Authors: Morgan Fox
“Megan, please tell me you found something.”
Jumping right into business, she said, “Zane discovered an anomaly in Mason’s blood I thought you should know about immediately.” She didn’t hesitate to continue, something she knew Sebastian appreciated about her. “Mason’s blood contained traces of vampire DNA.”
“How is that even possible?” he gruffly asked, sounding impatient.
I wish I knew.
“That’s a good question, one that both Zane and I are currently working on, but everything we’ve ever learned or studied has always told us that lycan and vampire DNA can never mix. So how it’s possible, we have no clear idea, but we have a theory.”
“And that would be?”
Her mind swelled with possibilities. “Because Mason was a hybrid, both wolf and panther, he was already unique to our kind. We think Mason may have been bitten by a vampire, and because he was a hybrid, his body possessed the ability to contain both strands without it killing him.” What if her theory was correct? What would that mean for the rest of the lycan population?
Sebastian’s strong, rough voice ripped her from her whirlwind of thoughts and theories. “Megan, give it to me straight. Do you believe that a vampire is the cause of the virus? Is that even possible?”
She sucked in a sharp breath and calmly explained, “At this point, your guess is as good as mine, but my gut tells me that the vampire DNA we found is no coincidence. If my theory is correct, once Mason was bitten by the vampire, his blood and DNA mutated, causing him to carry the virus. Mason’s hybrid status gave him the ability to host the virus as well as benefit from its aggressive but destructive properties.”
A long, exaggerated silence fell between them before Sebastian said, “Thank you, Megan. Please let me know if you discover anything else.”
“Of course,” Megan was quick to say, and then felt compelled to shift gears before he could hang up the phone. “Sebastian, how’s Brie?”
A warm burst of adoration and pride pulsed in his voice as he said, “She’s well, has a little morning sickness that seems to last all day, but knowing you, Dr. Shaw, I bet it’s more the psychic- or telepathic-related issues you’re driving at.”
He did know her well. Brie’s new supernatural abilities intrigued her like nothing else. Having been present when Brie used her powers to save Sebastian twisted Megan’s mind unlike anything she’d ever experienced. Observing the powerful connection they shared stirred something deep inside her. She couldn’t seem to shut off her scientific brain, nor her impending curiosity surrounding Sebastian’s mate.
“Yes, I am more concerned with her exhibiting any uncontrolled abilities.” There was a spark of joy in her voice as she spoke to her alpha. She cared for Sebastian like an older brother and felt the same sibling connection from him where she was concerned. If there was anyone she could trust, it was Sebastian and vice versa.
“Well, in that case, no more than usual. The lights in the house explode from time to time, and furniture moves as if the house was being shook by an earthquake.” He chuckled. “Just last night, Brie had the hiccups, and the bed began to bounce. Jonah and I both agreed that that was a most unusual experience to date. Once her hiccups stopped, so did the bouncing bed.”
She, too, giggled at the image of two giant men cringing like frightened children at the sudden earth-trembling vibrations of their bed because of their unborn child and supernatural mate. Megan knew they were going to have their hands full once their little bundle of magical joy was born.
Smiling, she told him, “Keep me posted on any changes and make sure she’s getting plenty of rest.”
Sebastian chuckled again. “Right, rest. You want to tell a woman planning her wedding to rest? I’ll do my best, Megan, and thanks for your concern.”
A strange sensation plummeted to the pit of her stomach. “That’s right. Your wedding is coming up soon,” she said, remembering that she’d received the official announcement just a few days ago.
“Yes, and between Brie’s morning sickness and Jonah’s nerves, I’m sure one of us is going to end up with puke on his jacket before we even get the chance to say our ‘I do’s’?”
“Is Jonah sick?” Her question shot out with more concern than she’d intended, and she prayed Sebastian and the others in the room hadn’t noticed. All had the lycan ability to hear her conversation.
“No, he just wants everything perfect and worries for Brie.” Sebastian sighed and then asked, “Megan, are you okay with this? I know you and Jonah had history, but—”
“I’m fine, Sebastian. There is no reason to worry about me. I’m very happy for Jonah. He is a good man and deserves the love that his mate so obviously wants to share with him.” She found herself smiling. “Honestly, I never thought he would settle down because he was such a free spirit.” That was one way to put it. Truthfully, Jonah had been a sex-crazed horndog, a trait she resembled and loved about him.
“I believe all of us are destined to find out mates, even if we don’t necessarily think we want to.” The wisdom in his voice relayed a message she had heard from him several times before, but never wanted to hear.
She knew where her alpha was going with this and didn’t want to go there with her newly assumed mates standing at her back, glaring at her with an intensity she could feel even without meeting their gazes. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”
“Take care, Megan,” he said. Then she heard the line disconnect. Sebastian had a way of knowing when it wasn’t a good time to pry, and she appreciated that very much.
Zane popped over to her side, pretending to show her a printout. He whispered into her ear, low enough so no one but she could hear. “Your non-mates are here, and they look really pissed off.”
“I don’t care,” she whispered back, her eyes rolling at his comment.
She really did care, and that was the part that sucked the most. Staring at the two giants, her skin suddenly felt warm. Her clothing squeezed over her flesh and bones. She could hardly breathe, when they looked at her like this, their darkening wolf eyes sparkling with wicked thoughts, their lips curled into soft smiles. She felt incredibly attracted and drawn to them.
She cleared her throat as her eyes drifted over their menacing and battered figures. “Should I even bother asking?”
“Reyes tripped and fell in front of a car, and I felt compelled to save him.” Dominic snickered and winked at her. Reyes popped him in the shoulder like a friend would do over a small prank.
She held their stare, curiosity funneling out at them. Shaking her head, she tsked under her tongue. “That’s too bad.”
They narrowed their eyes at her comment, and she knew she had baited them perfectly. “It’s too bad you didn’t just let the car hit you both. Now, I’m going to have to hire another driver to do it again.” She smiled, and the tickle of humor almost made the smile genuine.
Reyes didn’t seem to appreciate her humor as much as Dominic did, curling a delicious grin at her. She always believed Reyes to be more serious in nature and Dominic to be more the big goof. That was until it was time to be serious, and then Dominic was all mission focused.
“Did you two need something?” she asked, turning her back to them to glance into the microscope.
“Yes, we need to talk with you,” Reyes told her, a disturbing level of impatience abrading his voice.
She waved her hand dismissively to the side. “Sorry, guys, but I’ve got things to do and discussing”—she cast another glance over their tattered clothing and bruised faces—“whatever it is you wish to discuss with me will have to wait. I’m close to finding answers, and I think that is much more important than dealing with you.”
Dominic’s strong hands gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him. She found herself staring at the firm globes of his ass as he tossed her over his shoulder.
Zane jumped to render aid, but Reyes only growled at him in warning. “This is between us, boy. Don’t make this personal.”
“What are you doing, you big barbarian brute?” She pounded her fists against Dominic’s back, aiming for his kidneys. “Put me down or I’ll—”
Dominic swatted her ass hard. “You’ll what? Poke me with a needle? Do horrible experiments on me?” He spanked her again, but on the other cheek. “No, I don’t think so. I think you’re going to listen to what we have to say, and you’re going to like it.”
“No, I won’t,” she yelled, her legs thrashing in the air as he carried her toward her office.
“Oh, yes, you will, or I’ll keep paddling your cute little ass till it’s so red and raw tears of pain and pleasure leak from your eyes. I might even paddle your pussy and make you come so hard—”
“All right!” she hollered. “We can talk. Just shut up, Dominic.”
He spanked her again and then rubbed her ass to soothe the burning of his punishment. She hated that she liked the little teasings of pain he gave her. Her pussy pulsed with awareness and need. “That was for telling me to shut up. Be nice to me, Megan, or I’ll give you several more. Maybe I’ll even spank and lick that pretty pussy with my tongue. I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you, doc?”
She pressed her teeth into her bottom lip and shivered as his words flowed through her body with desire and hunger. A pulsing need burned inside her. The close proximity of her mates had her body reacting, thriving with need, begging her to stop being so damn difficult.
She couldn’t. That would be leading them on, and she would never knowingly do that to them. Sex with them was one thing, but emotional commitment was out of the question.
Dominic placed her ass on the edge of her desk, and the moment he did, she tried to jump off, but he held her in place, his strong arms encasing her in a masculine cage.
Gripping her by her arms, he ordered, “Stay.”
Reyes came up behind him, shifting to stand at her back. “Do you always have to use such brutal tactics with her, Dominic?”
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” she said angrily, smacking Dominic’s steel chest repeatedly with her hand. “What the hell is so important you couldn’t wait to discuss this with me when we got home?”
She sucked in a supercharged breath and hesitated, realizing what she’d just said. It wasn’t her home, or their home. It was just home, where all three of them dwelled. A real home meant something special to her, a place of peace and safety. Why had she not thought more clearly on her word usage? She hadn’t meant for that to slip, but it came out nonetheless, and glancing up at Dominic, she knew he’d caught it, too. The satisfaction she witnessed glimmering in his eyes had her wanting to slap the smugness right off his face.
Reyes chimed in from over her shoulder, his breath on her face. “We didn’t want to wait?” He paused then admitted, “I didn’t want to wait.”
“I can see that,” she retorted, twisting to glance at him over her shoulder. Her belly quivered as she caught sight of his alluring gaze, deep, dark blue eyes filled with so much primal hunger that her blood rushed through her veins. “Why now? What’s so important?”
“Megan,” Reyes started, “both Dominic and I believe—”
Patience was not one of Dominic’s strong attributes. “Spit it out, dude.” Groaning, he took matters into his own hands, “Reyes and I are your mates, and we both want you.”
Her eyes widened, and a wild, unbridled shiver charged through her body. They’d said the one thing she hoped never to hear. Her mates were preparing to claim her. She knew letting Dominic fuck her had been a huge mistake and allowing Reyes to kiss her was one of the dumbest things she’d ever done. Now they had proof that she belonged to them. The instinctive bonding was winning.
Shaking her head, she wouldn’t accept this. She didn’t belong to them. The mating chemistry didn’t give them the right to imprison her. Not if she didn’t want to be trapped. They had to know she didn’t want this, at least that’s what she was telling herself. If only her brain could convince the rest of her body that she had no desire to be joined with her mates. However, her body was already more than willing to accept the joining attraction and craved it like the air she needed to survive.