Desire Unchained

Roag took in the scene. No witnesses. And when Luc put his hand on Roag’s leg, Roag struck. He buried the syringe deep in Luc’s belly and jammed down the plunger.

Luc roared and slammed Roag into the side of the ambulance. The impact knocked Roag out of Shade’s form, but by then it didn’t matter. Luc was on his knees, wheezing. Surprise flashed in the warg’s eyes, followed, oddly enough, by a strange calm. If he didn’t know any better, Roag would think Luc wanted to die.

Happy to help out.

Slowly, Luc slid to the ground, his chest rattling with each struggling breath. Death rattles. A beautiful sound, and one Roag couldn’t wait to hear coming out of Runa.

Luc twitched, blew out a breath, and moved no more. Roag felt for a pulse … it was there, but weak. Luc wouldn’t last another five minutes.

As quickly as he could, Roag dragged Luc’s heavy ass into the back of the ambulance. Next, he’d anonymously notify the authorities, tell them Shade had killed Luc to prevent First Rights, and once they nabbed Shade, Runa would be left unprotected.

“Luc?” The female voice floated through the parking lot.

Roag shifted into Luc’s form and leaped out of the ambulance. “Yeah?”

Two paramedics, a male and a female, stalked toward him. He closed the rig door, concealing Luc inside.

“The Sup said you’re supposed to go home. We’re going to be on call today.”

Roag eyed the vehicle, cursing his luck. Then again, if he played his cards right, he wouldn’t need to keep Luc’s form for long. Just long enough to get into the lab and then plant a suggestion in Wraith’s head.

Smiling, he strode past the medics. “No problem. I’m outta here.”





Shade didn’t say a word to Runa as he carried her to a private patient room and placed her gently on the bed. The same eerie red lights that illuminated the rest of the hospital bathed the room in a garnet wash, creating stark shadows against Shade’s already sinister, intense features, but his gaze was warm.

“Thank you.” She was grateful for his assistance; her head throbbed so badly that she doubted she could have walked to the room on her own two feet. Besides, it had felt good to be cradled in Shade’s powerful arms. “But you might have mentioned that the hospital was under a spell that prevents violence.”

“I shouldn’t have had to,” he ground out, but the gentle stroke of his fingers over hers belied his harsh words.

“I’m sorry I humiliated you in your own hospital.” She averted her gaze, but looking at the skulls lining the walls didn’t exactly comfort her.

“Trust me,” he said, using a finger to tip her face back to him. “It would take a hell of a lot more than that to humiliate me in this place.”

She sighed, grateful for his understanding. “It’s just that I’ve been searching for the man who attacked me for so long, and I felt him and couldn’t stop myself.”

Shade’s jaw clenched so hard she heard the pop of bone. “Can you still feel him?”

“Yes.” The oily taint of evil still shimmered on her skin. She’d give anything to spend an hour under Shade’s waterfall right now.

Shade sank down in the chair next to her bed and muttered, “You can feel him, but not me.”

“I can only feel him when he’s very close. Like now.” She sat up, wincing at the stab of pain in her head. “He wouldn’t really claim—”

“No!” Shade shot to his feet. “I swear to you, he will not claim First Rights.”

She’d learned about First Rights when she’d researched werewolves, but hadn’t considered the custom to be a true threat since she’d fully intended to kill her sire when she found him. “I’m not sure what would be worse. Having him kill me, or …”

“Don’t think about it.” Shade crossed to her in two strides and tugged her to her feet and into his arms. “The year will be up soon, and Luc will have no claim on you.”

“And who will?” she whispered.

“Oh, Runa …” His heart thundered against her ear, lulling her to relax. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, reveling in the quiet moment.

They stood like that for a long time, until eventually, the malevolent sludge that had been pumping through her veins melted away. She slumped against Shade in relief. “He’s gone. He must have left through one of those gates.”

“We should go, too.”

“Back to the cave?” When he nodded and backed away, she shook her head. “I told you I don’t want to spend the rest of my life as your prisoner.”

“What you want is irrelevant.”

Damn him. “How can you be so caring and protective one minute, and then a total asshole the next?”

“Roag has been inside the hospital, Runa. He killed one of our nurses just to show us he could. I’ve got to keep you someplace safe.”