Table of Contents

Title Page
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.

Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is
investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of
$250,000.

The Vampire’s Special Lover
To my husband—For doing his best to help me reach my goals and fulfill my dreams.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
About the Author

Out of the cage: A good relationship needs three things: respect, communication, and

compromise…besides love, of course.

Vincent Dobs Marché thought he scented his beloved—his fated one-and-only—at a shifter

enforcer challenge months ago. Since rogue shifters killed his mother, bonding with one is the last
thing he wants to do. He runs from the knowledge, vowing to live his life alone. Fate has other plans.
Slowly, blood from human donors becomes unpalatable to him, until it’s easier to go hungry than deal
with the taste. When he hits the verge of collapse, his friends step in, forcing him to return to Stone
Ridge and give the shifter a chance.

When Dobs meets his beloved, Franklin Drunger for the first time, the big, sexy, wolf shifter’s

blood calls to him. Frankie seems just fine with the idea of Dobs drinking from him, so he gives in to
his desire and bites the man. Reb, Frankie’s protective older brother, isn’t nearly as open-minded and
attacks Dobs. Acting on instinct, Frankie defends his mate, shifting to wolf form. Dobs panics at the
sight of the wolf and insults his beloved. Angry and hurt, Frankie flees.

Can Dobs learn to accept the gift Fate has given him and convince Frankie to give him another

chance? Or is it too late for him to earn the love of the special shifter he’s been given?

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal

copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI
and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage

the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is
appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the

author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The Vampire’s Special Lover

Copyright © 2013 Charlie Richards

ISBN: 978-1-77111-468-4

Cover art by Angela Waters

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in

whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by eXtasy Books

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www.eXtasybooks.com

The Vampire’s Special Lover

Wolves of Stone Ridge: Book Sixteen

By

Charlie Richards

To my husband—For doing his best to help me reach my goals and fulfill my dreams.

Chapter One

“You can’t keep going on like this. What was so wrong with that one?”
Dobs growled at Sebastian in warning, flashing his fangs. “I’m not hungry,” he snapped.
Sebastian—Seb to his friends, rolled his eyes. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You haven’t

eaten in three days,” he pointed out. “And that was from a glass. Tell me what the hell is up with
you.”

He bristled at the command in Seb’s tone. Dobs didn’t like being ordered around by anyone, but

didn’t have the strength to take on Seb. And wasn’t that a kick in the balls? At normal strength, he
wouldn’t have had any trouble giving as good as he got from his friend. Now, it was an effort even to
care.

And all because of a shifter.
Again.
Dobs heaved himself from the couch, barely hiding the wash of lightheadedness that swamped

him. Snarling, pissed at how weak he felt, Dobs headed toward the bar. If he made a Bloody Mary
and mixed real blood into it, he could get it down. It would suck, and not in the way he liked, but it
could be done.

He went about fixing his drink. It was an effort to hide the tremble of his hands. Gods, he was

thirsty. The memory of the rich aroma of his beloved’s blood, his one-and-only, teased him, similar to
what he imagined a ghost memory from a lost limb would feel like to an amputee. His mouth watered.

Bowing his head, Dobs had to take several deep breaths to clear his senses. The man Fate deemed

his beloved wasn’t here. He wasn’t. There were no shifters in his home. That was what he’d wanted
several months ago when he’d realized what his beloved was. He’d thought if he hadn’t bonded with
the shifter, he could move on, resign himself to the fact that he’d never be paired with anyone.

Unfortunately, Fate could be a bitch. Gradually, Dobs’ enjoyment of other’s blood diminished.

Now, he couldn’t stand even the thought of drinking blood from a source that wasn’t his fated match.
The smell of the donor Seb had brought to him had turned his stomach, making him sick.

Dobs swigged back the Bloody Mary. At least he could still manage to drink blood already

removed from a body. He’d taken to breaking into blood banks and stealing what he needed. It was
degrading, and humiliating, but Dobs didn’t want to give up on life just yet.

He wondered if this would pass if he stayed away from the wolf shifter long enough.
The slam of his office door caught his attention and he watched Lex stride into the living room.

Dobs stifled a groan. Damn, his friends were double-teaming him now. Fantastic.

“Who is he?” Lex snarled, stalking toward him.
Okay, Dobs hadn’t expected that. He lifted a brow, keeping his face impassive. “What are you

talking about?”

“You’re rejecting donors, drinking from a glass, and wasting away,” Lex stated, ticking off the

points as he spoke. “You’ve met your beloved. Who is he and where is he? I’m going to get him.”

Oh, hell no! Dobs curled his lip and snarled, showing off a fang.
Lex wasn’t impressed. He strode over and smacked the back of Dob’s head…hard. “You bloody

idiot. You’d rather die than accept your fated chosen one? Why? What could be so bad that you’d
choose this slow torturous death?”

“I’m fine,” Dobs lied. “It’ll get better soon.” He so needed to believe that.
“You’ve met your beloved? Where? When?” Seb cut in, moving closer.
Dobs ignored Seb’s questions. Instead, he swallowed several more gulps of his drink. He could

feel the blood, however diluted, begin to course through his system, steadying his hands and easing

the cramping in his stomach. It wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy, but it was a start.

“It’s not going to get better, Dobs,” Lex declared, glaring. “It’s going to get worse.”
He didn’t want to believe him.
Lex grabbed his shoulders and forced him to turn and look at him. Dobs didn’t have the strength to

resist. Pressing close, pinning him to the wall, Lex asked gruffly, “Who. Is. He?”

Dobs struggled for only a couple seconds before his newly acquired strength gave out. He

couldn’t fight his friend. Dropping his head against the wall, Dobs admitted defeat. “He’s a wolf
shifter in Stone Ridge,” he admitted.

“What’s his name?” Seb asked from behind Lex.
Looking over Lex’s shoulder at him, Dobs shook his head.
Lex growled. “Tell me his name.”
“I don’t know,” Dobs whispered.
Lex frowned and eased away. “How can you not know?” he asked incredulously.
“I scented him at an enforcer challenge they held. A dozen of shifters were there,” Dobs

explained. “I don’t know which one it was.”

“By the gods,” Seb hissed. “That was nearly eight months ago.”
“No wonder you’re nearly dead on your feet,” Lex snapped. “You stupid, prejudiced jackass.”
Dobs didn’t bother to argue. He knew it was true. His hatred of shifters had eased over the last

century, but that didn’t mean he wanted to have anything to do with them, let alone have one in his
home or in his bed. He accepted his friend, Caspian’s mate, Casey, because he had no choice.
Besides, who wouldn’t like the cute little bunny shifter? Anyone would have to have a heart of stone
not to like the sweet man.

“Seb, go pack a bag for him. I’ll contact Caspian and Declan.” Lex glared at Dobs, just daring

him to deny his next words. “We’re going to Stone Ridge.”

Dobs instinctively opened his mouth to argue, but Lex grabbed his arm and shoved him back to the

couch. “Shut up. Whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it,” Lex snarled.

Obeying grated on Dobs’ last nerve, but he did it. He watched Seb leave the room while Lex

walked back over to the bar. He yanked open the mini fridge tucked underneath it, and a tick started in
his clenched jaw when he saw the contents.

Lex lifted his gaze to Dobs, but he couldn’t meet his friend’s eyes. Dobs knew what the other

vampire had found. Bagged blood. Humiliation warred with shame in Dobs as he listened to Lex
rattle a couple glasses. A claw tearing through plastic came next, then a moment later, a glass full of
red liquid appeared in his line of sight.

His stomach rolled as the thick scent of cold blood filled his nostrils. It smelled foul. He turned

his head and lifted a hand, intending to push the glass away.

The couch dipped next to him. Dobs forced open eyelids he hadn’t realized he’d closed. Lex

leaned over him, one knee on the couch beside his thighs. He rested his free hand on Dobs’ shoulder,
his eyes serious as he stated, “If you won’t drink this, I will find a doctor to put an IV in you, Dobs.
You need blood and you need it now.”

Holding the drink out again, Lex ordered, “Drink.”
Dobs reached for the glass, frustrated at how his hands once again shook. “I’m over a hundred

sixty years old,” he snapped. “I don’t need you telling me what to do.”

“Then act like it, damn it,” Lex growled. “I will not lose my best friend because he doesn’t want

to give a shifter a chance. Now, drink.”

The blood smelled horrible and tasted worse, but as soon as it hit his stomach, Dobs moaned. He

imagined he could feel it being absorbed through the lining of his stomach and into his blood stream,
giving him strength. He downed the glass of blood in four swallows.

Dobs leaned against the back of the couch, panting softly. Gods above, it felt good to actually feel

somewhat full. “More,” he demanded. Since his friends knew how weak he’d become, there was no
point in fighting their offered aid. Now that he had more blood flowing through his brain, Dobs knew
he’d been stupid to let it get this bad.

“Shortly,” Lex replied. “I don’t want your system going into shock at suddenly being engorged

with blood after so long without.”

Dobs opened his eyes just in time to see Lex giving him a disapproving look. He glared back.
Lex rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. Punching in a few numbers, he held it to his ear and

spoke a few words. “I need one of the planes ready in thirty minutes. Yes. Denver, Colorado.
Probably five of us, maybe four,” Lex amended. “Thanks.”

“The council will hear about this if we use their jet,” Dobs muttered. He really didn’t want his

weakened condition to become public knowledge. He’d made a number of enemies over the years in
his line of work as one of the council’s enforcers. Making certain the council’s orders were followed
and corralling those covens that stepped out of line didn’t always make him the most popular fellow.

“Don’t worry,” Lex reassured. “You won’t be left alone until you’ve fully recovered.”
Dobs frowned. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” he grumbled. He liked his privacy. Yes, he valued his

small circle of friends, but that didn’t mean he wanted them to hover.

“Shut up,” Lex replied, grinning good-naturedly. “Look at that. You have a bit of color returning.

Good.” He stood and headed back to the bar. Seconds later, he returned with another glass of blood.

It still smelled and tasted bad, but Dobs chugged it anyway. Licking his lips, he thoughtfully stared

at the empty glass in his hand. Maybe he could get used to his meals tasting like shit. He’d never be
able to enjoy the pleasure of sinking his fangs into a warm, willing human again, though. Of course, if
he bonded with a shifter, he’d never enjoy a human again anyway. What would be worse?

He looked up when Lex grabbed the glass from his hand, growling at him. “I don’t like that look

on your face, Dobs,” Lex told him. “Whatever it is you’re thinking, don’t,” he said, pointing a finger
at him. “Just…don’t.”

“We ready?” Seb asked, striding into the room. He dropped a bag on the couch, which Dobs

recognized as his own.

“Yup,” Lex replied, giving a look to Dobs that just dared him to object.
Knowing he had nowhere to run, Dobs realized he really had no choice. Neither his friends nor

his body was giving him one. He levered off the couch and nodded. He could feel the fresh blood
giving him strength, but it wouldn’t last long. At one time, Dobs could have gone several weeks
between feedings. Unfortunately, he’d forced himself to do that again and again over the last several
months, and now his body was shutting down. Dobs needed to find his beloved.

Dobs took a long look at the large stone and wood cabin before climbing out of Caspian’s SUV.

He’d visited Declan’s home a time or two over the last couple years. The alpha wolf shifter had
always been cordial. Dobs hoped he would be now, too, because even though he’d fought against this,
now that he was here, there was some small, long-denied part of Dobs that was extremely excited to
be back searching for his one-and-only.

“Jared!” Casey squealed and the short, slender albino went streaking across the yard to leap into

a wiry human’s arms.

The guy laughed and caught him easily. Casey started talking a mile a minute, telling Jared all

about the last couple of places Caspian had taken him. Dobs turned to the mated vampire. “How do

you deal with that?” he asked, waving a hand toward Casey and Jared. A third man had joined them
on the porch, a Native American Dobs recognized as Carson, Jared’s mate. He was listening and
smiling at Casey, too.

Caspian wore an indulgent smile as he looked at the little shifter. “Jared and Carson saved my

beloved’s life. Without them, I never would have met him. They pose no threat to our relationship.”
He shrugged and turned to focus on Dobs. “Make no mistake. If it were anyone else, I’d shred them,
but those are Casey’s friends. I’d never even attempt to forbid him his friends.”

“And the fact that Jared would try to pull out your fangs if you did has nothing to do with it,

right?” Seb asked, slapping Caspian on the back.

Caspian chuckled. “There is that.”
The door opened one more time and the dark-skinned wolf alpha shifter stepped out. “Spring in

the Rockies is cold, gentlemen. Why don’t ye come in? Coffee anyone?”

Dobs followed the group into the house.
Declan waved toward the hallway where Dobs knew the study waited. “Have a seat and help

yerself to coffee or spirits, whatever ye’d prefer. I’ll be in shortly.” Without explanation, Declan
headed through the dining room and upstairs.

“He’s getting Lark, Caroline, and Shane,” Carson explained, leading the way.
Dobs didn’t know why he needed to know that. Maybe it was a shifter thing, sharing with guests

that way. He knew if people came into his house, he wouldn’t expect one of his friends to explain
what he was doing. Taking the glass from Seb, Dobs forced his thoughts to the matter at hand. He
hadn’t been paying the least bit of attention to those around him, which could be dangerous if he
weren’t among friends. Not that he considered the shifters and humans his friends, but…

Frustrated, Dobs thrust a hand through his hair. “I can’t string a fucking thought in my head,” he

growled, throwing himself onto a chair. He just about spilled his drink all over himself, but managed
to steady his hand just in time.

“Is that why you’re here?”
Dobs looked up to find Jared eying him curiously. “Yes,” he answered shortly. “I’ll explain once

your alpha has returned.” He had no desire to tell everything twice.

“Then fire away,” Declan ordered, striding back into the room.
Two men and a woman followed the alpha into the study. Dobs recognized the short, lithe blond

as Lark, Declan’s mate. The dark-haired man, Shane, held the pack beta position and the slender
brunette who sat beside him on a love seat was his wife and mate, Caroline.

Instead of doing as Declan instructed, Dobs caught a scent he recognized and looked at Caroline.

“Congratulations,” he murmured absently.

Shane launched to his feet. “How the hell do you know Caroline’s with child?”
Caspian, ever the diplomat, held up a conciliatory hand. “We can smell when a woman is with

child. The production of the hormone hCG, um, human Chorionic Gonadotropin, subtly changes their
scent.”

Declan rested a hand on Shane’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “Relax, me beta,” he

encouraged. “Yer child has the protection of the pack, and these are friends.”

Dobs shook his head. “Gods above,” he grumbled. “I apologize,” he grated out. “I meant no

offense.” He sucked in a breath and let it out through thinly parted lips. Gritting his teeth, he added, “I
only meant to be cordial.”

“Thank you for the sentiment,” Caroline said, smiling, warmth filling her tone. “It’s our second

cub, but the first no longer lives with us. We are very excited.” She tugged on her husband’s arm. He

gave Dobs a curt nod, then sat beside her.

Meeting Declan’s gaze, Dobs admitted, “I’m in need of your assistance. I believe my beloved is

part of your pack.”

Chapter Two

Franklin Drunger, Frankie to his friends, leaned forward and looked between his brother, Reb,

and Reb’s mate, Diathi. They sat on the front bench seat of the suburban while he lounged in the back.
As a big guy, standing six foot four, he liked to put his back against the corner and sprawl across the
back.

“Did Alpha ask why he wanted to see us?”
Reb shook his head and glanced over his shoulder at him. “No, but I heard he’s asked a number of

people to his home over the last few days. I just haven’t been able to find out why.”

Frankie frowned, not liking his brother’s worried tone. Reb was rarely worried, so for him to be

now couldn’t be good. Frankie would never be mistaken as a smart man, but he knew that much.

Settling back in his seat, Frankie crossed his arms over his chest, racking his brain, trying to think

up why Alpha Declan would like to talk to so many members of his pack. “Hey,” he said, leaning
forward again. “Maybe he wants to know if anyone has heard anything from the scientists recently.”

Daithi looked over his shoulder at him and smiled. “Aye, Frankie. That might be it. Mayhap the

scientists have an informant, or are blackmailing someone. If Declan invites everyone to the pack
house, the scientists won’t get suspicious about their contact going to see the alpha. Good idea.”

Frankie grinned. Yeah, that could totally be it! Reb turned the SUV into the alpha’s driveway.

Frankie realized they’d all know soon enough. Excited to see if he was right, Frankie didn’t even wait
for his brother to turn off the ignition before he’d clicked off his safety belt and jumped from the
vehicle.

“Frankie, wait for me,” Reb ordered.
Immediately stopping, Frankie turned and waited impatiently for his brother. He shifted his weight

from foot to foot, excited to see not just his alpha, but to see what was going on. Frankie could feel
his wolf chuffing, just as eager to see Declan, to be reassured that he was an accepted member of the
big, powerful wolf’s pack.

That was one of his favorite things about going to see Declan. He always had time to reassure

Frankie’s wolf.

Frankie knew he wasn’t like most shifters. Reb had explained it to him. When Frankie was two,

he’d been in a car accident. His parents had died in that accident, but some shifters had been running
by and heard it. They’d rescued Frankie. Reb told him he’d been in a coma for a few days, and being
asleep for so long had injured his brain. Frankie could still understand everything, but sometimes it
took some explanations first.

“Frankie! Come on, buddy,” Reb called, holding out his arm.
Frankie grinned and bounded forward. He must have been too lost in thought because he hadn’t

even noticed Reb and Daithi reach the porch. Trotting up the steps, he followed the others into the
house. A smell caught his attention and Frankie paused just inside the door. Inhaling deeply several
times, he actually felt his cock twitch. Huh. That’s never happened before.

“Evening, Frankie,” Declan greeted, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Frankie turned to his alpha and bowed his head. “Hi, Alpha,” he replied. For once, when Declan

pulled him into a hug and nuzzled his neck, his wolf didn’t settle.

Evidently, Declan felt it, too. Pulling away, his alpha leveled an appraising look at him. Frankie

couldn’t help it. He turned his head and sniffed again. That same scent tickled his senses, making him
equal parts uneasy, intrigued, and horny. He really wanted to know what caused it.

“Smell somethin’ ye like, Frankie?” Declan asked quietly.
He looked at his alpha and shrugged. “Not sure. It’s—” He paused and nibbled his lip, uncertain

if he was supposed to admit this kind of thing, but his alpha did ask. “It’s making me horny,” he
whispered.

“Aye, I see,” Declan said, slowly.
If Frankie had to guess, his alpha sounded...concerned. Worry filled Frankie and he twisted his

hands together nervously. Darting a look around, he noted Reb and Daithi in the dining room talking
with Lark. “Is that bad?” he asked nervously.

“Nay, nay,” Declan denied. Resting a hand on Frankie’s shoulder, he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“It means we may have some very important things to discuss with ye, Frankie.”

“Important things?” Frankie asked dubiously. The last important thing anyone wanted to discuss

with him had been about him and his brother escorting Declan and his mate through Scotland and
Ireland. It had been fun. From his alpha’s tone, Frankie didn’t think Declan wanted to talk to him
about another vacation, though.

“Come with me,” Declan ordered gently.
His alpha wrapped an arm around his shoulders and guided him toward the hall leading to his

study. Frankie glanced over his shoulder at his brother, but Reb didn’t look his way. Instead, he was
staring at Lark with a look of astonishment.

Before he could ask Declan what was going on, his alpha pulled him through a doorway and into

a room he’d never been in before. Glancing around, he realized it was a library. It wasn’t real big,
maybe sixteen by twenty-four feet, but there was a picture window, a wood-burning fireplace, and
two large comfortable chairs in front of it.

All in all, it was a very cozy room.
“Frankie, please have a seat,” Declan said, pointing to one of the chairs.
His brows furrowed as he did what he’d been told, lowering his bulk into a chair. He’d never

heard his alpha this serious before. “Alpha?” He could almost feel his wolf cower in the back of his
mind with his tail between his legs.

“Hey, easy now,” Declan assured. “It’s nothing that dire.”
“What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?” Frankie racked his brain, trying to figure out what

he might have done to have his alpha pull him aside like this.

“Nay, absolutely not,” Declan declared. He rubbed a hand over his bald scalp and muttered, “I’m

probably going about this all wrong.” Turning back, he settled in the second chair, his butt on the
edge, and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Have ye heard that I’ve been having a number of
guests lately?”

Frankie nodded, remembering Reb and Daithi mentioning it on the ride there. “Does it have

something to do with the scientists?”

“Nay, it does not. They’ve been surprisingly quiet of late,” Declan replied. “It has to do with

Caspian’s friend Dobs.”

“Caspian the vampire,” Frankie said slowly, remembering he’d seen the man in passing once or

twice. His mate was a bunny shifter his pack had rescued from the scientists and was friends with
their enforcer, Carson, and his mate, Jared.

“Aye,” Declan said. “One of Caspian’s friends, a vampire named Dobs, thinks he scented his

beloved, that’s their term for mate,” he clarified. “Dobs thinks his beloved is a wolf shifter in me
pack.”

“Oh.” Frankie nodded slowly. “Everyone wants to find their mate. I hope he finds him.” Frankie

hoped someday he’d even find a mate. He enjoyed sex very much and had heard it was even better
between mates. He also hoped his mate wouldn’t mind that he was a little slower understanding

sometimes.

“Frankie.”
Declan calling his name pulled Frankie from his musings. “Hmm?”
“Frankie, I think maybe ye like the smell of our vampire guests because ye might be the man Dobs

is lookin’ for,” Declan said.

Cocking his head, Frankie wondered if that could be true. “Really?”
“Are ye open to bein’ mated to a vampire, Frankie?” Declan asked gently.
He thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “I guess. I’ve never given it much thought,” he

admitted. A vampire mate? He’d heard they ate real food, so they’d still be able to eat meals together
like wolf shifter couples did. Frankie knew they didn’t go to sleep during the day, like the silly myths
about them. They could go out in the sun, so that meant they’d be able to take walks in the woods. He
wondered if they were allergic to garlic or got hurt by crosses. Was there really such a thing as holy
water? Could someone turn a human into a vampire? Would Frankie have to drink blood, too? His
excitement grew. He had so many questions!

The door slammed open, grabbing Frankie’s attention. He leaped to his feet, ready to defend his

alpha, but he saw it was just his brother. Except, Reb seemed really angry.

Reb glared at their alpha. “No. Absolutely not. Frankie will not be given to some vampire who’ll

take him away from here. It’s not going to happen.”

Take him away? Frankie didn’t want to leave. Still, he wanted a mate. Didn’t he only have one

mate?

“Frederick, this is not yer call,” Declan snapped.
The use of Reb’s full name concerned Frankie. “Reb? Alpha?” Frankie called tentatively.
Reb spared Frankie a forced smile, then returned his focus to Declan. He ducked his head in a

show of respect, but said in a strained voice, “Alpha, I understand this vampire works as an enforcer
for the Vampire Council. That means he often travels into hostile territory. I don’t believe that to be a
safe environment for Frankie.”

His vampire went into dangerous places? Then Frankie needed to be there to protect him, didn’t

he?

“If Fate has chosen Dobs as Frankie’s mate, then don’t ye think she’s taken that into

consideration?” Declan replied, a low growl in his tone.

Frankie figured since they were talking like he wasn’t there, he didn’t need to be there. He wanted

to meet this vampire who might or might not be his mate. Big man Frankie might be, but he was still a
wolf. He knew how to creep from a room without being noticed, especially when the others weren’t
paying attention to him anyway.

He slipped from the room and padded down the hall, following the interesting aroma to the closed

office door. Inhaling deeply, Frankie’s dick thickened. Yeah, I definitely like the way someone
smells in here.

Only hesitating a second longer, Frankie’s curiosity getting the better of him, he turned the knob

and pushed the door open. He found himself the focus of five sets of eyes. Caspian and Casey he
recognized. The other three he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen before.

A low hiss drew Frankie’s attention to the man seated on one of the love seats. He had short, light

brown hair. He appeared lean, maybe too lean, but corded muscle bulged in his neck and his eyes
flashed a deep red for an instant before returning to a deep blue color. Frankie thought that was
incredibly sexy.

“Beloved,” the vampire murmured.

Frankie cocked his head. “I’m Frankie. Frankie Drunger.”
“I will call you mine,” the guy replied. The man struggled to his feet, and for just an instant,

Frankie didn’t think he was going to make it. Then the vampire growled low in his throat and
steadied.

That growl did funny things to Frankie’s stomach and his cock filled further, coming to full mast in

his jeans. He whimpered, reached down, and adjusted himself. The man followed his movements and
when Frankie met his gaze, heat burned in his blue-eyed stare and his irises began to turn red again.

“You like that, don’t you, wolf?” the guy all but purred, stalking forward.
Frankie was bigger than the vampire by a good couple inches, but somehow, he still felt like the

prey. “Yeah. Your growl is sexy. I wish I could feel it against my balls,” he responded bluntly. With
all the blood pooling below his belt, Frankie said the first thing that came to mind.

The man actually chuckled, not seeming to be put off by the idea at all. Suddenly, Frankie found

himself maneuvered sideways and pinned against the wall. “Wow, you’re stronger than you look,”
Frankie commented, impressed. Since the guy didn’t seem to mind manhandling him, Frankie took the
liberty of wrapping his arms around him and palming his ass. The firm mounds felt good in his hands
and he squeezed lightly, eliciting a clearly surprised grunt from the vampire.

Frankie grinned. “Looks like you like that,” he said, squeezing again to make his point. He eyed

the guy’s sharp fangs and quipped, “You gonna tell me your name before you bite me, vampire?”

The vampire’s smile became even bigger, his fangs on clear display. “Not shy, are you?” he

crooned, thrusting his hips and rubbing his hard shaft against Frankie’s equally rigid dick.

Sparks of pleasure fired through his body, setting his balls on fire. It wouldn’t take much for him

to unload, and he suddenly really wanted to get off. He widened his stance slightly to bring his height
down the couple inches needed to be even with his mate. Yup, this vampire is definitely my mate.
“Don’t see a reason to be shy when we’re both ready to explode,” he grunted, meeting the guy’s next
thrust.

“Mmm, good point,” his mate replied. “Name’s Dobs, Frankie. Tilt you neck a bit so I can get at

that throbbing vein.”

Moaning at the strained order, Frankie’s wolf wanted to roll over and show its belly to its mate.

Frankie did as he was told. Dobs seemed to take that as the consent it was. He scraped his fangs up
Frankie’s neck once, twice, the sensation causing Frankie’s grip to squeeze and release Dobs’ ass
cheeks spastically.

Frankie thought maybe begging would get the vampire to hurry the fuck up, then Dobs sank his

fangs into Frankie’s neck. He hadn’t expected it to feel so good, but even the first flash of pain sent
another surge of blood to his cock. His dick seemed to throb faster and faster in time with the sucking
pulls Dobs applied to his neck.

The feel of his balls pulling tight to his body had his eyelids sliding to half-mast. A ragged moan

escaped his throat as his orgasm roared through his system. Cum flooded his jeans, warm and sticky.
He imagined the seams of his crotch ready to burst as he kept coming, kept spilling, as Dobs kept
drinking blood from his neck. White spots danced before his eyes and he feared he’d pass out from
the pleasure of it all.

Chapter Three

The bliss caused by the heady influx of blood to his system almost caused Dobs to come on the

spot. When Frankie—and really, what kind of name was that for a massive wolf shifter?—had
walked into the room and his scent had hit Dobs, he could only think of one thing, getting at the big
man’s blood and confirming that he was his beloved. That the guy had seemed more than amenable to
the idea was definitely a bonus.

A hand landing on Dobs’ shoulder made him lift his head and snarl. That was when he realized

he’d still been drinking from the now pale shifter. Frankie leaned heavily against the wall. His breath
came in short pants, and his eyes were no longer focused. Although, Dobs thought that could have
been from coming so hard—the scent of cum heavy in the air gave away the fact that Frankie had
orgasmed—it could also have been from too much blood-loss.

“Oh, shit,” he hissed.
“Yeah, ya fucking idiot,” Lex growled, cuffing him on the backside of his head.
That seemed to pull Frankie out of his…whatever, for the wolf actually snapped his attention to

Lex and snarled, and not in a friendly way. Hiding his smirk, because he really did feel like an ass for
nearly mindlessly attacking Frankie, Dobs ran his hand through the guy’s blond hair—thick and
shaggy, great for holding onto while fucking —and crooned, “Easy. He just wanted to get our
attention.”

“He could have done that without hitting you,” Frankie replied irritably, still glaring daggers at

Lex.

“Yes, he could have,” Dobs agreed, frowning at his friend. Returning his focus to Frankie, Dobs

gave him a once over. Still pale, but at least his breathing leveled out and his eyes were once again
clear. “How do you feel?”

Frankie grinned at him. “Pretty darn good. Am I gonna come every time you bite me?”
“Probably,” Dobs replied honestly.
“Then you can bite me anytime, my mate,” Frankie said, leaning toward him and nuzzling his

cheek against Dobs’.

Dobs stiffened at the contact as well as the man’s term mate. Both were things that reminded him

of what his beloved had turned out to be, a shifter. Frankie straightened and tilted his head to eye him
quizzically, also a very canine move.

Fuck, this is going to take some getting used to.
“Are you okay?” Frankie asked. “You were pretty pale when I came in, but…you look a bit better

now. Maybe a little skinny,” he added, eyeing him critically.

It took everything in Dobs not to snarl. Frankie was judging him? He wasn’t the one who turned

into an animal. “I’m fine,” he answered through gritted teeth.

Frankie actually looked hurt, dropping his gaze and muttering, “Sorry.”
Biting back an apology of his own—although, he really hadn’t intended to insult the shifter first

thing—Dobs, instead, offered, “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Sure,” Frankie murmured, still not meeting his eyes. He slid sideways along the wall, away from

him, then lumbered over to the sideboard. The shifter kept his head down and his gaze on the floor.

“Son of a bitch,” Dobs mumbled. What was it with this wolf? He was unlike any shifter he’d ever

met, and over the course of his century and a half life, he’d met more than his fair share, even while
trying to avoid them. This guy, though, he was aggressive and defended Dobs one minute, then acted
like a meek puppy the next. Would he have to walk on eggshells all the time around him?

To Dobs’ utter shock, after grabbing a handful of napkins, Frankie actually dropped his jeans. The

firm globes of his ass made Dobs’ mouth water and he fought the urge to drop to his knees behind the
man and sink his fangs into one of them, marking Dobs’ ass as his. Then he remembered they weren’t
the only two in the room.

Instinct took over. Roaring with jealousy, Dobs flew across the room and grabbed his beloved,

covering him from behind. He glared daggers at his friends. “Get out,” he snarled.

Lex and Seb rolled their eyes, but headed toward the door quickly enough. Lex muttered, “You’re

the one who virtually attacked him and created the problem.”

Dobs didn’t need the reminder. He hissed and showed his fangs to the other vampire. He had to

admit, with the shifter’s powerful blood coursing through his veins, he felt ten times better.

Caspian followed the pair at a more sedate pace, his arm around his bunny shifter mate. The

albino paused in the doorway and turned to Dobs. “He is a shifter. You will have to get used to a
certain lack of modesty,” he warned before allowing his mate to pull him from the room.

Once the door closed, Dobs stepped back. Frankie turned around, completely unashamed that his

half hard dick was hanging out. “What was that all about?”

Dobs’ gaze riveted to the site of Frankie’s cum-smeared cock, and he felt his own flex in his

slacks. He almost forgot what he was going to say. He wanted so badly to bury his erection deep
inside the bigger man and force him to submit. Would the wolf let him? Something told him Frankie
would, which only excited Dobs further.

Frankie’s shaft thickened before his eyes. “Did you want to fuck now?” Frankie asked, his voice

thick with arousal. “Is that why you told everyone to leave?”

Jerking his gaze north, away from the tantalizing sight of his beloved’s genitals, Dobs tried to

focus on forming words. If I asked, would Frankie let me slide my fangs into the pulsing vein
running the length of his thick cock?

Dobs stumbled back a step. “No,” he managed to get out, his voice husky.
“Too bad,” Frankie said, sounding truly disappointed. He returned to cleaning the cum off his

dick.

Dobs really wished that was his tongue wiping away the wolf’s seed.
“I could really use a good pounding. I feel hornier now than when I walked in,” Frankie

continued, almost absently.

Groaning, Dobs felt his control slipping. “We have things we need to discuss,” he stated, hearing

the arousal in his voice clear as day. Damn it, would the wolf ’s pull be this strong if I’d sought him
out first thing?

Frankie sighed. He tossed the cum-covered napkins into the trash. “I guess.” Without pulling up

his pants, Frankie sat down on the couch and wrapped one hand around his jutting dick, pulling on it
idly.

Dobs’ breath caught in his throat. The view of the big man stroking off in front of him was

absolutely stunning. Six foot four, blond shaggy hair falling over one green eye, the muscles in his
forearm flexing as he slowly moved his hand up and down, and the way the bulging muscles of his
thick thighs quivered with obvious tension. It all ratcheted up Dobs’ desire to nearly uncontrollable
levels. “Are you baiting me, wolf?” he queried, struggling to control his frustration.

The shifter actually looked confused. His hand paused. “What do you mean?”
Waving toward Frankie’s hand on his hard cock, Dobs couldn’t stop from taking a halting step

forward. “You’re jacking off in front of me when I said we needed to talk.”

“Oh.” Frankie looked down at his engorged cock, but didn’t stop slowly moving his hand. After

watching himself for a couple seconds, he looked back up at Dobs. “It’d hurt to put my dick back in

my jeans right now. This makes it feel better.” He shrugged. “Besides, you’re my mate. It’s okay for
your mate to see you jack off, isn’t it?”

Was this wolf serious? Could he really be that…simple? Surely not. “So you’re not trying to get

me to fuck you and claim you before we discuss certain…things?” he asked, warily. Damn it was
hard to think with this view. He really just wanted to take out his own dick and make Frankie suck it.

“Not really. I mean,” Frankie’s brows drew together. “I’d like it if you fucked me. It feels good to

have a dick in my ass. And I know yours would be even better, because my brother told me sex with
your mate is better than with anyone else. But I don’t think we should claim each other, yet. There’s
too much to talk about, like where we’d live and what you do for work and if you expect me to leave
my pack.”

Those were all valid points, and somewhere in the back of Dobs’ mind, he knew that.

Unfortunately, about that time, Frankie reached his other hand down and started rolling his heavy
balls.

Dobs couldn’t help it. He ached too much and needed relief too badly. A low growl rolled up his

chest, catching Frankie’s attention, causing him to pause in his actions. Stalking forward, Dobs
yanked open his slacks and released his throbbing shaft and balls.

“Oh, that’s a nice dick,” Frankie murmured, his gaze riveted to Dob’s cock.
It stood out before him, tall and proud, and pointing straight at Frankie’s mouth as if it knew

exactly where it wanted to go. “Suck me,” he ordered.

Frankie glanced up at him for only a second, then leaned forward and swallowed Dobs’ penis to

the root. Dobs moaned as the hot wet cavern closed over him. Drawing hard, Frankie slowly lifted
his head, applying unimaginable suction that threatened to make Dobs’ knees tremble. Never had he
felt the like of it, and unreasonable jealousy surged through him that anyone else had ever felt
Frankie’s talented mouth.

Wanting, needing to dominate, to prove that Frankie was his, Dobs buried his hands in Frankie’s

hair and cupped his skull. He held the man’s head still and began to fuck Frankie’s mouth in earnest.
Frankie looked up at him through his lashes and moaned. With his mouth stretched obscenely around
Dobs’ spit-soaked dick, straining against Dobs’ hands to follow every time he pulled his shaft away,
Frankie looked like the happiest man in the world.

It was sexy as fuck. Dobs felt his nails lengthen to claws and his eyes changed, filtering to red and

showing the world in registers of heat, accentuating the form of the warm-blooded shifter sucking him
off. His balls pulled tight, and he hissed, showing off his fangs. Frankie swiped his tongue across his
glans and into his slit at each upstroke. His moaning vibrated up Dobs’ shaft just as Frankie tickled
his frenulum.

Dobs lost it. Thrusting twice more, he threw his head back and growled his completion as he sent

his spunk down Frankie’s throat. Hot jizz warming his inner thigh, soaking through his pant leg, told
him that Frankie had come, too. Instead of getting upset at spunk on his pants, Dobs felt inordinately
smug at getting his beloved off, again. After all, both Frankie’s hands were on Dobs’ ass, which
meant he’d come untouched.

He looked down, knowing a cat that ate the canary smile was plastered all over his face. The

view of his softening prick still resting inside Frankie’s mouth caused his dick to twitch. Frankie
smiled around his mouthful and sucked lightly on the super-sensitized cap.

Dobs grunted as pleasure-pain zinged through his system. It’d be so easy to let Frankie continue to

suckle and he’d be hard again in no time. Then he could turn the man over the couch and slide into a
different kind of hot wet…

Groaning, Dobs took a step back. Frankie mewled, obviously unhappy with his decision. “Talk

now,” Dobs muttered. “Got things to discuss.”

Frankie grimaced, but nodded. He heaved his bulk from the sofa and strode to the sideboard, once

more intent on cleaning up. Dobs watched him in silence as he pulled his jeans back over his
tantalizing, round ass.

He returned a few seconds later with a wad of napkins. “Sorry about your…uh, pants. I couldn’t

aim so good with my hands on your ass, but I liked holding it too much to let go.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Dobs said, reaching for the napkins.
“You want me to clean it?” Frankie asked, shifting his weight as if getting ready to kneel at his

feet.

Dobs knew exactly what would happen if this big shifter ended up on his knees before him. He’d

have his dick back down Frankie’s throat in fifteen seconds flat. And this time, he wasn’t certain he
could control the urge to flip the shifter and ride him like a stallion on a mare in heat.

Fucking mating hormones.
He took a step back. “No. You do that and I’ll get distracted again,” he said. Not wanting the man

to see it as a rejection, he added. “What can I say? You’re too sexy for words, Frankie.”

A radiant grin covered Frankie’s face, showing off a dimple. “You think I’m sexy?”
Dobs fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes,” he replied, instead, keeping his tone serious so it

couldn’t be misinterpreted as a come-on. “I think you’re very sexy. But you were right earlier. We do
need to discuss our lives and decide the best way to mesh them together. We should also discuss the
differences between two shifters mating and mating with someone outside your species.”

“Oh, okay,” Frankie responded. He backed up and settled on a chair. Running his hands over his

thick, denim-covered thighs, Frankie fixed his gaze on the floor, only glancing up at him every couple
seconds. “My brother was right, huh? You really do want to take me away from my pack.”

The unease rolling off the wolf shifter set Dobs’ teeth on edge, and he found himself wanting to

soothe the man. It was an unfamiliar feeling and he wasn’t sure how to proceed.

Chapter Four

Frankie rubbed his hands over his thighs, struggling against the urge to pull at the loose threads.

The desire he’d felt for Dobs, not only for his touch and his cock in his ass but the vampire’s bite,
really concerned him. He didn’t know if that was normal. He wished Casey would come back so he
could ask him.

He realized his mate was talking and he’d missed half of what was said. Damn it! My brother’s

biggest complaint is I don’t focus when I need to!

“Frankie?”
He blinked and looked at Dobs. “What’d you say?”
Dobs narrowed his eyes as he swept his gaze over him. “Are you all right? You seem a little…”

he paused, his brows furrowed, obviously searching for the right word.

Probably a word that wouldn’t offend him, Frankie decided. “Slow,” Frankie supplied. “I’m a

little slow.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Dobs replied, shaking his head quickly and glancing away.
Oh, wasn’t that sweet? His vampire didn’t want to insult him. Frankie hoped that indicated Dobs

wouldn’t be mad when he found out his mate was, indeed, slow. He opened his mouth, intending to
explain, but Dobs laughed roughly.

“It’s probably my fault,” Dobs claimed. “I got a little excited and took a little bit too much blood,

hmm?” He glanced away and muttered, “Don’t ever remember tasting anything as good as you.”

That admission flattered Frankie, but he couldn’t leave his mate in the dark. It wasn’t fair for

either of them. He understood that. Explaining it was a bit harder. He frowned and shook his head.
“That’s how it should be,” he said. “But that’s not the answer to your question,” he added.

“I’m sorry. It’s not?”
Frankie shook his head again and gave in to the urge to pick at his jeans, his nerves getting the

better of him. “I’m always like this. It wasn’t because you bit me, which I really liked, by the way,”
he added. “Never came so hard in my life.” Realizing he was losing his train of thought, Frankie
forced his hands to flatten on his thighs and he looked up at Dobs. His mate’s expression seemed to
be a cross between confused and concerned. Licking his lips, he prepared to tell the man about the
problems with his brain. “I’m—”

The door slammed open. “You fucker!” Reb snarled. “You bit Frankie without anyone else here

to monitor?” His brother stalked into the room, anger and aggression radiating from every pour.

Frankie sat frozen as Reb grabbed Dobs and slammed him against the wall. The thud of his mate’s

body against the wall seemed to snap Frankie out of his shocked stupor. Instinct, the driving need to
protect his mate, took over. He shifted to wolf, ignoring the tear of fabric as his clothes fell away.

Some part of his mind registered that it was his brother holding Dobs, which was the only reason

he didn’t sink his teeth into Reb’s thigh and yank him away from his mate. Instead, he slammed his
massive form into Reb, knocking him sideways into the wall. A growl rolled through him, vibrating
his chest and throat as he pressed his back into Dobs’ legs, positioning himself between his mate and
his brother.

Reb straightened and glared at Frankie. “What the fuck, Frankie?” he yelled.
Snapping his jaws in warning, Frankie showed off his teeth, warning Reb away.
Declan, striding closer, actually chuckled. “If ye weren’t his brother, Reb, ye’d have been

seriously mauled. What the hell were ye thinkin’?”

Reb looked acceptably chagrined.
Frankie sniffed in his direction, his ears lifting as he calmed.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Declan narrowed his eyes at Dobs. “And you, shouldn’t there

have been talkin’ before ye started the bonding process?”

Turning his head, Frankie looked up at his mate. In wolf form, he knew he just topped three

hundred pounds. He’d been told he was as big as his alpha, but Frankie somehow knew that even if he
hadn’t been injured at the age of two, he still wouldn’t have wanted to lead. Frankie was a natural
born follower.

While sitting, his head just topped the abs of Dobs’ lean, six foot two body. He rubbed against

Dobs and felt him stiffen. Frankie’s ears went back in concern as he cocked his head and whined
softly, trying to reassure the vampire.

I’ll protect you.
Declan frowned at them. “Ye’re mate just came to yer defense, Dobs,” he said, his quiet tone

grave. “It’s customary to assure him that ye’re fine.”

“And how do I reassure an animal that I’m fine?” Dobs asked through gritted teeth.
He couldn’t help it. Frankie cringed. That comment hurt. His mate thought he was an animal?

Jerk! Frankie curled his lip away from his canine and snarled. He took several steps toward the door
then shifted. It didn’t take long. He trained other pack members to streamline their shift. He knew his
transition was fast.

Once back in human form, he glared at Dobs and snapped, “Fuck you.”
Turning away, Frankie stalked out of the room. Through the open door, he heard Reb growl, “You

bastard.”

At about the same time, Declan stated coldly, “I open me home to help ye find yer beloved and

that is how ye treat him? It’d serve ye right if…”

“Frankie?” Lark called his name from the kitchen, drawing his attention away from whatever else

his alpha might have said.

He realized he’d made it to the dining room. Looking around, Frankie took in the surprised

expressions on not only Lark, but the three vampires, including Caspian and Casey.

Casey gave him a worried look. “I’m not sure running around naked is the best thing right now,”

he said softly. “Vampires can be—”

“What? They can be what, Casey?” Frankie snapped, interrupting him. “Bigoted assholes?” As

soon as he said the words, he felt bad. It wasn’t the bunny shifter’s fault that his mate was an asshole.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, looking out the window.

Caspian frowned and opened his mouth to say…something, but Casey rested a couple fingers over

his lips and, giving him a kind look, asked, “What happened, Frankie?”

Frankie didn’t want to talk about it. Instead, he focused on Caspian and said, “Let Dobs know he

won’t have to worry about having an animal for a beloved. I don’t want him, either.” Turning away,
he said, “I’m going for a run.”

He knew his alpha’s land was safe. Declan owned over a hundred acres that backed up to a

national forest where his alpha and several other pack-members worked as rangers. Needing to get
away, Frankie relaxed his hold on his wolf and returned to his furred form. He ignored the questions
from those behind him, wanting only to feel the wind in his fur and pine needles beneath his paws.

If only that would make everything that had happened in the last hour, go away.
For a while, it did. After an initial fight with his wolf, who wanted to return to their mate, Frankie

bounded through the snow-covered drifts, under heavily laden tree branches, and even scared up
some game to chase. Frankie had no actual desire to catch the hare, but the chase was fun.

He crouched next to a nearly frozen stream and lapped up some water. Although it felt icy cold

going down his throat, Frankie found it refreshing. He sat up and looked around the forest, trying to
get his bearings. He’d run farther than he’d thought. Looking up, Frankie tried to remember what Reb
had told him about telling time and direction by the position of the sun.

Right. It rises in the east and sets in the west. Because it was early spring, it set at around six-

thirty, so with how low it hung in the sky, Frankie figured he’d been out running for at least an hour
and a half. He was kinda surprised that his brother hadn’t come after him.

Realizing he was closer to their pack enforcer, Carson’s home than Declan’s, Frankie headed off

in that direction. Even with his thick coat, he was getting cold. As he neared the structure, he heard
shouting coming from inside the home. It wasn’t a voice he recognized. Cocking his head, Frankie
took a moment to sit and listen.

The voice belonged to a woman, and she sounded pissed about a guy named Demetri claiming to

be gay. She blamed Carson for being a bad example by taking a male mate. Frankie thought that was
ridiculous, since their alpha took a male mate long before Carson did. Of course, even Frankie
realized that calling your alpha a bad example was beyond stupid. He just didn’t think saying it to
Carson was any smarter.

Before he could decide what to do—slink in through the back door and possibly interrupt the

argument so he could get out of the cold, or leave and brave the long trek back to the alpha’s house, he
heard a new voice, a young voice.

“Being gay isn’t a choice, mother. I told you that,” the man—teenager, maybe—yelled.
Frankie guessed that would be Demetri.
The door opening, then slamming shut, drew Frankie’s attention, and he watched a guy stalk

outside. The young man yanked off his shirt, kicked out of his jeans, and shifted. It took him over a
minute, proving his inexperience with the procedure—or maybe it was just because he was angry—
but soon, a small, blond and gray wolf streaked into the woods.

The fact that he’d never even looked Frankie’s way concerned him. The guy really needed to

learn to be more watchful. What if he’d been a human out hiking?

“You wanna keep an eye on Demetri for us, Frankie?”
Talk about not paying attention, he mentally chastised himself. Of course, Carson’s mate Jared

could probably sneak up on the alpha himself. The guy was one sneaky human and there were all
kinds of rumors circulating through the pack about him. Frankie would never get up enough courage to
ask anyone about them.

Frankie nodded once and took off after Demetri, resigning himself to a little more time out in the

cold. He certainly wasn’t going to refuse a request from the head enforcer’s mate.

“Bring him back here in a half hour or so,” Jared called out from behind him.
He acknowledged the order with a yip, then doubled his speed and followed Demetri’s tracks and

scent. The youngster wasn’t trying to hide, and Frankie was big and pretty fast. It was easy for him to
catch up.

Frankie nipped the smaller shifter’s haunch lightly to announce his presence. To his surprise,

Demetri’s legs immediately folded and he rolled into a ball, tucking his face under his tail. If Frankie
could frown in wolf form, he’d have done it. This wasn’t normal behavior for a wolf, was it? He’d
never seen anyone else do that.

He lowered his front end, leaving his butt in the air, and nudged Demitri’s shoulder with his

snout. After a couple seconds, the other shifter lifted his tail and stared balefully up at him with big
green eyes. Frankie licked the younger shifter’s muzzle, then bumped his neck and shoulder. Backing a
step, he wiggled his butt, expressing his desire to play, not fight. It was painfully obvious, even to

Frankie, that the poor guy needed a confidence boost.

Frankie thought he should let someone else in the pack know about this behavior. Maybe their

pack beta, Shane? Surely, he’d know how to help.

Demetri rose to his feet and cocked his head. Frankie hopped backward and barked. He used this

tactic with cubs when he helped them shift the first couple of times. He’d been working with cubs for
nearly five years now, helping them learn to shift quickly and efficiently. Jumping and playing got
them used to how their animal body moved.

He didn’t remember this wolf, so he figured Demitri must be in his late teens or maybe even early

twenties. Either way, his new friend needed to run and release whatever frustrations caused him to
leave Carson and Jared’s home.

It took a couple more yips and nudges, plus some tail wagging, but finally Frankie got Demetri to

run with him. They spent the next while diving through snowy bushes, rolling in the snow, and even
found a rabbit to chase. Frankie thought it was fun, and by the time they both flopped onto the ground
to catch their breaths, Demetri seemed far more relaxed.

After a few minutes, Demetri hauled himself back to his feet and took a few steps in the direction

he knew Carson and Jared’s home was. It was growing dangerously close to sunset, and he could feel
the frigid air cutting through his fur. It was time to go inside. A cup of hot cocoa sounded really good
to him.

Frankie looked back at Demetri. His new friend was sitting in the snow watching him. He took a

few more steps, but found Demetri wasn’t following him. He didn’t like it, but knew he’d have to get
more assertive.

He let out a soft growl ending with a bark. Demetri ducked his head, but didn’t move. Trotting

behind the unruly pup, Frankie snapped his jaws near his haunch. That got the wolf moving and he
shot forward. Frankie quickly followed, using his much bigger body to guide Demetri where he
wanted him to go.

It was almost dark by the time they reached the ranch-style home. As they loped up, the back door

opened and Jared ushered them into the mudroom. “I almost thought we’d have to send out a search
party,” he said mildly. “Declan has already called looking for you, Frankie. He says to give your
brother a call. Phone’s on the table.”

Frankie shifted quickly, put on the sweats Jared handed him, and headed out of the room. A hand

touching his arm stopped him, and he looked back, remembering Demetri. He smiled at the slender
young man. “Thanks for the run,” he said, deciding he didn’t need to tell the guy that Jared had sent
him after him. “I’m Frankie,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Demetri,” the shifter murmured, his voice soft.
Nodding, Frankie took a moment to look him over. Probably just shy of six feet, Demetri had pale

blond hair, green eyes, and lean features. Thick black lashes framed his eyes, and when Demetri saw
him looking at him, he dropped his gaze. The guy either worried he’d offend Frankie, who he
probably saw as a stronger wolf, or he had a submissive streak. Frankie didn’t know which. Either
way, his lean, pale body bordered on too thin. Frankie thought he needed another twenty pounds of
muscle. Now he really wanted to talk to Shane.

“You know you’re safe here,” Frankie said, trying to reassure him.
Demetri nodded. “Here, I’m safe.”
Frankie tilted his head and looked at him, uncertain how to interpret the words he spoke. Before

he could decide, Jared cleared his throat. “The phone,” he urged.

“Right.” Frankie patted Demetri on the shoulder, pleased the guy didn’t cringe from his touch,

especially since Demetri’s entire upper body tightened when Jared’s hand replaced Frankie’s.

Giving the young wolf an encouraging smile, Frankie made his way out of the mudroom, down a

hall, and into the dining room. On the table rested a cell phone. He picked it up and dialed his
brother’s number.

“Reb, here,” his brother stated.
Frankie smiled. “It’s me.”
Reb heaved a sigh, the sound loud through the receiver. “Frankie. You doing okay?”
His brows furrowing, Frankie thought about the answer to that for several seconds before

answering, “Yeah. I suppose.” While out running, he’d managed to push thoughts of his mate out of his
mind for a bit, even with his wolf’s desire to return and try to make friends with the vampire. “Guess
there’ll be some changes in my future,” he whispered.

He knew his brother had no trouble hearing his quiet comment. “I’m always there for you,

Frankie. You know that.”

Frankie nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
“I’ll drop off your car in forty-five minutes, along with Dobs’ phone number,” Reb said. “I’ll

support whatever you choose to do from there.”

“Why don’t you just give me his number now?” he asked.
“Carson and Jared have already heard what happened. They’re good friends with Casey and

Caspian, and have met Dobs on several occasions. I bet they might have some insight into his
behavior,” Reb told him. “Listen to what they have to say before making any decisions.”

Knowing his brother expected to be obeyed, Frankie dutifully answered, “Okay. See you in a

while.”

“Bye, Frankie.” Reb disconnected the call and Frankie returned it to the table.
He turned around and spotted Carson leaning against the doorframe. The Native American stood a

couple inches shorter than Frankie, but the dominance of his wolf shown from his dark brown eyes as
he surveyed him. Frankie dropped his gaze, then looked at the nicely muscled man through his lashes.
He knew that was acceptable, otherwise he could possibly miss some cue from the other shifter.

Carson’s lips curved into a smile and he lifted the large mug he held. “Hot cocoa?”
Frankie grinned. “Yes, please.” Carson extended his arm and Frankie happily took the mug full of

dark brown liquid. Taking a large gulp of the hot, bittersweet liquid, he hummed his pleasure.

Walking into the room, Jared chuckled at his reaction. “Like that shit a lot, huh?”
Frankie nodded, watching over the rim of the cup as Demetri followed Jared into the room.

Carson looked at him as well and said, “You’ll begin tracker training tomorrow. Sound good?”

Demetri looked and smelled surprised. “Rachel will let me after…well…” He glanced away, not

finishing the thought.

Jared’s grin didn’t hold any warmth and actually looked a little creepy. “Oh, there won’t be any

issues there, Demetri. Carson just reminded her that you are of age to make your own decisions
regarding learning a position in the pack.”

“Okay,” Demetri’s whispered word, combined with the scent of trepidation, convinced Frankie

that the young wolf wasn’t completely certain it’d be that easy.

Wait, a tracker? He’d need to shift a lot better for that. “Do you always shift that slowly?”

Frankie asked.

Demetri flushed and looked at the floor. “Yeah. Mom doesn’t like to come to the pack runs, so I

don’t get as much practice as I’d like.”

“You can come to the pack runs without her,” Frankie pointed out.

His gaze still fixed on the ground, Demetri just shrugged.
Frankie wondered at that, but then returned to his earlier thoughts. “Well, you’ll really need to be

quicker if you want to be a decent tracker. I’ve helped cubs learn for years. Do you want to get
together and I’ll give you some pointers?”

Finally, Demetri lifted his head and met his gaze. He looked almost hopeful. “That’d be great!”
“Cool. When do you start tracker training tomorrow? And who with?”
Demetri looked at Carson for the answer.
“You’re to be at Nick’s at two in the afternoon,” Carson told him.
Frankie thought about his schedule, then remembered Reb had given him tomorrow off. He

worked part time at his brother’s tattoo shop, cleaning utensils and preparing ink. It was a lot of fun to
watch his brother work and see what kind of designs the clients chose.

“How about we meet over there at one instead, and we’ll see if we can’t speed up your change

some, okay?” Frankie suggested.

Grinning, Demetri nodded eagerly. “Thanks. I’d sure appreciate it.”
After Demetri had left, Frankie settled in the living room on a sofa, his feet tucked under him, with

a fresh cup of hot cocoa. “So, Reb said you wanted to tell me something about Dobs?” he asked,
clutching his mug. He had worked very hard to avoid thinking about his mate.

Jared blew on his steaming mug of coffee and lifted a brow while looking at Carson. Grimacing,

Carson leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “We only know the bare bones. Hopefully, if you
ask Dobs about it, he’ll be willing to explain more.” The mated pair exchanged another look, then
Carson continued, “Dobs’ mother and a number of other vampires in his coven were killed when he
was young, I’m not sure how old, by rogue shifters. His father was human, and because his parents
mated for pleasure, he lived on, but he held a hateful grudge against all shifters until the day he died.
He passed that grudge on to Dobs.”

“According to Caspian,” Jared added, “Dobs has become more tolerant since he’s mated Casey,

forcing Dobs to spend time with a shifter, but I can’t imagine he liked the idea of finding out his
beloved is a wolf shifter.”

Frankie’s grip tightened on his cup. His wolf whined mentally, and he had to agree. “My mate

doesn’t want me, does he?”

Carson glared at his mate. “Subtle, Jared,” he growled.
Jared rolled his eyes and scowled at Carson. “Should I sugar coat this? Dobs is opinionated,

hard-headed, and conditioned to dislike shifters.” He returned his focus to Frankie. “You have your
work cut out for you. I’m not saying it won’t be worth it, Frankie, but you have to understand, this
might be very difficult on you and your wolf.”

Frankie nodded slowly. “Okay.” He nibbled his lip, then took a sip of his cocoa, trying to process

everything the men had dumped on him. He knew he was slow, but he could understand this. He just
needed a minute. Finally, he said, “So, I need to decide if it’s worth trying to change my mate’s mind
about…um…all the stuff he grew up with?”

“Afraid so,” Carson replied softly.
He frowned and stared at the brown liquid in his cup. The marshmallows had melted and now

created pools of white across the surface. He stuck his finger into it and whirled his finger around,
creating swirls.

“Frankie.” Carson’s gentle tone broke into his thoughts.
He sighed. He didn’t know what to do. “What happens if he never accepts my wolf?”
Carson stood, crossed the room, and settled next to him. “You have a great support system here,

Frankie. Yes, you’ll end up depressed, but you have your brother and your pack, and we would help
you through it.”

Frankie took a sip of his cocoa, then nodded. “Thanks.” He figured that was the only thing he

could say. He wanted a mate. His wolf wanted a mate. Frankie just didn’t know if he wanted a surly
bigoted vampire as his mate. Had Fate screwed up?

He really didn’t know what to do.

Chapter Five

Dobs prowled the room. “Why hasn’t he called,” he snarled.
Lex smirked, actually smirked at him! “Maybe because you insulted him and he’s pissed off at

you,” he stated.

Pausing in the middle of the hotel room suite’s sitting room, Dobs growled at his friend. “Ass.”
“No, that’d be you,” Lex told him glibly.
Sneering, he started pacing again. He could still feel his beloved’s blood singing through his

veins. He’d never tasted a shifter before and didn’t know if the strength and power he felt was due to
that or the fact Frankie was his other half. He hated waiting at the best of times, but with more energy
running through his body than he’d had in months, his cock was hard and all he could think about was
tracking the shifter down and fucking him into submission.

“You know, you could swallow your pride and call him,” Lex pointed out.
Dobs scowled at his friend. “Reb said he’d give my number to Frankie. You don’t think he did?”
Lex rolled his eyes. “Gods above, you’re dense. Of course, Reb gave Frankie your number. My

question is, why would he call you when you’ve already made it clear you think he’s an animal?” he
asked, narrowing his eyes. “I did hear what happened you know.”

Grimacing, Dobs ran a hand through his hair and muttered, “He turned into a wolf right in front of

me with no warning. I wasn’t ready to face that, yet.”

“Damn it, man,” Lex snapped, leaping to his feet. He stalked forward and smacked Dobs upside

the head as he said, “He defended you from his own brother. He’s willing to accept you, no questions
asked, and that’s how you repay his open-mindedness? With insults?”

Dobs glared and strode to a chair. He flopped back onto the cushion and crossed his arms over

his chest. Leaning his head back against the rest, he let his eyelids close and struggled to control his
increased heartbeat. He felt shame at his behavior, his treatment of his beloved. The problem was,
even if he’d known Frankie was about to shift, he wasn’t certain he’d have acted any differently.

It’d been ingrained so deeply in his mind to think shifters were inferior, no more than animals

while in that form. Dobs knew in his head that they were rational, attentive beings while in animal
form, but to have one pressed up against his leg, growling, even if not at him, triggered every alarm in
his body. If any of the shifters had bothered to smell him instead of listening to his cold, cruel words,
Dobs knew what they’d have scented. Fear. He’d known it, and that knowledge had caused him to
lash out at all of them.

Damn it all. Could he admit this to his friend? He saw the way Lex looked at him, with frustration

and disgust. Screwing up his courage, he mumbled, “It freaked me out, okay? I reacted poorly.”

“It…freaked…you…out?” Lex repeated. After several heartbeats of silence, where Dobs refused

to confirm or deny the statement, Lex demanded, “What the hell does that mean?”

Lowering his arm, Dobs struggled to keep his voice even, when all he wanted to do was yell. “I

freaked the fuck out, okay? Is that what you want to hear?” he hissed. He just managed to control his
urge, not wanting to be overheard as he admitted, “Having a fucking wolf sit on my feet and growl
was more than my fragile psyche could handle. My one thought was to get them all away from me.”

Saying the words aloud stabbed his ego, but it was the fact that one of those shifters was his

chosen one that stung even more. He leaned forward, put his head in his hands, and whispered, “My
beloved is a fucking shifter and I’m afraid of him.”

The room became eerily silent in the wake of his confession. After about a minute, Dobs lifted his

head just enough to peer at his friend. Lex’s impassive expression gave none of his thoughts away.

When the silence became oppressive, Dobs snapped, “Say something, dammit.”

Lex let out a breath in whoosh as he stood up. He ran a hand through his hair and frowned.

Finally, he scowled in consternation and said, “You’ve worked with shifters before. I’ve seen you do
it! I’ve never scented fear and I know if the shifters scented fear, they wouldn’t have been shy in
saying something. Why haven’t you ever said anything?”

Dobs rolled his eyes and lifted his head all the way. “You think I would have admitted it if I

didn’t have to?” he growled. “Just because I interact with shifters a couple times a year for my job, it
never prepared me to have a three hundred pound wolf sitting on my foot and snarling.” Flopping
back again, he pressed his palms to his temples and groaned. “What the hell was Fate thinking?”

Lex huffed a sigh and crossed to him. Kneeling beside the chair, he stated, “Maybe she was

thinking it’s time you resolved these issues, and Frankie can help you do that.” Then he smiled
slightly. “Three hundred pounds, huh? That’d be an impressive protector.”

Appreciating the change in subject, Dobs nodded. “Yeah. Except he’s submissive.”
Snorting, Lex said, “Not with your safety, he’s not.” Not waiting for a response, Lex leaped to his

feet and clapped his hands together. “Okay, enough sulking. You need help accepting his wolf,
because, let’s face it, Frankie is a shifter and his wolf is part of him. That’s not something that’s ever
going to change.”

“Yeah, okay,” Dobs responded, drawing the words out as he eyed his friend warily.
“Have you ever talked to a psychiatrist about this?” Lex asked. He immediately held up his hands

in placation, stalling Dobs’ initial response of denial. “There’s one here, locally. An elephant shifter.
He’s discreet.”

Taken aback, Dobs snapped, “You want me to tell a shifter that I’m afraid of them? What the hell,

man?”

“What part of discreet did you miss? Besides, ever hear of patient confidentiality? He’s not going

to tell anyone, and he could help you!” Lex urged.

“I’ll think about it,” Dobs muttered, just to get the man off his back. From the look Lex gave him,

Dobs figured his friend knew it, too, and would probably revisit the subject at the worst possible
time.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately given the expression on his face, Seb strode into the room. “I

just got a call from Caspian. He says he got a call from Declan, who learned that the vampire Mikael
was spotted just outside of his territory.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll give you one guess
who he was asking about.”

“Me,” Dobs murmured, dread filling him.
“Ding, ding, ding,” Seb responded sarcastically.
“And where Mikael is, his buddy, Backus, isn’t far behind,” Dobs added.
“And his band of assholes,” Lex added coldly.
He’d never been able to prove it, but Dobs just knew Mikael was behind Roman’s assassination.

Fortunately, upon Roman’s death, Dobs had made certain Falutian was instated as coven leader
before Mikael could usurp the position. Mikael had had a hard-on for him ever since, and not in a
good way.

“Find out where he’s staying and who’s with him and let me know,” he ordered. Getting up, he

stalked to his bedroom and grabbed his phone off his nightstand. Punching in Frankie’s number, he
waited impatiently for his beloved to pick up. When it went to voicemail, he snarled. After hanging
up, he tried again, but got the same result. Curling his lip, he dialed a different number. It was picked
up almost immediately.

“Reb’s Tattoos.”

Dobs’ brows shot up. He wondered if Frankie had any tattoos, then he shook his head and

focused. “Reb, this is Dobs. Where’s Frankie? He’s not answering my call.”

He gritted his teeth when Reb didn’t answer right away. Through clenched teeth, he snapped, “I

can’t very well apologize if he won’t talk to me, now can I?”

“I guess that’s true,” Reb drawled. “He’s at Nick’s house, helping a fellow pack-mate fine tune

his shift.”

“His shift?” Dobs asked. “Doesn’t that come naturally?”
“No,” Reb replied coolly. “It’s like a muscle that needs exercise. The more you do it, the easier it

becomes.”

Well, that was interesting. He’d have to ask Frankie about that. Maybe it would help him get over

his irrational fear of shifters in their animal form. But for now… “Where’s Nick’s place?”

Reb stayed quiet for another couple of seconds, and the idea that maybe he did that just to pull

Dobs’ chain entered his mind. He fought back a growl as Reb finally deemed to answer. Committing
the info to memory, Dobs’ grumbled a thank you.

Before he could hang up, Reb warned coldly, “Hey, Dobs, if you fuck with my brother’s head,

mate or not, I will find a way to make your life miserable.”

Dobs hated being threatened, but he understood Reb was just looking after his brother, so he

swallowed his initial caustic response and replied, “I’d be making my own life miserable. Yes, we
have some things to work through,” he admitted, “but I really do want this to work and to make him
happy.”

“Good. Keep it that way.” The line disconnected.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Dobs tried to settle down. His organized, structured life was in

tatters, and he didn’t know how to get it back…or even if he ever could. He heard someone approach,
Seb by the scent of him. Dobs didn’t respond until the vampire set a hand on his shoulder.

“Did you talk to him?” Seb asked quietly.
Dobs shook his head. “He’s not answering, so I talked to his brother. He’s at the house of a shifter

named Nick.”

“So what do you want to do?”
“Go there. Find my beloved. Fuck him into the ground, and bond with him,” he replied, stalking

back into the main room and grabbing his coat.

“You didn’t bond with him yesterday?” Lex said from across the room, grabbing his own coat.

“With the scents on you two, and the way he just dropped his pants, I was certain—”

Dobs growled, cutting him off. “Do not think about Frankie’s ass, Lex,” he warned.
Lex held up his hands in placation. “Just sayin’,” he muttered.
“I didn’t fuck him, but I will,” he vowed.
He yanked open the door. Now that he knew where his beloved was, the need to find him, see

him, touch him, took over. He wanted Frankie, shifter or not, and he was going to do everything in his
power to get him. Forcing his pride aside, he glanced toward Lex and mumbled, “Contact the shrink.
I’ll talk to him.”

Lex nodded curtly and dropped back a few steps while digging out his phone.
Dobs followed Reb’s directions to Nick’s home. At the end of a short driveway stood a small

ranch style home with an attached one-car garage. Next to the garage was a lean-to holding a beige
forest ranger’s jeep.

Stepping out of his SUV, the unmistakable scent of wolf shifter hit his senses. His skin goose-

bumped under his coat, chilling him, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He wanted to

get back in his vehicle and drive away, but Frankie was supposed to be here. These were Frankie’s
friends.

I am safe. These shifters are not feral. I am safe.
Repeating the words gave him a small measure of courage, or it could have been the very faint

sniff of Frankie’s scent that tickled his senses. Either way, Dobs headed up the walk, stepped onto the
stone slab that served as a porch, and rang the bell. His sensitive hearing caught the faint sound of a
chime on the other side of the door. He waited only a couple seconds before hearing footsteps
approaching.

The door opened and a slender, sandy-haired man stared at him with hazel eyes. Lifting a brow,

he tilted his head and scented Dobs and his friends. “Can I help you?”

“My name is Vincent Marché. I’m looking for Frankie. Reb said he might be here?” Dobs asked,

forcing his tone to remain cordial, when all he really wanted to do was shove his way inside and find
Frankie. With the door open, the smell of his beloved’s blood called to him. He wanted to taste the
shifter again.

After a moment, the shifter nodded. “Sure. Wait in the front room,” he ordered, backing up and

pointing to his right. “I’ll get Frankie.”

He’d only just stepped into the foyer when Frankie, probably drawn by his scent or the sound of

Dobs’ voice, appeared around the corner. “Dobs? What are you doing here?”

Dobs wanted to answer, really he did, but all he saw was miles of skin and muscles. The question

he’d had earlier if Frankie had tattoos was answered quickly. Unfortunately, his mind didn’t focus on
the colorful ink covering his left peck. Instead, all he saw was his naked beloved in another man’s
house—and there was another naked man standing directly behind him.

Possessive jealousy roared through him, and he knew his eyes bled to a crimson color, since he

now saw everything through a haze of red. His nails grew into sharp claws and he launched toward
the young, naked stranger. One thought pounded through his skull. Shred the interloper and prove to
Frankie he belonged to him.

Chapter Six

Frankie’s eyes widened as he watched the irises of Dobs’ eyes bleed to a dark red color. His

mate’s nails thickened into claws. His gaze riveted on someone behind Frankie and an angry, feral
expression tightened his features. Letting out a roar, Dobs lunged toward Frankie.

He couldn’t understand why his mate would want to attack him, but then Dobs shoved him aside,

obviously going after whoever was behind him. Demetri! Oh, no! Frankie didn’t know what the hell
was going on inside his vampire’s head, but he couldn’t let him hurt a pack-member. That would get
him kicked out of the territory and they’d never be able to figure out if a mating between them would
work.

Frankie leaped at Dobs, wrapping his arms around the more slender, slightly shorter man. He

used his bulk to drive Dobs sideways, into the living room he’d just vacated, and to the floor. Without
looking at the young shifter, Frankie ordered, “Demetri, go in the kitchen.”

There was shouting in the background, but Frankie ignored it. He focused his attention on getting

his mate secured. Dobs struggled underneath him, trying to use his vampire strength to buck Frankie
off him. Frankie grabbed his mate’s wrists and pinned them above his head. Using his greater weight,
he sandwiched Dobs against the floor.

“Let me up, Frankie,” Dobs snarled.
Frankie’s wolf really wanted to obey their mate. He hated holding Dobs down, and he worried he

was damaging their precarious relationship beyond repair, but he couldn’t release him, yet. Not until
he knew Dobs would talk about what the hell was going on.

“Why are you so angry?” Frankie asked, voicing his thoughts almost absently.
“You’re naked with another man,” Dobs snapped, once more trying to pull his hands free.
That made no sense to Frankie. “I’m a shifter. I get naked with other people all the time.”
The fight seemed to go out of Dobs. He gave a whole body shiver, which actually almost

succeeded in dislodging Frankie, then went limp.

Worried, it was a trick, Frankie didn’t release him right away. “Dobs?” When he didn’t get a

response, he nuzzled his mate’s neck and moved his weight to his knees and elbows. “Dobs? Are you
okay, Dobs? Did I hurt you? I didn’t mean to. Reb’s always reminding me to be careful.”

Instead of answering Frankie, Dobs mumbled, “I’m calm, now, Frankie. You can get up. I won’t

attack your…friend.”

The slight hitch in Dobs’ voice worried Frankie, as if maybe he really had hurt him. Frankie

wanted to smack himself. Of course he’d hurt him. He’d stopped his mate from attacking someone,
proving which of them was stronger. At Declan’s, Dobs had been pretty dominant. A dominant man
wouldn’t like being shown that he was weaker than his mate, would he?

Frankie scrambled off the vampire and onto his knees. Dobs immediately rolled onto his back and

stared at the ceiling, not meeting Frankie’s gaze. “Dobs?” he called after several seconds.

Dobs’ eyelids slid shut for a moment and he released a breath through parted lips. “This is going

to take some getting used to,” he finally said.

His brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of Dobs’ comment. “Yeah,” he said slowly.

“Finding a mate is always a big adjustment. My brother says it’s worth the compromises, though.”

Meeting his gaze, Dobs frowned at him. “You really have no idea, do you? I thought we talked

about this.”

Frankie nibbled his lip, his gaze straying to the floor. What was Dobs talking about? What did he

think they talked about? “I’m not—I’m not sure what you mean,” he admitted.

“God damn it, Frankie,” Dobs snapped. “I said there would be differences in mating with me than

if you’d mated with another shifter. I’m a vampire. We don’t run around naked in front of other
people.”

Frankie watched as Dobs rose and stalked to the fireplace. He rested his hands on the mantel for a

second, his head hanging between his arms as he growled. Frankie knew his eyes were wide and his
jaw dropped open. “Huh?”

“We aren’t bonded, yet, Frankie,” Dobs grumbled. “Seeing you naked with another man is not

acceptable.” He spun around and glared at him. “Even after we’re bonded, I’m not sure I can handle
that.” Waving a hand at Frankie’s naked form, he continued, “I mean, you just sit there, completely
comfortable with your nudity. I don’t—” He shook his head sharply. “Gods above. If we were
visiting a coven, this kind of behavior wouldn’t be acceptable!”

Finally, Frankie thought he understood. He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Well, duh. If we were at

a coven, I wouldn’t wander around naked,” he said, snorting. “It’s not like I run around naked in front
of humans. I’m slow, not stupid. I understand the difference.”

His knees were getting sore on the hard wood floor, so he shifted sideways onto his butt and

stretched his legs out in front of him. He swung his arm, indicating the living room they sat in. “I work
with young shifters, helping them learn to shift faster, more easily, and then learn how to use their
animal body. I help them understand their animal instincts, which are really very similar to a human’s
basic instincts—the desire for food, shelter, companionship,” he rattled off, ticking off points on his
fingers. Once done, he paused, trying to remember where he’d been going with this.

“Wait, what do you mean you’re slow, not stupid?” Dobs asked, dislodging any hope of Frankie

remembering. “You used that term before, didn’t you? Slow, I mean?”

Frankie sighed. If he lost his mate now, it’d be for the best, right? Better to know now than later if

his mate could handle his…situation. “I…” he paused and frowned. Maybe he could ease into it?
That’s how people gave bad news, right? Most would consider this bad news, wouldn’t they? Or, at
least, life altering… “When I was two, my parents died in a car accident. A logging truck’s cables
broke, and the logs fell off and crushed the car.”

Dobs’ brows shot up. “I’m sorry.”
Waving his hand, Frankie focused on the next bit. His brother had explained it a few times. What

had he said? “I was in the car, too, but I didn’t die. I was in a coma for a while.” He pulled his legs
up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He looked at his mate’s shocked expression and
forged ahead. “When I woke up, I had to relearn things. How to walk, talk, everything really. It took a
long time,” he finished in a whisper. He didn’t have too many clear memories of that time. All he
remembered was the frustration, the sadness, the depression.

“Gods above, Frankie. I’m so sorry,” Dobs murmured, his brows drawn in concern.
Frankie shrugged. “I don’t remember too much of it…at least, not clearly. I was two, ya know?

But…” He licked his lips and forged ahead. “But ever since then, I’ve had some…trouble
understanding. Sometimes, I need simple things explained,” he admitted. “And I need to be reminded
of things a couple times, sometimes. And sometimes I get…distracted.” He frowned, trying to
remember if that was everything. He thought so.

Lifting his gaze to his mate’s, Frankie didn’t know how to read Dobs’ body language. His brows

were crinkled. His jaw appeared clenched. His hands clasped tightly together, if the white knuckles
were any indicator. Was Dobs angry? Disgusted? Let down?

Frankie licked his lips, then whispered, “Please, say something.” He wished he was wearing

jeans so he could rub his hands over the seams.

“You’re telling me you have a form of mild retardation?” Dobs asked softly.

For a couple seconds, Frankie rolled the word around in his head. “Yeah, that sounds right,” he

replied, nodding.

“But you understand the pull of your mate. You know what it means to be bonded, right?”
Bonded? Frankie didn’t think he’d heard that term before, but… “Is being bonded for a vampire

the same as when a shifter claims his mate?”

“I would say so, yes. I…” Dobs paused and frowned, looking around the room. “Where is

everyone?” In Frankie’s opinion, Dobs looked sheepish. “I would have thought Nick or someone
would be giving me the third degree right now.”

“The third…” Frankie cocked his head. “I don’t know what that means, but everyone is giving us

privacy. I think your entrance was a dead giveaway that we have things we need to talk about.”

“So they left? Their own home?” Dobs seemed quite incredulous on this matter.
Huh.
“There are other rooms in the house,” Frankie said. “They’re probably not far.” He shrugged.

“It’s the way of the pack. My brother says mates need to learn to work out their own differences, so
other pack members only step in if there’s no other option.”

“Right,” Dobs responded. “Anyway, why don’t you tell me about wolf shifter matings, and I will

tell you about vampire bonding, and we’ll see how they differ. What do you say?”

He nodded. That sounded good. Except, his mate was way over there, and they hadn’t parted on

very good terms. He and his wolf really needed reassurance that Dobs was interested in making this
work. Reb said he should be able to ask his mate for anything. With that thought in mind, he asked,
“Will you…will you come over here and hold me?”

Dobs hesitated. Frankie tightened his arms around his knees and, dropping his gaze to the floor,

rocked his body. Did his mate not want to touch him?

“I’d be happy to do that, if you put some clothes on, Frankie,” Dobs said softly, drawing his

attention. Frankie’s eyes widened when he saw the red hue coloring Dobs’ irises, again, driving out
the blue. “I’m having a hard enough time controlling myself. If I come over there now, with you
naked, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself from taking you and claiming you.” He smiled then.
“And as much as I’m sure we’d both enjoy that, this time, we really should talk first.”

“Oh,” Frankie gasped. He’d been half-hard just sitting and talking with his mate, but now that

Dobs mentioned fucking and claiming, his dick thickened further and started to throb. He scrambled to
obey his mate, wanting to please him, and tried to ignore the ache. Talk first, Dobs had said. They
hadn’t done that last time and had ended up fighting. Frankie had to make sure that didn’t happen
again.

Once he’d pulled on the sweats he’d left on the end table earlier while working with Demitri

—oh, I hope he’s doing okay —Frankie sat on the couch. Dobs took his coat off and draped it over
the arm of a chair, then joined him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close.

Frankie hunched his larger body and, with a bit of maneuvering, managed to tuck his head under

his mate’s chin. He rested a hand on Dobs’ chest and felt the lean muscles comprising the vampire’s
body. His eyes narrowed as he traced the man’s torso. “Did you lose weight recently?” he asked
absently, running his hand over the muscular chest down to Dobs’ abs. From the amount of muscle the
vampire had, surely he should have been more filled out.

“Yes, but we’ll talk about that another time,” Dobs replied. “Right now, I want you to tell me

what you’ve seen or heard about shifter matings.”

His mate ran his long fingers through Frankie’s hair, gently massaging his scalp. The caresses felt

like reassurance to Frankie’s wolf, and if he’d been a cat shifter, he imagined he’d be purring right

now. Smiling, Frankie nuzzled Dobs’ chest, his hand holding him more firmly.

“I always thought it looked pretty simple when two shifters found their mate,” he shared. “They’d

claim each other, then decide whose pack they wanted to join. I suppose,” he mused, “just like any
two people who try to fit their lives together, there are personality conflicts and differences of
opinion. There’s probably a learning curve, huh?” he asked, tilting his head to look up at his mate.

Frankie liked how relaxed Dobs looked. His eyelids were at half-mast as he held Frankie with

one arm and used his other hand to stroke his head. It was nice, comfortable.

“I’ve heard if a shifter loses their true mate, then they could die of heartache. Do you think that’s

true?” Frankie asked.

“I don’t know, Frankie,” Dobs replied softly. “I suppose it could be. A vampire will go insane if

they lose their bonded one. I’ve always been told it was because a vampire requires their blood to
survive, but perhaps it’s really caused by heartache.”

“Is vampire mating very different?” Frankie asked curiously.
“A little, but not as much as I’d thought.”

Chapter Seven

Dobs would be happy to sit here, just like this, for years. Well, if the ache in his dick and his need

for blood wouldn’t get in the way. It was so incredibly relaxing to just sit and hold his beloved, to
talk softly, as if they were sharing secrets and not speaking about something as important as their
future.

He’d known his father had filled his head with bullshit about shifters, but just hadn’t realized how

much. Shoving thoughts of his sire and his vendetta against all shifters away—the man is dead and
can’t control my life any longer—Dobs thought about vampire bonding.

“When a vampire goes through puberty, they slip into a sort of coma for several days. When they

awake, they require blood to survive. Most parents teach the importance of giving pleasure to your
donor and how to keep from draining them dry.” He felt Frankie stiffen, and used the hand of the arm
around him to rub his back. “I know that sounds brutal, and in truth, it is,” he admitted. “Those are the
vampires the council sends people like me after. I’m an enforcer for the Vampire Council. When a
vampire bonds, if they work for the council, whether or not it’s safe for them to continue working is
assessed.”

Frankie tilted his head slightly. “Why would it matter?”
Dobs used a thumb to stroke Frankie’s brow, easing the crinkles he saw there. “I’ve been told

even though a bonded vampire can survive on another’s blood, I can tell you from experience it’s not
pleasant. And a vampire needs his bonded one’s blood at least occasionally, at least every few
weeks, to survive and stay sane. If something were to happen to you after we bonded, I’d go feral and
have to be put down,” he told the shifter bluntly.

It was a cold reality of the paranormal world. There were no second chances once you bonded

with your one-and-only. Perhaps it was Fate’s way of assuring that she could reincarnate both souls
into people who were fairly close together and could find each other again.

“Oh, that’s…I’m sorry,” Frankie said, worry filling his wide green eyes.
Smiling, Dobs shook his head once. “It’s no different than with shifter mates. We just label it a bit

differently,” he admitted.

“Would you, would you continue being a vampire enforcer?” Frankie asked tentatively.
“I’d like to,” Dobs replied, knowing the importance of not starting a relationship with secrets. He

had enough of those to reveal as it was. “If I were bonding with a human, someone who would be a
liability…” he paused not liking how that sounded and racked his brain for a different way to put it.
Dobs shrugged. “That sounded bad, but it is what it is. A human would not be able to defend against
an angry vampire. You would. I know I didn’t respond well to your wolf yesterday, and…I’m sorry
that caused you pain. I have…issues with, well, when you guys turn into your animal form.” He
whispered the admission, letting his eyes close, not wanting to see condescension or pity in his
beloved’s expression.

The only thing he scented from Frankie was concern. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he

asked.

Dobs grinned and looked down at Frankie. His shifter’s open expression hid nothing. Frankie

probably wouldn’t even know how to stab someone in the back or betray someone. He was exactly
the kind of man to have at an enforcer’s back.

Swallowing hard against the sudden emotion clogging his throat, Dobs forced out, “Just your

patience. That’s all I need.”

Frankie nodded. “Would I be able to go with you on your missions? I don’t think I could let you

go alone. I’d probably end up tracking you down. I’m good at tracking when I focus on it.”

“Yes, you’d be going with me,” Dobs confirmed, liking that Frankie seemed so open to the idea.

He remembered how the shifter had commented about him wanting to take him away from his brother
and pack, and he’d been worried that Frankie wouldn’t want to leave. “There’s no one I’d rather have
at my back.” As he said the words, he realized how true they were. He wanted his beloved not just at
his back, but at his side.

“But you just met me yesterday, and we fought,” Frankie said, clearly confused. “How can you

say that? And you mean it…I can tell by your scent.”

Dobs grinned, cupped Frankie’s jaw, and tilted the man’s head. It really was endearing that the

larger man wanted to cuddle up with him, practically on his lap. He figured it was a shifter trait
because he’d seen Casey doing the same thing with Caspian.

Leaning down awkwardly, Dobs gently kissed Frankie’s lips. He pulled back slightly and told

him, “Because I’ve already seen you protect me, from your own brother, even.”

Frankie frowned, which hadn’t been the response Dobs had been hoping for.
“Well, he shouldn’t have grabbed you,” Frankie muttered.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m fine. You’re fine,” he said, rubbing his thumb along the top of

Frankie’s lip. “I didn’t say it to upset you. I was using it as an example of why I trust you to always
have my back.”

“You trust me?”
Frankie seemed inordinately pleased by his admission. Now, if Dobs could figure out how to feel

the same while Frankie was in wolf form, he’d be golden. Then Frankie lifted his head slightly and
kissed him, and all thought vanished except the desire to ravish the man’s mouth.

He opened to Frankie’s questing tongue, drawing it into his mouth and sucking it lightly. Sweeping

his own tongue into his man’s welcoming heat, Dobs tasted his beloved for the first time, reveling in
the tones of male, musk, and a hint of wildness that probably only belonged to a shifter. Dobs wanted
more.

Tangling their tongues, he shivered when Frankie’s appendage caressed his fang, pulling a soft

groan from him. Frankie must have taken that as the cue it was, that he enjoyed the touch to his sharp
teeth very much, for he did it again, more firmly this time. Heat coursed through his body. His dick
jerked in his slacks, oozing pre-cum.

Frankie’s arms felt like warm bands of steel around his torso as his lover twisted on his lap.

Seconds later, Dobs found himself sprawled under the bigger man with Frankie’s hands buried in his
hair as the shifter ravished his mouth. He almost put a stop to it, wanting to be the one in charge, but
then he noted it, the bitter scent of fear and desperation. Something was going on with his beloved.

Instead of trying to roll them over on the couch and take control, Dobs gave himself up to the

shifter’s frenzied kisses, questing hands, and shuddering, humping body. He spread his legs,
something he rarely did, and let his lover settle in the vee of his body. Bending his knees, he planted
his feet on the cushions and matched his mate thrust for thrust.

Finally, Frankie broke the kiss and lifted his head. Dobs stared up into the flushed face of his

lover, seeing lust, wonder, and need all rolled up as one in his expression. “Didn’t think you’d…
you’d want me once…once you knew,” Frankie panted, still grinding his thick erection against Dobs.

He had just enough blood in his brain cells to realize Frankie’s halted words explained the odd

emotions roiling through the shifter’s body. “Want you, Frankie,” Dobs muttered roughly, thrusting up,
trying to show with his body as well as his words. “We’ll make this work.”

He still had to explain his problem with shifters, but that could wait. He’d tell him after—after he

got off, after he pleased his lover, after he proved he was trying, after Frankie knew Dobs accepted

him just the way he was. And he’d find a way to do it, too…just after…

His lover taking his mouth again in a feral, possessive kiss quickly scattered any focus Dobs had

left. He clutched at Frankie’s wide, heavily muscled shoulders, pressing their chests together. The
friction on his nipples caused by Frankie moving above him spread tingles of fire through his chest
down to his groin.

Dobs’ shaft oozed, his balls burned, and his fangs itched. “Wait, wait,” he huffed, struggling for

breath.

Frankie did as asked, his body freezing, his expression confused, pained even. Dobs didn’t leave

him wondering long. Scrambling with his pants, he quickly got them open, the cool air of the room on
his hot shaft causing a hiss to escape his lips. He grabbed Frankie’s sweats and pulled them down just
enough to free his lover’s cock and balls.

Grabbing Frankie’s tight ass, he pulled their groins together again. Frankie took that as the sign it

was and once more started humping, driving their shafts together. Pleasure radiated through his body
at the friction on his sensitive dick.

“Want to taste you again, beloved,” he mumbled against Frankie’s neck as he licked the pulsing

vein that called to him so sweetly.

Frankie groaned and tilted his head. “Yeah. Do it. Like how it feels.”
Letting out a moan of his own, Dobs gave in to his body’s needs and sank his fangs into his

beloved’s neck. Rich, warm blood flowed from the bite wound and over his tongue. He growled at
Frankie’s exquisite taste and sucked, wanting more, needing more to recharge his depleted body,
reveling in how his shifter gave so freely.

Above him, Frankie shuddered and groaned. His seed spilled between their bodies, soaking

Dobs’ shirt. Knowing he pleased Frankie was an aphrodisiac in and of itself. His balls tightened, his
shaft jerked, and he came, adding his own cum to the mess between them.

Moaning, he gently withdrew his fangs and licked the bite mark, sealing the wound. Resting his

head against the cushion, he stared at his lover through half-closed eyes, a smile curving the corners
of his lips as delicious aftershocks pinged through his body. From the way Frankie panted warm puffs
of air against his sweat-soaked shirt, he knew his lover felt the same.

Dobs struggled to get his relaxed muscles to work, but managed to lift his head and press a kiss to

the top of Frankie’s head. “You’re amazing, beloved,” he muttered. “When we finally get to a bed and
I fuck you, I’ll die of pleasure overload.”

Frankie snickered and tilted his head to grin up at him. “What a way to go, though, huh?”
Dobs grinned back, lifted his head, and kissed Frankie’s lips. “Yep.”
The big man’s expression suddenly turned pensive. “You won’t really, will you?”
Sobering, Dobs made a mental note to watch how he phrased things around his lover. He didn’t

want the man to misunderstand. “No, Frankie. I was just teasing, trying to tell you how much you
please me.”

“Okay,” Frankie replied, settling his head back on Dobs chest.
Dobs stared down at the man’s sandy blond hair. He lifted a hand and ran his fingers through the

slightly curly strands. It was soft, thick. “Is your hair this soft as a wolf?” he asked absently,
surprising himself at his curiosity.

“I don’t know,” Frankie replied, the words hard to make out with the way his mouth was half

crushed against Dobs’ chest. “I’ve never had anyone comment on it. Want me to shift and you can tell
me?”

“No!”

Frankie immediately tensed, telling Dobs he’d said that a little too quickly and too vehemently.

He rubbed his hands up and down his beloved’s spine and quickly explained, “Feral shifters killed
my mother, and I was raised by a very…prejudiced father.” He could only imagine what the man
would say about him bonding with a shifter if he were still alive.

Dismissing that thought, he continued, “I still have a hard time around shifters when they’re in

animal form. I understand you won’t attack me, baby, I do,” he soothed, not liking how tense Frankie
still was. Shit, how can I fix this? “I—I’m going to go see Doctor Gordon Digby. I hear he’s pretty
good,” he whispered, hoping the others in the house couldn’t hear his admission. Telling his lover
was one thing, everyone else…he really didn’t want them to know. “Maybe he can help me come to
terms with it, hmm?”

Frankie lay still and quiet in his arms for far longer than Dobs would have liked, but then he

realized it was because the man would need to sift through everything spoken and think about it to
understand it. He patiently waited for a response.

“So, it’s not my wolf you don’t like?” Frankie asked tentatively.
“No, baby,” he replied instantly. “You’re a very handsome wolf, and I’m flattered that you

protected me.” He did feel flattered, and looking back on his memory objectively, Frankie really was
a good-looking animal. “I know I have a problem,” he admitted. “And I’m hoping Gordon can help
me.”

Frankie worried his lip for a second, then offered, “If there’s anything I can do, you’ll tell me,

right?”

Dobs nodded. “Yeah, baby. I’ll tell you.”
Nodding back, as if that decided it, Frankie settled his head back on Dobs’ chest and tightened his

arms around his torso.

Dobs relaxed, glad he’d managed to get over that hurdle, at least momentarily.
A throat clearing from the doorway caught his attention. “You better not be getting cum on my

couch, Frankie,” Nick admonished, though the twinkle in his hazel eyes softened the words.

Frankie still flushed. “Sorry, Nick,” he replied instantly.
Dobs glared at the shifter, the fact that his beloved’s ass was once again on display making him

exceedingly cranky. “What the hell do you want?” he snapped.

Frankie thumped his chest with an open palm. “Not nice. We’re in his house,” he scolded.
His lover’s actions made him blink and something unraveled just a little in his chest. The huge

shifter was so…nice. “Reb did a really good job raising you,” he commented. Frankie’s brows shot
up, and Dobs knew he’d surprised the shifter as much as Frankie had surprised him a second before.
Grinning, he murmured, “Maybe after I bond with you, other people staring at your ass won’t bother
me quite as much.”

“I’m a shifter. When I change, I have to take my clothes off or I ruin them. Or get stuck in them.”

Frankie shivered, his eyes losing focus for just a second as he obviously relived some event. An
event Dobs really wanted to know about from the look of consternation on Frankie’s face. Then his
lover refocused and frowned at him, that look Dobs didn’t like nearly as much. “You will have to get
used to me getting naked.”

Dobs forced a smile. “I’ll try. This is a new experience for me,” he reminded him.
Frankie nodded. “Me, too,” he responded, then leaned up and gave him a kiss.
Catching the nape of Frankie’s neck in one hand, Dobs didn’t let him back away. He nipped his

lover’s bottom lip, which gave him the access he wanted when Frankie grunted in response. Thrusting
his tongue inside the warm, wet cavern of Frankie’s mouth, Dobs explored slowly, mapping his

lover’s mouth, enjoying his taste and the little whimpers escaping Frankie.

Lex’s voice cut into Dobs’ enjoyable make-out session. “Didn’t you tell them we need to leave?”
“I tried,” Nick replied, adding dryly, amusement filling his voice, “but I didn’t get very far before

they got distracted.”

Dobs slowly brought the kiss to an end, sucking lightly on Frankie’s tongue in the process. Damn,

he could so easily get addicted to the wonderful sounds Frankie made. He was so open, so honest in
his reactions. Dobs wanted to know what other sounds he’d make, especially when he sank his dick
into the man’s channel and rubbed his cock head over his prostate.

Groaning, Dobs glared at the pair of men. Wait, now there were four men standing in the

doorway. Lex and Nick had been joined by Seb and some other guy that Dobs didn’t know. “What the
fuck? This house is filled with voyeuristic assholes,” he snarled.

Seb laughed. Nick grinned and winked at the stranger. Lex smirked and replied, “Figured you’d

like to know that appointment you wanted is supposed to start in forty minutes, plus we have more
information about Mikael.” He shrugged, his expression not changing. “It’s not my fault you can’t
keep your hands off your beloved for five minutes so we can tell you.” He tossed a small package at
them, which Dobs caught on instinct. “Clean up. We need to leave.”

The four men wandered off, and Dobs looked at the package in his hand. Wet-wipes for babies.

Huh? The itch of drying cum answered his unspoken question. “Come on, Frankie. Let’s get cleaned
up.” He helped his lover move sideways and pulled out a couple of wet napkins and started cleaning
them up. “Hey, is Frankie a nickname or something?” he asked absently, needing to focus on anything
but the thick sexy dick he was fondling.

Frankie shivered. “Cold,” he snickered, then answered, “Yeah. My name’s Franklin, but everyone

calls me Frankie.”

“Huh, do you ever go by Frank?” Dobs asked.
“No,” Frankie replied. “Where are you going? What appointment? Who’s Mikael?”
Dobs pulled off his shirt, grimacing at the way the fabric stuck to the hairs making up his treasure

trail. “I told you I planned to see Gordon. That’s who the appointment is with. Mikael is a vampire I
stopped from stealing control of a coven a couple years back. I found out this morning that he and
some of his buddies are camping just outside Declan’s territory. That’s one of the reasons I came here
today, but I got a bit…distracted,” he admitted. “I wanted to warn you to be careful. If you run across
any vampires other than me, Lex, Seb, or Caspian, get the hell away from them and call me
immediately.”

Frankie picked up a shirt from the end table where he’d gotten his sweats earlier. Turning back

toward Dobs, he asked, “Why would they approach me?”

“I took one of the Vampire Council’s jets to get here. They probably found that out, which also

means they knew I was coming here to search for my beloved, and probably knew I was weakened
from not drinking enough blood,” Dobs admitted. “They’re probably hoping to either take me out and
if that doesn’t work, they might come after you.” He pulled a confused-looking Frankie into his arms
and held him tight. He already knew what the next question would be, and prayed his answer
wouldn’t lose him all the ground they’d gained this afternoon.

Chapter Eight

“Is that why you’re thin?” Frankie asked, leaning away from the vampire and looking him over

again. “Because you weren’t drinking enough blood?”

“Yes.”
Dobs wouldn’t meet Frankie’s eyes, and the way he whispered the word concerned Frankie.

“Why wouldn’t you be drinking enough?”

“Because it didn’t taste good to me,” Dobs stated softly.
Frankie thought about the way Dobs enjoyed sinking his fangs into his neck, the moans he made

upon drinking his blood, the pleasure it seemed to give them both. For a second, he had to fight back a
wave of jealousy at the idea that he’d shared that with others. It was stupid. Just as Frankie had had
sex before, Dobs had drunk blood before. He told himself it was no different.

“You like the taste of my blood. Why wouldn’t other people’s blood taste good? You’ve been

drinking from others for years.” Frankie really didn’t understand and hoped his mate would help him.

“Their blood wasn’t yours, beloved, so it began to taste sour,” Dobs replied.
Frankie didn’t like how worried Dobs looked. “Are you worried my blood will begin to taste

sour? Is that why you’re upset?”

“No, Frankie,” Dobs replied. “I’m worried you’ll get angry at me and not want to try to work our

relationship out when I admit that I was at the enforcer challenge you competed in last summer. I
scented you there, but didn’t know who you were. I—” He paused and sighed. “I want to tell you that
I didn’t seek you out then because the council needed me to go somewhere, but that’s not true,” he
admitted.

“It’s not?” Frankie’s brows drew together. “So why didn’t you look for me?” he asked. His mate

had been here in Stone Ridge almost eight months ago, had scented him, and then left him? Why?
“Was it because…” He frowned. Running his hands through his hair, he tried to pull away.

In fact, why hadn’t he scented Dobs, too? He was a good tracker. Then he remembered how

preoccupied he’d been, how excited and honored to fight for a higher position in the pack. He
remembered scenting vampires, but dismissed it quickly. He’d been trying to remember all the things
his brother had told him about wrestling to submission.

“No, it had nothing to do with you, specifically,” Dobs snapped, redrawing his attention.
Frankie cringed. His mate sounded angry.
Dobs yanked Frankie closer, wrapping his arms around his torso, tightly. “It had nothing to do

with you, Frankie,” Dobs said again, softer this time. “I told you, I had a problem with shifters. My
leaving had everything to do with me. That’s why I’m meeting with a shrink.”

Cupping his jaw, Dobs urged Frankie to meet his gaze.
Frankie scowled at the vampire, struggling to understand the differences that Dobs spoke of.
“Come with me,” Dobs urged.
Go with him? Where? “What?” he asked. “Come where?”
“To see Doctor Digby…Gordon, the shrink, whatever you want to call him. Come with me.”
Frankie’s brows furrowed. His mate really sounded sincere. “You really want me to come?”
“Yes,” Dobs said firmly. “You’re my beloved. If he’s okay with you sitting in while I talk with

him, I’m okay with it. I don’t want to hide anything from you.” He grimaced. “Okay, there will be
times the Vampire Council tells me restricted information that I won’t be able to share with you, but
other than that… What do you say?”

“Um, okay,” he replied. His brother always said you should support your mate. This would be

part of that, right? Even though Dobs might not have wanted him before, he came back and seemed to

want him now. Frankie knew he needed to talk to his brother about everything, but in order to know
what to tell him, he needed all the facts, right? That meant hearing everything. Wait, would sharing
what he learned at Gordon’s be okay? Probably not. He better leave that stuff out.

“Frankie, baby? Are you all right?” Dobs asked. “Are you still with me?”
“Hmm?” Frankie murmured. “Yeah, I’m good. I was just thinking.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I could change the past, but I can’t,” Dobs said. “But I’m trying to change me,

so I can be a better mate to you.”

Frankie smiled. “That’s a really nice thing for you to say,” he stated, racking his brain for

something equivalent that he could give his mate. “I’ll try to remember not to get naked around other
shifters unless I’m actually shifting.” He paused, then added, “No more showing people my ass.”

Dobs chuckled. “Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”
His mate leaned up and gave him a soft kiss, full of heat and tongue and even a little fang. Frankie

shivered, liking the feel of the other man’s mouth on his. He decided he’d have to find more ways to
please his mate. That would mean more kisses, right? He’d like that.

Fingers stroking his chest pulled him from his thoughts, and Frankie looked down to see Dobs

fingering the tattoo of the two wolves on his chest. “They’re me and my brother,” Frankie told him, a
shiver working through him at Dobs’ soft touch.

“It’s an amazing tattoo,” Dobs complimented, studying it. “Exquisite detail.”
“My brother did it. He owns a tattoo shop, and he’s really good.”
Dobs tilted his head and lifted a brow. “Does it hold any significance to you?” Frankie frowned,

trying to figure out what his mate asked. Dobs must have realized he needed some clarification, for he
said, “Is there a special meaning behind it?”

“Oh, yeah.” Frankie smiled. “My brother’s always been there for me, ever since our parents died.

I wanted a way to show him how much that meant to me. What better way than to take him with me
always?”

“Ah,” Dobs murmured. “It’s amazing,” he said again.
Except, Frankie noticed the crease in his brows and the way his scent changed. He just didn’t

know what that meant. Before he could figure it out, Dobs urged, “Come on. Let’s get going.” He
grabbed his trench coat and pulled it over his bare chest, shoving his soiled shirt into the pocket.

Frankie yanked on his own t-shirt and jacket and glanced around the room, suddenly remembering

why he’d been there in the first place. “I need to talk to Demetri first. Make sure he’s okay.”

“Damn, sorry I freaked the guy out,” Dobs said, grimacing. “Guess I should apologize to him,” he

said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Where do you think he is?”

Frankie tilted his head and sniffed, sorting through the scents. “Front room with everyone else.”
Dobs looked at him with obvious surprise. “You can tell that with just a couple sniffs? How can

you do that? The whole place smells like wolf and lemongrass to me,” he shared.

Chuckling, Frankie led the way out of the room. “You smell only Nick and Miach. I’m not

surprised you can’t scent Demetri because he’s a wolf, too, but why can’t you smell your friends?
Their scents are definitely out of place, like the smell of a rose bouquet placed on top of a blueberry
bush.” He tapped the back of his hand against Dobs’ hard abs. “Smell again, a little slower this time.”

His lover’s brows creased for a second as he paused in the doorway and looked hard at him.

Then he tipped his head back and inhaled slowly. He did that twice. Finally, Dobs focused on him
again. “You’re right. That’s an impressive analogy.”

Frankie shrugged. He knew what analogy meant. He didn’t use that word when he explained

noticing subtle scents to cubs, but his brother had used it when he’d complimented him on how well

he taught them. Now Dobs used it, too.

Grinning, he replied, “Thanks. Told you I was a good tracker.”
“That you are,” Dobs murmured, stepping close and giving him a quick kiss.
“Hey, don’t start that again,” Seb chided good-naturedly. “It’s time to go.”
Dobs broke the kiss and smirked at his friends. “You’re just jealous.”
Lex and Seb exchanged a look Frankie didn’t understand. Then Lex curled his lip and replied,

“As if I’d ever want to kiss you. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Frankie took the interlude to step away from Dobs and find Demetri. “Hey, you okay?” he asked.

He glanced back at his lover. “Dobs didn’t mean any harm. He’s a vampire, and my mate, and we’re
still coming to terms with…” He frowned and waved his hand absently as he tried to find the right
words. “Everything.”

Demetri smiled up at him, his look maybe a little wistful. “I’m fine. He just startled me, that’s all.

Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Did you learn anything, at least, before we got interrupted?” Frankie wanted to make

sure Demetri learned something. He hated seeing others struggle.

Nodding, Demetri told him, “I wasn’t embracing my animal when I tried to shift, but I understand

better now that he’s still me, just different.”

“Right.” Frankie cocked his head. “Did someone tell you that your wolf wasn’t you?” How could

that have happened? They lived in an area where tons of shifters lived.

Demitri glanced around, and Frankie followed suit, finding they were now the center of attention.

Demitri grimaced and mumbled, “My mom. She doesn’t—she doesn’t like coming to pack runs or
even shifting. She’s always discouraged it, saying I’ll never find a nice girl who would accept me
turning into an animal.”

Frankie frowned, slowly processing all that. He appreciated that none of the others said anything

to distract him. After a moment, he slowly said, “But she’s a shifter, and your father is human. Isn’t
that…I don’t know…hypocritical or something? And I thought you were gay, so shouldn’t you be
looking for a nice guy to accept you?” He refused to say your animal, because he wanted Demitri to
start thinking of him and his wolf as one and the same. They were a team, part of the same whole.

“Yeah, well…” Demitri shrugged. “She’s trying to discourage that, too. And dad’s not quite as

accepting as the pack might think.”

Nick rested a hand on Frankie’s shoulder before, drawing his attention. “I’m gonna take Demitri

for a run, teach him a little about tracking, then I’ll let Declan and Shane know about this
conversation. Leave it for them to handle.”

Frankie nodded. That made sense.
“You head on off with your mate,” Nick continued, nudging his shoulder. “He needs to leave.”
“Yeah, okay.” He worried about his new friend, but it wasn’t like he could do something about it.

Well, except be there for him if he needed to talk. “Let me know if you need anything,” he urged.
“You have my number.”

“Come on, Frankie,” Dobs said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and steering him toward

the door.

“Have fun tracking,” Frankie called to Demitri over his shoulder.
Demitri waved in response.
“My sweet beloved,” Dobs crooned as he opened the back door of the SUV for him. After Frankie

slid inside the vehicle, Dobs followed him, sliding in after him. “So fucking sexy,” he growled.

Dobs buried his hands in Frankie’s hair and captured his mouth in a scorching, toe-curling kiss.

Frankie had no idea what he’d done to arouse the vampire, but the unmistakable ridge of his erection
pressed against his thigh and the heady smell of aroused mate got him so hard so fast he moaned into
Dobs’ mouth.

He’d just started reaching for Dobs’ prick when Lex snapped, “Hey, cut that shit out, now. We’ll

be at Gordon’s in five minutes. Dobs, put a shirt on. It’s fucking cold.”

Frankie let Dobs go when he pulled away. Dobs rolled his eyes, giving his grumbling friend a

mock glare before grabbing a bag from behind the seat and pulling out a t-shirt. Frankie buried a snort
and focused his gaze out the window.

Gordon greeted them all cordially, his brow lifting when he saw Frankie. “Why don’t we start

with just you, Dobs,” he said, once he’d heard Dobs’ explanation of Frankie’s presence. “Once I get
some general information, and if the timing still seems to be right, we’ll invite Frankie into the
session.”

He liked how Dobs gave him a chaste kiss, right there in front of everyone, before heading into

the room. His lover seemed very open, at least around his friends. “Is he like that around everyone?
Or just you guys?” he asked the question that popped into his mind as he sat down in the waiting area.

“Like what?” Seb asked from where he sprawled in a cushioned chair.
Frankie paused to decide what he meant. “Affectionate,” he said. “Touchy-feely.”
“No,” Lex answered, drawing out the words. “Definitely not,” he added with a snort. He lifted a

hand and pointed at him. “You are a good influence. I haven’t seen him this…laid back in fifty years.”

Leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees, he asked, “How old is he?”
Lex and Seb exchanged looks, then Seb shrugged. “Not real sure. Somewhere in the one fifty

range, if I had to guess.”

“Wow,” Frankie said. “Really?”
“Hope you like older men,” Seb quipped, winking.
“Never really thought about that,” he admitted. The vampires exchanged a look he couldn’t hope

to interpret. Frankie glanced between them. “So, you’ve known him a long time?”

“Caspian and I have known him the longest,” Lex told him. “We met him a little over eighty years

ago when we were teamed up on a mission to a coven in Africa. Long story short, we broke up a ring
of shifters using humans as slaves. They’d snagged a couple of the coven’s mates, drawing attention
to them. Good thing they did, too,” Lex added ruefully, “because they’d also taken one of the
governor’s children. Dumb shits.” He grinned suddenly. “Know why we call him Dobs?”

“That’s not his real name?” Frankie asked. He’d thought the name sounded odd, but what did he

know?

Lex snorted. “Not even close. His real name is Vincent Marché. We call him Dobs because he’s

like a fucking Doberman when it comes to tearing into—” He stopped mid-sentence and flushed.
Grimacing, he muttered, “Shit. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Confused, Frankie looked from Lex to Seb, surprised to see the normally friendly man glaring

daggers at Lex. “What? What’s wrong?”

He drew in a breath, thinking maybe there was danger around, but all he scented was one very

angry vampire and one very embarrassed one.

When Lex still didn’t continue, Frankie frowned. “What?”
Heaving a sigh, and after glaring at Lex one more time, Seb focused on Frankie and softly

answered, “I know you’ve heard by now that Dobs struggles with…shifters in general. We started
calling him Dobs because when he went after a shifter, he wouldn’t stop until he took him down and
tore him apart, either physically or mentally. Dobs always got his man.”

Frankie felt the blood drain from his face. “He really hates us that much?”

Chapter Nine

After years of keeping everything bottled up—the desire to make his father proud, the need to

succeed, the fear of failure, the frustration and confusion regarding his changing view of shifters—it
felt good to let it all out.

Dobs had known his father’s near manic obsession with killing the shifters who’d murdered his

mother had messed him up. He’d even thought he was handling it pretty well after all these years.
Then he’d scented Frankie and panicked. There was no other word for it. He had run from his
beloved.

It had taken him coming dangerously close to death, and some tough love from his friends, to

realize he needed a change. Now, after he’d poured out everything to this virtual stranger, Dobs felt
so much better, like he no longer had it all bottled up inside him, ready to explode any minute.

“So, did you still want to bring Frankie in?”
Doctor Digby’s smooth tenor broke into Dobs’ thoughts. “Yeah, I’d like that. Maybe—maybe if he

shifted now, I wouldn’t panic,” he said, thinking out loud.

“That’s a possibility. Why don’t we see what Frankie thinks after you two talk, hmm?” the doctor

offered.

Dobs nodded, rose from his chair, and crossed the room. When he opened the door, he found Lex

and Seb in a heated, quiet discussion, which immediately ceased when they saw him. They exchanged
guilty looks. Dobs frowned and glanced around the waiting room, but didn’t see Frankie.

“Where’s Frankie?”
He really didn’t like Lex’s expression, or his words when he muttered, “I’m sorry, man. I wasn’t

thinking.”

“What did you do?” Dobs growled, just knowing how abrasive his friend could be on occasion.
Lex wouldn’t meet his gaze as he admitted, “I…I told him where your nickname came from.”
“My nickname? Why would…oh!” He swallowed hard. He hadn’t thought about why his friends

called him Dobs in decades. “Where did he go?”

Seb shook his head. “We’re sorry, Dobs. We’re not sure. We were just deciding if one of us

should go after him when you came out.”

“Well, what did he say?” Dobs asked, already reaching for his coat.
Lex answered, “He asked if you really hated them all, meaning shifters, that much. We tried to

assure him that that wasn’t the case. He decided he wanted to go for a walk and clear his head.” He
swallowed hard and added, “He said he’d give you a call later.”

“Oh, hell, no,” he snapped. “Not this time. He has got to stop running away from me.” The words

came out a frustrated snarl. Frankie needed to learn to talk things out with him. He couldn’t leave
every time they had an argument, difference of opinion, or even found out something he didn’t like or
understand. Frustrated, his voice came out a little harsher than intended when he asked the doctor,
“Do you have any idea where he’d go?”

Gordon crossed his arms over his chest and lifted a brow, his expression unreadable.
Dobs growled, but forced himself to take a slow deep breath. “I just want to track him down so I

can talk to him. I’d never harm Frankie and I promise I won’t yell.”

For a second, Dobs didn’t think Gordon would answer. “Good,” he finally said. “You can’t yell

at someone like Frankie. That will just make him withdraw further.”

“Someone like Frankie? What are you talking about?” Lex asked, confused.
“He had an accident when he was two,” Dobs answered quietly, thinking about the couple times

he’d either snarled or snapped at Frankie. The big man had done exactly what Gordon said.

Withdrawn. “Sometimes he doesn’t understand things, or it takes him a minute to work it out.”

“Right,” Gordon said. “And when he wants to work out something bigger, he goes where he’s

comfortable.”

Dobs tried to understand what the man was telling him. “Uh, home?” he guessed.
Gordon nodded. “That’d be my first try. If he’s not there, go to his brother’s tattoo shop.”
Grimacing, Dobs admitted he didn’t know where either place was.
Gordon rolled his eyes and strode into his office. “Here,” he said, grabbing a pen and paper and

scribbling some info on it. “Take care of your…beloved.” He pointed his finger at Seb and Lex. “You
two go somewhere else. They don’t need you interfering anymore. You got Dobs to Stone Ridge.
Your job is done, now.”

Dobs cringed and told them, “Guess you all should start calling me Vince. I want Frankie to know

I’m not that man anymore.”

“And you’re going to go with Vince?” Seb teased.
Vince sneered at Seb and started toward the door. “There’s no way in hell I want to be reminded

of my father every time someone calls my name. I was Vince before and I’ll be called that again,” he
snarled.

Seb held up his hands in surrender, though a smile did play at the corners of his lips. Nothing got

that vampire down for long. Lex nodded once, then grabbed his coat. “Let us know everything is okay
once you catch up with him, okay? We really are sorry for the botch-up.”

Vince gave his friend a smile, then headed out the door. Glancing at the address, he started

jogging in the direction he needed to go. He inhaled deeply, just catching his beloved’s scent on the
cool, afternoon breeze.

So focused on trying to find the right street, Vince didn’t notice the van next to him until someone

called his name. He turned, wondering if he’d get an ass chewing from Reb for upsetting his brother.
Instead, he recognized the grinning face of Mikael. He tried to hide how exposed he felt, all alone on
the street, by glaring at the vampire.

“What the hell are doing in Stone Ridge, Mikael,” he asked. “You don’t have permission to be

here.” Vince hoped that was true. Surely Declan would have mentioned it if he’d given other
vampires permission, wouldn’t he?

Mikael smirked. “Oh, we won’t be here long. We just swung by to pick something up.”
“What are you picking up?” he asked warily, continuing to walk. He spotted the street he needed

ahead, and hoped he could get rid of Mikael before he reached it. He didn’t want the vampire
following him to Frankie’s home, no matter how capable his shifter mate seemed.

The smirk disappeared to be replaced by a look of hatred. “A back-stabbing, betraying weasel,”

he snarled.

Before he could react, the back window of the van slid open and the soft sound of a dart gun firing

reached Vince. A prick of pain stabbed his leg. Realizing even though the passenger seat of the
vehicle had been empty, Mikael wasn’t alone.

Vince yanked the dart out of his leg and ran. He only made it two steps before someone was on

him. From the size and scent of the vampire, Vince guessed it to be Backus, Mikael’s best friend and
bodyguard. He would have been hard pressed to fight the big fucker when he was at full strength, but
having not completely recuperated, even with Frankie’s generous blood donations, Vince didn’t stand
a chance.

He tried to buck the man off, but several hard jabs to the kidney took his breath away. Backus

lifted just enough to press his knee into the small of his back. Vince’s head swam as whatever

sedative they’d shot him with took hold. Black spots danced across his vision and he prayed someday
Frankie would forgive him.

Swimming to wakefulness was a painful process, and Vince wondered why he couldn’t have just

stayed unconscious. His head pounded, his side ached, and he was freezing. That last one was
probably caused by the bucket of ice water Mikael had used to wake him up.

“Ah, there you are, Vincent,” Mikael crooned maliciously. “Welcome back.”
Vince didn’t feel welcome. In fact, he felt downright pissed. Cracking his eyelids, he took stock

of his surroundings. With his arms bound together with thick abrasive rope that bit into his wrists and
the bindings draped on a hook over his head, his toes could barely reach the floor. Already he could
feel the ache in his shoulders, neck, and back. It wouldn’t be long before it became unbearable.

“I’m surprised at how far you let yourself go, but then, I wouldn’t want to be bonded to a shifter

either,” Mikael mused coldly. The guy stepped close, letting Vince clearly see the malicious glee in
his eyes. Vince twisted, trying to get away when Mikael leaned close to the crook of his neck and
inhaled. “You do reek of him though, don’t you? But you’re not bonded yet.”

Mikael took a step back and cocked his head. Vince didn’t like the expression on the vampire’s

face, like he was pondering something truly spiteful. He just knew it’d be something he didn’t like.

Seconds later, Vince’s suspicions were confirmed. “I’ll tell you what,” Mikael said, tapping his

fingers on his jaw. “You tell me where your shifter is, we’ll bring him here, kill him, and then Fate
might give you a new beloved. How’s that sound?”

Vince kept his lips firmly sealed and just glared at the vampire. No way in hell would he put

Frankie in harm’s way. Backus leaned against the wall near the door, amusement lighting his cold,
blue eyes. Vince spotted four other men in the room besides Mikael. No matter how good, one wolf
couldn’t hope to match six vampires. And it was possible there were others somewhere, too.

“Oh, did you develop a soft spot for your little wolfie?” Mikael taunted. “He must suck cock real

good to have changed your mind.” He grinned. “Or maybe he howls real loud when he’s got a cock in
his ass. Maybe we should find out?”

Unable to hold his tongue, Vince snarled, “You stay away from him. I’m the one you have a

problem with. Leave the shifter out of it.”

Mikael’s lips twisted into a harsh smile. “Oh, but you see, you took my coven away from me, and

now I want retribution. Taking your beloved would only be fitting, don’t you think?” Mikael drew
close again. “Now, tell me where you’re hiding him,” he ordered, hate filling his glare.

Giving his captor a feral smile, Vince vowed, “I’ll never tell.” Ignoring the extra pain it caused

his body, Vince shifted his weight to his left toes and rammed his right knee up, catching Mikael in the
gonads.

Mikael doubled over and roared in pain. Vince followed up with a kick aimed at the vampire’s

head. Too bad his first move had started him swinging. He missed his mark and ended up hitting
Mikael’s chest instead. It didn’t do nearly as much damage, but at least Vince got the satisfaction of
watching Mikael crash unceremoniously to the cement floor.

Three of the vampires rushed him. Grabbing him and landing fists to his face and torso. Strung up

like a piñata, Vince had nowhere to go and no way to hide. Blow after blow reined upon him, making
his head swim and his body throb.

He actually felt relieved when Mikael hoarsely called a halt. “You’ll pay for your arrogance,

Vincent,” he snarled. “I’ll make you tell me where your shifter is, then I’m going to make you watch
as we all fuck him, over and over. He’ll cry out for you, but you won’t be able to help him.”

Mikael glared at Backus and ordered, “Get me the whip.”

Vince tried to control his fear, because it wasn’t Mikael he was afraid of. He’d been tortured

before. As the first lash tore through his shirt and flayed his back, instead, he feared Frankie would
always wonder what happened to him, thinking he’d left of his own accord, thinking he didn’t want
him. He feared he’d never get the chance to tell and show Frankie how much the wolf meant to him,
how quickly he’d gotten under his skin, and how easy it would be to fall in love with him.

Chapter Ten

Frankie walked into his brother’s shop, the bell over the door jingling merrily. Normally, the

sound made him smile. This time, he glared at the offending noise. How dare it sound so happy when
he felt like his world was falling apart.

“Hey, Frankie,” Reb called from where he cleaned equipment. “I haven’t seen you since this

morning. Too busy fucking your vampire to give me a call?” his brother asked, clearly teasing.

“We didn’t fuck,” he mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“You smell like it.” Reb finally looked up, a grin on his face. Just that quickly, it disappeared.

“Hey, what’s wrong? That asshole do something else stupid?”

Frankie opened his mouth to answer, then shut it just that quickly. Dobs hadn’t actually done

anything. Why had he left again? “I found out Dobs isn’t his real name.”

Reb gave him his full attention, leaning on the glass case toward him. He shrugged. “So what? At

least it’s not Debra or something? What gives? His scent is all over you so obviously you enjoy each
other. What could be so bad?”

“His real name is Vincent Marché,” Frankie said.
His brother still looked confused. “I know.”
“Do you know what Dobs stands for?” he asked.
Reb shook his head.
“Doberman. You know why he’s called that?”
Again, Reb shook his head.
“Because he hates shifters so much, that when he goes after them, he tears them apart,” Frankie

muttered, plopping into a chair and crossing his arms.

Reb rounded the counter and sat down next to him. “Awe, Frankie. Who told you that?” he asked

gently, wrapping his arm around his shoulders and pulling him into a brotherly hug.

“His friend, Lex. He made it sound like they thought it was cool,” he told him. He knew his

brother would think he was pouting, but he couldn’t help it.

Reb sat quietly for a moment, just holding him as Frankie rested his head on his brother’s

shoulder. Finally, he asked, “What did Dobs have to say about it?”

Frankie flushed. “I didn’t ask,” he admitted.
Sighing, Reb asked, “You wanna tell me everything that happened today? Why wouldn’t you ask

him about it? Were you arguing about something?”

Frankie frowned. “No.”
“No, you don’t want to tell me or no, you weren’t fighting?” Reb asked.
“Um…”
Sighing, Reb shifted and gripped his head. “Look at me,” he ordered.
Obeying, Frankie turned and met his brother’s gaze.
“Tell me everything…unless you had sex. I don’t need specifics on that,” he amended.
Frankie told him about his day, from tackling Dobs and forcing him into Nick’s living room, to

telling him about his injury, to Dobs asking him to go to see Doctor Digby with him. Finally, after
twenty minutes, he finished the tale with Lex’s story and his decision to head over to Reb’s.

He began to get nervous when his brother didn’t say anything…for several minutes. Finally, Reb

threaded his fingers through Frankie’s hair and pulled him close, pressing their foreheads together. It
was the position Reb used when he had something important to say, and he hadn’t used it in years.

“Frankie, what’s the most important thing I told you about having a relationship with your mate?”

he asked softly.

Swallowing hard, Frankie struggled to set aside everything that had happened today and think. It

took a moment, but finally he replied, “That making a relationship work with your mate is about
respect, communication, and compromise.”

“Very good. That’s right,” Reb responded. Frankie smiled at the praise, glad he’d pleased his

brother. “Now, Frankie, it sounds like Dobs worked hard to communicate and compromise with you
today. Did you offer him the same courtesy?”

Frankie cringed. “I should have talked to him, huh?”
“Yes, Frankie. You really need to talk to him,” Reb said. He pulled away and squeezed his

shoulder. “The good thing is, it’s never too late to communicate. Why don’t you give him a call?” he
urged.

Nodding, Frankie hung his head. “I feel…foolish.”
Reb pulled him into a hug. “Awe, don’t feel that way, kiddo,” he said. “Everything is fixable.” He

released him and patted his shoulder. “Head into the office. I’m closing up.”

Frankie nodded. As he moved toward the back, he listened to the sound of a bolt sliding into

place—Reb locking the door—and the rustle of a plastic laminated card—his brother flipping the
open sign to closed. The mundane, everyday sounds calmed him, helping him relax.

He sat down in the desk chair and stared at his phone. He hoped Dobs would forgive him for

ditching like that.

Only one way to find out.
Dialing Dobs’ number, Frankie waited impatiently for the ringing to cease and his mate to pick

up. It didn’t happen, instead, he got voicemail. His voice stuck in his throat for several seconds,
before he managed to say, “Uh, hi, Dobs. This is Frankie. I, um, sorry I left so suddenly. Lex told me
about your nickname and I guess I didn’t take it very well. I know now that I should have talked to
you, but I’m not very good at relationships, yet. Will you call me so I can apologize?” He paused,
then added, “Um, I guess that’s it. Bye.”

He set the phone on the desk and stared at it, wondering why Dobs hadn’t picked up. Maybe he

was still talking with Gordon?

“Hey, did you call him?” Reb asked, carrying a tray of tools.
“Yeah, no answer,” he said, standing to help.
“I’m sure he’ll call back soon,” Reb assured. “Give me a hand cleaning these last couple things

and then we’ll go for a run.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I should wait for Dobs’ to call back,” he said, glancing toward his

silent phone, willing it to ring. It didn’t.

“Are you sure? It’d get your mind off everything. We won’t be out long. Half an hour, an hour

tops.”

Frankie did enjoy stretching his legs. “Okay, but just a short one.”
An hour and a half later, Frankie quickly scrambled back into his clothes. He loved running as a

wolf, but sometimes he wished it could be like in the fantasy books he occasionally read—where the
clothes on the werewolves magically disappeared and reappeared, making it unnecessary to strip in
frigid weather.

Snorting at his thoughts, he pulled out his phone and grinned. Two missed calls. Quickly, he

dialed into his answering service. His smile faded as he listened to Lex apologize for saying what he
did, and he urged Frankie to give Dobs—Vince—the opportunity to explain. The second message was
also from Lex. This time, he apologized for interrupting and since Vince wasn’t picking up his phone,
he hoped Frankie would have Vince call him. He had information about Mikael.

He handed his phone to Reb and said, “Listen to this. Why would Lex think Dobs was with me?”
Reb frowned as he listened to the two messages. Then he handed Frankie his phone back and

advised, “Call Dobs and ask.”

Frankie shook his head a moment later. “It’s going to voicemail still.” Now he started getting

worried.

From the look on Reb’s face, he wasn’t the only one. “Give Lex a call.”
Nodding, Frankie called Lex. The vampire answered on the second ring. “Hey, Frankie, sorry I

had to interrupt you guys, but—”

“Dobs isn’t with me,” Frankie quickly cut him off.
“Wait…he’s not? But he went looking for you hours ago. Like, ten minutes after you left Doctor

Digby’s office,” Lex said, his confusion coming through the line.

“Well, I went to my brother’s tattoo shop, then we went for a run,” Frankie said. “I left him a

message, but haven’t heard from him.”

“Oh, shit. I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Lex muttered. “Seb, Caspian, get over here. Vince is

missing.”

The last sentence was muffled, but still loud enough for Frankie to hear. He frowned, struggling to

keep up with what was going on. Reb grabbed his knee to get his attention. “Ask where he was
looking for you.”

“Do you know where Dobs went?” Frankie asked, trying to control his breathing. He felt out of

breath, and his wolf wanted out to hunt down his mate. Since his brother was driving his Suburban, he
knew he couldn’t allow his wolf out, yet.

“Um, he planned to go to your house first, then your brother’s tattoo shop,” Lex answered

distractedly. It sounded like he was arguing about something one of his buddies said.

“Maybe he’s at the house,” Frankie said, hope filling him.
“That doesn’t explain why he’s not picking up his phone,” Lex pointed out.
“Maybe he fell asleep there.” Okay, that sounded ridiculous even to him, but the alternative…that

his mate had left him or been hurt…Frankie didn’t want to think about that.

Without needing to be told, Reb drove them home…fast. Frankie tore out of the vehicle and raced

up the walk. He paused, realizing he couldn’t scent Dobs. If he’d been there within the last couple
hours, he should have been able to smell him.

“Daithi?” Reb called, striding past him into the house.
Reb’s mate appeared from the back of the house. “Aye?” He frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Did Dobs drop by today? Maybe in the last couple hours?” Reb asked.
“Nay. No visitors at all,” Daithi answered.
Frankie shivered, cold creeping through him. “Where could he be?” he whispered.
“What’s going on?” Daithi asked, looking between them.
“Frankie’s mate, Dobs, is missing,” Reb answered softly.
A choked whimper escaped Frankie’s throat, and he wrapped his arms around himself. He felt

both men wrap their arms around him. One man rubbed his back, while Reb murmured, “Hey, it’s
going to be okay. We’ll find him. Calm down. Panicking won’t help.”

“What could have happened to him?” Frankie asked.
“I don’t know, but let’s backtrack. If he was heading over here from Gordon’s, let’s head that

way. Maybe we’ll find a clue. Or maybe he returned to Gordon’s. It’s worth a look,” Reb stated.

Frankie nodded and headed out the door, starting to jog once he got outside. He knew how to get

to Gordon’s. He knew their small town of Stone Ridge like the back of his hand.

“Call Declan,” Reb ordered Daithi before hurrying after him.
Intent on covering ground as quickly as possible, Frankie almost missed it. He skidded to a stop,

nearly losing his footing on a patch of ice on the sidewalk. Reb grabbed his arm and steadied him.
“What is it?”

“I smell him,” Frankie said. “He was here.”
He looked around and spotted trampled snow and the imprint of several bodies. Also on the

ground was a green-feathered dart, and near that, a phone. His hand shaking, he picked it up. A harsh
sob escaped him when he recognized several missed calls from his number and Lex’s number. A sniff
confirmed it even further.

“This is his phone,” he told his brother.
“Okay, so now we know someone picked him up. I smell more than one vampire,” Reb pointed

out. “If it wasn’t his friends, who was it?”

Frankie started shaking his head, then frowned. “Mikael.”
“Mikael? Who’s that?”
“A vampire that’s holding a grudge against him for something.” At the moment, Frankie couldn’t

remember what, and didn’t really care. If the guy had his mate and had harmed him, he’d happily tear
him apart. “Dobs told me to avoid any other vampires except him and his friends.”

Frankie called Lex back and told him what they’d found.
“That son of a bitch,” Lex snarled. “Earlier, I was calling to tell Vince that Mikael and a couple

of his buddies had been spotted at an abandoned gas station on the edge of Stone Ridge.”

“Okay, I’ll check it out,” Frankie replied automatically.
“What? Wait…”
He dropped the phone on the table next to the dart and shifted, ignoring anything else the vampire

might have said. He headed toward the back of the house and the doggy door.

“Frankie, where the hell are you going?” Reb called. “Declan will be here any minute!”
Frankie didn’t slow down. He heard his brother curse, order his mate to find out what Lex had

told him and to wait for Declan. The telltale crack and pop of a shifter changing forms sounded
behind him, but then Frankie was outside, the walls of the home blocking further sounds from inside,
and he started to run. He had a mate to find.

Every minute that passed felt like a million to Frankie as he sprinted toward his destination. He

pumped his legs, forcing his body to run faster that he’d ever before. When he reached the abandoned
building, some reason returned and he slowed, scenting the wind. Vampires, several of them, but
underneath their smell was the unmistakable scent of his mate.

He didn’t see anyone, so he trotted across the short stretch of clearing and started sniffing his way

around the building. A shout of pain caused him to freeze under a boarded up window. The scent of
blood reached him through the broken window, and a low growl rolled up his throat.

Taking a couple steps away from the building, he looked toward the clearing’s edge just in time to

see his brother’s wolf appear through the trees. Reb growled at him, clearly wanting him to wait, but
another cry from inside firmed his resolve.

Pivoting on his haunches, he took two strides and lunged. Ducking his head, he crashed through

the rotting boards covering the windows and into the room.

Chapter Eleven

Sweat poured down Vince’s body, seeping into the lacerations covering his backside, making

them burn. It hurt almost more than the lash of each whip strike. His blood dripped down his back,
ass, and thighs. He stopped trying to hold in his cries and screamed out his frustration and pain. It felt
good, so he did it again.

Mikael chuckled cruelly from behind him. “You tell me what I want to know, and I’ll stop.”
“Never,” he responded, his voice cracking.
“Have it your way.”
Mikael swung the whip again. Vince cried out, his body straining, trying to absorb the pain. His

head swam, and he knew he was on the verge of passing out.

The crack and splintering of boards pulled Vince out of his daze. He craned his neck to the left,

trying to see. The growl and snarl of a large animal reached his ears, then bodies thudded together
and several forms rolled into view.

Two vampires grappled with a huge tawny-colored wolf. “Frankie,” he mumbled, fear tearing

through him anew. To his surprise, it wasn’t fear of the massive animal, it was fear for him.

“Well, well, guess I didn’t need you to tell me after all,” Mikael sneered. “The damn beast came

to us. Grayson, Erics, help them.”

Two more vampires headed toward Frankie and the first two men he already grappled with.
“No!” Vince shouted. “Leave him alone!”
“Why would I want to do that?” Mikael smirked, watching the fray.
Backus laughed, his arms over his chest, his attention on the fighting group, obviously enjoying the

spectacle.

Frankie bit down on one vampire’s thigh, his teeth tearing into flesh. The man screamed and

stumbled back, gripping the gushing wound. The second man slashed at Frankie with his claws.
Frankie leaped sideways, barely avoiding the slice, but the move took him directly toward the other
two vampires.

A second wolf, this one smaller and redder, leaped through the broken window. It immediately

charged one of the vampires, distracting him. Frankie snapped at one of the others, his sharp teeth
coming dangerously close to the guy’s arm.

“You fools,” Mikael snarled. “Get out of the way,” he ordered, brandishing the whip. “I’ll subdue

that beast myself!”

The vampire swung the whip and the tails just caught Frankie’s hip as he spun out of the way. The

big wolf yipped, then spun around to face the vampire, baring his teeth, his ears flat against his head.

“No!” Vince roared again. Howling in rage, his vision hazed as his nails extended into claws.

Digging deep, he found a last reserve of strength. Vince grabbed the rope binding his wrists, crunched
his abs, and lifted his legs. He wrapped his thighs around Mikael’s neck from behind, squeezing
tightly.

Mikael snarled and twisted. He dug his claws into Vince’s thighs. Ignoring the pain, Vince

responded by squeezing tighter. After a few more seconds, where the wolves kept the other vampires
busy, Mikael slumped in Vince’s grip.

His breath coming in harsh pants, Vince released him and sagged against his bonds.
There was a bang of a door followed by Jared saying dryly, “Damn it. I missed all the fun,” which

roused Vince just enough to turn his head so he could see the room’s entrance. In flooded Jared, Seb,
and Lex accompanied by four more wolves. Jared held a gun on Backus, who—even though his hands
were lifted in surrender—glared with hatred at the human.

A wet nose bumped Vince’s hip, drawing his attention. He managed to get his lips to curve into a

smile, amazed at the pleasure he felt to see the wolf, be touched by him. “Frankie. Hey, baby,” he
murmured. “You came for me.”

The wolf whined, then seconds later, his massive lover rose from his knees and swept his gaze

over him. “I’ll always come for you, Dobs. I’m so sorry I left. If I’d stayed and talked…” He lifted
his hands and reached for Vince, but then drew back, as if uncertain where to touch.

“Not your fault. Not your fault…” he assured weakly.
Jared appeared with a knife and cut through the ropes. Frankie wrapped an arm around Vince’s

shoulders and he hissed at the contact. “Sorry, Dobs,” Frankie said, a miserable expression on his
face.

Slowly, Vince was lowered to his knees. It took everything in him not to shout as fresh waves of

pain coursed through him, caused by the lowering of his arms and the circulation returning, relegating
the pain in his back to a dull ache.

Blinking to clear his vision, he lifted a hand to Frankie’s face. He couldn’t really feel it, not with

the way his fingers tingled, but he tried to smooth away the stress lines anyway. “Hi, I’m Vincent
Marché,” he whispered, “but friends call me Vince. You’re my beloved, and I’d like you to call me
Vince, too.”

Frankie’s expression turned concerned. “Dobs?” He spoke softly, using his free hand to tuck a

strand of Vince’s hair behind his ear. “Did they hit your head, too?”

“No, baby. No head injury, just my back, and thighs, and ass…” his head took that moment to spin.

“Shit, I think I’m going to pass out now.”

This time when Vince woke, it was in a comfortable bed and he was warm, dry, and lying on his

stomach. He cracked open an eyelid and found himself staring directly at Frankie. His lover lay on his
side facing him, his eyes were closed, his mouth was open slightly, and soft snores escaped him.

For some reason, Vince found that beyond endearing, and even a little sexy.
He smiled and rose up on an elbow…and a spike of pain shot through his back and ass. His hiss

roused Frankie, who jerked up. “Dobs? Are you okay?”

Vince grimaced and nodded. “Please, I really do want you to call me Vince. I used to go by Vince

before I earned that nickname. I’d like to go back to it,” he told him, waiting for the pain to ebb.

“Why?” Frankie asked.
Laying his head on his hands, Vince stared at Frankie. “Because I want you to know how serious I

am,” he explained. “I’m ready to start a new life, Frankie. A life with you.”

Frankie returned his smile, his green eyes darkening with affection. “Okay. Does that mean you

want to claim me?”

A surge of heat flooded Vince. His shaft stirred. Hopeful looked so damn sexy on his beloved.

“I’d love to claim you, Frankie. Are you ready to devote your life to me as I will to you?”

His wolf gave him a funny look. “My life is already devoted to you.”
Desire, need, and affection for this man, this shifter, flooded Vince, and he knew Frankie was the

best thing to ever happen to him. Now, all he had to do was convince Frankie that he knew it. “I’m
going to make you mine, wolf,” he vowed. “Then I’m never going to let you go.”

“Okay,” Frankie immediately replied.
Vince moved, ignoring the pain, and shoved down the sheet.
“Wait,” Frankie said, making Vince pause. “Let me take a look at your back and thighs. Lark

cleaned up your wounds, but Lex said you’d heal faster if you feed. Do you want to do that first?”

The idea of feeding from his lover, his beloved, his wolf, made Vince’s fangs ache with

anticipation. “Oh, I’ll feed from you, baby,” he growled. “When I claim you.”

Frankie’s eyes widened, and he gave a visible shiver. The scent of arousal flooded the room, and

Vince’s dick oozed a bead of pre-cum. He ached with the need to be buried inside his shifter. He’d
put it off too long, and now his patience was at an end. His claws lengthened and he sliced through the
boxers Frankie wore.

His lover gasped, but from the way Frankie’s newly revealed, engorged dick flexed, Vince knew

he was just as excited as he was. Vince gripped Frankie’s shaft and pumped once, twice, watching as
another translucent bead glittered from the slit.

Vince bent down and licked it off, pleased by the moan erupting from Frankie’s chest. “Is there

lube in here?” he asked. That was probably something he should have checked before removing his
lover’s clothes.

“Yeah,” Frankie panted. He reached up his left arm and pulled a half-empty tube from beneath his

pillow.

Vince chuckled. “Convenient.”
“Jacked off to thoughts of you last night,” Frankie revealed.
Groaning, Vince remembered what Frankie looked like spread out on the couch in Declan’s study,

his pants around his ankles and his big dick in hand. Beautiful. “I’d love to watch you jack off some
time, but right now, I need my shaft buried in your ass.”

“Hell, yeah,” Frankie agreed.
He started to roll over, but Vince stopped him with a hand on his hip. “Like this. I want to watch

your face as I enter you, see your body flush with pleasure as you come, and know that I gave that to
you.”

Frankie whimpered and grabbed the backs of his thighs, pulling his legs to his chest. “Please.”
Growling low in his throat, Vince forced his claws to retract, then poured a generous dollop of

lube on his fingers. He leaned over his lover and tapped lightly at the wrinkled muscle that he wanted
to enter. Frankie moaned and rocked his hips, obviously searching for more.

Vince didn’t wait to give it to him. He pressed his finger into Frankie’s channel, liberally

spreading lube. A second later, he added a second finger. Leaning over his lover, Vince pressed a
soft kiss to Frankie’s lips.

He sucked on his lover’s tongue gently, swallowing the man’s moan. While he slid a third finger

into Frankie, Vince brought his free hand up and tweaked his man’s beaded nipple. Frankie grunted,
his back arching.

“Need you, Vince. Please,” he hissed through clenched teeth.
Vince leaned up and stared down at his lover. He took in the way Frankie held himself open. His

long thick rod lying rigid across his ripped abs. His chest rose and fell in rapid pants. Even the lust
and need etched across his features and dilating his eyes was clearly discernible. Everything
combined to make Vince hotter for Frankie than he’d ever been for anyone in all his one hundred sixty
two years.

“I will slide into you, now,” he vowed. “And claim you for my own, Frankie.”
“Vince,” Frankie whimpered.
He smiled at the use of his given name by his beloved. He wanted to please his lover, not just

with his bite, but with his touch as well. “Relax, Frankie,” he urged. Vince rose up on his knees
between his lover’s thighs, the movement tugging the sensitive skin of his back, reminding him of his
injuries.

Gently, he gripped his lover’s hands and urged him to release his legs. Frankie’s brows drew

down in confusion, but he obeyed, allowing Vince to lift his arms to the rungs of the headboard.
“Keep them there for now,” he ordered. At Frankie’s frown, he added ruefully, “As much as I want
you to wrap me up with your arms and legs the second I enter you, my back and thighs wouldn’t be
able to handle it.”

“Oh,” Frankie whispered. “Are you sure you’re well enough to do this?”
“Hell, yeah,” Vince growled. As flattered as he was at Frankie’s concern, there was no way in

hell he was going to let his injuries put a hold on bonding with his shifter.

He scraped his nails down Frankie’s arms and over his shoulders. When he reached the man’s

nipples, he pinched them both just hard enough to make Frankie hiss, giving him something to think
about other than Vince’s injuries. Then he leaned down and replaced his fingers with his mouth on his
lover’s left nub, sucking and nipping the sensitive bud. Frankie squirmed and mewled, his legs jerking
where they lay on either side of Vince’s hips.

The noises the big man made, the open honest reactions spurred Vince on. With his free hand, he

gripped his lover’s thigh, pushing it wider. He slid his weeping dick along Frankie’s crack, tingles
shooting up his spine when his head rubbed over the hole he desperately wanted into.

“Now, please, now,” Frankie pleaded, his hips bucking into the contact.
“Anything for you,” Vince growled as he thrust forward.
His shaft sank into Frankie’s channel, his lover’s stretched chute seeming to welcome him in, and

in one smooth glide, he buried himself balls-deep in a hot, tight, silky vice. Vince gasped at the
exquisite pleasure of finally being one with his beloved.

Capturing his lover’s lips, Vince assaulted Frankie’s mouth in a sensual claiming. He slid his

tongue into Frankie’s heat and twined their appendages. He drew Frankie’s into his own mouth and
sucked lightly. Once Frankie was moaning and groaning, Vince eased the kiss to an end.

Taking in his lover’s flushed face and chest and his dilated eyes, Vince slowly eased his cock

halfway out, then slid back in just as slowly.

Chapter Twelve

Frankie wanted to beg Vince to hurry up, to fuck him, claim him, but he couldn’t find his voice.

The nerve ending of his chute felt like they were on fire, sending delicious tingles of ecstasy radiating
out from his ass, up his balls to his dick. His nipples ached from where Vince had worked them and
each time the hardened nubs rubbed against Vince’s firm chest, fresh sparks spread across his chest.

It was too much and not enough, all at the same time.
Planting his feet, Frankie rocked up into each of Vince’s thrusts. He stared up into Vince’s eyes,

entranced how they bled from blue to red. The low growl that rumbled through his lover’s chest
seemed to vibrate through his own, making his muscles tremble and his balls pull tight.

Everything about this man did it for him, and he’d never let him go again.
Finally untangling his tongue, Frankie urged, “Claim me,” as he tilted his head.
Vince grinned, showing off his fangs. Somehow, Vince slipped a hand between them and gripped

Frankie’s cock, jacking it in time with his thrusts. Frankie grunted, his movement stuttering as he
struggled to hang on. His testicles felt like they were on fire and he knew he’d unload any second.

Leaning forward, Vince growled, “We will be bound for all eternity. You will be mine as I will

be yours.”

“Yesss,” Frankie hissed.
“Then, come, beloved,” Vince ordered. He adjusted the angle of his next thrust and nailed

Frankie’s prostate.

Frankie roared. His body arched as his cock shot, filling the space between them with seed. His

wolf howled in the back of his mind. He released the headboard with his left hand, reached up, and
grabbed Vince’s head. Yanking his lover down, Frankie met him halfway and sank his canines into
Vince’s neck, claiming his mate.

Vince moaned and shuddered above him. His hips snapped forward, driving his dick into Frankie

another couple of times before he tensed and came, coating Frankie’s rectum with his semen.

Frankie dropped his head onto his pillow and smiled up at Vince. His brows shot up at the feral

red light still filling his lover’s eyes. “Mine,” Vince snapped right before gripping Frankie’s neck and
sinking his fangs into his shoulder.

Bliss exploded through Frankie’s system. It felt as if Vince were sucking his cock instead of the

blood from his neck and his balls turned inside out as he came again. He cried out hoarsely, joining in
with his wolf howling in the back of his mind at being claimed.

Vince licked his bite mark, gently sealing the wound. He petted Frankie’s shuddering, twitching

body with his hands and nuzzled his cheek and neck. Feeling the vampire’s kisses along the cords of
his neck, Frankie hummed with satisfaction.

Slowly, his limbs lethargic, he gently grabbed his lover’s upper arms and nuzzled Vince back.

“Mine,” he claimed.

Lifting his head, Vince smiled down at him. “Yours.” Vince gently traced Frankie’s brow

affectionately. “Your mate.”

He leaned down and pecked a quick kiss to his lips, then gently eased his softening cock from

Frankie’s channel. Frankie grunted. He’d always thought that was one of the oddest sensations, but
dealing with it was well worth the pleasure he received.

“Do you bottom?” he asked curiously.
Vince grabbed the box of tissues from the nightstand before turning back to him. He winked

lasciviously. “On rare occasion, and yes, I fully intend to have your thick cock in me next round.”

“Oh,” Frankie breathed, liking the sound of that. Even after two incredible orgasms, his dick still

managed to rouse to half-mast.

Carefully, Vince cleaned them. “Like the sound of that, do you?” he teased, fondling Frankie’s

cock.

Frankie sighed, loving his mate’s touch, even when not anticipating getting off. “Yeah.”
“Good,” Vince growled. Leaning over him, he added, “Because I have every intention of touching

you every chance I get.”

Frankie reached for his lover, wrapping him up and pulling him on top of him. He felt bumpy skin

under his fingertips and froze. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he cried, afraid to move in case he hurt his mate.

Vince smiled. “Relax. It feels much better now. I’m well on my way to being fully healed,” he

assured.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Frankie smiled. “Good.” His smile faded as guilt set in. “I’m sorry

you were hurt. If I’d stayed and talked with you instead of running off—”

“Hey, enough of that,” Vince cut in. He cupped Frankie’s cheek, forcing him to look him in the

eye. “I already told you it wasn’t your fault. If I hadn’t been so foolish as to try to run from having a
shifter for a beloved, none of this would have happened either because I wouldn’t have had to borrow
a jet from the Vampire Council, and Mikael wouldn’t have learned of my weakened condition. So,
you could say it’s my own damn fault.”

Frankie cocked his head and took a moment to process all that. He felt grateful Vince waited

patiently. Finally, he shook his head, easily dismissing that notion. “Everything happens in its own
time. We’ll call it Mikael’s fault,” he decided.

Vince grinned. “It’s a deal.”
His mate leaned down and pressed his lips to Frankie’s. Frankie immediately opened to his

questing tongue. He hummed happily and sucked on Vince’s oral muscle, liking how it made the sexy
vampire growl. Stroking his hands down his vampire’s sides, he gripped his hips and pulled his
lover’s body more firmly against his own.

He ignored the knock on the door, wanting more friction on his rapidly refilling cock. Frankie

liked how his body reacted to his mate. It felt good to be touched, rubbed, and stroked.

The throat clearing and Reb’s voice saying, “I’m glad to see Vince’s back is healing swiftly, but I

could do without seeing his ass again,” was not so easy to ignore.

Breaking the kiss, Frankie turned his head and glared at his brother. “What are you doing in

here?” he snapped.

“Lex is here.” His brother smirked. “At least, I kept him from interrupting your claiming a few

minutes ago. Congratulations, by the way.”

That’s when he noticed two things. One, Lex was in the room with them, a big grin on his face,

and he was looking everywhere but at the bed. And, two, Vince was shaking with suppressed
laughter.

Frankie harrumphed, then grabbed the sheet and pulled it over them both to the waist. When Vince

shifted sideways and sat up, he grabbed Frankie’s hand and kissed it. “Sorry, baby. I just can’t help
remembering all the times I’ve had to interrupt Lex because we’ve been assigned a new mission. I’m
sure he’s just loving this.”

“He’s standing right here. And yes I am,” Lex quipped. Then he sighed. “Unfortunately, though, I

am here in an official capacity.”

“You are? Why?” Vince asked, his words drowning out Frankie’s shocked gasp.
“Your testimony is required by the Vampire Council,” Lex said. Then he looked at Frankie. “You

and your brother’s, too.”

“What? Why?” Vince asked warily.
Lex rolled his eyes. “Because of the charges we are bringing against Mikael and his band of

miscreants. You’ve been out of it for nearly thirty-six hours, Vince. They’ve already been sent back to
Georgia in chains. Since Seb and Caspian used the private jet to take them, we’ll be joining them via
conference call from the hotel.” He glanced at his watch. “The trial starts in two hours. Get ready and
come on.”

Lex and Reb left the room. Frankie looked worriedly at his mate. “Are we in trouble?”
“No,” Vince assured. “If we were, Lex would have said something. This is just a formality.”
He slid from the bed and, taking Frankie’s hand, urged him up. “Let’s get this done with and then

we can go back to making out.”

Frankie figured Vince said that to cheer him up, and as he got into the shower with his lover and

they exchanged blowjobs, he realized it had worked.

Frankie really should have listened to his mate. He’d allowed himself to get all worked up and

stressed out for nothing. All the Vampire Council had wanted to know from him was who had been
holding the whip and how many vampires were in the room, and if he recognized the vampires in
custody as the ones who’d beaten Vince.

Frankie had been all too happy to finger the group of men who’d hurt his mate.
Evidently, attacking a representative of the Vampire Council was a very serious offense. The

entire group was sentenced to death.

Frankie tried to decide how he felt about that. The vampires had attempted to kill his mate, and

had planned to kill him, too, in front of Vince, just to make him suffer. Frankie decided Mikael and his
friends had gotten what they deserved.

Sitting in a chair in the lobby, he waited for Vince. The vampire had taken a second conference

call from someone on the council.

Reb patted his thigh, drawing his attention. “There’s your man. Is he moving in with us?” he

asked, indicating the bag slung over Vince’s shoulder.

Frankie rose to his feet and watched Vince and Lex head toward them. “I don’t know. You don’t

mind if he does, do you?”

Reb shrugged. “Not really. The house is big enough, but if you’re sticking around Stone Ridge,

you might want to consider getting your own home.” His brother rested a hand on his shoulder and
looked him in the eyes. “You always have a place with me, you know that. But making a home of your
own with a mate is important.” He winked. “You’d never have to worry about me walking in and
seeing your mate’s sexy ass again.”

Frankie nodded. He knew his brother would never turn him out, but he appreciated the reminder,

just the same. “We haven’t talked about it, yet. I don’t even know where his home is,” he admitted.

“Atlanta, Georgia. Same as Caspian,” Vince said, obviously overhearing the last bit of their

conversation. “And you’re right…we do have a few things we need to discuss.” He held out his hand.
“Shall we?”

Taking it without hesitation, Frankie asked, “Where are we going?”
“See ya, little brother,” Reb said, slapping him on the back.
Frankie smiled and waved. “Later.”
Vince nodded at Reb, then answered, “To a house I’m renting for the next several months. I

checked out some pictures, and it’s not large, but it appears clean. It’s furnished and it’s close to
Stone Ridge.”

“When did you have time to do that?” Frankie asked curiously, climbing into the SUV when Vince

opened the door for him.

“Lex found it for me. I just gave him the go-ahead,” Vince explained.
Frankie glanced over his shoulder at the empty back of the vehicle as Vince eased the SUV into

traffic. “Where is Lex?”

“On his way to the airport. He’s taking a cab.”
“Oh, but you’re staying?” Frankie couldn’t help feeling elated. His mate was staying with him.
“I am. I’ve secured the next three months off,” Vince told him. He flashed a grin Frankie’s way.

“It’s high time I learned to relax, and what better way to do that, than falling in love with one’s
beloved? Hmm?”

Frankie’s jaw dropped. “You love me?” No one but his brother had ever said that to him.
Vince pulled the SUV into a driveway, but Frankie was too busy staring at his mate to look at it.

Vince unbuckled his belt and turned to face him. “I’m definitely at least halfway there, Frankie. I
know it won’t take long for me to be head-over-heels in love with you. You’re amazing, and kind, and
giving.” His smile turned fiery. “Not to mention sexy as fuck and a hotter-than-hell lover. We still
have plenty to learn about each other, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Frankie couldn’t stop the goofy grin from splitting his lips. “You keep talking like that and I’ll be

madly in love with you back.”

Vince’s voice dropped to a sultry pitch as he reached for Frankie. Right before their lips met, he

crooned, “Then I’ll talk like that to you every hour of the day.”

“Okay,” Frankie breathed.
Their lips touched, and their tongues tangled as they pressed closer together in the confines of the

vehicle. Even though Frankie knew this was just the beginning, he couldn’t wait to share everything
about his life with Vince. As his brother said, it’d take respect, communication, and compromise, but
it would be worth it.

About the Author

Charlie lives on a mini ranchette in Utah with her husband and furry, four-legged children. She

started writing fantasy when she was eight, and after stumbling onto her first erotic romance at age
nineteen, she realized her true calling. She now focuses on writing erotic romance, normally of the
paranormal variety, with heroes and heroines of all kinds. You can often find her curled up with her
laptop and a cup of tea or glass of wine, creating her next adventure. Charlie enjoys exploring the
mountains on horseback, 4-wheeler, or motorcycle. Her favorite exercise is jumping lessons with her
Arabian gelding Apache or her Thoroughbred mare Repo. And she can’t get enough of sexy
highlanders with their kilts and swords. Right now, she and her muse are working with dedication on
her Wolves of Stone Ridge series and Kontra’s Menagerie series.

She can be reached at [e-mail]
Or visit her at www.charlie-richards.com