To Bite A Bear (9 page)

“Oh, beloved, you are so good at that,” he

whispered. Unable to resist Harris’ mouth, Rohan

gave himself up to his lover’s touch. Harris

swallowed Rohan’s cum with little difficulty, then

sat back on his heels with a wide smile.

“Like honey.”

Rohan laughed. “Come back up here.”

Harris zipped and tidied Rohan back up before

joining him on the seat.

Rohan opened his arms for Harris to snuggle

closer. If anyone accused Rohan of being a

cuddler, he’d deny it to their last breath, which

would quickly follow their statement.

“Kiss me,” Rohan demanded.

“Bossy!” Harris scolded.

“Yes, I am,” Rohan agreed.

An explosion rocked the limo. “What was

that?” Harris jerked his head around to look out

the limo window.

“Sorcerers,” Rohan peered out the window.

“Fuckers.”

Harris pulled out his phone and started dialed

frantically.

“What are you doing?” Rohan asked.

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“Getting help.” Someone picked up the phone,

but Rohan didn’t know who until Harris called

him by name. “Carey, help! Sorcerers are attacking

our limo. We’re downtown by the courthouse.”

He must’ve received a positive response,

because he disconnected the line and peered out

the window again.

“This car is bomb proof,” Rohan said. He

couldn’t hide his irritation over having Harris

depend on someone else.

“But, is it sorcerer proof?” Harris asked. “Some

of them can shoot some pretty bad stuff.”

“How do you know?” Rohan asked. “When we

went to the sorcerer’s last time, they didn’t put up

too much of a fight.”

“I did some research after that encounter,”

Harris admitted. He ran his fingers through his

hair, ruffling the parts Rohan had smoothed over.

For a brief second, Rohan saw the beast beneath

the surface.

“What did you learn?”

“That they must be up to something bigger,

since they let us go so easily. They probably have

plans we know nothing about. After trying to

poison you and succeeding with some of your

people, they’ve gone underground to plan and

plot. I don’t trust them. They are inherently evil.

Their leader froze his own son,” Harris reminded

him.

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“Whatever happened to Gallen?” The last he’d

seen of the young man was at Carey’s house.

“I put him in the garden,” Harris admitted.

“What do you mean
you put him in the garden
?”

His visions of a crystal coffin displayed among the

roses drifted in his mind. An idea not dismissed

by Harris’ next words.

“Well, he’s like Snow White without the

dwarves. He can’t wake up until he’s kissed by his

prince. I wanted to do this huge glass coffin thing,

but Aden thought it would attract the cops, so I

made him a metal filigree one. You can’t even

really see him unless you know he’s there.” Harris

said, warming to his topic.

“Doesn’t he get rained on?” Rohan asked

reluctantly fascinated.

Harris shook his head. Aden knew a witch who

owed him a favor. The witch put a spell on it, so

Gallen doesn’t get drenched. It was the only way

Carey would agree to the garden thing.

“Surely, there’s a way to free him.” Amusement

curled Rohan’s mouth. He doubted he’d ever be

bored with Harris by his side.

“Carey’s been calling around to see if anyone

knows how to break the curse, but so far, they’ve

all said we need to find Gallen’s mate. That’s the

only way to break the spell. According to the last

wizard, Gallen’s mate will feel the pull toward

him. It’s a matter of waiting,” Harris explained.

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Another explosion rocked the limo.

Harris tensed.

“We’ll be fine,” Rohan said. He stroked Harris’

arm. “The driver knows what he’s doing. We’ll get

home safely.” Even as he said the words, he

vowed to wipe out every sorcerer he came across

for causing that moment of fear in Harris’ eyes.

A loud piercing screech and the scrape of claws

across the top of the limo alerted Rohan to a new

presence.

“Eaton’s here,” Harris said.

The explosions ended. Rohan didn’t like being

the one to cower in the vehicle while others fought

his battles. However, Rohan didn’t dare open the

door and expose Harris to a potential enemy.

“I should go help him,” Harris declared.

“No!” Rohan shouted. No way would he let his

bear put himself in danger, not while Rohan still

could protect him.

“Why not?” The confusion in Harris’ eyes

settled Rohan’s conviction.

“Because you might be able to hide the fact that

a huge eagle has entered downtown but a bear

could get tranqued.”

“True, but if they come after you, all bets are

off.” A flash of fang revealed Harris’ bear had

risen to the surface.

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To Bite a Bear

“Easy, love. Let’s get home in one piece before

we worry about anything else. We’ll be safe here,”

Rohan assured him.

“Are you certain about that?” While they were

talking, the divider between driver and the

passengers slid down. Vick grinned at them

through the opening in the reflected mirror. Not

an expression Rohan saw often on his lips.

“What are you doing here?” Vick never drove

the limo. Rohan didn’t even know if Vick had a

proper license.

“I came to make sure the sorcerers didn’t miss,”

Vick replied. “They have a tendency to fail in their

attacks.”

“You’re working for the sorcerers?” Rohan

couldn’t hide his surprise. Vick had been a

valuable member of the coven for six years.

“Why?”

“Because they promised me I could lead once

you were gone,” Vick said, his eyes wild.

“You could lead now if you weren’t such a

gullible idiot,” Rohan said. “You think they’re

going to leave anyone alive to be in charge of

anything? They’ll kill all of us, and you first, since

they’ll know they can’t trust you.”

Vick snorted. “They said you would try and get

me to turn on them, but once I kill your pet, you’ll

be docile.”

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Amber Kell

“You kill my blood bonded and I’ll rip out your

throat,” Rohan said, putting as much conviction in

his voice as he could. He couldn’t lose Harris. If

anything happened to the bear shifter, he’d never

forgive himself.

Another explosion went off, and Vick pulled

the limo over to the side. “That’s my signal.”

Rohan peered through the tinted glass. He

could see people milling about outside, but he

didn’t know enough of the hawks to figure out

which side the people were on.

“It doesn’t matter who wins here. I’ve got what

I need.” Vick pointed a gun at Harris. “I know you

wouldn’t want to endanger your pretty bear.”

“Aww, you think I’m pretty?” Harris batted his

eyes at the vampire.

“I think you are the reason we are failing as a

species. Too much interspecies mingling,” Vick

said in a disgusted voice.

“You do know that as a gay man, I wasn’t going

to reproduce anyway, right?” Rohan asked, dryly.

“Don’t be a smart ass, Rohan. You could’ve

been the best ruler ever, but instead, you dull our

fangs and restrict our hunting. We could run this

city, but you have us hiding in the shadows, afraid

of humans hunting us. I say, let them come, we’ll

use them for food.” Vick giggled.

“Which sorcerer is yours?” Harris asked

unexpectedly.

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To Bite a Bear

“What?” Vick asked.

“You’re obviously under a sorcerer’s control.

Which one?” Harris persisted.

Rohan peeked outside. “Vampires can’t be

controlled by sorcerers, Harris.” There, that was

definitely Eaton punching out a sorcerer.

“He doesn’t control me,” Vick said. “He loves

me.”

Rohan’s head snapped back around. “You fell

in love with a sorcerer?”

Harris and Rohan exchanged knowing glances.

A sorcerer could influence a vampire if the

vampire was stupid enough to drink his blood.

“I’m not in love,” Vick sneered. “We are

partners. I don’t touch men.”

“Are you the one who poisoned the humans?”

That was one thing Rohan hadn’t been able to

figure out. How the humans had become

poisoned. He foolishly hadn’t believed a member

of his coven could’ve done such a thing.

“You are a bit slow, aren’t you? Didn’t think

any of your people could turn on you?”

Rohan owed Madeleine an apology. Privately,

he’d thought she might be the source of the

problem.

“I guess I hoped the people I’ve cared for over

the past few centuries had some loyalty,” Rohan

admitted. The betrayal hurt more than he thought

possible.

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Amber Kell

“You know how it goes. It’s all about what

you’ve done for us lately,” Vick mocked.

Without warning, he fired his pistol. Harris

jerked back. A blossom of blood spread across his

chest.

“No!” Rohan screamed. Horror took over his

good sense as Harris blinked up at him with pain-

filled eyes.

Another weapon fired. The sound had him

snapping around in time to see a hole appear in

Vick’s head before the vampire tumbled over onto

the seat. The limo door swept open and Aden

appeared in the opening.

“Harris has been shot!” Rohan shouted. He

couldn’t think. Panic overwhelmed his mind like

white noise. With shaking hands he tried to stop

the flow of blood pouring from his mate. For the

first time, he didn’t want the life-giving liquid, not

if it meant the death of his beloved.

“Keep it together, boy!” Aden snapped. With

quick, efficient movements, Aden stripped off

Harris shirt and turned him to examine the

wound. A hole pierced Harris’ back. “It went

through. We need to get him back to the

mansion.”

“M-my house is closer,” Rohan stuttered out.

“We don’t know who in your coven to trust.

This guy might not have been the only one.” Aden

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To Bite a Bear

pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. “Keep

pressure on his wound.”

Before he could respond by more than taking

control of the cloth, Aden stepped back and

slammed the door behind him.

“I can do this. Stick with me, beloved. I need

you by my side.” Words of love and adoration

tumbled from Rohan’s lips. He couldn’t stop

spilling every thought and secret to Harris.

Throughout the drive, Harris said little and his

labored breathing frightened Rohan. “Please,

beloved, don’t leave me.”

If Harris were a human, Rohan could’ve saved

him with a bite and converted him to a vampire.

Shifters didn’t work like that. Once a shifter,

always a shifter. Rohan could bite Harris until the

end of his days and he’d never become a vamp.

“I-I’m not going anywhere,” Harris whispered.

Heavy lids covered his usually vibrant eyes, and

he lost consciousness.

Rohan chilled as he imagined the emptiness of

his years without Harris.

There was at least one thing he could do to save

his mate. Being a vampire master came with a few

extra abilities. Focusing on his lover, Rohan

poured energy across their psychic link until

Harris’ forehead relaxed from some of the tension.

“Stay with me, and together, we’ll hunt down the

fuckers who did this to you,” Rohan vowed.

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Amber Kell

Chapter Six

arris floated on a sea of peace. A fluffy cloud

H surrounded him on all sides as he drifted

peacefully, his mind empty and calm.

Come back to me, beloved.

A man’s insistent voice interrupted his serenity.

Harris frowned. He recognized that tone.

Demanding. Determined. Shaking it off, Harris

returned to his nothingness. Maybe his friends

were right, he did overcomplicate things. This was

where he belonged.

Don’t you even think about leaving me!

Damn, the intruder of his dreams was quite

insistent.
Why does he keep interrupting my quiet?

Wake the fuck up, boy!

Aden.

Harris jolted awake, gasping. He blinked

rapidly to bring the room into focus. He was back

at the mansion on Queen Anne. It took him a