Shain: Immortal Forsaken Series #6 (Paranormal Romance Novella) Read online

Then he was a vampire desperately in love with the enemy, running from his home and empire to be with her.

  Now? He hated the world, cherished solitude, and needed nothing and no one near him.

  No matter what he was, though, he definitely wasn’t the kind to ignore a plea for help, nor the kind to allow a woman he still loved to become an unwilling bride.

  “I think we’ve said enough.” Marex looked at his friend. “Let’s go. I don’t want to waste more time.”

  Zander kept his hard gaze on Shain. “We’ll make it. Are you coming or not, Trevyn?”

  Say no. Tell them they’re on their own.

  The words wouldn’t come out.

  “Give me five minutes.” He needed to change his clothes and pack a bag.

  Despite what she’d done to him, he knew he had to go, that if they left without him, he’d wonder. Forever wonder.

  Most of all, he needed answers, and deserved to know what really happened.

  Two

  Kimber had been sitting at the vanity for a while, staring at her reflection, seeing nothing but a fraction of the woman she used to be. They kept trying to break her, but truth was, she was already broken, and had been, since the day she’d left Shain.

  She just never showed them.

  Tomorrow would be her wedding day.

  Though she had no idea why they bothered calling it a wedding, when the standard willing/happy bride part had been so blatantly dismissed. She didn’t want to, and had made it very clear, yet they made it clear she had to take a mate she didn’t love or even like, or else be banished.

  He wanted her, and that was final.

  There were two reasons why Hudson was set on claiming her. One, because of his weird obsession with her, and two, so he could be the one to claim the notoriously unattainable shiya of the Glacier Wolf Pack. The one so many wanted years ago, but the one no shief would touch with a ten-foot pole now.

  Despite the fact she’d shared a bed with a vampire, Hudson was, for whatever reason, determined to make her his bride.

  She’d been moved from her basement room to her own cabin on the compound where unmated shiyas and shiefs lived in their separate bungalows. The only reason she’d been allowed the upgrade was because of Diana, who was mate to one of the most respected shiefs in the pack. Diana had insisted on it, even though Hudson had wanted in Kimber in his cabin immediately.

  Kimber was grateful to have one more day to herself.

  Thinking about the moment she would have to bare her body to her future mate soured her stomach and made her want to cry, but she hadn’t done that in months.

  Why? Because she thought of Shain instead. She had no right to cry after how she’d treated him. So she tried not to think of that day, and only of him. His incredibly sexy smile, those crystal blue eyes, the twin dimples in his cheeks, the sensual power in his hands…

  That was what she planned to do every time Hudson laid a hand on her: imagine Shain. No one would ever touch her the way he had.

  No one.

  There was a soft knock on the door.

  Diana came in with a bouquet of flowers and a smile. “Hi.”

  Kimber turned in her seat. “Those are nice.”

  She set them down on the table. “Kit bought them. I thought maybe we could use them for your hair tomorrow.”

  A frown replaced the smile at once. “I don’t need to look pretty for him, Diana.”

  “Unless you plan to cut your face with a razor blade tonight, you won’t turn him off.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “Kimber! Tell me you’re joking.”

  Half-joking. “I don’t have any razor blades at the ready. Don’t worry.”

  Diana came over and rested her hands on Kimber’s shoulders, meeting her gaze in the mirror. “You don’t have to go through with this.”

  And yet, she’d accepted she would. “Yes, I do. We both knew this was going to happen. This was going to be my fate even before…everything. I’m just surprised Amos didn’t make me do it before he left.”

  Her friend sighed, and went to put the flowers in water.

  Every loyal shiya remained with her pack, waiting to either find her mate or be chosen for one. Ever since Kimber’s eighteenth birthday, many, many guys from packs around the Midwest had come to catch her scent to see if she belonged with them.

  Deep down, she somehow knew none of them were meant for her, long before they arrived. Handsome, ugly, charming, repulsive, redneck, city boy, it didn’t matter. Her wolf had remained quiescent, whiny, and unimpressed. Kimber came to the conclusion she belonged to no one. The only person she’d ever have to be true to was herself. Her dreams, her needs.

  Unfortunately, her indifference had only made her more attractive.

  Men tried all kind of feats to impress her, but they failed, and she’d been the only one fine with it. Was it so bad to be a single female shifter? Could she not be supportive in other ways that didn’t include her taking a mate?

  As she’d predicted, the men had started giving up, calling her a snob, accusing her of being strange, and came to the ever-so-wise male conclusion that having her as a mate would be tiresome, no matter how pretty she was.

  That led to Alpha Amos demanding she go on a three-month trip with the mated shiyas to recruit more women to join their pack.

  The trip that changed her life…

  A pounding fist on the door startled them both, and was opened before either said it was okay to come in.

  It was Hudson. Five-foot-eleven, with reddish brown hair, brown eyes, and cut cheekbones, he passed as attractive in a bad boy, scrappy way that some women found hot. He wasn’t incredibly tall and hulking like most of his brethren, but was one of their best fighters, his knuckles constantly in a condition of dried blood and scabs.

  Unfortunately, how he related to his shifter brothers and how he related to the shiyas were one and the same. Rough. Direct. Blunt. And if he felt his intelligence was even the slightest bit offended, hostile.

  Diana bowed her head. “Hi, Hudson.”

  He ignored her, looking at Kimber. “Where’ve you’ve been?” he asked without preamble.

  “Here. And don’t barge in like that again, we’re not married yet.” She inwardly cringed at her tone, which she knew he wouldn’t appreciate.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said get out.” Tone still hadn’t improved. She couldn’t hide her disgust that this was going to be her mate and husband. For life.

  Diana, always the mediator, tried to soothe the tension. “We’re just getting ready for tomorrow.”

  He snarled. “Leave us.”

  Kimber briefly closed her eyes when she heard the door shut.

  Hudson’s footsteps were heavy as he approached. “You will respect me, Kimber.”

  “I will when you deserve it.”

  “I’ve more than earned it. I should bend you over right now and make you call my name for everyone to hear.”

  Her pride wouldn’t allow her cower to the threat. “You can take me a thousand times. Doesn’t mean you’ll ever have me or my respect.”

  His hands tightened to fists. “You and I will be man and wife tomorrow, and you will submit to me. I know there’s some part of you that wants me to tame that wild side of yours.”

  “Fucking you is not going to do it.” She narrowed her eyes to his in the mirror. “You know nothing about what I want.”

  His growl was low and harnessed. “Stand up.”

  Either she did what he commanded on her own or he would make her, so she obeyed, turning to face him.

  The contempt contorting his face changed as he searched her gaze, the hardness in his voice and eyes tempering. “What a shame. The beauty of a rose with the mouth of a cobra.” He looked her up and down, disdain shadowing his desire. “I’ve always wanted to know. How could you be attracted to a bloodsucker over your own kind? How could you actually love one of them?”

  She didn’t bother with a response.
There was no explanation to give that he would accept or understand.

  He sneered. “Let me tell you something you don’t know, princess. I saw you with him once. You and your vampire.”

  Her heart began to pound. She swallowed the emotion swelling her throat, chin held high.

  “When they first heard you’d disappeared with him, Amos sent me and Billy after you, tracked you to Chicago.”

  Oh yes, she remembered that amazing week with Shain. It pained her to stifle the sob threatening to escape.

  “Billy went one way; I went the other. It was pure coincidence. Saw you while I was in traffic. You were in front of some fancy ass hotel. I watched you the entire time. You were looking up at him with such fucking awe…and he did this.” Hudson slowly raised his hand. His dirt-stained palm was like sandpaper as it brushed the side of her face, moving her hair away.

  She squelched the urge to slap him. He’d never touched her before. Their interaction was little more than him staring at her with a cross between obsession and derision, and her pretending he didn’t exist.

  Abruptly, he snatched the back of her neck, jerking her close to his face. His growl vibrated his pecs. “You will look at me like you looked at him. Maybe not tomorrow, or a month from now, but you will. I was meant for you, Kimber, not some fucking nutless vampire.”

  He released her so gruffly, she stumbled back. Her wolf growled, crouching, urging Kimber to shift and retaliate.

  He ripped the door open, stopping at the threshold, the winter breeze sailing through the small bungalow. “Despite what you think, we’ll be good together. You’ll see.”

  She swallowed, not moving. “Get out.”

  “This time tomorrow, I will claim you, Kimber. Be ready.”

  The second the door slammed, panting breaths burst from her chest, and she sank to her knees. Gripping the leg of the chair, she pressed her forehead to it, willing back the tears.

  Moments later, Diana came rushing in. “What happened? Did he hurt you?”

  “No,” she choked out.

  “Ugh, you don’t have to go through with this! You can take one of the cars tonight and be gone.”

  “And go where? What pack would take me? You know our chances of survival on our own plummets without a pack. With demons and vampires and rivals outnumbering us, looking to wipe us out or make us slaves.”

  “There is someone you can go to. I’m sure he’d take you back.”

  She closed her eyes and the tear fell, traveling thick and hot down her cheek. The one thought that could make her cry. She shook her head. “Even if I knew where to find him, he’d only slam the door in my face. And he’d have every right to. Why would he ever take me back?”

  “Kimber, you traded yourself for his life! You had to lie! They had him surrounded. He would’ve been dead on the spot otherwise. You’re lucky they didn’t kill him out of spite.”

  There’d been nothing lucky about that day.

  “All I have to do is look at him,” she whispered shakily.

  “What?”

  With Diana’s help, she climbed to her feet. “Basically, it comes down to me pretending I see Shain tomorrow. My wedding to Shain. My wedding night with Shain. I can do that.”

  “You’re starting to sound crazy.”

  She sat down and pressed her fingers to her temples. “Maybe that’s what I need to be to survive this.”

  “No. What you need to do is hope.”

  God, she was tired. “Hope for what?”

  Her friend was quiet for a few seconds. “I…did something.”

  By the sound of Diana’s voice, Kimber could tell it was something she shouldn’t have. “What did you do?”

  Diana took in a breath, glancing at the door as though it might burst open and one of the men would hear her next words. “Someone might be coming for you. To help you out of this.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I sent a letter to Alpha Kane. I told him everything. About you and Shain. What you did for him. The wedding to Hudson.”

  Kimber’s eyes widened. “Omigod, Diana—”

  “You’ve heard about him, right? He’s a major friendly to vampires. People say he and one of their underground leaders are tight. His pack is ten times bigger than ours, based in Louisiana. If anyone is going to feel sympathy for your situation and do anything about it, it’d be him.”

  To send a letter to an alpha and ask for his help? “Insane,” Kimber said, going to one of the windows to look outside. “You’re insane. He may be a friend to vampires, but no way would he come all the way up to Wisconsin just to help me, Diana! Alphas don’t do that. Why would he care?”

  Diana sounded defensive. “It was worth a try to see if he did!”

  “Well, it’s obvious he doesn’t. The wedding is in the morning. Does Eli know about this?”

  “Of course not. And he never will.”

  “I can’t believe you’d send for someone to rescue me. I don’t need rescuing, and I don’t deserve it. Like you said, I could easily take one of the vehicles and leave on my own. I’m choosing to stay.”

  “Only because you say you have nowhere to go. But if you did?”

  Her friend was right. She couldn’t deny that, had she a haven to run to, she would bolt without hesitation to get there.

  Even so, that wasn’t reality.

  She hugged Diana for taking the risk. “Thank you. What you did was very brave.”

  “Oh, Kimber.” She pulled back, tears in her eyes, cupping Kimber’s face. “I’ve always admired your strength. I want you to be with the one you love. Or find your true shifter mate.”

  Kimber sighed and turned to look out the window, the moon unseen with the clouds above. Shain was her true mate, though Kimber suspected Diana would never really believe that. Shifters mated with shifters, vampires mated with vampires. To think there could be any mixing of the two was an abomination.

  Why did she have to be the freak?

  Why was her heart calling for one that was not her kind?

  She might never know.

  Only that it did.

  The adrenaline had started to spike in Shain’s blood long before they crossed the Wisconsin state line toward Tavish. An eeriness rose the little hairs on the back of his neck. The last time he’d stepped foot in this town had, ironically, been for the same reason he was there now: to get Kimber.

  They were going in blind. He didn’t know what she’d ultimately do or even if she’d be alone. Too many unknowns to make confidence higher than an inch.

  What he did know was that they couldn’t take this blacked-out SUV much farther down the road with its headlights on, and that less than four miles away, the pack’s sentinel would hear it coming.

  And they were counting on it.

  The plan was for Kane to get out of the SUV in a mile or two and walk, then approach the community’s entrance and introduce himself as a friendly visitor. More than likely, he would be welcomed in, since he would be alone and just looking for a little hospitality. The visitation of an alpha leader would be the distraction they needed.

  Shain and Marex would park at the spot where he’d met Kimber before and walk from there to the section of bungalows.

  Marex glanced back from the driver’s seat. “The gods are on our side, Shain. It’s going to snow. No direct sunlight today.”

  Which meant they didn’t have to wait to find her, even though sunrise was near.

  “You know, Kane,” Marex said as he started to slow down and pull over, “you are taking the risk that this is a trap. They’re isolated, yes, but that doesn’t mean your fame as a vampire ally hasn’t preceded you.”

  “Yeah, I considered that,” the shifter responded, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Remember, we have more honor than you vampires think. If their aim is to kill me, then it has to be their alpha who does it, with my pack to witness it. No mob mentality in shifters unless we’re hunting. Since I’m coming alone, unarmed, and with a brotherly smile, it would be
dishonorable to murder me, regardless of my stance with you.”

  Marex didn’t look totally convinced as he put the SUV in park. “You’re the expert.”

  Zander chuckled. “Your concern is so sweet, vampire. I’ll see you at the rendezvous point.”

  Once they got out, they grasped forearms with nods, and Zander headed down the road.

  Shain took over the passenger seat.

  A mile up, Marex took a turn down a dirt road and drove to the dead end. He pulled out the map and pointed to the area. “The bungalows are here…we’re here. It’s a mile walk to their territory line, then another half-mile to the houses. We can cut through here to save time.”

  Which they didn’t have a lot of. A flat tire and a bad traffic accident had slowed their progress earlier so instead of coming at midnight, they’d arrived a little after six AM.

  “Lead the way,” Marex said.

  They got out of the GMC and began the long walk.

  Would their plan work or were they kidding themselves?

  Strangely enough, he didn’t fear the outcome, not like the first time when he’d taken her away from this place. He’d changed since then. Little scared him now. With nothing to live for, fear just sort of subtracted itself.

  “Tell me about her,” Marex said after a while.

  Shain huffed. “If you think a description of her could make you understand why I fell in love with a shiya, it won’t. I can’t explain it myself.”

  “Humor me. It’ll make our journey more motivating.”

  He supposed anyone who’d heard of the story would be curious to know the details, as Shain was curious to know Marex’s whole story too, someday.

  “All right. The first time I saw her…” His mind drifted back to that night, vivid and detailed, as though it happened just yesterday. “I was at a big party in some mansion in Atlanta. It was the last soirée before most in my covenant left the city for the summer. I was bored, so I stole a bottle of hooch and went for a walk. Came to a pond. Kimber was in it.”

  A knowing smile moved Marex’s lips. “Alone?”

  “Skinny-dipping.” The memory evoked a pang, reminding Shain of the strange, alluring emotion that struck him when he spotted her. “I watched her for a bit. She looked so…free, light-hearted, humming to herself. I was bewitched. She didn’t see me, but she heard me, and yelled out for me to show myself. So I did. With her being in the water, her scent was impossible to catch. Naturally, I assumed she was a vampiress, a guest at the party, or maybe one of the staff stealing a break. Later on, she told me she’d known I was a vampire, and that she’d been afraid to come out, worried the water wouldn’t cover her scent long enough for her to run.”