Chasing Sam: Vegas Mates Book 1 (2 page)

“
A mate hunt.”
Her wolf
whispered.

They wouldn’t dare, not at Christmas.

“They might.”

Sam looked at her Dad and then back at her
mother. Neither would meet her gaze. She threw a hopeful glance at
Nicole. Her sister shook her head. If Nicole didn’t know, then none
of her sisters did.
Shit.

“What were you going to do if I hadn’t come
home for Christmas, Dad? Send the men to Durham to hunt me
down?”

“You will be quiet and respectful, young
lady.”

Peter Demakis was not a person to be trifled
with. She’d said her piece. It didn’t matter. Her father got what
he wanted when he wanted it. He probably would have come to Durham
and dragged her back himself if she hadn’t said she was coming.

Freak’n hell!

Sam crossed her arms over her chest and
turned to stare out the window. They would not do this to her.
Twenty-five or not, she was not being forced into a marriage. There
had to be a way out of it…or at least around it.

The rest of the half-hour ride to the house
was quiet—quite an accomplishment for five women and a pissed off
father.

***

Brendan, her dad’s driver, pulled the family
limo into the drive of the Spring Valley home. Sam was the first
one out of the vehicle, and she hurried to the front door of the
house. Her mother called her name, but she wasn’t in the mood.
Whether her dad had picked the guys or her mom, it didn’t matter.
She wasn’t talking to either of them and was going to do her
damndest to find a way to skip dinner.

“Good evening, Miss Samantha,” Ellie, the
Demakis’s housekeeper called as she opened the front door.

“Hi, Ellie. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
Ellie nodded as Sam rushed by her. Her boots clicked through the
marble-tiled foyer. She grabbed the iron handrail and took the
front stairs two at a time, ducking into the hallway just as her
mother came through the door.

“Samantha?” Her mother’s voice echoed around
the twenty-foot ceilings. “Ellie, where did Samantha go?”

Sam continued down the hallway, turned a
corner, and opened the door to her suite. Soothing blues, beiges,
and grays welcomed her. She loved the east coast and had
redecorated her rooms to echo the colors of the Atlantic. If only
she had stayed at school this Christmas. Maybe all of this could
have been avoided.

It wasn’t fair. She wanted to see her
family. Visit with her sisters. Why couldn’t her parents just
overlook this one little pesky tradition of being paired off with a
mate the year a noble female, turned twenty-five? It only applied
to girls. Had her parents had a son, he could have waited as long
as he liked before choosing a mate.

Damn fucking double standard.

She’d taken an internship to avoid being
home on summer break. It never crossed her mind that they would do
this now. At Christmas.

In reality, the noble families were the only
ones who still practiced mate hunts. Mostly because they used their
daughters like chattel to keep the bloodlines pure and the family
money where they wanted it.

***

She walked through her sitting room and into
the adjoined big bedroom. A pine-finished sleigh bed was set
against the far wall, and a large smoky-blue colored chaise was
situated in a cozy sitting area surrounded by bookshelves.

Sam caught the edge of her sweater and
pulled it over her head. She tossed it in the hamper as she walked
into her en suite bathroom. The boots were next, though she
carefully placed them inside the closet near the bathroom entrance.
She shimmied out of her jeans and tossed them into the hamper as
well. A quick turn of a bronzed handle started the hot water in the
shower. She shed her bra and underwear and then stepped into the
warm stream.

The water helped her relax. She loved the
feeling of it running down her bare body, cleansing her of all the
ugly words she wanted to viciously share with her mother and
father.

“
We will still share some of them,”
her wolf whispered.

She smiled and shook her head. “I know.”

***

Sam walked out into her sitting room and
flipped on the television, rubbing a towel through her hair. It was
thick, and the weight was comforting. A light tap at her door made
her turn her head.

“Who’s there?”

“Your sisters,” Nicole’s voice sounded from
the other side.

“Come on in.” Sam sunk into her couch and
began combing out her hair. The girls filed into the room in
silence. Nicole sat on the couch with Sam. The twins, Hallie and
Tess, each sat in one of Sam’s armchairs across from the couch. Sam
pressed the mute button on the remote and then started spraying her
hair with detangler. She yanked the comb through her hair, and all
three sisters winced in unison.

“Hand me the comb, Sam. Sit on the floor,”
said Nicole.

Sam snorted but handed over the torturous
comb and bottle of detangler. She arranged herself between Nicole’s
legs on the floor and let her sister go to work. Anger was the only
emotion she had right now, and her hair didn’t deserve to take the
brunt of it.

“So,” Hallie started, “what’s the plan for
tonight?”

“You know if we could take those cute guys
off your hands we would, but Daddy says they have to meet you
first,” Tess offered with a snicker.

Sam laughed. “I don’t give a shit who they
meet first. I don’t want to have anything to do with them. I don’t
want a match. I want to finish school.”

“Sam, you knew it was coming, didn’t you?”
Nicole spoke slowly as she brushed gently through Sam’s wet
hair.

A tear rolled down Sam’s cheek, and she
swiped it away. “I just thought since the year was so close to over
that they would just overlook it…maybe. I thought I was safe.”

“Well,” Tess said and sighed, “That’s part
of the reason Hallie and I stayed in Vegas to go to school. Lots of
nice men to enjoy before mom and dad decide to match us up to the
richest men they can find when we turn twenty-five.”

“Shut up, Tess. I’m the one that’s next,”
Nicole whined. “You and Hallie still have four more years of
freedom. I get auctioned off next year.” She yanked Sam’s head
backwards and placed a light kiss on her forehead. “All done.”

“Thanks, Nicole.” Sam turned and looked at
Hallie. “You’re being awfully quiet, Hallie.”

Hallie pulled her legs up into the chair.
Sam noticed her look of discomfort. Her sister had something she
wanted to add to the conversation but didn’t want to rock the boat.
Hallie was a twin, but she was a very different personality
compared to her identical sister. Tess was loud and proud and
in-your-face happy most of the time; whereas, Hallie was quiet and
much more reserved about her state of mind.

“I think you should give the guys a chance,
Sam. They came from all over. Riccardo Savona is here from Italy.
He’s from one of the oldest noble families. Another man, from a
California family, requested permission from Daddy to meet you. I
think Daddy said the third man was from Brazil.”

Sam shook her head. It didn’t matter. She
didn’t care. “Hallie, you may be fine with letting Mom and Dad pick
out your matched mate, but I want to have a say in it.”

“Sam,” Nicole broke in, “would you choose to
disgrace our family?”

Sam turned and clambered up from the floor
onto the couch next to Nicole. She couldn’t believe all her sisters
were really okay with having their mates picked out for them. She
glanced at Tess, who also seemed to be waiting patiently for her to
answer Nicole’s question.

“If I were to mate with a wolf outside the
noble family, would you think me disgraceful? If I merely wanted
the chance to…let’s say…add a name to the list for the hunt…would
that be so bad? Would it be so terrible to want the match to be
someone my wolf desired?” She laid it out there.
Why
not?

***

The bedroom door clicked shut and all four
girls turned to face their mother. Sam clenched her teeth.
Shit!
How much had she heard?

“So you’re saying if you get to add a man of
your choosing to the hunt, you will comply with tradition?”

“Maybe.” Sam ventured. What was her mom
getting at? Renata Demakis never gave anyone a boon unless it
helped her own cause.

“No, Samantha. Yes or no? And the answer to
your first question is yes. You would be seen in disgrace if your
mate were not of noble blood. Your children would not be favored
for good matches nor theirs and so on.” Her mother paused and gave
her coy smile. “He would still have to win the hunt to claim you.
It would be difficult since only the noble families train their
children for this ceremony.”

Oh, God. What had her big mouth gotten
her into now?
Sam shot a quick glance at Nicole and she
nodded.

“Fine. Yes. I will comply if you can get
Daddy to let me add a choice to the list.” She narrowed her gaze
and stared at her mother. “What about the last question, Mom?”

Renata Demakis shifted her gaze to the floor
before meeting Sam’s, her discomfort at the question evident. “A
bond between wolves will grow. You are noble, and with that
birthright comes certain obligations. Your wolf doesn’t get to
choose.”

“That didn’t answer my question, mom.”

“We are people first, Samantha. Eventually
your wolf will understand her place. Mine did. Does that answer
your question,” she snarled.

Sam drew back in disbelief.

“
She did not just say I am less than
you.”
Her wolf growled in disgust.

It was a mutual feeling. How could she say
that? Sam stood and stalked toward her mother. Her wolf’s magic
clawed to the surface, demanding retribution for the insult.
I’ll handle it.

“You can tell Daddy. I’m going out. I won’t
be attending dinner.”

“This isn’t a choice you can make,
Samantha.” Her mom’s eyes flashed with concern. “It has already
been made for you. Fighting will only make problems for
everyone.”

Sam narrowed her gaze and growled, allowing
her vocal cords to change. The sound her wolf produced would have
turned the average person’s blood cold. She brushed past her mother
and disappeared into her bedroom. Sam snatched a long white sweater
from her dresser and pulled it on over the camisole she was
wearing. It hung down past her hips, hugging her smooth curves. She
smiled at her reflection in the mirror across the room. The black
leggings showed off her long, muscular legs. She slipped her feet
into some lightweight sandals and grabbed her purse.

Alcohol was needed desperately, as was space
from her conniving mother and father. Her mother’s brief indulgence
about adding a name to the list had given her hope for a short
moment, but it had been dashed to pieces.

“
We have to find Chase. Please look for
Chase.”
Her wolf nudged gently. The weight on Sam’s shoulders
lightened when she remembered the gentle smile of the soldier at
the airport.

She walked out into her sitting room. Nobody
had moved, and her mother’s heated glare could have cut steel. Even
though her mom was clearly angry, she could see regret in her mom’s
face, too. At the moment, it didn’t matter. She needed space.

“Give my apologies to the guests, Mom. I’m
going out. Don’t wait up.”

“You are not going anywhere, young
lady.”

Samantha sidestepped her mom’s attempt to
grab her purse. “I’m a grown-ass woman, and you will not keep me in
here like a petulant teenager.” She flashed a glance at her
sisters. “Are y’all coming?”

A chorus of yeses sounded through the room
and the other three girls followed her out the door. She overheard
Tess whisper to her mother that she would “keep an eye on her.”

“
Traitor.”

Sam shook her head and hushed her wolf. It
doesn’t matter. You know there’s no way out of this for me. I’m not
willing to abandon my family.

***

Sam bounded down the rear staircase, through
the chef’s kitchen, and out the back door. Her eyes widened when
Johnny, one of her dad’s drivers, came ambling out of the garage.
She put on her best cheerful face and flashed him a sweet
smile.

“Johnny,” she called out and walked toward
him. Her sisters followed close behind, their heels clicking on the
stone driveway.

“Miss Samantha, it’s so good to see you.”
His gaze drifted over her shoulders and came to rest on Hallie.
Sam’s smile widened.

“I’m going out for a bit. Which car has
plenty of gas?”

His face paled. “I will take you, Miss
Samantha. You know your father doesn’t wish you girls to go
anywhere alone.”

“Thank you, Johnny,” Hallie piped up from
behind. “We need to go now.” Hallie stepped forward and placed her
hand on his forearm. She whispered something into his ear, and he
nodded. Sam watched in amusement. She wasn’t the only Demakis
sister rebelling against tradition.
After everything she said
about giving those guys a chance…

“
She did say she was just playing the
field,”
her wolf whispered.

True. But, the parents still won’t be
pleased.

Johnny darted into the garage. A few moments
later the white Tahoe pulled out and stopped in front of them. He
slid out and opened the back door to help them in. Sam walked
around to the other side and climbed into the front passenger seat.
He closed the door behind her sisters before sliding behind the
wheel.

“How long have you had feelings for my
sister?” Her voice was a whisper, but he froze and slowly met her
gaze. His nervousness filled the air with a sickly sweet
tension.

“Not here,” he mumbled, breaking the moment.
They pulled out of the neighborhood and onto a main street.