Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) (61 page)
Read Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) Online
Authors: Kathi S. Barton
Myles sat on the bed and held his head in his hands. He swore he could hear his hair growing. There was a fly in the next county that was buzzing loud enough that his head felt as if it was splitting. He looked up through his fingers when someone opened the door. He growled at the man, and startled even himself.
“I take it the conversion didn’t go too badly.” Phil sat down in the chair that had Myles holding his fingers in his ears. He heard the cushions sigh loudly. “Do you have any questions?”
Myles looked up at him. “Are you fucking insane? Look at me. I’m a fucking vampire. What the hell did you do to me?”
Phil smiled and Myles thought about finding a gun and blowing the smile right off his face. He would have, too, if he wasn’t afraid his eardrums would explode.
“I would have thought that much was obvious. I saved your life by making you a vamp. I think it was the best course of action considering what might have been.” Phil leaned forward. “You’ve become very dear to my family and that of the pack. It was either save you by you becoming a vamp or a werewolf. Either outcome would have been the only way you’d be here today.”
Myles got up and sat back down. “I can hear a flea fart. How the hell do you get used to this shit?” He realized he was whispering and decided that he liked that better.
“You can tone it down after a bit. Don’t concentrate on everything. Just listen to the sound of my voice. When you learn how to do that, it will be easier.”
Myles didn’t think so but he’d try anything right now. “I can’t…I know that I have to…I can’t bite anyone. I just…that guy that was here before, he said that I could…Christ.” He’d told Myles that he was there to help him learn to feed. Myles had run him from the room when his fangs burst through his gums.
“I heard. My mother has an idea. You’re my child and she thinks you should see if you can eat food. Human food. I’m having you a burger made and some fries. I’m sorry, you’ll have to eat it rare, but we can see if that works for you.”
Myles nodded. He’d try anything. Then what Phil said occurred to him. “I’m your kid? Because you turned me into this? Is that why?”
He could smell the food now. Meat, red and bloody. It was getting closer to him and all he could think about was biting it. He turned to Phil when he laughed.
“I don’t think you’re going to have any trouble eating. If the thought of food makes you that hungry and not sick, you should have no problem eating it.” The knock at the door sounded like a drum, but the food getting close to him made it easier to ignore it. “And yes, you’re my child. But not just mine. Holly’s as well. She fed you your last blood to convert you. I wasn’t here and you needed it.”
The tray was set on the table and Myles nearly snarled at the man who opened the shiny covers to reveal it. He picked up the burger and took a bite. The only issue he had was wondering if he could stuff all three of them in his mouth at once.
After he finished off the last one, he leaned back in his chair. Everything seemed to be right with the world all of a sudden. Myles looked over at Phil, who’d not said a thing since he’d picked up his first burger. He felt badly for all the horrible thoughts he’d had about killing him the past two days and decided he could almost forgive him. Maybe.
“You can’t. Kill me, that is. As your maker, you cannot cause me harm. It’s been done, as you know, but not with intent.” Phil tossed him a book. “There’s a sort of manual. It’s not really a great deal of help, but it is a fun read. The author writes smut books and is actually a vampire herself. She puts a lot of fiction in there for her readers.”
Myles looked at the cover and knew that he’d seen this particular author’s picture on a lot of bookstore fronts. He tossed it on the bed and looked at Phil.
“You can read my mind. Is that because you made me or what?” Myles found he wasn’t as freaked out as he probably should have been. “And will that fade too?”
“Yes, both Holly and I will be able to read your mind. Find you, as well, and feel your emotions. Will we intrude? Probably for the first few years until you get your life together. After that….” Phil shrugged. “That’ll be up to you. And no, it doesn’t fade, but the trust between us makes it less of an intrusion.”
They talked for another hour. Myles felt better by the time Phil stood to go. He shook his hand when it was offered. But he was sure that Phil wouldn’t be so easy to get along with if he fucked up.
“I’m glad you’re going to be around. Life will be interesting, as well as hard work.” He turned to go then looked back. “Oh, I’ve spoken with Gordon Force, Holly’s brother. He is starting up an investigating firm and is willing to take you on if you’d like.”
Myles was nodding even before Phil finished. “I’ll take it. I need to…I’m not used to being idle.”
“You won’t be. If you need me, you only have to think of me answering you and I’ll be there. And Holly?” Myles waited. He knew what was coming next. “You’d better have a good reason for calling my mate.”
Myles threw back his head and laughed. Maybe being a vampire wouldn’t be so bad after all. He picked up the book after Phil left and started reading.
Melody looked at Marcus. She had never been so unsure of anything in all her considerable life. As queen, it wasn’t something she wanted to happen again either.
“Are you sure about this? She’s just a child, not even a teenager yet. Why do you think this…this little girl has what hundreds, no, thousands don’t?”
Marcus, her Man at Arms of her Royal Guard, grinned.
Hello! My name is Kathi Barton and I’m an author. I have been married to my very best friend Sonny for at times seems several lifetimes – in a good way, honey. And together we have three wonderful children and then the ones we brought into the world - Paul and Dale Barton, Jason and Wendy Barton and Danielle and Ben Conklin. They have given us seven of the greatest treasures on Earth. They don’t live at home seven days a week! No, seriously, seven grandchildren – Gavin, Spring, Ben, Trinity, Sarah, Kelly and Kian.
Follow Kathi on her blog:
http://kathisbartonauthor.blogspot.com/
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
World Castle Publishing, LLC
Pensacola, Florida
Copyright © Kathi S. Barton 2013
ISBN: 9781938961892
First Edition World Castle Publishing, LLC, February 4, 2013
http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com
Licensing Notes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Cover: Karen Fuller
Photos: Shutterstock
Editor: Brieanna Robertson
He was suddenly awake. He felt his wolf start to take him when a whispered voice near his ear spoke. He couldn’t see her in the darkness as she’d put her hands over his mouth and eyes.
“Rein him in or he will pull mine. And calm your eyes. We’ve enough to do without a couple of snarling wolves to add to it. Pull him, Dallas, or I will be forced to leave.”
He tried. But his wolf wanted to smell the woman next to his bed, wanted to taste her scent, but even flaring his nostrils could not bring her to him. His wolf, however, didn’t care. He wanted her now. He wanted Dallas to pull her into his bed and bite her, fuck her until she was his, mate with her. Her low growl told him he wasn’t doing as she’d asked, but was making it harder. He was harder too.
“Dallas, I will hurt you if you do not stop that. I cannot think when you smell like that to me.” She was suddenly gone and he lay on his bed with her warmth still tingling over his mouth and eyes.
“Come back here,” he said, his voice low and hard. His wolf. He was telling her to come to them. “Now, Stacy. Come here.”
She hesitated for a minute. He could feel her struggle and he wanted her to lose. Moving to the edge of the bed, he started to rise when he heard a child cry out from the other room. He looked at her sharply as she moved into the hall.
“There’s been a killing. A wolf from another pack. His family is down in the kitchen seeking shelter for fear of their pack alpha. The dead wolf’s mate is downstairs with her family. The alpha is going to kill them because he claims he was hurt when her mate did not protect him.”
“How was he hurt? Badly?” Stacy shook her head. “Then why does he want to kill the family?”
“Because the man died too quickly when he murdered him and he feels that he did not get his reward.” She looked down the hall toward where his kitchen was. “The woman has been hurt. One of the cubs is…I have called for the doctor. I don’t know if he will make it.”
“Call Phil. Have him or Holly come. They can sometimes help when it’s close.” He stood, not caring that she could see him naked. His cock was still straining from his body. “Next time you come to my room, it won’t be for conversation.”
She nodded. “Then I will send in another. I was wrong to invade your bedroom. But I did not want you to come to us with…please dress. They await you.”
Suddenly, she was gone. Dallas looked down at his cock and tried to will it to relax. The woman was driving him nuts and he didn’t know what to do about it. Then there was the added fact that she was living with another male. Christ, he didn’t know why this woman, of all females in their growing pack, affected him like this. Going to his bathroom, he turned the water to cold and stepped in. Even his wolf snarling at him couldn’t bring him down. Reaching for his cock, he did the only thing he could think to do.
Thinking about her over him, he closed his eyes as he stroked his cock. He’d never seen her naked. Even during pack meetings, she was careful to stay away from them all. But he’d seen her clothed and knew that she’d be lovely.
It only took seconds for him to come; spraying his cum along the tile wasn’t even close to being satisfying. But it did take the edge off. For now. Soon, he tried to tell his body and his wolf. Very soon, he’d find a female and fuck her until he could sleep at night without waking in a cold sweat and a hard-on.
There were nine people in his kitchen when he walked in. Phil had come and Holly was with him. His sister was holding one of the smaller cubs. Phil had his back to the family with his wrist over the tiny mouth of the bloodied babe. When he looked at Dallas, Phil smiled. He’d been able to save it.
“He will punish you if he knows where we are. He said that no place would be far enough for us to hide.” Dallas looked at the woman and sat down. She cowered away from him. “Please don’t hit me too. I’ve got to care for my young.”
“I never hit a woman. My brother is alpha here and he’ll make sure you’re safe.” He looked at Stacy. “Have you called Austin?”
“He did not answer. I have sent one of the others milling about out of doors to his home. Can you contact him?”
Dallas nodded. He should have thought of that.
“Take the little ones downstairs and—”
“No. No, please don’t take them from me. I won’t have you kill them when I’m not there. Please, they’re all I have.”
Dallas felt his anger boil over, but he pulled it in. This woman was terrified and didn’t know him.
“There are rooms downstairs. Bedrooms we use when one of the pack or another pack needs shelter. If you’d like to go down and look for yourself, that’ll be fine. But they are exhausted and will feel better once they are rested.” He nodded to Stacy and Holly. “You’ve met them, so they’ll take them down with you.”
“Here is your son, Mrs. Reynolds. He’ll be fine. I’ve put him into a deeper sleep, but as you can see, he’s breathing better already.” Phil handed over her baby and the woman started to cry more.
“He tossed him across the room as if he was no more than a pillow. I knew he was hurt and we shouldn’t have moved him, but the bastard was going for him again. I had to fight back. I had to save my children. He killed my mate.” Sobbing now, she leaned against Holly. “I’ve nowhere to go. He’ll kill us all for justice.”
Phil cupped the back of the woman’s head and held her. She calmed almost immediately and soon, she was asleep. Phil didn’t let her go, but picked her up and carried her to the open basement door. When the kitchen was empty, Dallas reached for his brother.
“We’ve a major problem here. I need you to come to the house. I’ve a family here that needs shelter from their alpha.”
“One of your minions just woke my children. He’s lucky that CJ didn’t kill him. Ever hear of a fucking phone?”
There was hardness to his voice, but also a small bit of humor.
“Is it on, moron? I know you have a habit of turning it off when you’re with the kids. Could be you forgot to turn it on again?”
Dallas loved his brother’s family, and CJ was by far the most beautiful alpha person he’d ever met. He felt his brother’s anger.
“It’s off. I’m on my way. What do you know?”
He told him nothing other than Phil had saved one of the children from death.
“Make sure there is extra coverage on the grounds. Have Gordon run a check on the alpha when you get me a name.”
Stacy came through the door, sat at the table, and pushed a sheet of paper at him.
“His name is Rich Sterling and the pack is already touring the grounds. Also, you should know that he killed one of his pack members because he was harmed. I’m not sure…I don’t have a lot of details on that yet. The woman, I have her in the basement with her five cubs.”
“We’re on our way. CJ has called Mom too. We might need some extra food brought in as well.”
He heard his brother laugh
. “CJ said to tell you not to hurt Stacy. Alexis will kick your ass.”
Dallas looked over at the woman in question and told his brother to fuck off. He tried again to bring her scent into his body, but all he could smell was the family. He wanted to ask her about it, but Phil coming up from the basement had him stop. Later, he’d get his answers and then he’d take her to his bed.
“The family is asleep. I hope you don’t mind, but they were terrified and it wasn’t going to get any better with their mother screaming that she was afraid.” Phil sat at the table as he continued and he pulled Holly into his lap and held her to him. “Her mate was the man’s second, or I think maybe his enforcer. I’m never sure of the terminology, but I’m learning. When the alpha came to her home earlier tonight, he told them that he was going to kill them all for an injustice. Is that possible that he could do that?”
Dallas nodded. “If the man was his enforcer, then yes, he could, according to pack law. How badly was he hurt? And how did you…you read her mind.”
“Yes. I don’t know what happened with the alpha and this woman’s mate, but the alpha, Lord Sterling, he has them call him, has already killed her brother. And still wanted more. The child I saved was the first he encountered when he broke their front door down and entered their…house. I have to tell you, from what I’ve seen, it’s not much bigger than my shed out back. And the shed is in better shape. If he does that for his employees, then I shudder to think what the rest of his pack lives in.”
Austin entered after a short knock. His brother was the alpha of this pack and when he entered a room, it showed. Dallas was his enforcer, as well as his twin. And even though Dallas was slightly bigger, Austin could and would command his death if need be.
“Gordon is on his way via car. He has my mate and cubs with him. Can they bed down in the upper levels until we figure out what this is concerning? I want to help the family, but I don’t want to get caught with our pants down.” Dallas nodded and watched as his brother pulled on some jeans he always had here. “Thanks, Phil, for helping out. Is the child going to make it?”
“Yes. There was some internal damage done and without proper care or my blood, he would have died. I’ve put them to sleep to rest. But I was just telling your brother here what happened. You don’t have to worry this is a ruse, but I would be careful. This alpha is a nut ball.”
Dallas laughed and sobered when Stacy glared at him. The woman was driving him insane. He looked up when the rest of his family came in. His mother was directing some of the younger wolves that were always around to put the food in the pantry. He kissed her cheek and asked what he could do to help.
Austin may be pack alpha, leader of nearly a hundred wolves now, but their mother ruled the roost. Each person in the kitchen knew it too. When she said she needed something, every person in the pack would scramble to get it. She was queen as far as they were concerned.
“Get me that skillet. How long will they be down for, Phil?” He told her a couple of hours. “Good. I’ll have plenty of time to get some food ready. There are more pack coming, I think. Phil, go and get those extra dishes. Holly, see what you can do about getting the bottled water from the storage unit, and the rest of you, get the tables set up in the yard. I got a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”
As everyone took off to do her bidding, Dallas and Gordon sat at the table and began figuring out what they could find on the man who had interrupted their lives. Stacy sat down, too, after Austin asked her to.
Stacy had not pledged to the pack, but to Alexis, Gordon’s mate. Austin could ask her to help, but he couldn’t really command her. She was skittish enough as it was. No one but maybe Alexis knew her whole story. All they knew was that she’d been thrown from her pack because they claimed that she was barren. No one knew how that had made her unworthy of pack, but they were glad for her help.
“Tell me how you found them. I’m assuming they weren’t on our property when you came across them,” Austin asked her. “And what do you know of this alpha?”
“I was…I can tell you all you want to know about him. He was my pack leader.” She looked around the room and then dropped her head. “He’s also my father.”
Dallas felt his wolf stir to protect her. When Stacy looked up at him, she growled low. She was the prickliest person he knew. He let a little of his wolf go to show her that he was bigger and badder. She did the same and soon it went from a pissing contest to need.
“Behave, both of you. Damn it all to hell, the two of you act like teenagers in heat. Either fuck it out of your systems or stay away from each other.” Austin got up to pace. “Your father? You said your last name is O’Brien. I thought you said his name was Sterling.”
“He is. I am…I’m his child because he and my mother were mates before he became pack leader. When she had me, he noticed that…that I wasn’t quite right. And not being a son had him turn on me and her. My mother died the night he was given the pack. I never knew what happened, but I think he might have murdered her.”
No one spoke. No one asked. Dallas wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her. He looked up at his mom and saw her staring at him. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, so he got up to hold her. She hit him with her ever present wooden spoon.
“What the hell was that for?” She hit him again then walked into the other room. And of course, like a fool, he followed her. “Mom, as soon as you put that thing down, I’m going to smash it to splinters. What are you hitting me for?”
“You are not my son if you are that dense.” She turned back to the table where the plates and bottled water had been stacked. “Men are…I can’t believe your father and I raised such a…do you not know comfort?”
He looked at her then toward the kitchen where Stacy still was. “Her? She’d as soon rip my head off as to let me touch her. I’ve tried.”
She turned on him then. And he took several steps back when she lifted the spoon again. “Try harder.”
When she left the room, he stood there for several minutes. Try harder? Try harder at what? Getting her to tear him up or… Dallas looked back at the kitchen then at the table where she’d been standing. Was she telling him to take her to his bed? No, that couldn’t be right. She had to know the woman hated him. Then he saw the spoon.
Picking it up, he was very tempted to do just what he said he was going to do, but he thought maybe that would get him in more trouble than it was worth. He knew she more than likely had a crate of them somewhere and was tempting him with this one. He put the spoon in his back pocket and went to his office. He had to think and the others had this under control.
