Fox, Morgan - Ravished by the Moon [Moonlight Shifters 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (9 page)

With a grin, she said, “Wouldn’t be the first time.” She glanced down into the seat beside him. “What’s on the paper?”

Zane picked up the paper and handed it to her and began explaining. “I’ve isolated the chemical properties of Sebastian’s infected blood, and you’re not going to believe what else I found.”

Her eyes moved fast over the page, trying to find what he was delaying in telling her. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Tell me already.”

“Vampire DNA.”

Megan dropped the paper down enough to gaze at Zane. “What?” Inclining her head to the side, she mumbled, “Could Mason somehow have been bitten by a vampire and survived the attack?” She asked the question out loud, but the statement was more an outward thought than a need for Zane to respond. Truth was, she wasn’t surprised to discover that vampire DNA could be the culprit in turning lycans into mindless killing machines. The idea of another supernatural creature causing lycans to have increased strength and ability made sense. Not to mention that lycans and vampires were never supposed to mix bloodlines. Perhaps that was the reason lycans seemed to lose their minds once fully infected.

“Not from what I can tell, but honestly, I don’t know much more than what I’ve told you based on Sebastian’s blood sample. We’d need to exam Mason’s body to find a definite answer about a possible vampire attack, and I figured you’d want that honor.” He stood as if preparing to leave her office. “Sebastian had his body transported to our lab, and he’s currently on ice in the morgue.”

She pushed away from her desk and grabbed her white lab coat from the hook beside her chair on the wall. Her desk phone rang, and she glanced at the caller ID.
Reyes.

Meeting Zane’s gaze, she told him, “Don’t wait for me. Prep the body and I’ll be there in just a moment.”

Zane nodded and exited the room.

Her fingers wrapped around the receiver, but she couldn’t make herself pick it up. She didn’t have time to get tangled up in a conversation she honestly didn’t want to have. The two unwanted mates in her life had tormented her enough over the last twenty-four hours.

Spine stiff, she decided that she had to focus on her work in the lab instead of getting wrapped up in worry about whatever Reyes and Dominic were doing. She didn’t need the drama because Mason’s body had finally been delivered and there was no telling the condition she would find his internal organs in. She’d only been able to examine his body for a brief moment after all hell had broken loose at the McCarthy Ranch. Brie Ferguson and all her mystical strangeness had killed the infected lycan and used some supernatural witchy shit to blast the life from his body. Granted, doing so had saved Tabitha Burns from certain death, but it had also charred his body as if he’d been cooked and burned on an open fire pit.

Once she was done examining Mason Levi’s corpse and had obtained all the useful information she could from his remains, she intended to pay Brie a little visit and find out for herself just how the wolf princess was managing with her pregnancy and blossoming supernatural abilities.

Chapter Five

Dominic stood, arms folded over his chest, leaning against his black Escalade when he spotted Reyes emerging from the medical office building. His chest felt tight as he watched his friend storm closer to him. Fevered hatred blazed in his eyes. He was prepared to take whatever fury Reyes wanted to dish out to him. Shit, if he had been any other man, he might actually have been afraid of the fierce lycan making his way over to him, but he wasn’t just any man. He was one of the strongest and most powerful lycan in his pack and fearing Reyes was the furthest emotion from his mind.

“Why are you here?” Reyes said with a growl, his hands gripping into tight fists at his sides. “I figured you’d be fucking someone else’s mate by now.”

Dominic unfolded his arms and sighed heavily. He deserved that. “Reyes, you’ve got the wrong idea about what happened between me and Megan. That’s why I called you to meet me out here.”

“Wrong idea?” Reyes narrowed his eyes into thin slits. A nerve twitched under his left eye. “You mean you didn’t sleep with her?” The sarcasm in his voice had Dominic grinding his teeth together. Biting his tongue, he just held Reyes’s intense stare. “Oh, I understand. You mean you developed amnesia and really didn’t remember that I told you that I believed she was my mate?”

Again Dominic didn’t speak for a long moment as Reyes settled in front of him. His body tensed as Reyes’s body oozed more aggression than Dominic had ever felt permeating from his old friend. This wasn’t going as well as he had hoped. “Reyes, that’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

Reyes closed the distance, moving forward in an animalistic display of aggression. “No, I don’t know what you mean. Are you trying to tell me you didn’t fuck her knowing she was mine?”

Dominic stood ramrod straight, knowing exactly where this conversation would lead if he didn’t say the right words. He wasn’t good at picking the softest approach. In fact, he was known for just the opposite. Reyes was the great and powerful public speaker. Dominic was the muscle called in after negotiations failed so there was no telling what would happen next.

“Yes,” he told Reyes. “I knew you thought she was yours, but I also knew—”

Reyes landed the first punch to Dominic’s jaw, sending him tumbling off balance, twisting his weight to the side to allow him the ability to jump back up to his feet. No matter Dominic’s attempt at negotiation skills, Reyes had fighting in mind, and this situation could end badly for both men. “Now wait a goddamn minute,” he said in a fierce roar. “You don’t want to do this.”

Reyes wasn’t listening because a second later the big guy tackled Dominic to the ground and started pounding away at his face, chest, anything he could connect with. Dominic took the beating for a moment, realizing his old friend needed to get his point across. He needed to demonstrate his right to protect his mate’s honor. He would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed. After Dominic had had enough, he shifted his weight, and in one swift motion, he flipped Reyes onto his back and hit him a few times in the face, stunning Reyes momentarily while Dominic stood up and slowly backed away.

“Have you had enough?” Dominic asked, watching his friend move to stand. When he noticed Reyes coming toward him again, he raised his hands, palms out. “Damn it, man, you must know I’m holding back. Please don’t make me fuck you up. You are my friend, and I know we can work this out without the use of our fists. Think about it before you do anything stupid.”

Reyes wiped the trickle of blood from his mouth and cheek, the wounds already healing. Shaking his head, Reyes said, “Just tell me why you did it. Why her?”

Dominic’s heart pounded like a drum in his chest, reminding him of the pain he’d felt at the hands of Megan Shaw a handful of years ago, the woman he thought would be his forever. That was until he fucked up and introduced her to his best friend.

“I’ve never talked about Megan to anyone. I’ve known her for a long time and…” He hesitated. The powerful emotions churned in his gut like acid. “She’s my mate, Reyes. I’ve known she was for years, but I lost her to Jonah when we were in college.”

Reyes’s posture slumped forward, and his eyes widened in disbelief. “What are you saying? You’ve mated with her before last night?” Dominic didn’t have the words to respond. “But you’re not together? How is that even possible? Why the hell didn’t you tell me when I was pouring my fucking soul out to you about her?”

“Those are all good damn questions, but the one thing I know about Megan is she doesn’t march to the same tune everyone else does…and she hates me with unbridled passion.”

“Well, duh, can you blame her? You’d have to be a moron not to notice how much she dislikes you.”

Dominic glared at his friend. “Thanks.”

Reyes shrugged as he settled against his truck and pressed his back against the passenger side door.

Dominic joined him. With a husky sigh, he said, “I’m sorry I ruined things for you and Megan.”

“Oh, you haven’t,” Reyes quickly corrected. His voice resonated with a hopeful cheer.

Bewildered, Dominic arched a dark brow. “I haven’t?”

Shaking his head, Reyes explained, “I spoke to Sebastian earlier this morning and told him about our situation. He gave me a few pointers on reeling in the good doctor.”

“Is it working?” His gut rolled and knotted with jealousy and emotions he’d bottled up for years at the thought of another one of his friends stealing Megan away from him. He clenched his fists at his sides as he compressed his jaw together, grinding his teeth.

“I’d say I’m faring well, considering.”

Holding back the need to pummel his friend into oblivion, he said, “Good.”

His cold gaze darted to meet his friend’s, and that was the moment he realized what he had to do. This time he wouldn’t back down. He wouldn’t give Megan up without a fight. Why it had taken so long for him to figure it out he had no idea.

“However, I hope you like competition.”

Reyes brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You should know that I’ve decided not to give up my mate without a fight. I’m in the race to win and the prize is a delicious redhead that I’ve already had the pleasure of sampling and I know for a fact that she belongs to me.” Dominic grinned. “Good luck trying to steal my mate, old man. You’re going to need it.”

Within a blink of an eye, Reyes was all over Dominic, but this time he was ready. He only hoped he hadn’t fucked up his friendship with Reyes or destroyed any hope of making Megan want him for more than just a good romp in the sack.

* * * *

Megan gasped hard as she surveyed the swollen lips and puffy black eyes of both Dominic and Reyes. The two Goliaths appeared in the lab as if they just stepped out of a cage match with the world’s heavyweight title-holder and lost miserably. Her knowing eyes scanned over their bodies from head to toe, inspecting the damage, and even with the amount of physical injuries she could see, they didn’t appear affected by their wounds. A positive note, they hadn’t killed each other.

She shook her head, not bothering to question what had happened to them. She already knew. After sensing the alarming levels of male ego and the prodigious amounts of testosterone oozing out of their pores like sweat on a sweltering day, the reason behind their appearance was hard to miss.

Megan was no fool and realized that a girl should be thrilled to have two gorgeous, warrior-like men fighting over her, but she wasn’t. She didn’t want anyone fighting over her. Romance, especially the lycan bonding kind, was of no interest to her. Those were the yearnings of silly women who daydreamed too much about the happily ever after and didn’t spend enough time in reality.

If that were true, then why do I want to rush to them and tend to their wounds? Why do I want Reyes to kiss me again? Why do I want Dominic buried to the hilt inside my pussy as I climax?

Groaning inwardly, she forced out a heavy sigh. She had to stop herself from thinking about these things because everything about the situation was becoming more complicated with each passing moment. These two men were supposed to be her guardians, her protectors, and that was all. She couldn’t stop her heart and soul from wondering who the hell was going to save them from each other. Why she cared so much for their well-being she didn’t know, but she believed it had to do with the mating bond. What else could it be?

Right now, she couldn’t care about Dominic’s and Reyes’s primitive urges and alpha male desires. Shaking her head clear of her mates, she tried to focus on the work she had to do. She tried to keep her focus on the project that consisted of finding out how vampire DNA mixed and mingled with Mason Levi’s blood. Calling Sebastian had to be her first priority. Bringing him up to speed was as important as her research. He had to know what they were up against. An enemy of old was encroaching on their territory and learning who that vampire was couldn’t be more urgent.

Dominic and Reyes determinedly approached her, and she immediately placed her hand up, blocking their advancement. She shook her head in warning, making them halt their movements. Then she did her best to seem unaffected by their presences and turned, giving them both her back as she dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. The line rang only twice before Sebastian’s rough voice blasted through the receiver.