Ann H (2 page)

* * * *

Reed ran as fast as he could, with Brent
right behind him. They lost the small group that were chasing after them, and
now the building went up in flames. He skidded to a stop next to his truck,
frowned and growled low at the back of his throat.

“What’s wrong?” Brent huffed.

Reed, still frowning, looked over his
shoulder at his brother. “She’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?”

Reed went the camper door yanked it open
and the growl that had been rumbling in his throat came out in anger. “Son of a
bitch!”

“You want to tell me what the hell is
going on?”

Standing, staring at nothing with hands on
his hips, Reed stared into the camper trying to figure out how she got out.
Then it hit him. She had to have climbed out the small window where the bed was
supposed to be. Going inside, he went right up to it and sure enough, he got
wind of her scent. Closing his eyes he took in as much as there was, getting a
nice look.

“Reed, what’s going on?” Brent asked.

“Get dressed,” Reed, answered him. “We’re
taking a small detour.”

* * * *

As Jennifer came out of her bathroom,
tying the knot on her robe, she was greeted with a hand thrust against her face
that knocked her right on her ass.

“I told you to stay put!” Isaac Dowell
growled. “You disobeyed me.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, rubbing her
cheek, holding back the tears. Crying in front of her father did nothing for
her, ever. “I wanted to see it for myself.”

“You could’ve been seen or taken!” he
yelled. Isaac Dowell happened to be a shifter in power. He had connections and
the respect of everyone that knew him. No one ever dared to disobey him. No one
that is but her. “What in the world did I do to deserve a daughter such as
you?” That was always his favorite line, one that he used more times than she
could count.

Slowly she got back up to her feet,
keeping an eye on him as he paced her room. “I’m sorry.”

Isaac shook his head. “Bit too late to be
sorry, isn’t it?”

“You were right.” She decided to change tactics
with him, like always a change of subject seemed to always work when her father
was upset with her. “It is a woman and she did have someone.”

He still had a glare on his face when he
stopped pacing to look at her. Yep, Isaac Dowell was without a doubt pissed off
at her and more than likely would be for a few days. “I already knew that. You
forget, girl, that I have contacts in this city I know that woman took someone
and I know just who it is.”

Her stomach dropped.

“I already had things taken care of and
then you pull a stunt like this!” He pointed his finger at her. “It’s way past
time for you to get mated.”

This
is a new threat!
“No one saw me!” she
shook her head quickly. “I swear it.”

“No, someone did see you and I fear it may
cause us some major trouble.”

She was careful she knew she was! Jennifer
felt sick and worked damn hard not to throw up on her father’s feet. She
thought fast and hard over whom might’ve seen her. No one that she knew of.
She’d hid well and saw enough, but knew that no one in that building saw her.
The only one that did was that male. He caught her snooping and then locked her
up in a camper over his truck.

“You did it now, girl, and I don’t know if
I can get you out of it.” Shaking his head, Isaac headed for the door. He
yanked it open and stopped, glaring over his shoulder at her one more time.
“Stay in your damn room this time. I don’t need you sneaking down causing more
trouble while I try to fix this shit you’ve landed in now. Understood?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Good.” The door slammed shut and she
jumped.

Rubbing her face, she let out a big sigh,
wondering now
into what kind of
trouble she’d landed. That male, Reed, she thought his name was, didn’t seem
like the kind of guy to cause her any trouble. After all, he didn’t know her
name or where she came from, so what kind of trouble could her father be
worried about?

Shaking off the strange feeling, Jennifer
went to her
dresser to get dressed.
She brought out a baggy pair of boxer shorts and a large t-shirt. Slipping them
on, then her robe once more, she went to the window mostly because of her
nerves. Why she was suddenly scared she couldn’t explain, but when she looked
up at the night sky and got her first look at an upcoming red moon she
shivered.

The legend of the red full moon has always
been that of her kind. A legend. They only came around once every century and
the tales that were told had the anticipation flowing out of every pore on her
body.

Full red moon brought out an unexpected
heat in the males and a small cycle for the females. It paired them up,
matching the males to females without a Gathering. Even the protection of a
safe house was out of the question. The red moon found them all, leaving every
shifter exposed and vulnerable.

Jennifer rubbed her arms, staring at the
moon, wondering if her father knew of it coming, but she doubted it. Now his
main concern was the disappearance of young shifter males. He had heard the
rumors, just as she had, and for whatever strange reason he took it upon
himself to discover if it was true or not. Well tonight, she thought, it was
confirmed. Someone was without a doubt taking the males, but why she had no
clue.

She just about turned from the window to
head to bed when headlights turning into the driveway grabbed her attention.
Looking down, watching the vehicle get closer to the house, her gut once more
dropped. The truck that she’d been thrust and locked into earlier stopped right
in front of the house and the same male who’d locked her into it stepped out.

Jennifer’s mouth dropped open as he stood
there in the night, sniffing the air.
Fuck
me! He caught my scent.
Her fear left her rooted, eyes locked on him as he
kept sniffing the air. A light turned on outside as she saw her father come out
and started talking to him. They exchanged words then both looked up, right at
her window. She jumped back, heart once more pounding in her chest, mouth dry.
Her gut screamed that this wasn’t going to end on a good note, not by a long
shot.

Turning away, she rushed to her bedroom
door and locked it. Before long, she heard the front door slam. Closing her
eyes, she prayed silently that it was her father, not the other one.

Knock-knock. “Come out little mouse.”

“Oh shit,” she whispered, covering a hand
over her mouth and backing further away from the door.

“I know you’re in there.”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath,
and told herself repeatedly that there wasn’t anything to be scared of. Her
father wouldn’t let some stranger into the house to do her harm.

“What do you want?” she called out,
hugging herself, backing up even more until she couldn’t back up any more.

“What do you think?”

“Jennifer, open this door!” Isaac
demanded.

Instead of answering, she shook her head,
not believing what was happening. The knob turned and then the unthinkable happened.

Jennifer stared in shock as her door flew
open. He’d kicked her door open. Once she came face to face with him, it seemed
to snap her out of her shock. She dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door
and locking it in his face before he could reach her.

“Another door. Are you serious?” he called
out, hitting the door, she guessed with a fist.

“Go away!” she yelled.

He chucked, “I don’t think so.”

“Now wait just a damned minute!” Isaac
yelled right before her bathroom door was kicked in as well.

Jennifer screamed in shock. He reached for
her, took hold of her arm, and had her out of the bathroom, half dragging her
from the bedroom and down the hall.

“We haven’t talked about this!” her father
yelled again.

“It’s done,” Reed yelled back at him.

“You can’t just come into my home and take
her!” Isaac said back.

They stopped at the front door, his hold
on her arm like iron. Jennifer didn’t know what the hell to say to her father
or to Reed for that matter. She simply was speechless.

“The rare red moon is upon us,” Reed said
to Isaac. “And as is my right, I’m taking your daughter to mate.”

“What?” she gasped, looking up at Reed in
disbelief.

“This isn’t the barbaric way any longer,
Pearce,” Isaac snarled. “You can’t just take my daughter like this. It isn’t
allowed!”

Reed jerked Jennifer closer. She stood in
front of him, one of his hands fisting in her hair, moving her head to the
side. “Then by all means, let’s do this the right way, shall we. I hate for you
to misunderstand what I’m doing here.” Her shirt and robe were pulled to the
side and before she even digested what he might do, his mouth closed over her
shoulder and sank his teeth in.

Jennifer cried out, eyes wide open in
shock, staring at her father. His face drained of all color, confirming
everything that just happened to her. A legitimate claim just was placed on her
with a mark, sealing her fate to a strange male she had met just hours ago.

When he let go she reached up to the spot
and shivered, her eyes still locked with her father’s.

“Now it’s sealed,” Reed said behind her.

With a jerk, he yanked her outside, walked
her to his truck and shoved her into the front seat between him and another
male.

“Brent, my mate, Jennifer,” Reed said. He
started the truck, and as her father came outside, he pulled away, taking her
from her home and her father, just like that.

Chapter Two

“Where are you taking me?”

Reed pondered that question long before he
tracked her down and took her from her home. It was late, a rare red moon
started in the sky, and the most unexpected thing that ever happened to him
happened. He’d found his mate. Now what will he do with her?

Hadn’t he heard through others that
sometimes your mate lands in your lap whether you’re ready for it or not?
Finding his brother gone after coming home—hell seeing with his own damn eyes
what happened to his home left him feeling like he had a hole in his chest.
Someone burned it all, killed his parents and took his brother. Finding him has
been his only priority. Even when he lost their home, his parents killed in the
fire thanks to her, the idea of a mate hadn’t been on his mind. Only Brent has
been. He needed to get his brother back before he ended up like the others.
Dead or broken beyond repair. What she did to them he had no idea, but he was
going to find out. Brent had only been with that bitch for a month.

Now that he had his brother back, he
planned to get the much-needed answers, and then a small snag to his plan—a
mate. Guess fate does have a sense of humor after all.

“That is a good question,” Brent said.
“Where are we going?”

Instead of answering him, Reed cast his
brother a dirty look. That shut him up instantly. He kept on driving, going
where he had no fucking clue. For the past months, he’d been living in the
truck at campsites trying to find Brent. Cash in the bank kept that search
going and when he came into contact with Isaac Dowell who had information he
needed—well Reed got what he was after and so much more.

With a growl, Reed slammed on the breaks
sending his two passengers forward. He stopped, put the truck into park, and
growled at to his brother, “Get lost for a few.”

Brent didn’t ask why or question him. He
opened the door, slipped out, and closed it just as Jennifer scooted to the
side to follow him. Reed grabbed hold of the back of her neck and some hair.
She flinched, her shoulders went up and, like a cat, she stilled, waiting for
him to do whatever it was he might do.
 
What are you going to do?

Bringing her close, he ducked his head
down and kissed her deep. She stiffened, her hands pressed against his chest,
pushing at him. It only made his animal surface even more. With a growl into
the kiss, he somehow got her up onto his lap, still holding her by the back of her
neck. With a free hand, he pulled some of her robe off her shoulder, moved down
her chest, and squeezed one breast. She whimpered and tried to pull away, but
he held her tight. Down farther to her belly and then to a bare leg and up
under the shorts to her bare ass. His cock throbbed, pressed against the jeans,
and Reed pressed her tighter to that throbbing pressure.