STORY EXCERPT

You've got to be kidding me. No fucking way. This is a mistake. It's not what I think it is. I don't have that kind of bad luck.

Apparently he did have that kind of bad luck, because it was definitely happening—his brain fogged up, his limbs felt heavy.

Heavier than they usually did, of course, and Zeus realized quickly that he was going to crash. His body seemed to be moving on autopilot, and he was going to trip over his own paws.

He collided with the trees. He hated it when the branches so much as slapped at his muzzle, so crashing against a pine was hardly a treat.

Luckily, his head continued to be dozy and clogged up with cotton, so he didn’t feel much pain, but he was going to stay awake.

No fucking way was he letting himself pass out.

A quick glance at his shoulder showed the thick dart that was sticking out of his flesh and fur. The needle must have been long to catch him like that.

He growled at it before grabbing it with his teeth and spitting it out. It didn't hurt him, not really, but the sting was there and that made it even more annoying.

All right, whoever did that was going to get their head bitten off. There was no fucking way that was an accident, and he was going to make whoever did it scream as he played under their fingernails.

He let himself melt back into his human shape.

Which sucked because it meant he had to be naked for this.

Fucking vampires got to have their thick armor to hide from the sun, and if he was not in wolf form, then he had to be naked and vulnerable to all their weapons and other cheating bullshit they used against him and the rest of his kind.

But at least when he was in human form, despite his size and strength, it meant the vampires were known to underestimate him.

“Wherever the fuck you are, you'd better hope I don't find you! I will fucking kill you for that! You hear me! I'll make you wish you were dead!”

He heard the zip of the next dart coming.

His body was slow and sluggish. His vision slightly blurred, but Zeus was still fast enough to dart out of the way when it came, ducking to the side before another dart could catch him in the neck.

Motherfucker.

“Now I'm mad,” he said, shaking his head, trying to clear it of the haze that was making his brain a fog.

At least now he knew where the little dickhead was hiding, and he could go hunting.

Zeus charged.

He felt the vibration of feet scurrying in the distance, heard the branches and leaves of bushes and trees being pushed out of the way as his prey ran for its life.

Too bad for the little vampire that, even when drugged up, Zeus was still an excellent hunter.

And after spending so much of his time drugged and in bed as his stomach healed, he had developed enough of a tolerance for the stuff that he could chase down this little cocksucker and make him really suffer.

Coming for you. I'm coming for you.

The vampire ran quickly. Damn, he really was fast, but the fact that he was retreating was enough to make Zeus believe that he wasn't a warrior.

Just some lone vampire out to prove himself?

It might mean there was no backup, but Zeus would remain on his guard.

Triton wouldn't forgive him if he died so soon after surviving a previous attack.

And there he was. The little prick. Zeus could see the back of the male who had shot at him, and even while mostly a blur that ran through the trees, Zeus could make out that it was a male.

The hip to shoulder ratio gave it away, even if he was a little on the slimmer side.

He wore the stereotypical black getup and helmet that the vampires always seemed to be wearing when they went out and about during the day.

And honestly, it was so blatantly obvious there was something wrong whenever these guys showed up.

Whenever you saw a biker gang of men and women, covered from head to toe in all black, no hints of their faces or anything showing, it was clear there was a vampire within all that getup.

Christ, they could just add a little color to their wardrobes and not look like complete, B movie villains wherever they went. It might even make Zeus and anyone else with a brain question whether or not they really were vampires.

Paint some sunflowers on the helmets at least.

Not that the vampire who ran from him likely cared what Zeus thought of his choice of wardrobe.

Not when Zeus was closing in on him, and he had his claws out and ready for when he could make that amazing, killing swipe…

So close, almost there, almost there!

He slashed down with his claws, swiping sideways from the man's shoulders down to his lower back.

And he definitely felt the warmth and wetness of flesh and blood when he made that slash.

Was pretty sure he heard the vampire yelp in pain, too, but then he started running even faster, pumping his arms and legs harder, getting just a touch of distance ahead, he reached into his pockets and threw something back at Zeus.

Which he ducked out of the way of because Zeus was awesome like that.

Knives.

Bastard. Of course a vampire would have knives on him. It seemed there was no vampire in the world who didn't have a few extra blades hidden somewhere on his person at all times.

Christ.

But he was slowing down. He wasn't able to keep up the distance for long.

Apparently, Zeus had more stamina than this guy could ever hope for, because it wasn't long before the man was almost within reach once more.

But there was a problem.

Had Zeus been hit with another dart?

There was an amazing smell that he couldn't quite place, and it made his nose tingle and burn.

But only in the best way possible.

Like an adrenaline shot injected directly into his veins, it was as though his blood was able to process the oxygen better, his vision seemed sharper, his legs and arms pumped faster.

And then there was that interesting sensation of being wild and free.

But it would only be real after he managed to catch that vampire right in front of him. Because this amazing burst of energy all seemed linked to the smell of his blood.

Zeus might have licked it from his fingers if he could have. As it was, he was too busy chasing him down to bother with that right now.

Catch him. Need him. Take him.

ADULT EXCERPT

“What’s your name?”

“Not your business.”

“Of course it’s my business.”

“How do you figure that?”

Zeus stepped forward, getting into the man’s personal space. “I have every right to know the name of the man I’m about to fuck.”

Vampires weren’t always cold. That was a rumor brought on by half-truths.

They could get cold, but vampires drank warm blood regularly enough that they could maintain some degree of sensible body heat.

Not enough that they always felt like a human being, but it was close enough.

And when they were embarrassed, or in lust, their temperatures skyrocketed just like everyone else's did.

And right about now, Zeus was feeling a whole lot of lusty sensations coming from the man.

He wanted this. He wanted this about as much as Zeus did.

And that was the thing that made it all the more delicious.

“You want me to fuck you, don’t you?”

He was not asking a question. Most of the vampire’s protective gear had been removed, leaving him in his black shorts and a T-shirt. Fairly casual looking getup from an assassin, but Zeus was learning new things about vampires every single day now that there were some vampires living in the clan.

This particular vampire was sporting something that looked solid and thick between his legs, and Zeus knew that it was for him.

Who the hell else would that be for?

“You can answer me, you know.” Zeus leaned in, his mouth barely skating across the shell of his mate’s ear. “You don’t exactly look like the shy type.”

In fact, Zeus would have once thought himself that type, but those days were long gone, and the smell of a mate was more than enough to make him feel more than a little confident.

The vampire inhaled a deep breath.

“I am going to get out of here.”

“Without your gear?” Zeus pressed his mouth to the side of his mate’s throat. There was so much more of his skin that was exposed now, and Zeus had been wanting to kiss all of it ever since he came back here.

“You’re injured,” Zeus pressed another kiss to the other side of his throat, noting the shiver he felt there.

His mate was feeling this, too.

“How will you get away when your back is still marred up?”

“What?” His mate jerked back, reached behind himself, and he must have felt the tear in the back of his T-shirt, and realized there were bandages on his skin.

“Oh.”

It nearly killed Zeus to have to put his vulnerable mate in front of his brother and beg for his life. He knew Triton would want to give him this, especially since Zeus swore up and down that this was his mate.

But there were some things even an alpha could not always do.

The fact that they had a clan to protect complicated things.

And there were times when a pack, working as a whole, could still overpower the alpha. Whether it was a pack of wolves or a clan of dragons, it didn’t matter. The dynamic was mostly the same.

Which meant his mate was not entirely safe here.

“My brother is probably out there right now, convincing the rest of the clan that it’s all right you’re here.”

“You mean you brought me to a pack of wolves who want to stick their fangs in my belly, rip me apart and see what comes out, is that it?”

“No,” Zeus said, a growl rising out of his throat. He put his hand to the back of his mate’s neck. They were almost the same height. “I won’t let them.”

He kissed his mate hard on the mouth. He couldn’t stop himself, and at first, it felt as though his mate were trying to push him off.

Until those arms wrapped around the back of his neck, fingers curling into his hair and gripping tight, and then…

Oh, this was interesting.

Of course, his mate was no omega. He was trying to take control of the kiss. Was he really trying to see which one of them could be in charge here?

He was. It was apparent in the way his tongue pushed against Zeus’ tongue and lips, trying to move forward, between Zeus’ lips, but Zeus would not allow it.

If his mate wanted to pass those gates, he had to try a little harder than that.

And Zeus liked a challenge.

He pulled his mate closer, their chests pressing hard together. He could feel the frantic beating of his heart.

He reached his hand down, cupping his mate’s cock, squeezing and enjoying the way his mate’s mouth opened in a shocked gasp.

It was exactly what Zeus needed if he was going to take control of this kiss.

Which he did.

And he couldn’t help but chuckle about it as he did it.

His mate growled, but then he moaned and seemed to melt against him. It was a good thing his arms were already around Zeus’ neck, because it seemed he was using them to hold himself up more than anything.

But as wonderful as his cock felt, even though his shorts, as much as Zeus loved the taste of his lips and tongue, he needed more.

He needed everything this male could give him.

Starting with one little thing.

He pulled back from the kiss. God, the shine on that pretty, pink mouth was sexy as hell. “Tell me your name. Right now.”

He squeezed and stroked the man’s cock, making his mate groan for him, but it was enough to get the reaction he wanted.

He got a name.

“Dean.”

That was a nice name. Zeus always had a thing for Dereks and Decons. Of course he would love it that his mate was named Dean.

A strong and powerful name.

“Dean what?”

“McGregor.”

“Holy shit, you’re Scottish?”

The man glared at him, and now that Zeus was looking, he was pretty sure he could see hints of red in that dark hair.

His mate was a Scottish guy. That was awesome.

“You don’t have an accent, do you?”

“No, I was born here. Are you going to fuck me or not?”