Fangs and All Page 11

  “I know, Kane.”

  “How can you know?” Kane snapped as he pulled away from the hand that Fallon had settled on his shoulder. “You don’t have a bondmate. You don’t understand the bond between Samuel and me or what it feels like knowing he’s probably walking to his death.”

  Kane was so angry he could spit. He had been helpless as he watched Jared walk Samuel out of the building. He knew what Samuel was going home to face. He had seen the bruises on his lover

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  when he came back, the ones Samuel tried to hide from him and pretend came from sleeping under a bridge.

  Bridges didn’t leave handprint-shaped bruises.

  Kane had hoped that Samuel would eventually open up and talk to him about it. There just hadn’t been enough time to build that level of trust. And now, maybe there never would be.

  “I know how strong the bond between bondmates is, but I also know that Samuel is not walking to his death. He is a member of my coven, and that means he falls under my protection. I can enter his father’s territory and demand his return.”

  Kane snorted. Fallon’s protection hadn’t been very good so far.

  “What Jared failed to realize is that I, as Samuel’s alpha, have the perfect right to retrieve my kidnapped coven member, and that’s exactly what Samuel became the second Jared walked him out that front door.”

  Kane wished he could be more excited about Fallon’s words, but he couldn’t. There was just one huge flaw in Fallon’s plan. “Samuel isn’t a member of your coven, remember? There hasn’t been time for you to accept his pledge of fidelity.”

  Kane’s eyebrow arched at the mischievous grin that pulled up the corners of Fallon’s lips. “What do you think we were whispering about?”

  Kane’s eyes widened as the implication of Fallon’s words hit him like a sledge hammer. “He pledged fidelity to you?”

  “He did, and I accepted him into my coven. As a human, you wouldn’t know what to look for when that bond is formed, but the rest of the coven does. They felt the connection when Samuel became one of us, and each and every one of them is ready to go fight for their coven brother.”

  Kane’s eyes moved around the room, touching on each member of Fallon’s coven. He could see the barely repressed anger raging through them. They were all ready to go and fight for Samuel. The coven bond between them demanded it.

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  Kane’s eyes finally fell on Fallon again. “You can really do this?”

  “I can.” Fallon winced as he grabbed his ribs. “Well, maybe not me personally. I can be there to demand my coven member be returned to me, but I doubt I can fight just yet. I need a few more hours before I’m well enough to do that.”

  Kane gulped. “Samuel doesn’t have a few more hours.”

  “I know, Kane, believe me. I’ve been hearing rumors about Terrence Harden’s coven for a long time. I think I have a pretty good idea what Samuel is walking into.”

  “And you just let him go?” Kane snapped. “How could you do that?”

  “Because that’s what Samuel wanted. His main concern was you, his bondmate. And it was better to get you away from Jared than let him hurt you. If something happens to you, we lose both of you.

  Samuel can handle himself until we rescue him. You can’t.”

  Kane suddenly sat down in the nearest chair and buried his head in his hands. For the first time since discovering Samuel’s world he wondered if he was the right man for his lover. He was going to end up getting Samuel killed for sure, and all because he was human.

  “Kane, look at me.”

  Kane lowered his hands. His eyebrows shot up when he saw Fallon squatting on the floor in front of him. Besides the fact that the man was almost as tall as he was when he squatted, it seemed wrong for Fallon to be squatting before anyone.

  “Stand up,” Kane snapped. “You look ridiculous.”

  Fallon chuckled and stood, reaching for a chair, which he pulled over. He sat down and faced Kane, looking pensive and almost as worried as Kane felt. Kane didn’t think anyone was as worried as he was.

  “Don’t start having second thoughts about Samuel.”

  Kane reared back in his chair, shocked that Fallon knew what he was thinking. Could the guy read minds or something?

  “No, I can’t read minds.”

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  “Then how—”

  “It was written all over your face.”

  Kane’s shoulders dropped in relief. He liked Fallon, but he really didn’t want the man delving into his mind. That was just a little too creepy.

  “Do you remember when we talked about the bond between you and Samuel?”

  “Yes,” Kane said, not sure where the larger man was going with this.

  “Do you remember what I said?”

  Kane nodded. He didn’t think he would ever forget. It had changed his life.

  “I warned you that once you decided to accept Samuel that there would be no turning back. Samuel is yours forever. He will die without you. You can’t change your mind now that things are tough.”

  “I’m just worried that I won’t be enough. I can’t fight one of you.

  I’m human.”

  “That’s true. That’s why you let the rest of your coven members fight for you. But you can’t give up on Samuel. He needs you right now more than he ever has.”

  “I can’t spend the rest of my life letting you guys fight my battles, Fallon. That’s just wrong.” Kane had never backed down from a fight in his life. Of course, he had never faced a fight like this one either.

  Fallon stared at Kane for a moment and then chuckled. “I’m not sure you understand exactly what a coven is, Kane.”

  “Fine, then explain it to me.” Kane wasn’t sure what this all had to do with getting Samuel back, but Fallon was apparently going somewhere with this strange conversation.

  “Coven does for coven.”

  Huh?

  “When you heard that I was injured, you instantly took charge, made sure I had a safe place to go, and that my coven members had a

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  safe place to go. You went about arranging food for us and everything.”

  “You were hurt, Fallon,” Kane protested because he knew he hadn’t done that much. “What else was I supposed to do? Leave you in some rat-hole motel?”

  “Hopefully not.” Fallon chuckled. “But that’s what coven members do for each other. You provided what you could, which in your case was a safe place for me to recover.”

  Kane grimaced as he remembered the fight that had just taken place in the bar. “I guess it wasn’t so safe after all.”

  “That’s beside the point, Kane. You saw a need within the coven, and you tried to fill that need. It will be the same for the other members of this coven. You are not capable of fighting a vampire and walking away from it alive. There is a need there that your fellow coven members will fill by fighting in your stead.”

  Kane rubbed the bridge of his nose when Fallon’s words started to make sense to him. “Okay, so let me see if I understand this right,” he said as he dropped his hand down to his side. “When there is a need in the coven, no matter what it is, other coven members try and fill it.”

  “Exactly.”

  Kane thought about it for a moment and realized that that actually made some sort of weird kind of sense. It was like belonging to one large, very close-knit family, only one that drank blood. He frowned as he looked out at the other members of the coven.

  “Fine, I get it, but if any of you all have a need for dick, I’m not filling it.” There were lines that Kane wasn’t willing to cross, even for coven members. As submissive as Samuel was, Kane had no doubts that the man would hang him by his balls if he did.

  Several of the coven members chuckled. Fallon just grinned.

  “While it’s okay for stuff like that to happen between coven mates
, somehow I don’t think Samuel would agree to it.”

  “Right? He’d rip my dick off and feed it to me.”

  “I’m not sure if I’d say that…”

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  “Are you kidding me?” Kane snapped. “Did you see how enraged he was when Jared threatened me?”

  “Yes, and I do have to say that I was surprised by it. I didn’t know Samuel had it in him.”

  “Oh believe me, he does. Samuel may like being submissive to me, but I have no doubt that he will kill anyone that tries to harm me.”

  Kane blinked in surprise when another thought hit him. “I actually feel sorry for Jared. Once Samuel gets his hands on his brother, there aren’t going to be too many pieces left.”

  “Don’t feel too sorry for him, Kane,” Ranz said from where he stood over by the bar. “Jared brought this on himself. Not only did he attack the alpha of another coven, but he kidnapped a member of another coven. That’s a death sentence any way you look at it.”

  Kane’s jaw dropped. “You guys are serious.” His eyes snapped to Fallon. “You’re really going to kill Jared.”

  “What did you think we were going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” Kane shrugged. “Smack him around a little or something.”

  “No, Kane.” Fallon sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees.

  “Unfortunately, this is the world that you now live in. A challenge like this is punishable by death. And Jared knew it when he attacked me. He was born into this world, don’t forget.”

  “I suppose.” Kane felt the strands of his hair catch on his fingers as he pushed his hand through them. He tugged until they gave way and then moved his hand down to rub the back of his neck. “I guess I just never thought about it, you know?”

  “That’s why being accepted into a coven is taken so seriously, Kane,” Fallon said. “There are rules that we have to live by or there would chaos in the streets.”

  “Can you imagine what it would be like for the humans if we didn’t have these rules?” Ranz asked. “They are there to protect the humans as much as to protect us.”

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  “But I don’t even know what the rules are. What if I fuck up and break one of them? Are you going to kill me, too?” For the first time since joining Fallon’s coven, Kane was afraid for his safety.

  “No,” Fallon said. “You’ll learn the rules soon enough. Most of them are pretty basic, but so are we. Don’t challenge me, listen to what I say, and don’t fuck with members of another coven. Other than that, just remember that I’m in charge.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s great.” Kane snickered. “I’ve already yelled at you how many times in the last twenty minutes?”

  Fallon chuckled. “I don’t take it personally from you. You have a very strong personality, and you weren’t raised coven. I doubt you’ll ever be truly submissive to me, even if I have to demand it on occasion.” Fallon waved his hand toward the other men in the room.

  “Now, if one of them talked to me the way you do, we’d be stepping outside so the blood didn’t mess up your pretty little bar.”

  Kane stared, slack-jawed. “Um, thanks?”

  “Just remember what I said and we’ll get along fine.”

  “Right, you’re the boss.”

  “Only when I have to be, otherwise, do whatever the hell you want. As long as you don’t break coven laws, what the fuck do I care?”

  “Samuel’s still mine though, right?” Kane just had to be sure.

  “Yes, Kane, I am your alpha but Samuel is still yours, and answers to the both of us.”

  Kane jumped when someone slammed their hand down on the bar.

  He turned to see Ranz staring at him like he had two heads. “What?”

  “That’s what you were trying to tell me earlier, wasn’t it?”

  Kane frowned. “What was?” He had no idea what Ranz was talking about. He usually didn’t. The man was odd.

  “Fallon is alpha over both of you but you’re alpha over Samuel.”

  “Yeah.”

  “My question is still whose orders does Samuel follow?”

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  “And my answer is still the same,” Kane replied. “Mine. Samuel belongs to me.”

  “And if your orders differ from Fallon’s?”

  “They won’t. Beyond coven rules, Fallon doesn’t seem to care what Samuel does, which puts him under my authority. When it comes to coven rules, Fallon will be top…er…vampire. He knows more than I do. And when it comes to Samuel’s safety, we’re pretty much on the same page. So, I don’t see it being a problem.”

  “Well said, Kane,” Fallon said as he stood and then pushed his chair in. “Now, would you like to join us while we go retrieve my kidnapped coven member?”

  “Hell, yes!” Kane snapped as he jumped to his feet.

  “Just remember that this is one of those times when you have to do exactly what I say. Any misstep on your part could lose Samuel to us forever. We have to play this by coven rules. Understood?”

  Kane swallowed hard and nodded, fear for Samuel’s safety spiking through him at an alarming rate. “I understand. I just want Samuel to come home. I don’t care how it happens or who makes it happen. I just want it to happen, and the sooner, the better.”

  “We’ll bring him home, Kane,” Fallon said. “Never doubt that.”

  The rest of the men in the room nodded, adding their support for Fallon’s words. “Samuel is one of us now, and that means we will fight to the death to bring him home, every last damn one of us.”

  Cold anger created a stony mask on Fallon’s face. “There’s a reason we’re called the Outlaw Warriors, Kane. We follow our own code of conduct, and that code means we have no mercy for our enemies. Those that harm us learn the hard way why we’re not to be fucked with.”

  Kane’s eyes widened, and he was suddenly really glad that he had joined Fallon’s coven rather than someone else’s. It might be the only way he and Samuel would survive.

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  Chapter 10

  Samuel squinted through his one good eye when he heard the door to his room open. The other one was swollen shut, compliments of his brother’s fist being repeatedly slammed into his face. The bastard had taken great delight in smacking him around the entire trip back to their coven.

  For some reason, he wasn’t surprised at all to see the scowl on his father’s face as the man stared down at him. Samuel absently wondered if his father actually knew how to do anything but scowl?

  He certainly couldn’t remember the man ever smiling.

  “So, you’re back.”

  Samuel snorted.

  “You were told never to come back, Samuel.”

  “It wasn’t my choice,” Samuel snapped, anger beginning to tighten his voice. “I would have been more than happy to never see this place again.”

  “Are you prepared to do your duty to this coven?”

  “Nope.” Samuel took great delight in saying that one word, especially when a shroud of red fell over his father’s face. “I’m bonded now. I couldn’t get it up for one of your little bitches even if I wanted to. And I don’t.”

  Terrence Harden’s face was marked with loathing as he looked Samuel up and down. “Your brother told me about this man you believe you’ve bonded with, and it’s bullshit. Never, in all of the years that I have been alpha of this coven, have two men bonded. It’s just not possible.”

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  Samuel burst out laughing. “I’d bet there are a lot more men in this coven that have male bondmates out there than you think but they haven’t been able to claim their bondmates because of your rules.” He narrowed his eyes at his father, finally seeing the man as he truly was—a power-hungry monster. “Why do you think there are so many unmated males in your coven when all of these women are available?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous
!” Terrence snapped. “We have a large portion of unmated males because we’ve had so many people join the coven.”

  “Bullshit!” Samuel could see the surprise on his father’s face right before the man smacked him across the face. He licked the blood from the corner of his lip and turned to look at his father again.

  “Don’t like hearing the truth, Terrence?”

  “Don’t talk to your alpha like that.”

  Samuel snickered because he was starting to see his father’s bluster as just that—bluster. Sure, the man could be cruel when he wanted to be, and he often wanted to be, but it usually came when he wasn’t getting his own way. Terrence Harden was like a two-year-old denied a toy.

  “You’re not my alpha.” Those words brought Samuel so much pleasure that he actually smiled. “Go ahead, feel for the coven bond.

  Try and find it.”

  Terrence’s brow flickered with unease.

  “You can’t find it, can you?” Samuel snorted. “That’s because it’s not there. I no longer belong to your coven.”

  “What have you done, Samuel?” The words were whispered, almost as if Terrence was afraid to say them louder.

  “Afraid, Alpha Harden?” Hysterical laughter built up in Samuel’s face because he could see that his father was indeed afraid. Hell, the man looked terrified. “You should be. Jared kidnapped me from Fallon’s coven after attacking Fallon in his own territory. And then he

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  tried to take over Fallon’s coven, threatening my bondmate, who is a member of Fallon’s coven.”

  Samuel didn’t see himself as a cruel person, but the sight of the blood draining from his father’s face was so satisfying that the laughter he had been holding back suddenly broke free and filled the room.

  “Fallon is coming for me, Alpha Harden, and for Jared. He won’t stop until he has his justice.”

  Laughter followed Terrence as he spun around and stormed out of the room. Only when the door slammed shut did Samuel’s laughter fade away. “Well, that was anticlimactic,” Samuel said to himself. He had expected more out of his father, a beating at the very least.