get the escapees', Gabby? Then we could be back in the game room watching the action on TV instead of getting a piece of it ourselves."
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Funny, wolfboy. Where'd you hide the Jeep?"
"It's just up ahead."
"And you remembered to put the clothes in it, right?" Gabby asked.
It was Gabe's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, though it's not like they don't have stores in Vegas, or-" He moved his eyebrows up and down. "We could just hang out at a strip club." He grinned at Mystic. "One of us already has a great stage name. I can hear the announcer now. 'Gentlemen, get out your wallets and prepare to pay tribute to the sultry Mystic, a woman who requires two men in order to satisfy her needs.'"
Mystic laughed despite herself. She'd probably be the only virgin in the club, much less on the stage!
There were disadvantages to being the only child produced in a bond with two vampire fathers and an Angelini mother. It didn't exactly provide a lot of opportunity for exploring sex.
Invite a human male over to meet the folks and they immediately got trapped in one of her fathers' gazes. Try something with our daughter and you die.
Mortifying.
Okay, no. Hardly that since the humans didn't know what had happened.
But all the same... How many times had she reminded her fathers they were in the twenty-first century now and they needed to get with the times! Yeah. It was a major problem having vampire fathers who where centuries old and grew up believing a woman should go to her husband's bed a virgin.
Invite a vampire over to meet the folks-well, not likely. She'd already met plenty of them. Her fathers saw to that. But the men they paraded past her were all cut from the same ancient cloth as they were. No thanks!
And the wolves... Mystic shook her head. She didn't even want to go there.
Gabrielle snickered. "Get real. Mystic is not going to go on stage and flash herself in front of a bunch of drooling humans."
"Hey, there are bars that cater to our type, you know. They don't call Vegas Sin City for nothing," Gabe said before shooting Mystic a look. "Maybe the Milk-Bone can even find Mr. Perfect, or two, and get married by Elvis. Not that her kind or our kind care about human vows, and besides, I think bigamy is still illegal in Nevada, but why not add to the adventure? Maybe even get some photographs to show her parents when they get back from Europe. There are plenty of Elvis impersonators. It would be easy for Mystic to do two separate ceremonies, one with each mate. No one would be any wiser and getting hitched would put a real dampener on the Super Studs' plans for their little Milk-Bone."
"That is a terrible nickname for Mystic," Gabrielle said, but she was laughing.
"Fitting though," Gabe said. "One look at Mystic and Hawk and Jagger were fantasizing about getting their teeth on her and their cocks in her."
Gabe put on an affronted look. "Hawk even cornered me and warned me off with threats of ripping the most precious parts of my anatomy from my body if I dared to touch what was going to belong to him!"
"Please, don't mention them," Mystic begged, not wanting to think about the two werewolves who'd been pursuing her for the last week.
It wasn't that they were terrible, they just weren't what she wanted in her mates. Of course, they had the dominant part down, and like most lupine they were attractive...but...she wanted something more than to be the link that bound two packs together into one. She wanted to be loved for herself, not because of what she was-or worse yet, because she could produce little werewolves and little Angelini vampire hunters.
"I'm not going to mention them by name," Gabby said. "But you have to admit they are drool-worthy. And your grandparents would be thrilled beyond measure if you ended up mated to two Weres."
Mystic grimaced. "I know. They've never really forgiven Estelle for mating with Falcone and Yorick. As if she had a choice. The Angelini magic chose them even though almost every Renaldi Angelini in the history of the Renaldi line has taken shapeshifters for mates, and almost always werewolves." Mystic nibbled on her lip. "It doesn't help that I'm it. I'm all there is-not that my parents are bummed out about it. I mean, Estelle is not exactly motherly. She doesn't even think of herself that way!"
Gabrielle laughed. "She's more like an older sister. And believe me, you are so lucky! Grow up in a pack and you've not only got your own mother, but every other adult female playing alpha, ordering you around and watching what you do!"
Mystic smiled, knowing Gabby wasn't exaggerating. Though the Weres had integrated into human society-somewhat-they still packed, taking over an apartment building or a neighborhood, working together during the day in businesses owned by the pack and then returning home where they were surrounded by pack members.
Estelle was an anomaly, not only for her non-maternal instincts but for her taking of two vampire mates, the end result being only one offspring. All of Mystic's Renaldi aunts had produced a lot of female children with their mates. And as it always did, Mystic's heart sank a little when she added, "Then there's the fact that I don't seem to have much wolf blood in me while my cousins can shift form."
Both Gabe and Gabby moved closer, brushing against her in a gesture of support and comfort, affection and acceptance. She smiled and let their warmth chase away the feelings that always arose when she thought of her Renaldi relatives and her own failings to live up to their expectations.
It hurt not to measure up when compared to the other Angelinis, but she had no desire to be anyone but herself. She intended to be happy with who she was, even if she wasn't like the rest of the Renaldi females.
Mystic's heart rate sped up as the Jeep finally came in sight. When they got to it, Gabe opened the door with a flourish and said, "Let the adventure begin."
Hawk Konstantin prowled through the Zevanti compound, fear and rage swirling through him in equal measure. They were gone. She was gone.
He should never have relied on others to keep what was his safe, guarded, contained until the moment when her mind would recognize him for what he was to her. A mate.
He knew it in every cell of his body. Felt it in every pulse of his cock.
Out of respect for her grandparents, and in the hope of lessening her parents' anger when they came home to find Mystic mated to a Were, he hadn't cornered her, hadn't trapped her in a bedroom so she would stop avoiding the truth her body already knew.
The sweet scent of her had just about driven him into a mating frenzy as it wrapped around him, invading all of his senses and urging him to act. Even the musk of the female Weres hadn't tempted him to mount them. Not as it had done to Jagger.
Hawk growled at the memory of seeing Jagger shift and take the small gray female, humping away on her with a silly smile on his face, his tongue hanging out and making him look like an adolescent whose cock had just entered its first channel.
So be it. If his friend, the one he'd hoped to share a mate and form a pack with, could so easily rut on another female, then he was not the one for Mystic.
Mystic. This time the growl came from the depths of Hawk's soul.
When he caught her, he would claim her. He would mount her repeatedly. He would revel in the scent and feel of her underneath him. He would savor the moment when the Angelini magic rose and Mystic locked his cock deep in her body and claimed him in the manner of her kind.
Outwardly she seemed unaware of the wolf lurking deep inside her. There were whispers that because of her vampire blood she was not as desirable a mate as another might be. But Hawk thought differently. He knew differently. The wolf inside her was slumbering. He'd felt it and he would be the one to call it forward. He would be the one to claim both it and her as his mate.
He stripped his clothing off and shifted forms, turning into a huge solid black wolf with amber-colored eyes. They didn't have much of a head start on him. Their scent was fresh. Strong.
He left the Zevanti compound. His thoughts became more primitive, more focused with each stride. The anticipation of catching his prey grew as he felt himself gaining on them. He would mount her in the woods just as his ancestors had claimed their mates.
Hawk was almost shivering with need by the time he got to the place where their scent ended abruptly, permanently engulfed by the smell of steel and rubber. A car.
He lifted his head and howled in frustration as the edgy need to mate slowly gave way to the fierce resolve to follow Mystic. He shifted form so his thoughts would be less primitive, so he could better guess their destination.
Unwanted admiration moved in along with his more human thoughts. So they'd planned to escape all along. They'd known the elder pack members would set the wolves to guarding the cars so Mystic couldn't leave.
Even though there were whispers and worries, Mystic was a female Angelini, a Renaldi. Their line almost always produced females, and of all the Angelini, theirs was the only line whose females could often shift, making them as prized as a pure Were female. Beyond the obligation of keeping her safe on behalf of her Angelini relatives, the elders knew there were more than a few males who'd hoped to mate with her during the Howl.
Hawk's low continuous growl filled the air. Mystic's companions knew there would be pack members sent to bring them back. In her soul, she knew he would come for her.
He shifted back into his wolf form so he could return to the compound and search for clues as to their destination. The growl was a constant vibration in his chest, a steady rumble as he raced through the woods. Unless she'd found her other mate, then he would rip any man apart who tried to touch what was his. Her channel would know only two cocks. And his would be one of them.
Las Vegas. The thought of it sent a thrill through Mystic along with a shiver of fear. Her body felt too small for her, as though anticipation and excitement were combined in a balloon filling her to bursting. If she'd been alone she would have rubbed her hands over her breasts and down her abdomen. She would have cupped her mound and tried to ease the tension that had slowly been building over the last week.
Mystic bit her lip. She worried that so much of her time these days seemed to be consumed by thoughts of the Angelini mate bond. Then again, it was probably a natural reaction-not just an Angelini or wolf reaction but one even a human would experience. For the last week she'd been surrounded by stunning masculine specimens not only in the Zevanti pack, but in the visiting packs as well. And there was Hawk.
She shivered thinking about the dark-skinned man with the hungry light brown eyes. He wore his hair in a hundred small beaded braids, making her think of the hood a captive bird of prey would wear. But there was nothing tame about Hawk. Nothing.
She hadn't seen him in his wolf form but she could imagine luxurious black fur and golden eyes. He'd be like Gabby and Gabe in their fur coats, and yet very different.
Hawk was an alpha. He didn't yet have his own pack but his size would dwarf that of her friends.
Mystic shivered again and forced her mind away from the werewolf who'd been pursuing her relentlessly for the last week. He wasn't the reason for the heat in her body. He couldn't be. He was not the mate she wanted.
Strike that. She didn't want any mate. She wasn't ready for a mate. Period.
The reason for her body's restlessness had nothing to do with Hawk's presence and everything to do with all the testosterone present in the Zevanti compound. Well, the testosterone plus the hunger of the female Weres on the prowl for a mate. For the last week she'd felt like she was moving around in a thick haze of lust. Was it such a surprise her body reacted to it?
The heady and constant undertone of desire was part of the reason she'd jumped at the chance for this adventure. But it wasn't the only reason. The time was nearing when Estelle, Falcone and Yorick would have to witness her first hunt so she could gain the tattoo of an Angelini hunter.
Mystic dreaded it.
Already most of her cousins bore winged tattoos on their necks signifying they had joined the ranks of the other Angelini and stood ready to fulfill the purpose for which the Angelini had been created-to protect the humans by serving justice on the rogue vampires, though over time the role had been expanded to include hunting any supernatural who broke the laws they all had agreed upon. Mystic felt ill-prepared for the task, ill-suited for it. And her parents had been in no hurry to press it on her.
In truth, her parents acted more like human newlyweds on a honeymoon that had lasted for decades. Estelle often slept deep into the day so she could spend her nights in bed with her two vampire mates. And when they did venture out, they usually wanted to play, treating Mystic like a much-loved younger sibling, except when it came to the opposite sex, and taking her everywhere with them. Even when she was a small child they'd smuggled her into human bars and dance clubs. They'd used vampire thrall to command the humans to ignore her underage status as she was growing up.
And unlike many of the Renaldi Angelini, who relished the chance to hunt down a rogue vampire, Estelle found it distasteful though she would do her duty when called. Instead, she and Falcone and Yorick had seen to it that Mystic could easily hostess a party or maneuver around a nightclub full of supernatural beings. It was a small measure of revenge directed at Estelle's parents-parents who obeyed the laws and enforced them with honor, though deep inside they believed the only good vampire was a dead one and the only useful human was the one served for dinner.
Mystic forced thoughts of the future away. Las Vegas awaited and as Gabe had so aptly said, Let the adventure begin.
It took Hawk longer than he'd intended in order to learn their destination. His muscles rippled with impatience. His temper was short and dangerous but the delay had been worth it.
He knew where they would find lodging. He knew what clubs and casinos interested them.
Too much was at stake to either set out blindly or to fumble around tracking them through huge crowds and monstrous buildings. He couldn't afford to be wrong and have Mystic slip from his grasp.
His cock pulsed against his abdomen. Hard. Hungry. As anxious as he was to claim Mystic for his mate.
He growled as he turned from Gabrielle's computer. His entire being was filled with savage need and relentless determination.
Time was running out. Mystic's body was awakening and Las Vegas drew supernaturals and mortals alike with its glittering promise and dark delights. He had to get to her. He had to mount her before she took others as her mates.
Syndelle Coronado settled more comfortably on a throw cushion in the middle of the most casual room of her house. Around her was drawn a partial circle, a segment left open so the being once known as Korak could enter. Near, but outside the open circle, her human mate began cursing, his fingers frantically working at a video game controller.
It was enough to stop Brann, her vampire mate, from pacing around the room-at least long enough to scowl at the other man and say, "Why is it that I am the only one concerned with what Syndelle intends to do?"
Rafe groaned and dropped the controller to his lap. His smile was mocking as he said, "Why am I the only one of Syndelle's mates who is smart enough to realize there is no point in fighting her when she thinks a risk is worth taking?"
The scowl on Brann's face darkened. His lip lifted to reveal a deadly fang. "I have shown you my memories of Roman as he was once, in the days when he went by the name of Korak, before he became a man and a vampire. I have shown you my memories of the one who created Korak, of Brallin. He was a powerful mage, the enemy of all vampires, fledgling and ancient alike. Without him the power of the other supernaturals combined wouldn't have been enough to banish us to the darkness. There is no way to be certain whether or not any of his magic resides in his creation. Roman is a vampire now. But once he was something else. He was a deadly predator without any thought but to hunt and kill on behalf of his master. If Syndelle is wrong, if Roman is still controlled, even in part, by the magic he was created from, as soon as he recognizes her for what she is then he will destroy her. We will be forced to watch helplessly from outside the circle while he rips her apart and soaks the carpet with her blood."
True anguish resonated in Brann's words. It forced Syndelle and Rafael to their feet and to his side. Bodies pressed together. Lips and hands stroked, soothed, gave way to the pulsing beat of lust and the need to join and be one physically.
"There's time before he gets here," Syndelle tempted, her hands gliding over their erections, her vulva swelling and scenting the air with arousal.
"You are our world, Syndelle," Brann said. Their mouths were so close together his words whispered across Rafe and Syndelle's lips. "Nothing can be allowed to happen to you."
"Nothing will. Trust me. Believe in me."
"Always," Rafe said, his fingers moving to the front of her shirt.
"Always," Brann echoed. His hands settled at the top of her jeans as his senses flared outward, making sure his wards were at full strength around the estate.
Because Syndelle willed it, he would allow the vampire now known as Roman into the compound. But if Roman threatened Syndelle in any way, then nothing would prevent Brann from destroying him. Nothing.
He'd waited centuries for Syndelle. She was vampire myth made into reality. She was a prize beyond all measure and she was his.
Not just yours, she teased-a familiar refrain as she cupped his balls and sent heat searing through his cock. I also belong to Rafael. Or more correctly, you both belong to me since I am the Angelini and you are both my mates.
"And you and Rafael are both my companions," Brann growled, his hands going to the ancient coins hanging from necklaces around both Rafe's and Syndelle's necks. His touch sent a jolt through them, making them cry out as the teasing faded quickly into the heated need for flesh to touch flesh, for the bonds that held them together to be strengthened through sex and blood.