Taken (13 page)

* * * *

 Kitty rolled over to a heated body beside her and felt a second hot one snuggled up to her bare back. The warmth of their naked flesh against hers felt so good. She willed herself to continue her wild passionate dreams of the twin brothers. A set of lips pressed against her neck, and her eyes flew open. She looked directly into Kaiden’s deep intense eyes as he smiled at her. Caleb’s arm slipped over her naked waist. It hadn’t been a dream. She’d turned into a large hairy monster and let them have her on the beach.

Kitty was instantly mortified.

She twisted out from between them and grabbed for the sheet, which lay shredded on the bed. She looked around the room and saw it was a disaster area. The end table was knocked over and the bedding was cast all about the room. The large mirror over one of the dressers was not only tilted sideways but cracked. The floor was speckled with sand. Her mind was still foggy about last night’s events, but she knew the brothers had taken turns with her. Not just on the beach either, nor just one at a time. Her cheeks felt hot with her embarrassment.

“Oh god, wh-what did we do?” she stammered.

Caleb looked at Kaiden and they both moved closer. She shimmied farther up on the bed. Both brothers were completely naked. It didn’t help with her urge to fulfill the erotic fantasy she’d been dreaming about. She then remembered it hadn’t been a dream.

“Kitty, it’s okay. We mated,” Caleb told her. She stared at him, his words really didn’t help.

“This isn’t okay.” She nearly shouted.

“Hey, it’s what you wanted,” Kaiden said. The urge to slap him filled her.

“Excuse me,” she snapped.

“Kaiden, let me handle this.” Caleb growled.

 He turned and looked at her as his twin got up and then ran a shower. Caleb looked at her softly.

“Kitty, you accepted both of us last night. We didn’t force you to mate with us,” he finally said. Her foggy memories did confirm that. She’d been more than willing to let them take her. She recalled at one point forcing the issue on Kaiden as he tried to rest.

Kitty looked at Caleb and tears lined her eyes as she stared at him. With a tender caress, he ran his finger through her hair and kissed her softly. It was strange how her insides melted at his touch, and something inside her calmed.

“Why me?” she murmured as he pulled his mouth from hers.

*

The words froze in his throat. I love you was the answer in his mind, but Caleb didn’t let them past his lips.

“We need you, Kitty, as much as you need us,” he said instead.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Well, you’re our mate. I’m to be alpha and Kaiden beta for the pack in the Barrens.” He paused momentarily before continuing. “That’ll make you the alpha female, our bitch and den mother.” He saw her face look more than a little outraged.

“You’re what?” Her words were almost a growl and he smiled. She was starting to lose a little of her meekness.

“Kitty, it’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“Not as bad as it sounds? Caleb, you turned me into a giant fur-covered, sex-crazed, dog in heat.” She nearly screamed at him.

“Ah…well…I.” He was at a loss for words.

Kitty sat with the tattered remains of the bed sheet barely covering her naked body. The room, as well as themselves, smelled heavily of their sex from last night. His thoughts turned to yesterday evening. She was right, she’d been sex-crazed, insatiable, and had nearly exhausted both himself as well as Kaiden. Her lycan half was definitely a handful, and they’d enjoyed her new wild side.

A deep growl rumbled from his chest as his inner wolf demanded its mate be more submissive. It didn’t work, though. He stared into her eyes and felt the tendrils of her change beginning.

“Kitty, you need to calm down or you’re going to shift,” Caleb managed to warn just as her skin rippled.

“Oh god, this hurts.” She groaned. Her bones cracked under the stress of her trying to fight the change.

“Relax. Try to concentrate on your breathing.” She struggled on the bed to gain control and he wasn’t sure if she could even hear him.

This wasn’t good. They had to fly out today without her, and she had no control of her moods or her shifting. There would be no one to keep her from tearing half the inhabitants to shreds if she lost her temper. There was only one place safe to keep her. He knew putting her in the room would leave her a little more than upset with all of them. It was the safe room in the basement, and it was basically a cell.

Caleb watched Kaiden walk out of the bathroom and look down at their struggling mate. He turned on his heel and walked back into the bathroom as a mournful, painful howl came from Kitty.

“Breathe, baby. Take a slow deep breath.” He heard the water running in the bathroom.

“Bring her here,” Kaiden yelled. Caleb eyed their semi-transformed mate. Her fangs were already large enough to tear his throat out as were the long, sharp claws, which had erupted from her bloody fingertips.

“Ah… No!”

Kitty could easily kill him during a bad shift. Her mind was most likely only half there as the wolf and human inside fought for control. Kaiden again came out from the bathroom, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Chicken shit.”

“Be my guest,” Caleb retorted and watched the hesitation on his brother’s face as he looked Kitty over.

“I’ll just use this vase,” he said. He grabbed it and tossed the flowers into the trash before he filled it with water.

Chapter Fourteen

Her mind was still foggy as she sat wrapped in a towel. Apparently, she’d needed to be doused with cold water to stop the change.

“Why don’t I remember everything that happens when I turn into a…lycan?” she asked. Her voice trembled. She was still having a hard time coming to grips with any of this.

“I don’t know. We’ve never turned anyone before. Do you remember mating?” Caleb asked as the two brothers sat on the now wet bed, looking at her. She felt herself blush as bits and pieces played in her mind, and she nodded.

“How do you deal with all of this?” She waved her hands around.

“All of what?”

“The strange smells, loud noises, urges to…umm.” Her gaze shot down as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks.

“You’ll get used to it,” Kaiden told her.

“Look, there are a few things you need to know…things we do know,” Caleb said.

“Like what?” she asked.

“Well, you’re shifting will get easier the more you do it. Your aging will slow greatly. You’ll heal a lot faster. Your impulses to mate will be strong until we get you pregnant. Kitty, you’re going to have to be patient with us. We’ve never had a mate before either. This is new for us. But we’re a family…your family,” Caleb said as he cupped her chin and tilted her face to look up at him.

“Okay…but that’s a two-way street. No more keeping things from me. You tell me the truth about everything. Don’t keep me in the dark,” she told them. Part of Kitty had wanted this for most of her life. Now as she looked at Caleb, then Kaiden, she knew in her heart they meant what they’d said.

It took nearly an hour for them to explain they’d cut a deal with their cartel kingpin father to get her safely out of harm’s way. And now they needed to repay the deed by safeguarding a bunch of crates back into the States for Ashton. During which time she’d stay behind. Somehow Ashton was supposed to be able to ensure she got back home without her uncle learning of it or the State’s authorities.

As she soaked in a hot bubble bath, she felt lonely, knowing it would be a couple days before the brothers returned to her. Kitty was lost in her thoughts about what it was she’d done last night with the twins. She had no clear memories. She tried to focus on getting any inkling of what had happened besides foggy images. She barely heard the creaking sound of her bedroom door opening.

“Hello, I’m in the tub,” she called out the warning as she quickly moved to get out of the sudsy bath water and get covered up.

“
Meow.
” She looked down to see the small black cat walk in as she wrapped her towel around her dripping wet body.

“Well, hello. You gave me a bit of a start,” she said to the small furry animal. She reached down to scratch it behind the ears. It purred for a moment and then Kitty caught the smell of death.

She straightened and looked to see Ashton as he sat on the edge of her bed. He hadn’t made a single sound as he’d entered. He wore black jeans and a white cotton shirt he’d left completely unbuttoned.

“Well, I see you had an interesting night,” he said. His gaze traveled over her, making her tremble.

“What do you want from me?” she asked, mustering up the nerve to be straight forward. His gaze locked with hers, and she felt compelled to stare back. His eyes were deep, icy pools, which seemed to engulf her.

“I need you to take care of something for me,” he said.

“Yes,” she replied instantly.

“Come here,” he ordered. Kitty walked over to him, not even thinking twice about it.

“Good girl, you’ll let no one take this from you. Do you understand me?” he asked as he undid his necklace and then slipped it around her neck.

“Yes, I understand,” she murmured.

“Now when you come to New York, you’ll find me in apartment one over The Liars’ Den Pub and bring it to me there. You’ll come alone and tell no one what you’re doing,” he instructed.

“Yes.”

“Now get some rest and I’ll see you soon. Oh, maybe you should hide the medallion when you’re not around anyone else.” He kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

Kitty stood there for a few moments, looking at the bed in front of her. She was a little confused. How had she come to be standing in the room and not soaking in the tub? Her fingers gently traced the edge of her necklace as she turned and walked back into the bathroom to get dressed.

* * * *

Kaiden walked back and forth in the large study as he waited for his father. He’d said he wanted to talk to him privately, and it left a knot in Kaiden’s stomach. He looked the walls over and saw photos of them all as a family. They’d been a pretty happy one back then. However, that was before he and his brother had gone through their first change. After that everything was different. Kaiden knew his father wanted something from him. He always did.

The hardwood door opened behind him, and he turned to see his father step inside. He looked tired today.

“Have a seat,” he said. He walked over to an overstuffed armchair and eased himself into it.

“No, I prefer to stand right now.” Kaiden leaned against the French doors, which led out to the terrace.

“Suit yourself.” His father pulled a cigar from his shirt pocket.

“What is it you want? I need to finish getting ready to babysit Ashton’s junk.” He growled.

“I need you to try to at least make an attempt to get into Ashton’s good graces.” He took a puff of the smelly cigar. Kaiden always hated the smell.

“And why exactly would I care to make nice with a vampire?” he asked. He eyed his father more carefully. Lycans and Night Watchers didn’t get along at the best of times.

“Because, unlike Caleb, you at least have what it takes to run my small empire after I’m gone. I’m not a young man anymore, Kaiden. I need to know I can entrust you with everything I’ve built,” he told him flat out.

Kaiden stared at him. Sure his father had aged, but he’d never thought of him as someday being gone. “Are you dying?” he demanded.

“We’re all dying, Kaiden, but no, I’m not planning on it happening in the near future. I just have to get everything in order to ensure the right son takes over.”

“So you’re just going to cut Caleb out all together…and Mom.” He snarled. He was now angry that his father could do such a thing, but it didn’t surprise him either.

“I never said I was cutting them out. Nevertheless, Caleb doesn’t have the heart for the business, and well, your mother and I haven’t been together in many years.”

Kaiden sat in one of the chairs and gave him a steely look. He’d never wanted this, and he knew Caleb didn’t either. But if he didn’t agree, then it would fall into the hands of someone else. That person may not have the good sense to change things.

“All right, I’ll make nice with the vampire. Anything else I need to know?” His father smiled. The smile told him there was more.

* * * *

Caleb stood in the window looking out over the water. It was so beautiful there, he almost hated the thought of leaving. He was ready to go and now all that was left was to get Kitty safely tucked away in the basement safe room. He really wasn’t looking forward to it. Yet it was the only way to keep everyone safe from his mate until they returned.

Thoughts of her drifted into his mind. Last night they’d mated as lycans, and today he’d wished they would have time to make love as humans again. Everything about her made him smile. He’d fallen hard for her. Kitty, however, seemed to be unsure of how to take all of this. He hoped she’d grow to love both him and Kaiden. If she didn’t, it would make for a rough relationship.

 Others within the pack would take notice and try to steal her from them. It would be foolhardy for them, but a wolf would take advantage of such a situation. If Kitty didn’t get pregnant soon, her urges would make her susceptible to other males as well. It was something he hadn’t told her, knowing full well it would only make her madder at them.

The bedroom door opened and a stench drifted into his room. Death and decay wafted toward him. He knew it was the vampire.

“What do you want?” he asked without turning.

“I was just informed by a…friend…you would be challenging the pack leader in the Barrens,” Ashton stated from behind him.

“A friend, eh. So what does that have to do with you?” He snarled. He turned to look at him.

“I have a haven in the Barrens. It’s my main feeding grounds. It would make things so much easier for us both if we worked out the details of the territory there. I’d hate to eat one of your pack by accident,” he said with a smile.