Chasing Sam: Vegas Mates Book 1 (6 page)

The older man’s face softened at Chase’s use
of his daughter’s nickname. “Nothing is stopping you, Mr.
Michaels,” he answered softly. “Anything that happens on the hunt
is sanctioned by the hunt and the noble families.”

“Outsider, he’s trying to warn you that we
will come for you.”

The same man who’d taunted him about getting
in the vehicle was at it again. Chase’s fangs extended and he
turned to face the jerk. He was not a small man, and his wolf would
be formidable. Chase was not concerned. If there were no rules to
this hunt, then so be it.

“Your teeth don’t scare me, outsider.” The
olive-skinned man allowed his own fangs to show. “Did you forget? I
have them too.”

“Enough!” Peter Demakis bellowed. “You can
taunt each other later.”

Chase could feel his gaze settling on him
and turned to meet it.

“You will have to fight, and you may have to
kill. It is your choice, Mr. Michaels, to participate in this hunt.
Mr. Savona is correct. I am trying to warn you. These other three
contenders have trained for this event since puberty. They will not
hold back to win Samantha.”

“Neither will I,” Chase answered
solemnly.

“Good.” Peter paused. “One more thing. To
claim Samantha as your mate, you must mark her once you have both
returned to human form. If the mark is not there before you emerge
from the hunt, your claim is negated and Samantha will have to
participate in another hunt.”

Freak! Why would a father be willing to
subject his daughter to this barbaric ceremony? No wonder it was
only the crazy nobles that still participated in this
tradition.

“
Chase, it is tradition. It honors the
old ones. You are her love choice. Everything is as it should
be.”
His wolf’s voice was soft.

Glad you’re so calm now. What was wrong with
you earlier?

“
I was unsure if Demakis would fully
explain the ritual. I was worried I would have to do it and
wondered if you would believe me.”

Of course I would have.

“
Are you willing to take a life? They
will not hesitate to take ours.”

We will worry about that when the time
comes.

“
That’s what I was afraid of.”

***

Sam jumped from the car and swung around to
face her mother. “I hate you and father for doing this. Men
shouldn’t have to fight and die to have the right to claim me. What
happened to living in the twenty-first century? We are not living
in medieval times!”

Renata Demakis stepped from her seat and
glared back at her. Without warning a sharp slap connected with
Samantha’s cheek, and she staggered backward, stunned. Her mother
hit her.
What the hell?
She stood speechless. Her mom had
never hit her or any of the them before.

“You just be grateful your father is
allowing your choice to participate in the hunt at all. My father
allowed no such boon, Samantha Talia Demakis,” her mom hissed
angrily.

Sam watched her sisters scurry out the
opposite car door and silently creep up to the house, giving as
much space as possible between their mom and themselves.
Cowards.

“My choice! My choice!” Samantha screeched.
“I met him at the airport earlier today!” Her breath was ragged,
and she struggled to hold her wolf at bay. “We connected, and he is
the only contender who will allow me a life after this hunt. Didn’t
you ever want a life, Mother?”

“You connected? You stupid girl. You are a
noble. You don’t get a connection. Especially with a Michaels!”

Samantha gritted her teeth. The other side
of her face burned from another slap, this time well deserved. She
couldn’t hold back the anger, and her fangs elongated. Samantha
growled.
What was wrong with her mom? Didn’t she want her
daughters to be happy? Why wasn’t she excited that Chase was
allowed to join the hunt?
His presence gave her hope for the
future. She could still be a doctor if she was married to him.
Doctors Without Borders wouldn’t be just a forgotten dream.

Sam watched as her mother allowed her own
fangs to distend and growled angrily back at her. Her mom’s eyes
glowed bright gold, and Sam knew she was in deep shit.

“Mom!” What the hell? “Mom!”

Sam dove to the side just before her mother
lunged at her. She morphed in the air and cringed as her clothing
shredded around her. Reddish blonde fur sprouted all over her body
as she changed into her wolf form. She rolled on her back and
sprung to her paws facing a large, angry black wolf—her mother.

“
If your father doesn’t get here quickly,
we are in trouble,”
her wolf whined.

No kidding?

Sam and her mother circled each other on the
front lawn. Sam howled, hoping her father’s car was close. Her
mother snarled and lunged. Sam dodged the snapping teeth by a hair
and howled again.

From the dark, a huge brown wolf charged
straight into her mother and knocked her to the ground. It stood
over her and growled until she whined and changed back into human
form. Sam watched as the wolf licked and nuzzled the sobbing, naked
woman. She averted her eyes as her father changed back.

“Go, Samantha. The hunt will be tomorrow
night instead. Your mother needs time to rest, and your suitors
will appreciate the time to speak with you tomorrow.”

He cast a glance behind him, and Sam
followed his gaze. Four wolves stood not twenty feet away. They had
all changed and come rushing to her aid.
Which one is Chase?
Two of the wolves were gray. One was brown like her father, and
another was reddish.

Her father’s voice boomed across the lawn,
breaking her moment of admiration. “Go!”

She barked and turned quickly. Sam jogged up
to her sisters on the porch and nosed the door. They smiled down at
her.

“Didn’t want to show off your goods yet?”
Nicole asked and reached down to rub behind her ears.
Damn, that
always felt so good.

Tess opened the door, and they all stepped
back. Their father approached and walked past them quickly,
carrying their mother into the house. They followed, turning down a
different hallway to get to their bedrooms.

“What about the guys outside?” Hallie piped
up.

Nicole laughed. “Dad’s driver will take care
of them.”

Sam whined and morphed back. She couldn’t
leave Chase out there alone with those other guys. Nicole caught
her arm.

“If you thought Mom’s outburst was bad, you
just try going out there alone. Dad will skin you alive. I think
your man can take care of himself, don’t you? They will be inside
shortly. You heard, Dad. You can talk to them in the morning.”

Chase stood still even after Sam and her
family had disappeared into their house…or castle. The place was
huge. It reminded him of a castle. Stone walls, spires, and ivy all
lent a castle-like ambiance to the home. The other males morphed
back into human form around him, and he did the same. Footsteps
behind them on the gravel driveway alerted them to the presence of
another man.

The Escalade driver appeared shortly
carrying arm armful of towels. He met Chase’s gaze and grinned.
“Figured you boys would be needing these.” He tossed towels to all
of them and motioned back to the car. “Come on. I’ll drive all of
you up to the house. Just be sure the towel is between your naked
butt and my leather seats.”

Chuckles could be heard across the group,
and even Chase couldn’t hold back a grin. They scrambled into the
SUV, drove down the gravel road, and parked in the massive garage
behind the mansion. Chase slipped out and gaped at the beautiful
cars lined up in the drive. He wasn’t the only one. Several other
gasps of appreciation could be heard from the other side of the
Escalade.

Just to his left was a bright red Bentley
Continental GT. Gorgeous two-door coupe with a sweeping
hatchback-like roof. He whistled his admiration as he circled the
car. The rear deck gave it almost a Porsche look. Chase shook his
head in disbelief. Beyond the Bentley sat a black Enzo Ferrari and
beyond that a silver Porsche Carrera GT.

“He has a freak’n Bugatti Veyron 16.4!” a
voice exclaimed from the opposite side of the garage. Chase moved
around the Escalade to see for himself. His heart nearly stopped at
the sight of the beautiful car. It was nearly the same size as a
Lamborghini but had a softer and more rounded exterior shell.
Besides the multimillion-dollar sports cars, Demakis had collected
some fine American muscle cars as well. A bright green 1971
Plymouth 426 Hemi Cuda, a blue 1966 Shelby Cobra S/C with white
racing stripes, and a hunter green 1969 Yenko Camaro with white
racing stripes sat parked beyond the Bugatti. It was literally a
treasure trove of cars.

Wow.
What he would give just to sit
in one of these.

“Come on, boys. Stop drooling over the
cars.” The driver opened a door into the house and beckoned them to
follow. “I’m Johnny, by the way. If you need anything while you are
staying here, please let me know first. The hunt has been postponed
until tomorrow night.” He paused and looked down at his watch.
“Which is technically tonight. It’s two in the morning, and I’m
sure all of you would like to sleep at least a little.”

Chase followed Johnny into the house first,
holding the towel securely around his waist. “Is there any way you
could find some clothes for me to wear?”

Johnny turned to face him and the other
towel-clad men. “Clothes will be provided. Don’t worry. We can’t
have you all running about naked.”

Chase swallowed a snort and hissed as he
stepped onto the marble floor of the kitchen. It was like ice. His
eyes widened when he noticed several women working in the kitchen.
All of them stopped what they were doing and gave the men lustful
glances.

Thank God Johnny gave us towels.

“Hands to yourselves ladies.” Johnny
chuckled and led the men up the back stairwell.

The sound of giggles and laughter followed
them out of the kitchen. “Why are they working at two in the
morning?” Chase asked.

“The hunt was supposed to be tonight,”
Johnny answered. “They are cleaning up.”

They walked down what seemed to be an
endless hallway. One by one they were shown their rooms. Chase was
last. His room was down another hallway, quite a distance from the
other three.

“Just to be safe, Mr. Michaels.”

He nodded, understanding full well the
animosity between himself and the other three males.

“I would not recommend leaving this room
until morning breakfast call at eight. Everything you need should
be inside. Press the intercom button and number twelve to reach me
if something should be amiss.” Johnny pulled a cell phone and
wallet from a duffle bag and handed them to Chase.

“Thanks.”

“I thought you might want them back.”

He nodded and closed the door, leaving Chase
alone in the beautiful suite.

***

Sam crawled into her soft bed and sobbed.
Everything was a mess. Her mother apparently hated her for reasons
unknown. Her father was allowing Chase to participate in the hunt
where he could be killed. The connection she had with him tugged at
her heart. The hunt had been postponed, which meant they all got to
tiptoe around each other for another day before getting past all
this drama.

I could just leave right now.

“
That would not help the situation at
all.”

I know.

Sam moaned and covered her head with a satin
pillow. Her room was dark except for a slight glow from a
night-light in the bathroom.

I don’t want to think tonight. Can you just
help me sleep?

“
Of course.”

Sam felt her magic ripple and course through
the cells of her body. With a slight shudder of electricity, she
shifted. Sam let her consciousness slide into the recesses of her
mind and drifted off to sleep, leaving her wolf to lounge lazily on
her bed.

The maids would cry when they saw the fur in
the sheets.
Oh well.
Her mental exhaustion ranked above
keeping fur out of the house.

***

When she stretched the next morning, her
body was back in human form already. Sam slid out of bed, twisted
up her hair, and took a quick shower. The clock on the wall said
seven thirty. She had time. A stroll through the giant walk-in
closet produced a pair of bright pink yoga pants, a black tank top,
and a white loose-fitting short tunic. On the way out the bedroom
door, she snagged her iPad from the top of her dresser.

Voices trailed up the stairs as she ambled
down into the kitchen. She was flipping through school emails when
she bumped into a solid body. Sam squeaked out an apology and
looked up. Mister Tall-Dark-and-not-Chase stood grinning down at
her.

“Pardon me, Miss Demakis.”

“You are pardoned,” she quipped and stepped
around him.
Crap.
She glanced around the kitchen and noticed
that all three of the contenders were already up and about.

“
Hardly a coincidence, I’m sure.”

She grinned at her wolf’s snarky assessment.
One male was sitting at the table sipping coffee and reading the
news. He eyed her casually over the top of the paper. Another man
was at the stove helping one of the cooks mix the pancake batter.
He had olive skin, and dark wavy hair.

Pancakes. Yum. Wait. Focus, Samantha. Where
is Chase?

She glanced around the kitchen again.

Mister-Tall-Dark-and-not-Chase spoke again.
“He’s on his way. Don’t worry. We didn’t do away with him in the
night.”

“We considered it though,” the man helping
cook pancakes added.

Unsure how to respond, Sam climbed onto one
of the nearest barstools and sighed. “What are your names? Or
should I just continue to call you unfamiliar male number one, two,
and three?”