Destined Mate

Katie Reus

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Two hundred years ago, Angela Lavigne and Alpha werewolf Knox had a shared a passion neither could control. Then Angela was turned into a vampire and disappeared.

The last thing Knox expects is for Angela to show up on his doorstep centuries later on a rescue mission, as sexy and irresistible as ever. And he can sense how much she still wants him, too. She’s gone against both their species’ rules and trespassed on his land. By law he can keep her as long as he wants—and Knox doesn’t intend to let her go ever again.

As their desire explodes once again, Knox is more sure than ever that he’s must claim her forever. But as vampire and werewolf, they are natural born enemies. Can she truly be his destined mate?

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Epilogue

Chapter 1

Angela inhaled the various forest scents and tried to steady her breathing. She knew she was insane to sneak onto the land of the most powerful werewolf in the United States. But she had no choice.

Her best friend had been taken by these animals and she planned to get her back. She didn’t care what her tribe leader, Titus, said. She’d been stuck living with his coven for the past fifty years and while she normally didn’t mind his Draconian rules, she’d gladly suffer the consequences to get Natalia back. If she was still alive. Who knew what those animals had done to her by now? Natalia had only been gone about a week but the animosity between vampires and werewolves went back thousands of years. It didn’t matter that in a few months their two species would be signing a peace treaty. Right now nothing had been signed and her friend was fair game.

The icy wind whistled through the leaves of the giant red oak trees. Even though it was January, a lot of the foliage was still thick and would help block her scent.

She peered around the giant tree she’d been using as cover. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted the outline of a huge male by another tree about forty yards away. Even though he was in human form, she knew he was a shifter. Of the wolf variety if she scented right.

Luck was on her side since she was downwind of him. Withdrawing her gun, she glanced around the rest of the forest but didn’t see or smell anything else unusual. Since his back was to her, she darted twenty yards closer until she hid behind another large tree.

She wasn’t sure if she could take on a trained, warrior wolf by herself so she knew she couldn’t miss this first shot. Raising her weapon, she held her breath and aimed directly for the spot below his skull.

The small puff of noise the tranquilizer dart made as it shot through her suppresser was enough for him to notice.

He stiffened but it was too late.

By the time he turned toward her, the tranq was already embedded deep in his skin. The giant shifter stumbled once, twisted in her direction then narrowed his gaze at her before he fell face-first in the dirt and grass.

Her friend Mick had been right. Those sedatives did their job fast. Unfortunately it wouldn’t last long on a shifter his size. She quickly secured his hands behind his back with silver bindings, took his weapons and his radio.

If others found out about her presence, she’d know about it soon enough. She hooked the radio on her belt and tossed his guns and blades behind a nearby tree before continuing north. She’d been traveling on foot for miles so she knew it wouldn’t be long until she reached her destination.

The sound of nearby male voices made her freeze in her tracks. Instead of trying to hide, she crouched down where she was. Until she figured out where the voices were coming from, she didn’t want to make any sudden movements or risk anyone scenting her.

“I’ve been trying to get King on his radio but he won’t pick up,” one of them said.

Another male chuckled. “He’s probably getting a piece of tail… Hey, what the…”

Crap. They’d spotted her. With her heightened night vision she could finally see the two outlines of male figures near a tree line. Judging by their stiff and alert posture, they’d seen her, too. It didn’t matter that she wore all dark camouflage, blended in with her surroundings and had a much lower heat signature than they did. All they’d have to do was see something about her that didn’t blend in with nature. Like her eyes. They likely looked like freaking Christmas lights to them.

She had two options. One was running. Even if she escaped it wouldn’t matter. Her friend would still be captive.

She’d have to take the other option—go on the offensive.

Wordlessly she jumped from her position and sprinted at them. From what she could scent, there were only two of them and they hadn’t made a move to notify anyone of her presence. Probably because they thought they could take her on their own. And maybe they could.

As she ran, they silently spread out to her right and left. Despite her keen awareness she couldn’t read their expressions in the dark. Knowing she’d only be able to bring one of them down at a time, she raised her gun and fired at the one on her right.

The soft thud of the tranq hitting flesh was music to her ears.

“Oh, shit…” He hit the ground faster than the first guy.

Before she could even think about swinging her arm around to take a second shot, a heavy weight rammed into her. Damn wolves were just as fast as she was. She flew through the air and landed on her side.

All the air rushed from her lungs but she quickly jumped to her feet to square off with the werewolf. To her surprise, the male hadn’t shifted form. He still wore black cargo pants and a long-sleeved black shirt.

“What are you doing on our land, little vampire?” His voice was almost mocking.

Little? Baring her teeth, she lunged at him, fist raised.

He dodged her punch but she was ready for him. She might be one of the youngest of her species but she was agile and she trained every day. As he moved his head to the left, she kicked out, high and hard.

When her booted foot made contact with the other side of his head, he grunted a string of curses. He hit the ground with a thud and she heard the unmistakable growl of the beast within him.

He’d be shifting soon. And while he did, she’d be hauling ass away from him. Werewolves were weakest when they shifted form and she knew it would give her time to run. She could stick around and try to tranq him, too, but knocking out a wolf in shifted form was a lot harder. As his body started to change form, she turned and ran.

Behind her, she heard the breaking and snapping of his bones. Her heart slammed against her ribs. Wouldn’t be much longer now before she was being hunted. Her legs pumped hard and her palms dampened.

Now wasn’t the time to freak out. She had to keep a level head. As she breached the clearing of trees, her heart jumped into her throat.

A brick house—a freaking mansion—lay on a giant spread of land surrounded by the forest. She didn’t know how many rooms it had but the mansion had to be as big, if not bigger, than the one she lived in with thirty other vampires.

There were at least a dozen males patrolling the grounds and judging from their outlines, they were all armed to the teeth.

Flipping on the radio she’d taken, she kept the volume low. As she listened to the chatter, she realized she’d been discovered. It was only a matter of time before everyone knew of her presence. Her instinct to fight kicked in with a rush of raw rage she’d never experienced before. She might be outnumbered but she’d come this far. No turning back now.

Using one of her main advantages—lightning fast speed—she rushed toward the house. Her boots barely touched the earth as she sprinted right into the den of wolves.

The patrolling males stopped and a few uttered surprised curses but she ignored them. If she could get in the house, she could find her friend. After that…well, she hadn’t exactly thought that far ahead yet.

A low, guttural growl sounded to her left. A werewolf with gleaming white teeth hurtled through the air toward her. Using all her lower body strength, she jumped high in the air. She couldn’t clear the six foot beast so she used his back as a springboard and landed on the hard earth. At least she landed on both feet.

When she hit the ground, she didn’t pause. Some of the werewolves ran at her in human form while others shifted to their animal form. She kept going full speed.

The growling and snapping behind her was terrifying. Blood rushed so loudly in her ears it was all she could do to try to block out those vicious sounds. She couldn’t get distracted by her fear.

Just a little bit farther…

Her thigh muscles strained again as she prepared to leap. As she got closer to the brick monstrosity, she leaped through the air again and latched on to a stone balcony railing. Using all her strength she hoisted herself up and propelled over it.

Two French doors greeted her but she didn’t bother trying the lock. Shielding her face, she jumped through it. Glass shattered and wood splintered everywhere but somehow she managed to stay on her feet.

Knowing the animals were close behind and that she had minimal options, she quickly scanned the bedroom. A king-size bed, and a bunch of expensive-looking furniture adorned it.

Natalia’s scent was strong. As if she’d been there recently. Maybe she was still alive. Hope leaped in her chest.

Angela glanced behind her to find one of the male guards standing on the balcony. He was in human form.

His eyes were wary but he didn’t hold a weapon in his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you if you’d just—”

She glared at him and reached for her weapon. As soon as she did two strong arms encircled her from behind.

Twisting and struggling she fought the viselike grip. When she felt her attacker’s hard-on against the small of her back she screamed and lashed out with her foot, connecting with his instep. It didn’t faze him.

“You perverted beast!” She twisted until she could see the shifter’s face then froze. It was him. A thousand-year-old Alpha…her old lover. “Oh shit.”

With pursed lips, Knox shook his head. “Such language,” he murmured. His charcoal eyes matched his hair, adding to that whole dark and brooding thing he had going on. Everything about his features was hard, sharp…dangerous. He hadn’t changed much since she’d seen him last. Especially those eyes. If she let herself, she could drown staring into them. Her throat tightened as she tried to think of a response. With him holding her so close—

“That bitch should be strung up and punished.” She turned at the sound of a new male voice.

Now three of them stood on the balcony. Damn, they were quiet. Or maybe she’d just been so focused on Knox she hadn’t heard them.

He still hadn’t let go and she braced herself, waiting for him to throw her to the wolves. She was a vampire after all. And she knew how much he hated her kind. It was the reason she’d left him all those years ago. It might not have been her choice to be turned from human to vampire, but she’d known Knox wouldn’t care. To him, vampires were all the same. Or at least that’s what he’d told her when she’d been human.

She felt his body tense. “I should punish each of you for letting an intruder through our ranks. You will all leave.”

One of the youngest looking males opened his mouth and Knox growled low in his throat. “Now.”

Once they’d disappeared back through the broken doors and leaped off the balcony, she clenched her fists at her sides. Her short nails dug into her skin. The pain was a perfect distraction from her fear.

Knox leaned down until his mouth was next to her ear. His breath was warm against her skin. A traitorous tingle skittered down her spine. “If I let you go will you try to run?”

She gritted her teeth, despising her physical response to him. “No.” But only because it wouldn’t do any good.

He paused a moment before letting her go. Quickly she put three feet between them and turned to face him. Her breathing was uneven and ragged and she hated the terror forking through her. To not be scared of him would be stupid, though.

She’d seen Knox’s strength before. Had seen him rip apart a vampire trying to hurt her in seconds. With his bare hands. But she’d been human then. He’d actually cared about what happened to her and had wanted to protect her. Now…well, she was a vampire.

It had been exactly ninety years since she’d last seen him. Something she shouldn’t remember, but it was hard not to. Once she’d loved this shifter with all of her being. But the moment she’d been turned into a vampire she’d known that no amount of love she had for him would make a difference. She had been turned into his mortal enemy against her will. So she’d run from him without telling him what had happened to her. She hadn’t been willing to risk letting him kill her.

Seemed all her running had come to an end. After nine decades she was finally face to face with the one man she’d never been able to forget.

Chapter 2

Knox stared at the petite vampire before him and fought to breathe. Angela Lavigne. Angel, to him. The nickname had driven her crazy for some reason. Same pale gray eyes, same midnight-black hair, much different haircut. It was shorter now, falling around her face in a messy, sexy look that he knew wasn’t intentional. She’d been fighting his wolves and running for her life so it was only natural.

The moment he’d seen her on one of his security cameras running for the house he’d been floored, then had instantly gotten rock hard. The reaction was embarrassing but she’d always had that effect on him. Ninety years later, it didn’t matter. He hadn’t had much time to tell his pack to back down as they attempted to intercept her. Not that it had mattered.

She’d run in here like she was on a suicide mission. “It’s been a long time, Angel.”

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Don’t call me that. Where’s Natalia?”

He was surprised by her question but he didn’t move. Instead he allowed the anger he’d been holding at bay to rush through him, knowing she’d sense it. “You’re here to retrieve her for your tribe leader? You’re a bit young to be a death merchant.” He practically spat the words.

Angela jerked back at his words. “What are you—?”

The door to the bedroom flew open and Natalia barged in. On instinct he put himself between the tall blonde and Angela. His former lover might be smaller than the other female but after seeing her in action tonight, he wouldn’t underestimate her. And Natalia was extremely young and untrained, having just been turned into a vampire less than a decade ago.

Natalia grabbed his forearm—definitely much too young to have any sort of fear of him—and stepped around him. “Don’t hurt her. She’s only here to protect me!”

Angela stepped closer to them but ignored him. “I don’t understand, I thought you were taken by the wolves.”

Natalia’s face flushed a deep red as she faced her friend. She cleared her throat nervously. “I was taken but not the way you think. I, uh, fell in love with a werewolf and when I told Titus, he threatened to kill me so I ran.”

Angela fell silent and it was obvious she’d had no idea her friend had left on her own. Finally she spoke. “Why didn’t you tell me? I…thought we were friends.” The last part was said softly and even though Knox knew she was trying to mask it, her friend’s deceit had hurt her. More than Natalia realized.

“If Titus questioned you, I didn’t want you to know anything. I thought keeping you in the dark was best for your safety.” Natalia’s voice was pleading.

Angela’s eyes hardened as she turned away from Natalia. She was completely cutting her emotional ties with her friend. He could see it in her expression as clearly as if she’d taken a pair of scissors and sliced through a string. Natalia probably didn’t understand it but Angela didn’t give many chances to people and she had few friends. Or at least she’d been that way when she was human. He could only guess that now as a vampire some things hadn’t changed. Turning from the blonde vampire, Angela focused on him, her gaze hard. “So what’s my punishment? Torture? Death?”

He could think of a dozen ways to “punish” her but kept his thoughts to himself because of their audience. Without turning away from her, he spoke to her friend. “Tell everyone we have a house guest and they’re to treat her with respect while she’s here.”

“Angela, I’m so sorry. If I’d thought you’d come after me, I would have told you.” Natalia spoke quietly, desperately.

Angela wouldn’t look at her. Instead she tightened her jaw and continued to glare at him as though he was to blame for all this.

Natalia paused, but eventually hurried from the room. He held out his arm to Angela and for a moment, felt as if he’d been transported back to when she was still human. Back when he’d been courting her. Before she’d turned into a vampire then run from him. She’d held on to his arm then, everywhere they’d gone. Just the feel of her fingers grazing his skin had turned him on. “You can stay in my room.”

Those pale eyes of hers turned icy. She snorted and took a step back. “I don’t know what kind of games you’re playing but I’m not staying in your room.”

“It will be daylight soon and unless you can—”

“I’m a day walker,” she said quietly, as if it were no big deal. As if her kind weren’t the rarest of vampires. Practically extinct.

The admission surprised him. Most day walkers kept their existence quiet, often even among their own kind. Being able to walk in the sun caused hatred and jealousy in those who couldn’t. So he had no reason to keep her. Not truly. He sure as hell wasn’t going to hurt her. No matter what her kind thought of him, the day he learned that Angela had been turned into one, his views of vampires had changed as well. Like a switch flipping, his entire world had shifted. Suddenly he hadn’t thought of vampires as soulless monsters anymore. Not when the woman he loved had become one.

Unfortunately she’d run from him before he could tell her that their differences didn’t matter. That he didn’t care what she’d become. He didn’t know for certain that’s why she’d left, but it was better than the idea she’d run off with a vamp over him. A little over fifty years ago he’d hunted her to Alaska but then he’d lost the trail. Some days he’d wondered if she was even still alive. The last thing he’d expected was for her to show up on his doorstep. Now that she was here, he wasn’t letting her go. “Day walker?”

She nodded tightly. “My maker was one so…” Her shoulders lifted in what he was sure she meant to be a casual shrug, but it came off jerky and unsteady.

He had so many questions for her, but he kept them to himself. By law, he could keep her as long as he wanted. She’d trespassed and gone against both their species’ laws.

“You will stay in my room—”

“No way, you freaking animal!”

Knowing she was baiting him, he took a deep breath. “Unless you wish me to lock you in our dungeon with the feral wolves waiting to be judged, you’ll stay in my room.”

She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Because of his tone or the threat, he wasn’t sure. And he didn’t care. “Fine, but don’t think that means anything.”

He advanced on her, partially because he needed to assert his dominance but mainly because he wanted to touch her. To run his fingers all over her. He kept going until she bumped against the edge of the bed and before she could react, he had her pinned on the mattress. She yelped as he settled on top of her, pinning her back against the soft covers. She was leaner than he remembered. Stronger. But she was soft in all the right places. Her breasts pressed against him, making it hard to breathe. “You trespassed on my land, hurt members of my pack—”

“I used tranquilizers,” she hissed as she struggled against him.

“—and damaged my property. You will stay as long as I say.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll sleep with you.” Her voice was cold, determined.

“Why not? We’ve done it before,” he murmured.

“So what? You’re going to force me?” Her voice slightly trembled.

Anger surged through him that she could actually ask that question. “I wouldn’t have to force you.”

Growling, she shoved at his chest. The strength behind her push shocked him to his core. Whoever had turned her must have been a powerful vampire. Considering she was a day walker, he had no doubt. Instead of moving off her, he tightened his thighs around her then leaned closer so that their noses touched. “I can smell how much you want me, Angel.” And he could. It was so potent, like fresh spring rain and it nearly bowled him over. She was doing her best to hide it from him but failing miserably.

“That means nothing,” she muttered.

Instead of pushing up from her, he shifted against her, letting her feel his erection. The heat and sudden burst of lust she emanated threw him off-kilter.

Taking him by surprise, she half smiled and rolled her hips against him. “Some things haven’t changed, I see.”

The way her soft pink lips curved up made his brain short-circuit. The abrupt change in her made him falter. Maybe she was remembering how good they’d been together. How was it that he’d been thinking about this moment for years but couldn’t think of one intelligent thing to say now? He’d always been better with actions anyway. As he leaned down, her pale eyes flared with heated desire. When he cupped her face, she reached out and splayed her fingers across his chest. Yeah, talking could definitely wait.

As their lips touched, he felt a sharp jolt through his groin as she kneed him. Before he could react, she twisted and elbowed him across the face. Using her momentum, she lunged up and flipped him over until they tumbled to the ground. The thud when they landed made his teeth rattle.

“I’m not some whore and if you think you can play with me, you’re wrong. I don’t care if you’re the Alpha of this pack or not, I’ll tear you to shreds if you try to touch me.” Angela’s words were laced with a deadly promise.

And that turned him on more than it should have. He could easily flip her off him but he liked the feel of her body on top of his. He couldn’t remember the name of the last woman he’d slept with. But he remembered everything about Angela. The way she’d willingly opened her body to him. What her tight sheath had felt like as he sank into her. How she moaned when she climaxed. “I didn’t realize I’d insinuated you were a whore, Angel. I’m simply offering you hospitality even when you don’t deserve it.”

His inner beast roared at him to assert dominance. He was almost always in control of his inner wolf but right now his human side agreed with his animal side. Snaking his arm around her waist, he jumped up and brought her with him. Her eyes widened but he didn’t give her a chance to fight before he threw her over his shoulder and jerked the door open.

Two young male pack members stood there, obviously eavesdropping. One cleared his throat as Angela pounded against his back with her fists.

“Uh, we weren’t sure if you’d need backup or anything,” the older of the two muttered as he averted his gaze to the floor.

Knox shook his head and easily subdued Angela’s attempts to get free. “As you can see, I’m fine. Tell Alaric to meet me in my study.” Without waiting for a response, he headed down the long hallway. His bedroom was on the opposite side of the house and he didn’t want to put Angela on display for longer than necessary.

“Let me go, you bastard!”

He ignored her and tightened his hold. When he felt her teeth sink into his back, he flinched and shook his head. “Hellcat,” he muttered, mildly annoyed.

“I changed my mind…put me in your stupid dungeon. Anything’s better than being stuck with you in your room!” She wriggled against him and bit him again. Harder this time.

Gritting his teeth, he swatted her butt. That only earned him another bite. Thank God vampire bites weren’t deadly to his kind.

He ignored the curious and blatantly surprised stares of the pack members milling around the house. Once he was finally inside his room he dropped her onto the big bed in an unceremonious heap.

When she scrambled to her knees and started shouting profanities at him, he headed right back for the door. A pillow hit him in the back of the head. When he turned back toward her, he had to duck a vase sailing through the air. It smashed against the wall by the door. “Make yourself comfortable, you’ll be here for a while. And don’t think about trying to escape. I’m putting two guards at the door and three more outside my windows. They’re under strict orders to shoot you if you try to escape. With silver bullets.” The last part wasn’t true but he didn’t want to deal with hunting her down. It would only waste time and prolong the inevitable.

As he shut and locked the door behind him, he scrubbed a hand over his face and had to bite back a smile. He’d missed her more than he’d realized. What the hell was he going to do with her now?

Chapter 3

Angela glanced at the antique wall pendulum clock in Knox’s room and silently seethed as she saw the time. He’d left her alone almost twelve hours ago. She’d snooped through all his stuff—not that she’d found anything interesting—and dozed for a few hours. At least when she’d been looking through his stuff she’d been able to distract herself from Natalia’s betrayal. Everything Angela had done tonight had been a complete waste of time. Now she was stuck under Knox’s roof awaiting whatever punishment he planned to dole out and she had one less friend. It stung more than she’d admit that her friend hadn’t trusted her enough to confide in her. Had Natalia really believed she’d just let her disappearance go? Angela didn’t have many friends and she’d always thought herself lucky to count Natalia as one. In immortal terms ten years wasn’t a particularly long time span but keeping a relationship that long had been a big deal to Angela. Obviously Natalia hadn’t viewed things the same. Steeling herself against those thoughts, Angela shoved all her reflections aside and locked them up tight. Right now she needed to focus on escaping, not worry about anything else.

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