Enemy Mine (13 page)

hadn’t broken his skin. Not that it would

have really mattered. She’d seen how fast

he could heal, and it was impressive.

“What the hell is she doing here?”

Kiernan asked his brother, completely

ignoring the other woman as Melina

moved out from behind him to get a better

view.

His brother’s expression darkened, and

Melina realized he had a tight grip on the

woman’s upper arm. “Tell them what you

told me,” he ordered the female.

The redhead gritted her teeth for a

moment and her eyes looked bizarre.

Really dilated, almost as if she was on

drugs. “I called . . . Uberto Mazzoni . . .

told him the female shifter was leaving the

restaurant alone.” Her weird eyes flicked

to Melina. “It’s how he knew where you

were.”

“Why is she talking like that?” Melina

asked, frowning at the woman as she

digested her admission. Her words were

stilted, as if she didn’t want to be talking

but couldn’t stop herself.

“Ronan can compel other vampires to

speak the truth. It’s one of his gifts,”

Kiernan said.

Wow.
Melina was silent as Ronan

dragged the woman forward another few

feet. Immediately Kieran stepped half in

front of Melina, blocking her. She didn’t

bother biting back a smile at his over-

protectiveness. “So the other night she

called the Mazzonis to tell them I’d be

leaving?” It had alarmed her how they’d

known so quickly, but she’d assumed

they’d just been following her.

Ronan nodded at her, then focused on

his brother. “I thought it was weird that

she called me out of the blue, so I did

some checking up on her phone records

and found she’s been in frequent contact

with Uberto Mazzoni very recently. She’s

been watching your woman for a couple

weeks, but hasn’t been able to get close

because of you or her pack. It’s why Tisha

was at the restaurant in the first place. She

followed you there and wanted to stir up

trouble between you two, hoping to get

Melina alone.” Ronan’s voice had a biting

edge to it that made Melina shiver.

Melina hated that someone had been

watching her and she hadn’t even been

aware of it. But she was also thankful that

Kiernan had been in her life these past

few months, his presence alone a

protection.

“Tell them what else you told me,”

Ronan ordered the female, his voice a

deep, almost inhuman growl.

“Uberto’s Alpha, Abel, was poisoned

with silver. . . . Got into his blood stream

and he’s dying.” Her shoulders slumped

and it was as if she’d decided to stop

fighting the compulsion. She sighed and

her words came out much smoother. “They

wanted you to heal him but knew it would

likely kill you to expend so much energy

to save him. They’d also planned to take

one of your cousins to ensure you’d help.

Or if that hadn’t worked, they were going

to threaten some innocents.”

“Tell them why you did it,” Ronan

growled again, his fingers tightening

around her arm.

She gritted her teeth as she said,

“Money.”

Before Melina could blink, a syringe

appeared in Ronan’s hand and he’d

shoved it into the woman’s neck. The

redhead’s eyes widened for a split second

before she slumped against him.

Melina stepped forward. “Oh, my—”

“She’s not dead, just unconscious,”

Ronan bit out, answering Melina’s

question before she could voice it.

It was subtle, but she noticed the way

Kiernan relaxed then. There was a slight

loosening in his shoulders as he stepped

back and wrapped his arms around her,

pulling her close. “Thank you for doing

that,” Kiernan said quietly.

His brother nodded. “I’m taking her to

New York for Father to deal with.”

Melina was equally grateful but still

curious. “Thank you, but . . . why did you

bring her here? You could have just told

your brother.”

Kiernan squeezed her shoulders so she

looked up at him. “He did it so you’d hear

firsthand and relay it to your Alpha. Even

though she was involved, we’ll be

punishing her. She’s not a member of any

coven so technically she doesn’t fall under

our jurisdiction. But she plotted against a

healer,
my
healer. She’ll be held

accountable.” Now Kiernan growled, the

sound low and deadly.

Melina’s eyes widened at that tone,

glad it wasn’t directed at her, though she

was touched by the protective vibe he was

putting off. By the time she looked back at

Ronan, he was already carrying the

woman from the house.

Once they were alone, Kiernan lifted

her up and placed her on the counter.

Immediately she spread her legs and

wrapped around him. He bent to her neck,

raking his teeth against her skin. But she

pressed a hand against his chest, stilling

him.

“We need to call my family, let them

know what’s going on.” She also wanted

to make it perfectly clear that this thing

with Kiernan wasn’t casual, and that her

pack was just going to have to deal with

it.

Kiernan nipped her earlobe between his

teeth. “We can call later. Your father

called this morning. He wasn’t happy you

were with me, but I could hear your

mother in the background controlling

him.” He chuckled, the sound warming her

insides. “They remind me of my parents.”

Melina smiled and leaned back so she

could see his face. “What did he say?”

“Turns out Abel Mazzoni
is
dying—

which we just had confirmed—and your

father has already dispatched a few

soldiers to eliminate him and everyone

else involved. He threatened my life,

promised to do all sorts of violent things

if I ever hurt you. The important thing is

you’re no longer facing any threats. Well,

not from anyone but me.” He playfully

pulled her bottom lip between his teeth.

A shiver curled through her, reaching

all her nerve endings. Yeah, food and

coffee could wait. There might be a lot

they didn’t know about each other, but she

knew that Kiernan would do anything to

protect her. That he was a different

species than her didn’t matter. His actions

did. So far he’d protected her, even defied

his family to be with her. Whatever the

future held, she figured they were off to a

damn good start.

Epilogue

Three months later

Melina slid her hand into Kiernan’s as

they walked up the driveway to her

parents’ house. She’d moved in with him

two and a half months ago—something her

pack was still trying to deal with—but

today would be an even bigger leap in

their relationship.

As they reached the front door, it flew

open. Her cousin Alexis’s eyes were wide

as she looked at them. She opened her

mouth, but before she could say anything,

a crash and then shouting sounded from

somewhere in the house.

Melina and Kiernan had received a few

wry looks from some of the soldiers

they’d passed on the way up the driveway,

and she knew why. Kiernan’s parents

were already here, meeting her pack and

hopefully making lasting peace between

their families.

From the sounds inside, they were off to

a
great
start.

“Your fathers are insane,” Alexis

whispered, skirting past them.

Melina looked up at Kiernan and raised

her eyebrows. “We can leave.”

Shaking his head, he clasped her hand

tighter and dragged her inside. The house

was surprisingly empty until they got to

the kitchen. Their parents, her three

brothers, and Kiernan’s two brothers were

all in the kitchen. The two women sat

primly next to each other on high-backed

stools at the center island. Most of the

males leaned against counters, though they

were anything but casual in their guarded

stances. Ronan stood between their two

fathers, his arms crossed over his chest.

He glanced their way as they entered, his

expression one of frustration.

Melina quickly took in the situation.

Bits of glass littered the tiled floor, but

other than that there didn’t seem to have

been any bloodshed between the two

leaders. Kiernan released her hand only to

wrap his arm around her shoulders and

pull her tight against him.

“There is way too much testosterone in

this room,” she muttered.

Both mothers laughed, the amused

sound immediately cutting through the

tension in the room.

Carlos, one of her brothers,

immediately strode toward them. He

shook Kiernan’s hand before pulling

Melina into a tight hug. Her family was

very affectionate, and surprisingly, she’d

come to find Kiernan and his brothers

were the same. It wasn’t common among

vampires, a species known for their

coldness, but she was glad they were

different.

Whatever their fathers had been arguing

about was quickly forgotten—or at least

put on hold for the moment—as Morgan,

Kiernan’s father, pulled her into a loose

embrace, kissing her on both cheeks. “It’s

good to see you again.”

And he actually meant it. He hadn’t

wanted anything to do with her when

they’d first met a couple months ago. He’d

come down to Miami to confront her,

convinced she’d put some sort of spell on

his youngest son. “You too,” she said.

This was the first time the two families

had come together since she and Kiernan

had started seeing each other, and when

they’d announced their decision to mate a

week ago, Kiernan had thought it would

be a good idea for all of them to get

together. She’d thought it was a terrible

idea—and still kind of did—but he’d been

adamant they officially put their

differences aside.

“See, it’s not so bad,” he murmured

against her hair as he pulled her close.

She snorted. “That remains to be seen.”

As more of her pack slowly filtered in

and people started mingling, some of her

tension abated. In the end, she had a

feeling they’d never truly be friends. All

she could hope for was that they learned

to be civil and deal with each other.

Surprising her, Kiernan dropped his

arm from embracing her and strode

toward Miguel. “Good to see you.” He

held out a hand, pumping it once in a firm

handshake.

They’d already spoken before tonight—

though her brothers hadn’t gone out of

their way to see him, which really bugged

Melina—and Kiernan had made it clear he

didn’t hold any ill will because of what

Miguel had done.

It pleased her that he was publicly

doing this, showing their fathers that

they’d buried the past.

Oriana, Kiernan’s mother, stood and

spoke, directing her statement to the two

leaders. “If they can be adults, you two

better get it together.” The tall woman was

ridiculously elegant and more than a little

intimidating with flawless pale skin and

shiny black hair. Despite being well over

three hundred years old, she looked about

thirty-five by human standards. And she’d

never tried to make Melina feel anything

but welcome.

When some of her packmates slowly

began to trickle into the kitchen, Melina

felt the weight on her chest lift at seeing

their families mingling and acting civil.

But the fact that they were sort of getting

along was just a bonus. As long as she had

Kiernan, the man she loved by her side,

she could deal with anything.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Katie Reus
fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she’d pilfered

from her mom’s stash. After changing

majors too many times to count, she finally

graduated with a degree in psychology.

She now spends her days writing dark

paranormal romance. She lives near

Biloxi, Mississippi, with her family.

When she’s not creating stories she can

usually be found spending time with her

family or one of the many animals they’ve

adopted over the years.

CONNECT ONLINE

www.katiereus.com

www.facebook.com/katiereusauthor

www.twitter.com/katiereus

PRAISE FOR

ALPHA INSTINCT

“Reus has an instinct for what wows in

this perfect blend of shifter, suspense, and

sexiness. Sexy alphas, kick-ass heroines,

and twisted villains will keep you turning

the pages in this new shifter series.
Alpha

Instinct
is a winner.”

—Caridad Piñeiro,
New York Times

bestselling author of
The Lost

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Alpha Instinct
is a wild, hot ride for