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  It was useless to tell him no. The man was in his heat, which meant that any protest she might have would fall on deaf ears. One hard thrust back into her pussy, she lowered her head, moaned loudly and took what he gave. Two very powerful thrusts, once more he pulling out and the head touched her rear entrance. When she felt him start to push in she tensed up, waiting for the pain.

  “Don’t tense,” he growled behind her.

  Diana tried like hell to relax and let him in, but something inside her didn’t want to give that ease. “I can’t,” she shook her head.

  “Fuck me I can’t either.”

  One hard push and the ring of her ass gave in. Diana tossed her head back and screamed. He burned her, filled her, and took her as a shifter would in his heat. She could feel the branding from the inside out and knew without a doubt just as he told her; she was being mated to him.

  The thrusts were steady and strong. He moved into her, pushed his heat into her and she took it all. In fact, Diana pushed back against him, urging him to finish.

  “I’m not going to last!” Brandon cried out, his thrusting harder and faster. “Shit, Diana!”

  She felt him swell inside her, could feel his release, and with a deep loud growl, his mouth closed on her shoulder, teeth sinking into her flesh. She screamed and came at the same time falling to the floor.

  How long it all lasted, she couldn’t say. How long they stayed like that, she didn’t know. Dropping to the floor exhausted, Diana simply laid there and waited for Brandon to do whatever it was he needed to do. She whimpered when he pulled out of her and didn’t move a muscle when he got up and walked away from her. She didn’t look over her shoulder when she heard water hitting the bathtub in the other room.

  “Come on,” Brandon helped her up even though her body protested. Felt as if every muscle in her body was going to be sore as hell. “Let’s soak in a bath.”

  Chapter Five

  David Wycough walked through the office belonging to Charlie Douglas. Charlie lay slumped on the floor, bleeding from the beating David’s men gave him. In his hand, a paper with three names on it. Three more men that were responsible for the death of his brother and the key members in this new organization. He discovered that many men had a hand in what happened to his family.

  “Where’s the rest?” David asked again. He didn’t stop his pacing or bother to look at the groveling man.

  “I told you,” Charlie rasped. “They only have lists with three names on it. There are no more.”

  “I don’t believe you. Charlie. I know better, when it comes to you. You know who they all are.”

  “I swear,” Charlie shook his head quickly. “I don’t know who the others are.”

  David took a deep breath and glanced to his right hand. The man nodded, Charlie was jerked from the floor and taken to the other room. Door closed and soon Charlie’s screams echoed through the house.

  David went around the desk sat down in the oversize leather chair and settled his feet on the wooden top. Again, he looked at the small list. Three names. Vanderburg. Campbell. Morse. With each one of these men, they in turn had a list of three, and so on. Would make tracking down this new Council a bit more difficult.

  “Someone has all the names,” he mumbled to himself.

  “His story hasn’t changed.”

  David looked up at his second. A half-breed, who had no family, thanks to the new Council. Those bastards went around killing families they thought unfit for their world of pure shifters. All of the men working for him now were half-breeds, their family killed by these people. David came across them all the same time he learned of his brother’s death. The woman he married, her family agreed to the match as long as they didn’t have any children. Seemed her side didn’t want half-breeds in their blood. David learned that shifter and humans tended to not have children, or if they did, there weren’t many of them. There was something about the DNA makeup, which prevented it. Somehow, a child did happen and her family in turn killed her and his brother, leaving the child in the care of a very abusive shifter uncle. Well David took care of that bastard and was now on a mission to get the others that dealt out the fate of his brother.

  David didn’t have to worry any long about his niece. He knew she was well taken care of by a shifter and that was just fine with him. He made sure that the two were being watched and any sign that the man might mistreat her then he’d go deal with him, just like he dealt with the other.

  “Did you castrate him?” David asked.

  “He’s bleeding like a pig.”

  David nodded. With a deep breath, he stood back up and stretched. “Looks like we only have three to find for the moment. Split the men up. Have each one check out and then we’ll go from there.”

  “And him?”

  David looked around the room one last time before heading for the door. “Leave him to burn with the rest of his trash.”

  * * * *

  Thorn watched from a safe distance the men coming out of the house. Even as far away as he was, he could still smell the stench of blood upon them.

  “They leave nothing,” Justice said right next to him. “Burn everything so that no one can trace them.”

  “You never get rid of everything. Something is always left behind.”

  The men he watched got back into the car. In a first floor window, Thorn could see the orange glow of a fire. The car pulled away from the house and he stood up.

  “You’re not going to go inside that. Are you?” Justice asked.

  “Yeah, give me ten.” Thorn took off at a run towards the back entrance of the house.

  Kicking in the door he went inside, the smell of death stronger. Besides that, not a sound but the crackling of the fire. He followed the sound and stopped at the bleeding body of the man who’d held Brandon and his woman for entertainment. Stepping over him, Thorn went into the burning room and stopped.

  The whole room was on fire in a circle on the walls. Curtains, books, they all were up in flames. However, what caught his attention was one piece of paper on the floor, the edges just now caught on fire. Three names were on it. Vanderburg, Campbell, and Morse. Names he had a pretty good idea of what they meant and one he knew.

  Thorn didn’t stay in the house for long. Justice waited for him in the truck at the front of the house. Soon as he got in, Justice peeled out.

  “What’d you find?”

  “Good old Charlie is dead,” Thorn, answered.

  “Damn.”

  “And there is a list,” Thorn went on. “A list of names I think you should find out about.”

  “Why me?”

  “Because your name is on it.”

  * * * *

  Brandon rested his head back on the tub, legs hanging out on the sides and Diana right between the legs. Through the bathroom window he could see the fading red moon and with it the fading of his heat. Thank fucking God.

  “You alright?” she asked.

  “Yeah, it’s going away. Look.”

  Diana turned her head towards the window also. “I have a strong feeling that there are many of you that will be very happy it’s all over with now.”

  “No shit,” he sighed, closing his eyes.

  “So how long do we get to stay here?”

  “As long as you want.”

  “If we say, let’s move here permanently, what will we do for a living?”

  Brandon smiled. “Is that your way of saying you want to stay here for good?”

  “I like it here,” she also sighed.

  “Do you now?”

  “Yeah, only I think we need a bigger place.”

  Now he had to laugh. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do about that.”

  They stayed in the tub until the water became too cold. It was after two in the morning, by the time the full red moon left for good. Brandon lay in the bed staring out at the night sky, watching the damn thing fade away. Beside him, Diana slept deep snuggled up in his arms and he was very content with her there. It
never accrued to him ever that he might find a mate. He never went to the Gatherings and with what happened to his friend Chase Sexton, he didn’t go out much either. He stayed to himself, to the cars he worked on and life just went right by him. Then wouldn’t you know it. He goes out, does a favor for another friend, and lands in shit once more.

  Being careful not to disturb or wake her, Brandon reached behind him for the new cell phone he bought. Flipping it open, he began to text a message to Thorn. We’re staying in town. Moving in. Thanks for the help.

  Minutes later, Thorn responded. Good. Stay there, you’ll be safe. I’ll keep you posted. Take care, my friend.

  With a sigh, Brandon put the phone back, wrapped both arms around Diana, and closed his eyes. Tonight he was going to get a good night rest and come morning they were going out house hunting then job hunting. If Ponca is where she wants to live, then so be it. That is where she will have a home, he decided. Maybe it’s a good idea to be in a place where there were others just like him. Maybe Diana is just what he needed to forgive himself and go on.

  “I love you, Diana,” he said softly, kissing the top of her hair.

  She squirmed. “I love you too,” she breathed against his chest.

  With a smile, Brandon gave in to the sleep that was calling his name with his mate tucked into his arms tightly.

  COMING SOON

  Darian’s Surrender

  by Jaden Sicnlair

  “One fair beauty in the lair of many beasts.”

  Darian stiffened. A deep voice, all too close and with a purr to it, was behind her. He was so close that she felt hot breath on her bare shoulders and she was too scared to turn around.

  “My senses picked up this toxic scent that I’ve only ever once caught before.” He went on; voice going lower and grass crunching from movement. “I followed it and it has taken me right to you.” Darian sucked air into her lungs when he touched her shoulder with his hot breath. She was still too scared to turn around and see the face that went with the voice. “To the one that is destined to be mine.”

  Darian swung around to tell him no, but was scooped into a strong arm and pressed against a thick hard chest. Full lips came down on her and one hot tongue forced its way into her mouth.

  Her hands went up to his chest with the intent to push him away, but instead she fisted her hands into his jacket and held on It was her first kiss and Darian felt it travel all the way down to her toes.

  He moved his lips on her not too rough and not too soft. His tongue thrust in and out of her mouth touching hers lightly and every so often, he would suck on her lower lip. Everything he did she felt throughout her body and the throbbing that formed between her legs gave her enough sense to break away from the kiss. However, his arms didn’t let her go.

  “I’ve waited a very long time,” his voice whispered gave her the chills and the words he spoke brought her fear back. “For so long I have waited to see you again.”

  “No!” Darian struggled against the hold around her, but he wouldn’t give. “Let go.”

  “I can’t let you go,” he rubbed his lips across hers.

  She opened her mouth to speak only to have him close his over hers again. His head slanted to the side, as did she. This time the kiss was tender and deep. Darian thought she was going to fall to the ground with the power and the seduction of his kiss.

  She felt her feet leave the ground, but the kiss was too strong for her to investigate as to why. Only when her feet touched the ground again did she find the strength to pull away and end it.

  Once her eyes opened and she saw that they were in the woods, alone and away from everyone, Darian panicked. She started to struggle in his arms, twisting, and turning her body as well as she pushed against his chest. This was what Tiffany had told her. He would take her into the woods and force himself on her.

  “Hey, calm down,” he said, holding her tight. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “Let go!” she panted, pushing as hard as she could against him.

  She walked backward until her back pressed up against a tree. He boxed her between his arms and pressed her against a tree. She was breathing hard, fearing what was to come next. Was he going to rip her dress? Was he going to rape her?

  No, what he did was reach up and touched her face as Darian turned her head away, closing her eyes tightly.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, Darian,” he said low. “I could never hurt you.”

  “Then let me go,” she breathed out.

  “Look at me.”

  She shook her head no.

  His hand went under her chin and with some force; her face was turned so she was looking up at him. “You’re very beautiful.”

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