Feral Instincts (The Feral Series) (26 page)

As
soon as Teagan felt Ava’s body clenching his own he let out a roar and buried
himself deeply in her core, spilling his seed deeply into his mate. With his
last thrust he pulled her down onto his chest and rolled her beneath him. Their
bodies still connected he wrapped himself around her protectively.

Mine.
Teagan
released a soft growl of satisfaction. His mark was on her neck, his seed deep
inside of her, his scent covered her skin. His mind firmly held any problems
his bond with her had created at bay. None of that mattered right now, Ava
belonged to him.

Ava
lay in Teagan’s embrace in awe of their love making. She had no idea it could
be like that. She had never experienced anything like it. She was so relieved
to know that she could be with Teagan without pain, without fear. She drifted
to sleep with a contented smile on her face, feeling protected and safe.

Teagan
growled low and scraped his fingers through the front of his shoulder length
hair in frustration. They had spent the entire day yesterday locked away in his
room. No one had dared to disturb them, apparently Victor had made sure to warn
the others about the newly mated werewolf. Someone had even delivered food to
his door only to make a hasty retreat before he even opened the door.

Now
it was time to face the reality that had been hanging over them like a dark
cloud. They had a lead on the location of a rogue stronghold and he had to
leave with the team, immediately.

“Anything
you have not packed by the time I return will be left behind. We are leaving
today.”

“But
Teagan, I can help. Besides, what if your pack doesn’t want me there?”

His
young mate was trying his patience and he was struggling with the need to exert
his control in the face of her defiance. “You will no longer be used as
bait.”
He couldn’t help but growl the word.
“
I want you far away from
Salvatore. I am taking you to the protection of my pack. Whether they are angry
over our bond or not they would protect you with their lives. You will be safer
there.”

“So
you are going to dump me with a pack of werewolves, who may very well hate me
by the way, and then leave me alone with them! This is a terrible plan. Let me
stay and help with Salvatore.”

“I
don’t have time to argue with you about this. I have to leave with Ethan in a
few minutes.”

“Is
this just about Salvatore or are you that desperate to get me away from the
vampire clan. I can’t believe after all this time that you still don’t trust
them. I am safe here, with my friends, with my clan.”

Ava
gasped as Teagan pinned her small body against the wall. She froze as she
suddenly found herself surrounded by two hundred and twenty pounds of furious
werewolf. Dam it, Ava kept forgetting that she was NOT dealing with an ordinary
man, he was definitely a Lykan.

“You
are no longer a member of Victor’s clan, you are my mate. Your place is with my
pack.” Realizing too late that she had pushed him too far, Ava held her breath
and lowered her gaze. A shiver of danger ran down her spine.
Right, newly
mated werewolf, easy there big guy.
Catching the scent of her fear Teagan
immediately relaxed his grip on her.

“Dam
it Ava.” He hated when she was scared of him but he would not back down when
her safety was at stake. Tilting her head up, he captured her soft lips beneath
his own.

For
just one brief moment Ava considered resisting him. She knew when she was being
very sweetly distracted but she just couldn’t summon the strength to care right
now. With a groan of frustration she slid her fingers into his hair and gave
into the need to kiss him back. Feeling her soften beneath him, he ran both
hands behind her and cupped her bottom, pressing her tighter against the hard bulge
in his jeans. With a tug he lifted her up and she eagerly wrapped her shapely
legs around his waist. Heat pooled in her core and Ava wrapped her arms around
his neck.

As
he carried her to his bed, Teagan froze in the middle of the room with a groan.
“Shit!” With a loud suffering sigh, he released his grip on her ass and let her
legs slide to the ground. Already his little mate was causing him to forget his
duties. Her passion filled eyes looked at him in confusion. “I am already late.
We will have to continue this later.” With one last kiss he abruptly released
her and moved to a safe distance. Adjusting the front of his jeans into a more
comfortable position he sent her a hungry look before heading towards the door.

Remembering
her anger Ava stood in a huff and folded her arms across her chest. “Don’t
count on it buddy.” She wasn’t done with him yet and he couldn’t just kiss her
senseless every time they disagreed.  Well… maybe he could, she thought
when a warm tingle ran through her at the thought. She was allowed to have a
say in her own life though and didn’t want him to think he could just snap his
fingers and make all her decisions for her.

Grinning
at the look in her eyes, Teagan left his room, closing the door behind him. His
little mate was furious with him. He would have more time to sooth her later as
they traveled to join his pack. He wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation
with his father. There would be repercussions for taking Ava as his mate. With
a flip of his heart though, he knew if his pack forced him to choose between
his pack and his mate, there would be no doubt which one he would choose. His
little vampire had become his whole world.

Ava
tried to sit quietly and read a book in Teagan’s room but it was impossible. She
had already packed the clothing from her bedroom and had nothing to do now but
wait for Teagan to return. She had only been separated from him for two hours
now and it was already taking a toll on her.
This is ridiculous!
Tossing
the book onto the bed she began pacing. It had to be one of the side effects of
her bond with Teagan. Little jolts of anxiety were shooting through her system
and she couldn’t seem to sit still.

Her
thoughts turned to her old life and the friends she was going to have to leave
behind when she joined Teagan’s pack. If the alliance held she might be able to
see Joseph and some of the other guardians from time to time. She had looked
for Joseph when she had finished packing but he wasn’t at Claymore. Hopefully
he would return before she and Teagan left.

With
and unladylike snort, she imagined Teagan actually letting her anywhere near
Joseph to say good bye. Ya, not good.

There
were still some things she wanted to take with her from her apartment too. She
couldn’t go anywhere near her apartment with Salvatore still out there but
perhaps someone could have her things sent to her. There were some keepsakes
from her mom she really wanted and a couple of Kat’s refurbished creations she
would love to have too.

Ah
Kat. She hadn’t talked to her friend in ages. She was worried about her and
frustrated that she couldn’t check on her friend. Kat had always had her back
and the one time that Ava could have finally reciprocated her hands were tied.
It sounded like Kat was going through a rough time and Ava wished she could
have been there for her.

Maybe
she should try to call them one more time. Decision made she headed towards the
library. The rooms here had some kind of fancy intercom system but no phones.
It really didn’t matter though since everyone seemed to have cell phones
anyway. Everyone except her that was, since hers was probably at the bottom of
some backwoods pond where Salvatore’s men had more than likely dumped her poor
little car.

Ava
slipped into the library unnoticed and headed directly to the phone on top of
the little accent table. Surely with all of the security in this place the
phone here would be protected from being traced. She really didn’t want to ask
anyone and take a chance on them denying her the chance to call her friends.
She would make it brief, just in case.

It
was Sunday and Serendipity would be closed so she would have to try their cell
phones instead. Ava picked up the phone and dialed Kat’s cell phone. With a
sigh, she disconnected the call. It didn’t even ring but had gone straight to
her voice mail. It wasn’t a surprise though, Kat never got a signal in the
valley she lived in.

Trying
Patrick’s number, Ava anxiously waited while the phone rang. Her heart lept
with relief when she heard a click as the third ring was answered. “Hello.”
Patrick answered but he sounded strange and his voice was shaky.

“Patrick,
it’s Ava. Is everything okay?”

“Oh
god, sweetie…” He sounded close to tears and there was suddenly a fumbling
sound over the phone.

“Patrick!”

“Patrick
is… busy love. I would be happy to give him a message for you though.” Oh god,
Ava knew that voice. Sheer terror raced down her spine and for a moment she
stood frozen in shock.

“What’s
the matter love, cat got your tongue? Hmmm, Kat. That’s the name of your other
little friend isn’t it? She is delicious by the way.” Ava fought back a gag of
revulsion as Salvatore’s voice purred over the phone line. Oh god, the monster
had Patrick and Kat.

“Please,
just don’t hurt them.”

“Well,
love, I guess that is going to depend on you.”

“What…
what do you want.”

“Just
you.” Ava could almost feel the black evil that surrounded Salvatore seeping
through the phone.

“Your
friend’s lives for yours. I will be waiting for you at the old abandoned church
on Highway Y-10. Come alone and tell no one. If I catch the scent of anyone
following you I will skin them alive while you watch. Give yourself to me and I
will let them live.”

Ava
could suddenly hear Patrick’s squeals of pain in the background. The sound of
his suffering brought tears to her eyes and her skin broke out in a cold sweat.

“Okay,
okay! Just stop! I’ll come, don’t hurt him.” Ava bit back a sob, not wanting to
give Salvatore the satisfaction of hearing her cry.

“Don’t
make me wait long sweet, the boys are feeling a little peckish tonight.”
Hanging up the phone, Ava crumpled to her knees in anguish. What should she do?

If
she told the guardians they would probably lock her away “for her own safety”
and go after Salvatore with guns blazing. Patrick and Kat would be killed for
sure. They might even consider the loss of Patrick and Kat an acceptable
sacrifice if they got Salvatore in the process. The loss of two lives in
exchange for the many that would be saved if they put a stop to Salvatore.

They
were her family though and it wasn’t acceptable to Ava. She would never let
them be sacrificed to protect her either. This was her mess. Salvatore had come
after her. Patrick and Kat never would have been involved like this if it
hadn’t been for their connection to her.

With
a pang of sorrow Ava though of Teagan’s reaction when she found out what she
had done. What if she never saw him again? She had no choice though, she had to
go. That’s all there was to it. In a daze Ava headed back towards Teagan’s
room, she had some planning to do.

Ava’s
hand shook as she pressed the button that would open the security gate from
inside of her borrowed truck. The security measures at Claymore were top of the
line but fortunately they were designed to keep people out, not so much to keep
them in. With a nervous glance at the security camera Ava pulled down the
private driveway. She forced herself to drive the speed limit until she was out
of sight of the mansion and then she punched the accelerator.

Since
she had never left the mansion without the Guardians Ava knew that whoever was
monitoring the security cameras was probably already calling Victor. She had to
put as much distance between herself and the guardians as she could before they
came after her, and they would. She was counting on it. She just needed enough
time to convince Salvatore to turn Kat and Patrick free before the cavalry
showed up and all hell broke loose.

Ava
drove the fifty miles or so to the old church in record time. She had to waste
precious minutes stopping at the gas station for directions but luckily the
older gentleman behind the counter had known where the old church was. Pulling
against the curb of the darkened street, she parked directly in front of the
run down building with its once proud steeple.

 Carefully
she pried her cold, stiff hands from the steering wheel. She hadn’t realized
she had held it in a death grip while she was driving. Rubbing the circulation
back into her hands against her jeans, Ava took a shaky breath and opened the
truck door. Trying to steady her shaking knees she stood with her back against
the SUV. She didn’t want anyone sneaking up on her from behind.

In
moments she was flanked on either side by the dark presence of several of
Salvatore’s men. Their hungry red tinged eyes left no doubt as to who their
master was. Although they clearly followed Salvatore’s orders there was a wild,
desperation about them Ava hadn’t seen in the other vampires she had met. They
looked as though they were just a breath away from complete violence. They were
Salvatore’s rogues.