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  He could hear the steal from the van, a wheel still spinning and the groaning of the men inside with them. Brandon didn’t think anything on him was broken, but he sure as shit hurt everywhere.

  Steal grinding against steal followed by bright light blinding him. The back doors were pried open and heavy booted feet came inside.

  “Find the keys,” he heard a male say.

  “Got-em,” another male said.

  He heard the keys fly in the air, but couldn’t see shit. Everything started to blurry.

  Brandon groaned when a hand grabbed hold of the chain, pulled his wrists up, and started to unlock them. “Get the girl,” the same one who ordered the keys said. Brandon wanted to growl to not touch her, but couldn’t. “Easy there Brandon. Everything’s going to be alright.”

  He knew that voice and frowned, fighting to keep his eyes open. “Thorn?”

  “Yeah, that’s right.” The one around his neck came off. “It’s me; now let’s get the hell out of here.”

  He lost consciousness when Thorn picked him up, slinging Brandon right over his wide shoulders.

  * * * *

  Thorn paced the small living room where he was hiding out for the moment in a small town called Ponca. Very small, shifter only town where in the old days males all around came for a Gathering in the old ways. Now it held less than a thousand and the town people kept to themselves.

  The bedroom door opened and out came the local doctor, an old shifter that had seen many things and kept all the secrets close to his heart.

  “He okay?” Thorn asked him.

  “Bruised mostly. Nothing broken.”

  “And the girl?” Justice Vanderburg asked, one of the few friends Thorn had and the man who helped Thorn to get Brandon back.

  “The same,” the old doctor answered with a nod. Slowly the old man went over to the sofa, taking a seat with a loud sigh.

  “What do you know?” Thorn asked.

  The old man’s face wrinkled, more than ever. He frowned, looking down at the ground. “The rumors are true. A new Council is being formed with many old families. They want things back the way they were. Where they are doing this I haven’t heard.”

  “What about the slave thing?” Justice asked.

  Justice’s family was one of the many old families the doctor was talking about. Vanderburg had been around for a very long time His grandfather was there, along with his father when the first change to the Gathering happened, and just like many grandfathers, the man didn’t like the change.

  “I’ve heard many things,” the old man said. “Things that have me locking my door for the first time in my old life. A man has appeared and he is bent on destroying us all. Watch your back…” He wiggled his finger at Thorn. “This man has come with death on his side.”

  Thorn glanced at Justice who met his eye. They said nothing. The doctor opened his bag and brought out two syringes.

  “I brought what you asked for,” he said, handing them to Thorn.

  “Only two?” Thorn asked one eyebrow going up as he took them.

  “That boy in there won’t need it. He’s mated, so it won’t work for him, not when she’s close.” He stood back up, taking his bag with him. “It might not even help you either. I can smell it, even if you can’t.” He turned and walked right out the front door.

  “What’s he mean by that?” Justice asked.

  “You don’t want to know.” Thorn turned from Justice and headed for the bedroom.

  Brandon laid on one side, the girl on the other, both sleeping deeply. Closing the door, Thorn walked slowly up to the bed, stopped next to it and looked down.

  “Don’t stare, it’s rude,” Brandon said.

  Thorn smiled. “Welcome back.”

  Brandon opened his eyes and took a deep breath. “What took you so damn long?”

  “Had to wait for him to move you.”

  “How’d you know he would?”

  “Because the guy he’s working for just got very bad information.”

  Brandon looked at the girl, turned slowly in the bed, and touched her face. “She’ll be sleeping for some time. Get dressed and come into the other room. We have to talk.” He left him with some clothes, went back to the front room, and took out some beer from the fridge. A few minutes went by and then the door opened and out came Brandon in jeans, shirt, no shoes looking like he got the shit beat out of him. “Brandon, this is Justice Vanderburg,” Thorn said once they all sat down at the small table, beer in hand. “You can trust him.”

  Brandon gave Justice a quick nod before giving his full attention to Thorn. “What happened to you?”

  Thorn didn’t reply at first, but thought about his own peril.

  Thorn rode in the backseat of the car, he could smell another sitting next to him, two more in the front and her scent still lingered all over him. Fuck him if he couldn’t still feel her pussy tighten around his cock when she came. Damn her to hell for not getting him off as well. His damn dick hurt like shit, needing the release and getting none. That just plain and simple pissed him off.

  “So where we taking this one?” one of the men in the front seat asked.

  “New owner,” the one driving answered. “She said he did his thing, now time to make some cash from him.”

  One next to him snickered. “I could have popped her daughter for her with no trouble. She didn’t have to get a damn animal to do it.”

  Thorn opened his eyes, a growl left his throat right before he head butted the one next to him so hard the poor bastard ended up smashing the side of his face into the window, busting it out.

  “What the fuck!”The passenger turned and Thorn acted.

  With cuffed wrists, he wrapped his hands around his neck and twisted so fast the neck snapped. Reaching over him, he grabbed the steering wheel, turned, and had the car flipping out of control. The one and only guy left screamed like a girl. Thorn used him to brace the tumble and cushion not only the fall but also the crash. When the car finally stopped, he had to simply not move and make sure everything was okay. All three of the men he was with weren’t so damn lucky. All three were dead.

  Thorn shook off the memory. “I was taken, just like you. I got away when they were moving me.”

  “That’s it?” Brandon asked.

  “That’s it.”

  “There’s a woman dealing in the sex slave business,” Justice said, breaking up the intense stare off between them. “And then to add to it we have this fucking second Council and some crazy bastard trying to kill us all.”

  “Not all of us, just the new Council,” Thorn added with a sigh.

  “So what are we to do now?” Brandon also sighed, slumping in his chair.

  “We deal with one thing at a time,” Thorn answered. “You stay here and get over that second red moon and leave the hunting to me.”

  * * * *

  Brandon decided to do just that, leave it to Thorn. After all, that’s what the man was good at—hunting and tracking. What Brandon needed to do was figure out the next step for him, and Diana, and he needed to think fast. The second red moon was soon to shine bright and already he felt the heat in his blood start to rise.

  Thorn left them with a stocked house. He called it a safe house in a town of nothing but shifters. Ponca. He heard of the place, wanted to see it many times when he was younger and never got around to it. His father once told him about how many Gatherings use to happen here and how many of the older males still wanted to do things of the old ways. The whole town rested in the center of woods—a perfect place for hunting and mating—a perfect place to hide and be forgotten by the world.

  “Where are we?”

  He jumped, turned around and fought the hunger which came much too fast to the surface for his taste. He had to swallow hard and tried like hell to command his damn dick to be a good boy—for now.

  She had a few small cuts on her face, bruise to the chin and a few scrapes on her legs and knees as well. Someone changed her clothes, giving he
r a large male shirt to wear instead of the gown she was forced to leave in. Brandon wanted to snarl at the thought of another scent upon her, but told himself that for now it would be alright. They didn’t have much of a choice in what they wore for the moment.

  “Ponca,” he answered.

  “Never heard of it.”

  He smiled. “It’s a very small all shifter town hidden in the heart of a large expanse of woods. How do you feel?”

  “Very sore,” she sighed.

  “Same here.”

  “So what now?” She crossed her arms over her chest, more of her leg was revealed with the shirt moving up slightly. “Charlie won’t give us up, not if he paid a large amount of money and needs us for this full moon stuff.”

  “He doesn’t know about this place. No one does.” She opened her mouth and he held up his hand, silencing her. “How about you go soak in a hot bath and I’ll get us some better clothing then fix something to eat. We both just need to rest right now. That second red moon is going to do a number on me and I need to make sure you can handle it.”

  “Why? Because I’m the only one around?”

  Brandon moved fast, coming up to her, taking hold of her face with both of his hands, forcing her to meet his steady gaze “No, because you’re my mate and I’m going to be extra demanding on you. I’m not going to hold back, not now. It’s just us, no one watching.”

  Her eyes widened. “I’m your mate?” she whispered.

  “Yes.”

  “Then why didn’t you mark me?”

  “Because that is something I wish to do for our pleasure, not his, but be warned.” He let go of her face, grabbed the front of the shirt, and ripped it open, down her shoulders. She gasped at the harsh movement. “I’m marking you tonight. You’ll be mine completely.”

  Chapter Four

  Diana sighed in bliss in the hot bath. It felt like every part of her body hurt in one way or another. She also had this humming between her legs and knew just what it meant. Another red full moon, another cycle for her, and another big heat for him. It was strange though, how she could have this need, since she never had one before and she was half shifter. Then again, a red moon was rare enough to have her body doing all kinds of crazy shit.

  She washed, stayed until the water began to cool, and then got out. With towel around herself, Diana left the little bathroom half-expecting Brandon to be back. He wasn’t.

  Ponca was a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere. Her father told her stories about the place. He was very little the one and only time he came here, saying that his father came for a meeting and left very upset. Years later, it was known then that no more Gatherings were to happen here. Diana never had to come to Ponca. Her father told her there was no point since she wasn’t a female shifter needing a mate.

  Going to the window, she pulled back the thick curtain and looked up at the sky. Still daylight yet she could clearly see that red moon. Soon he would take her and this time no holding back, according to him. They weren’t being watched. That alone had her easing a bit, but she still felt a bit nervous and scared over the thought that tonight he was planning on mating her the shifter way. This meant, come morning she would have his mark and be branded to him.

  She almost screamed when the door opened and in came Brandon. For a split second, she thought Charlie had found them.

  “You okay?” Brandon asked.

  She smiled, hand at her throat. “Yeah, think I’m a bit jumpy.” She noticed he had bags in his arms and two larger bags hanging from his wrists. “What did you buy?”

  “Well Thorn set up accounts for us in town, so I got food and some clothes. Hope what I got for you fits. Wasn’t so sure about your size.”

  She went up to him, took one of the large bags from his arms, and went over to the small kitchen counter, setting it down. Brandon placed the other bag next to it then handed her one of the large bags he had around his wrist. With another tender smile, she took it and went back to the bathroom.

  A robe, some sweat pants, t-shirts and shoes. She brought the robe out, slipped into it and left the towel draped over the tub.

  “Hungry?” he asked when she came out. Already he busied himself with putting food away.

  “I can cook us up something.” She went over to the stove, taking the pan from his hand.

  “And what if I want to cook for you?” he smirked.

  “Maybe next time?”

  He chuckled, took the pan, and shook his head. “You can cook after the full moon. Right now, I get to treat you. You like omelets?”

  “Never had one.”

  “Well then have a seat and be ready to have paradise in your mouth. These things are good.”

  True to his word, the omelets were great. He fixed them both one, toast, along with orange juice and thick slices of ham. Diana ate everything and signed in bliss once all the food was gone. When Brandon began to clear things up she stopped him and did it herself, telling him that since he cooked she’d clean up. After she finished, she joined him in the small living room, sitting in the chair across from him on the sofa.

  “So what’s going on?” she asked.

  Brandon was slumped back on the sofa; his long legs stretched out before him, and hand over his stomach with fingers linked together. He looked up at her and the cool, dark forbidding expression on his face gave her the chills.

  “Someone is taking us and selling us as male sex slaves,” he answered.

  “Is Charlie involved in it?”

  “Don’t know. There’s also a rumor that a new Council is forming with the intentions of destroying the one we have now and putting the old ways back.”

  “Why would they want to do that?”

  “There have always been families that didn’t want the change. They liked the barbaric manner in which claimings were done. Made them feel superior to others. Call it a male thing.”

  “I had heard that at the old Gatherings females didn’t show up.”

  “No, they didn’t. Fathers didn’t like how a male could claim and take their daughter right there on the ground in front of everyone. Years ago, different families came together in meetings for the change. Many things did change, including the demand for the females. Council put to our law that a father couldn’t withhold his daughter for a Gathering and that each one had to show upon their eighteenth birthday and once more on the twenty-first. If a summons came, no one could refuse it either, oh and they had to list their daughters to the Council as well. Don’t think that one is really happening though.”

  “Did you ever go to a Gathering?”

  Brandon shook his head. “Nope. They didn’t interest me.”

  She drew her legs up to her cheek, the robe opening, showing a large amount of her legs. Brandon’s eyes went down to her legs, his eyes changed from brown to red and his breathing increased.

  “It’s starting, isn’t it?” she asked the question low.

  “Yes,” he breathed out, eyes closing slowly.

  A clock on the wall told her that it was only two in the afternoon. However, outside she could make out the red moon full but not bright yet. She should have a few more hours before he made the demands on her, yet by the look of him now it didn’t appear as if he was going to wait.

  Taking a trembling breath, her hands shaking, her nerves screamed at her that she should let him make the first move, Diana opened her robe, let it slip down her shoulders and spread her legs as wide as the chair she sat in would let her. When his eyes opened again, he saw what she did; a low growl left his lips.

  Brandon stood up. She watched him move, licked her lips and kept telling herself to stay put. He pulled his shirt up over his head, tossed it aside. Four steps brought him to her where he knelt down. Another growl and his head disappeared between her legs.

  Diana gasped at the raw sensations that gripped her just as he lips closed over her pussy, tongue licking at the flesh. His hand slid to the inside of her thighs, held her open and he feasted.

  T
he licks and the way he sucked on her stole her breath. Diana couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and couldn’t move. She was pinned between his mouth and the chair she sat in, taking what he had to give.

  The orgasm that hit came unexpectedly. Diana moaned, held her breath, and pulled at his hair. Brandon only growled back at her, pushed his tongue into her pussy, and pulled out the highest sensation from the orgasm.

  “Brandon!” she yelled, feeling the onset of yet another.

  He pulled back and she pushed him to move back even more with her feet. He went, staying on his knees, backing away from her. Diana joined him on the floor, letting the robe fall from her body the rest of the way. She then bent over and crawled on hands and knees to him, stopped at his waist and went to work at freeing the cock that strained against his jeans. Once she had it out, her own hunger took over and she had to taste him.

  On a moan, Diana sucked his cock into her mouth, taking it down her throat. He hissed, hands fisted into her hair and before she was ready he began fucking her mouth. She wanted to taste him, feed her own hunger, but it seemed that Brandon needed other things. That was fine, for now. Later on, when things calmed down, she was going to get what she wanted and that was him at her mercy.

  His breath picked up quickly, thrust into her mouth further, but before she could pull his release from him, Brandon stopped and pulled out of her mouth. He pushed her down to her back so fast she didn’t have time to brace herself for the powerful thrust into her body.

  He surged into her, stretched her to a burn, and took her just as hard. His jeans rubbed against the inside of her thighs and his mouth sucked on each nipple. Their bodies seemed to be in tune—hers giving him everything he needed and receiving so much pleasure.

  A silent cry left her lips. She could feel her womb contract around him, feeling like she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs and thought she might pass out or die from it all.

  Brandon didn’t come with her as she thought. Instead, right when the last contraction rippled through her, he pulled out and flipped her over to her belly. Diana didn’t protest or say a word when he pulled her up to her hands and knees. She did whimper at the touch of fingers grazing sensitive flesh between her legs. She also sucked air in sharply at the first feel of his hot, slick cock touching the tiny entrance of her ass.