Bound (Wolf in Exile Part 5): Werewolf Shifter/Vampire Paranormal Romance (4 page)

K
alena tried
to hold back the tears, but they spilled out and down her cheeks anyway. Her fingers trembled nervously against the bouquet of flowers, but her dad’s reassuring squeeze comforted her. When she looked up again, Thane’s grin became contagious and she returned the gesture. He was so happy, and it reflected in more than just his expression. She could barely contain her excitement over learning that Thane had planned a surprise wedding ceremony to coincide with the night they would bond. He’d invited dozens, taking into account her human family members, too.

Now all of Illene’s cryptic comments made sense. That woman had sent out to ruin everything Thane had planned for Kalena. But by circumstance and fate, Illene had been shut down. And because love had prevailed, she would now marry the man who she loved.

“Who gives this woman?” Brant said, looking up from the notes he was reading from.

“I do.” Her dad kissed her on the cheek and then let her go to join her mate.

The moment she fell in place beside Thane, she knew she’d always stand by him. No matter what. In that instant, a flashback came to her from the very first moment she had touched him. It was the moment when the ring leader of Area S2 had thrown her into Thane’s arms. The same feeling of warmth and security flowed through her.

The exchanging of vows went by quicker than Kalena had thought. She was grateful to have had the chance to live out one of her dreams and have the beautiful fairytale wedding she’d always wanted. It was perfect.

“Merry Christmas, love,” Thane said as they walked off the veranda and through the smiling crowd. An audience of their peers. Wolves, vampires, altered humans, and some of Kalena’s close family and friends. They’d all just witnessed them professing their love and commitment to each other. Their mating had been fully recognized by all. And soon, she’d be bound to the man she couldn’t live without.

“
L
ooks
like we’re snowed in for the rest of this week,” Thane said, placing his palm on her shoulder and then pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“That’s okay. We have everything we need. My mom and dad and the other out-of-town guests don’t seem to mind. My mom still can’t believe the home has two kitchens. They’ve been exploring all day, and she’s insisted on keeping the triplets while we do a little exploring ourselves.”

“Hmmm. Think we can move your mom and dad here?” Thane chuckled.

“Closer in this state, maybe? In the same home, no. I moved out for a reason. Let’s just put it that way.” She smiled.

“I get that. But they are family now. We’re a family, and we’ll build our future together here.”

“Good, because I love it here,” she said.

“We’ll need the space once the kids grow up.”

“We will, won’t we?” Time had flown past them, and would continue to do so. But Thane would never grow old and she would be forever altered. Unless…

Thane caught her reflection in the mirror. “Thank you,” he said.

“For what?”

“Giving me a family. And giving me life.”

“We did this together.” She turned around and he took her hand to help her rise from the stool. “But I’m so nervous.”

“About what?”

“Everything really. Being a new mom and your new wife. And now that it actually will happen, bonding with you.”

“I’m here every step of the way. I’ve never been married or mated, so I’m nervous, too. But I know that I love you and you look extremely sexy tonight.”

Thane took her face in his hands and kissed her. He covered her lips eagerly, and she nearly melted from his touch. She wanted to be skin to skin with him, so she pulled his shirt from his pants and pressed her palms against his rock-solid abs. He held her against him, his hands caressing the back of her neck as his lips roamed hot and hungry over hers.

He parted from her for a few seconds to help her unbutton his shirt and throw it aside. He undid his belt and let the pants fall to the floor. Once he was naked, they worked on ridding her of her white, see-through teddy. He was meticulous and gentle, pulling the light garment up over her head. He left her panties on, probably on purpose. He took her lips again and walked them back to the bed.

Kalena sat down on the edge and slid her panties down her legs. Then she laid back and spread her knees for him. She loved watching his cock harden like a rock before her eyes. This time, his cock pulsed as his eyes swept along her legs and he paused to admire her sex.

Thane crawled on the bed, moving between her thighs. His palms stroked up her legs and his lips left a heated trail on her skin. He slid his fingers between her wet folds, pushed his shoulders back against her legs to open her wider, and then took a hungry lick at her pussy. He played with her, dipping deep inside her and against her sex until she was arching on the bed. Pushing his tongue against one side of her clit, he flicked her there until she was feverish with need. She let go of all control, released all restraints, and surrendered to him. Intense energy raced down her spine, tightened in her loins, and then pulsed out of her. She cried softly as she came against his tongue.

As Kalena came crashing down from her climax, Thane rose above her and fit his body tightly to hers. She laced her fingers through his hair and took his lips, thrusting her tongue into his mouth and tasting the sweet honey that was hers. She wrapped her legs around him. His soft, guttural groan filled her mouth. He held her in his arms and drove into her pussy. His thrusting was persistent and matched the rhythmic rise and fall of her hips. He made love to her tenderly and thoroughly.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered.

“You won’t. This is love, Thane. Not pain,” she said, sliding her hair away from her neck and exposing her throat.

As he always did, he pressed his face to the curve in her shoulder. His lips trembled against her skin. His pacing slowed within her as he prepared to deliver the bite that would bind them together. A vampire to his mate. He positioned his fangs against her jugular and drove them deep into the pulsing vein.

She screamed from the shock, but the pain lasted only a few seconds before there was immense pleasure. He withdrew his fangs and suctioned her blood from the wounds he’d made. He lapped at her skin, coveting each drop. She could hear him swallowing as her blood flooded his mouth. The feeding lasted for minutes. And with each pull from his mouth, she felt a little piece of her soul leaving her, binding her to Thane. One day, she’d give up her soul completely to be like her mate, but taking her as she was now was pleasure for him. She wouldn’t deny him that. She wouldn’t deny herself that. They weren’t exiled anymore or living off borrowed time. They had time to love and cherish. And grow and learn.

The intensity with which he fed took her to the highest levels of ecstasy, and she came apart again in his arms. He tore his mouth away from her wound and then sighed deeply. He licked his lips and moaned. His release burned through her like an exotic wildfire that could not be tamed. With every pulse of seed within her, she felt a little piece of vampire elixir consuming her.

When their shared climax was complete, she held onto him. Her sex throbbed with satisfaction and the bite on her neck tingled as he breathed heavily against it.

“You are my everything,” Thane said to her. “Remember when you told me that you would never marry a man? Well, you were right. You married a vampire.”

Kalena smiled; impressed that he’d remembered that declaration. “You are my man. The only man for me. My wolf. My vampire. You are my everything.”

C
opyright © 2012 Ambrielle Kirk
, Amber Ella Monroe

Published by Obsidian Gem Publishing LLC

http://ambriellekirk.com

http://amberellabooks.com

ISBN-13: 978-1511649940

ISBN-10: 1511649941

First Edition. October 2012

T
his is a work of fiction
. The characters, places, incidents, and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or person, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

“Are you in…or are you out?”

Tamara glared at her fiancé. The demanding expression on Brad’s face was the same exact look he gave her when he wanted something. Only this time, no physical force followed. After all, they were surrounded by his partners in crime. He wouldn’t dare lift a hand to strike her around other people. Brad wanted no one to know how much of a coward he was.

Swallowing, she bit the corners of her lips. She’d waited for this opportunity for months. The chance to be free of the conniving bastard and the controlling dangerous life that he’d tricked her to lead.

Her plans were already in place. All she had to do was make one call and her contact would be waiting. She would be free from this life.

“Yes, I’m in.” Her voice came out on a hoarse whisper.

“A ride or die chick.” One of Brad’s friends chuckled. “What does a guy have to do to get one of those nowadays?”

Brad grabbed the duffel bag at his feet and grinned. “It’s an acquired skill.”

If they only knew. Brad Thatcher wasn’t the man he portrayed himself to be. Over the last ten months, he’d turned to heavy drinking each night. Then the verbal abuse turned into something much worse. She had something to show for being so vulnerable, the bruises on her skin. Now, she feared for her life. This situation had gone too far.

Tamara had never envisioned being with a man who seemed to thrive off of her pain. He was never going to get better. Her counselor had warned her of this. She’d even ticked off the list of warning signs to watch for in his behavior. Throwing jealous tantrums if she so much as looked at another man. Trying to control her every move and keeping her under lock and key. Verbal insults escalating into gripping her in the fit of rebellious rages. One after the other, the signs became clearer. Brad was an abuser. Of women, drugs, and alcohol. Yet she stayed.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably as she contemplated the consequences. If she failed this escape, there would be hell to pay and she might lose her life. The last time she threatened to leave him, he’d freaked out. She still had the marks on her neck to show for it.

“I need to use the bathroom before we leave.” Tamara looked to Brad for his approval.

“Ah man. We don’t have time for this.” Brad’s second sidekick yelled from the driver’s side of the vehicle. “We have to be at the museum during the shift change-over.”

Brad and his crew made their living as thieves. It was fast, easy money. They were bandits who ran from the law and walked on the edge. Her fiancé had hidden his shady side job from her while they dated. He’d painted himself to be the picture perfect husband-to-be, but he was a fake. Her normal boring life had been turned upside down.

It all started when he lost his job for money laundering. She stood by her man back then. Had even persuaded him to pursue other careers, but Brad had alternative motives. Things got out of hand, and soon her husband-to-be turned out to be the fiancé from hell. By the time she caught on, she was in too deep.

“I need to go,” she repeated in a harsher tone. She’d pay for acting out like this later.

“You better hurry.” Brad’s lips formed a taut line. He turned his attention back to his crew. “She’s the only one who can fit through the vent.”

As Tamara walked off to the bathroom in the back of the warehouse, they discussed strategy amongst themselves. After locking the door behind her, she retrieved a small cell phone from the sleeve of her boot. Her fingers shook as she flipped open the lid. Before punching in the numbers she’d remembered by heart, she exhaled.

Tamara paced the cramped space of the one stall bathroom, praying for Selene to pick up the phone. This was her only hope. Just when she thought her plans would backfire, her counselor answered the phone.

“Hello.”

The voice sounded groggy on the other end. At nearly two hours before midnight, she expected this much. She only hoped that Selene could still help her. It had been a while since she’d last spoken with the counselor.

“Selene,” she whispered into the phone. “It’s me. Tamara.”

There was a bunch a ruffling on the other end. “Tamara. I haven’t heard from you in three months. What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I’m ready.”

“Give me your location.”

“About ten miles south of Blue Hills, Virginia. Near an industrial area.”

Outside the door, she heard the van engine start. Brad shouted her name.

“Selene…I don’t have much time,” Tamara whispered into the phone with urgency.

“Wait. Let me get my laptop.” There was some fumbling on the other end. “I think I know where you are. Industry Park. Near the city. Shoot! I’m getting you out of there.” The sound of fingers tapping furious at the keyboard flowed through the phone line. “You are to board the next train out of the Westbed station. A man in a red cap will be waiting with your ticket.”

Each time she’d called Selene, they’d discussed her getaway. She’d chickened out twice before. The promise of a new beginning and identity seemed like the life change she needed, but the consequences if she failed this escape loomed in her conscience.

“How—”

Brad banged on the door. “Get your ass out here. Now.”

Tamara’s heart jumped and her voice lodged in her throat. Brad jiggled the door handle and pushed against it. It rattled on the frames.

She looked up at the small window. There wouldn’t be any escaping from here. Not even a small dog could pass through the bars.

Darting over to the sink, she turned on the faucet. “I’ll be right out. I’m just washing up.”

“Washing up, my ass.” Using the weight of his body, Brad burst through the doors.

Acting quickly, Tamara tossed the cell into the wastebasket under the sink.

He reached out and grabbed her by the forearm. “What the fuck are you doing in here?”

She flinched as he tightened his grip, pinching her skin. “I was just washing my hands.”

“You’re taking too long.” He led her out of the bathroom, practically pushing her towards the waiting van. After shoving her inside, he slid the door closed. “Let’s go.” He jumped into the passenger seat.

Tamara took a seat in the back of the van. Her palms stung, and she looked down to find her hands balled in tight fists. Violence wasn’t the answer. She wouldn’t dare stoop to that level. So many times she’d wanted to hurt Brad. She hated him—despised him for making her afraid to fight back.

She bent down and touched the hilt of the pocketknife hidden in her other boot to make sure it was still there. The cell phone was gone. Now she only had the knife to protect herself. Last time, she threatened to use a weapon on him, he’d laughed in her face. Said that she wouldn’t dare kill him. He thought this was a game. She’d come to the realization that Brad loved to taunt her. It turned him on to see her in pain. But how far would he go? How far would he go until she ended up dead in a landfill?

Tamara swallowed.

The smoke from Brad’s cigarette wafted to the back of van when he opened the window to flick the ashes away. In the other hand, he had a bottle of vodka. As he took a swig of the poison that fueled his rage, a sense of hopelessness consumed her and she squeezed her eyes shut. She was tired of his perilous ways. Tired of feeling like being imprisoned in a dreadful place.

No matter what he’d done to her, it pained her to see him throw his life away in exchange for quick money, drugs, and alcohol. She had to get out of this relationship. She wanted to get out now.

By the time they reached the city limits, Tamara’s hands ached from wringing them in fear and anticipation. Once she made a run for it, she would be alone in the world. All her big dreams had been crushed following the death of her parents. She’d become dependent on Brad, but what they had wasn’t love anymore. It was a relationship of convenience and abuse.

Brad slid the van door open, shattering her thoughts. She jumped down and her boots hit the pavement with a thud. The damp night air fueled her senses, and she breathed in deeply. She smelled her freedom, and she only had to act to gain it.

He handed her a small black drawstring bag. “You know what to do?”

“Cut the telephone line. Enter through the side vent,” she said, pulling the hoody over her head.

He grinned. “Good girl. Do it in ten minutes, top.”

Tamara nodded, and then pushed the start button on her stopwatch. She tossed the bag over her shoulders, and jogged behind a building. The museum was the next block over, but if she cut across behind an adjacent storage lot, it would take her half the time to get there. Then she’d have two minutes to report the break in to the cops. It had to be timed just right. Brad and his crew would have to be inside the museum and the police on the way before she hauled ass. Once the museum was under lock down, there would be no way out.

At the back of the building, she pulled a bobby pin from the bun secured at her nape and jimmied the lock. It gave way in a matter of seconds. The voices of the guards near the front of the building greeted her as the door swung open. She tiptoed inside, her heart about to burst from fear. Keys rattled and two doors slammed as the guards locked and secured the museum. They’d activated the security system, but she’d made it in just in time.

After unarming the system, she took the stairs down to the basement level, and entered a small office. There was a phone on the wall near the door exactly as Brad had told her. He and his crew had mapped out the entire museum and planned the burglary for several days. While they’d been planning to commit a crime, she’d been planning to execute her escape.

Tamara lifted the receiver with shaky fingers and punched the three digits that she should have used many times during her spats with Brad.

It rang once before an operator answered. “Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”

“I want to report a break-in,” Tamara whispered. “Hurry please.”

“Give me the location, ma’am.”

“Heritage Museum of Fine Arts.” She glanced down at her stopwatch. Shit! Brad would be waiting at the back door now.

“Are you okay, ma’am?”

Tamara disconnected the call and raced toward the back of the museum. Her instincts proved to be correct. When she opened the back door, Brad and the other guy barged inside.

“What took you so long?” He nudged past her and shoved a bag into her arms. “You take the third floor. I’ll handle the safe.”

Tamara paused, but only for a moment. She didn’t want to give herself away. What she hadn’t planned on was him asking her to help with bagging stuff. Her plan was to escape from the basement while they worked, but now she was stuck inside.