Claimed

Chapter 8

Emma clasped her bag to her chest while leading Janie across the rough asphalt. The scent of night jasmine wafted on a slight breeze. They’d made haste driving in dark SUVs to the private airport, and she was sure she’d forgotten more than one pair of shoes back at the hotel. Dage assured her his men would go through all the rooms to double check.

A dark rumble of clouds toppled across the dusky sky and the wind bit her skin. She shivered, tugging Janie into a jog across the tarmac where the silver jet waited at the end, engines running. For some reason she felt like a thief scurrying away to safety. Displeasure rumbled toward her from Dage as he ran on her right. The king wanted to stay and fight and only made this move to protect her. Damn but being the king must suck sometimes.

Her ears began to ring. How in the hell had she gotten caught up in this war? She was a geneticist. Cara studied plants. Janie should be in bed early so she could go to preschool tomorrow. While Emma’s world had never seemed safe, at least she’d understood the rules. Vampires and shifters were supposed to be make-believe. Not real.

Talen jogged ahead of her with Cara in his arms, Jordan carried Katie, while Max hurried along next to them. Kate had yet to regain consciousness, and the fierce curling of Jordan’s lip bespoke pain for whoever had infected the lioness.

Several vampire and shifter soldiers surrounded the group.

It had been less than twenty minutes since Katie had shown up with her announcement. Emma’s mind spun. Cara and Katie drank tea instead of champagne last night. Jesus. Was it that easy to get to them?

Dage kept up his pace next to her. “Can a virus be taken orally?”

Emma’s eyes filled with tears. “Yes. Easily. In fact, many of the new cancer treatments involve drinking a virus that’ll mutate cancer cells.” It had always stunned her that there were people with scientific knowledge who would use the information as a way to harm. Science helped humans survive—to triumph over death—not act as foot soldiers for the grim reaper.

“Damn it.” Dage tapped his earpiece. “Leave word for Kane that he might have three subjects, Cara, Katie, and Maggie. Maggie will arrive at the facility shortly.” A raw rumble of anger rode his words, a cold plan to get Emma to safety so he could fight. While he may be king, Emma could hear the soldier’s need to draw blood in his deep tone. She wondered how often he tamped down his nature to fulfill his duties as king.

“Good. I need to conduct research on Maggie’s blood.” Emma breathed deep. Would the wolf shifter’s DNA resemble a human’s?

“I’ll double-check her arrival time.” Dage had no sooner retapped his earpiece than a burst of green light rocked into his leg, dropping him to the ground.

“Dage!” Emma screamed, halting and turning toward him. Ozone and blood scented the air. Several more bursts of light filled the night, and the soldiers around them scrambled into position.

Dage yanked her and Janie to the ground, shielding them behind his broad back as he shifted and returned fire. Emma rolled over Janie, covering the child with her body. Something banged into her shoulder and she fought a groan.

The scent of burned ozone filled her nostrils. Asphalt scraped her flesh as she cuddled Janie’s head into her chest. Oh God. How could she keep her niece safe? How badly hurt was Dage? The child’s fear made her tremble against the pavement, while Dage’s rage popped the air around them.

The bursts of light came from the top of a hanger to the left, and the soldiers around them began to return fire. Green lasers ripped through the air with deadly force to bounce off buildings and shatter windows. Once in awhile a grunt of pain echoed from the men surrounding her and from the ones on the roof of a building trying to end her life.

Dage cursed low, and pain radiated toward her. He’d been hit again.

Emma tightened her hold on Janie, trusting the trained warriors to keep them safe. Helplessness shot through her, and she flashed back to childhood when there were no warriors to protect her. She needed to fight—to protect Janie. She lifted her head.

“Stay down,” Dage ordered, flipping around, one broad hand cupping her head and forcing her down. She struggled for a moment, then stopped, reality filtering in.

The jet engaged and slid into position between them and the shooters. Loud pops rent the air as bullets tore into its side.

Strong hands ripped Janie away from Emma and she yelled, struggling until she realized Max had lifted Janie and jumped inside the craft. Dage picked Emma up and followed, setting her down in a plush seat, yanking the shifters inside, then bellowing furious orders for the soldiers to find the shooters and keep them alive if possible.

He shut the hatch and the jet turned before increasing speed and lifting into the air.

So much for visions. Emma hadn’t seen the attack coming. Fear had her head spinning until she glanced at Janie across the aisle. “Janie!” Jumping out of her chair, Emma tugged on the little girl’s sleeve. Blood welled between a large tear in the pink material. “Janie. Oh God.” Emma began to breathe heavily. Wide blue eyes filled with tears and met hers. She lifted her head to Dage. “She’s been shot.”

Shock crossed his face chased by absolute fury. He gently pushed Emma out of the way and ripped Janie’s sleeve off. He wiped her arm with the softest of touches, somehow catching Cara with one arm as she rushed for her child. “She’s okay, Cara. The bullet merely burned her.”

Crying, Cara ran her hands over Janie’s tearful face.

“I’m okay, Mama.” The four-year-old wiped away tears. “But my arm hurts.”

Jordan threw a first aid kit at Talen, who caught it and dropped to his haunches. “Hey there, little one. We should put a bandage on that, huh?”

Emma leaned over and took a good look at the wound. It looked like a deep scrape. Red and puffy, but not a hole filled with a bullet. She pressed a hand to her clamoring heart and dropped back into her seat. “Thank God. What in the hell just happened?” she whispered to Dage.

As Talen bandaged the wound, Dage stood, a gaping hole in his pant leg showing the impact of a bullet. A bullet popped out of his neck to bounce on the ground and the skin slid together like melted butter. “We were attacked.” He cut his gaze to Jordan several seats up. “How in the hell did they know where we’d be? Only a few people knew we were leaving, and we didn’t tell anybody our route or which small airport.”

Jordan growled, his tawny eyes blazing with a lion’s fury. “I don’t know. How the hell did anyone get close enough to infect Cara and Katie?”

The plane leveled off and Talen finished bandaging his daughter. “The Kurjans have someone on the inside. Someone close to us.” He spoke quietly, calmly. Probably for Janie’s benefit.

Emma swallowed several times to dispel the churning of her stomach, a dull ache setting up in her temples. Great. A traitor who knew their every move. One who had access to the virus threatening them all. She fought to concentrate and understand the other weapons involved so she could counter them. “The green laser bursts turn into bullets the second they touch flesh, even human. Right?”

Dage kept his gaze on Janie, a furious muscle working in his jaw. “Yes.” His anger filled Emma’s nostrils and she struggled to breathe past her mate’s fury.

Wonderful. Special, flesh seeking bullets. Freakin’ great. Emma fought the bile rising in her throat. She needed pure oxygen.

Talen bent and lifted Janie into his arms. “Cara and Janie are going to use the back bedroom for the two-hour trip.” He turned and helped his mate up.

Janie scrunched her nose in a frown, tiny tear tracks adding frailty to her small face. “Auntie Emma? You’re bleeding.”

Dage knelt next to her in an instant, his hands moving to unbutton her shirt. “Na pari i eychi.”

“What?” Emma looked down at her chest in slow motion, a numbness setting into her limbs. “How many languages do you speak, anyway?”

“All of them.” He peeled off her shirt and the amount of red made her gasp. A buzzing set up in her ears. “You’re in shock, love.” He wiped her flesh with the fabric to reveal a hole in her upper left arm. Tugging her forward, he glanced at her back, grimaced, then released her. “She’ll be fine. Talen, take your family to the bedroom, please.”

Cara protested but Talen grabbed her arm and gave her no choice but to move.

Dage waited until the back door clicked shut before pinning Emma with a hard gaze. “You’re losing too much blood for my taste, Emma.”

“Won’t I heal like you now?” Geez. The man had branded her. Shouldn’t that come with some immortal benefits? She wished the odd buzzing sound would stop. Grayness fell across her vision.

Dage gave her a little shake. “You’ll heal faster, but we’ve only been mated since last night. The talent takes some time to develop.”

Her mind spun. “This isn’t how I die, Dage.” Sure there was fire and pain in her vision. But no bullets.

He paled. “Of course not, damn it.”

Jordan cleared his throat. “If you don’t need me for this, I’ll get Katie settled into a lounger in the front row.” The shifter glanced at Emma’s bleeding wound, then graced her with a sympathetic smile. “It’ll be okay, Highness.”

Max turned, his gaze on Emma’s injury. “I’ll move.” The stoic vampire crept up the aisle toward Jordan.

Emma tried to focus on the plush gray seats of the private jet. “Um. Why is everyone squirming? Am I dying?” She lacked the ability to focus. Shock was good. She should be in a lot of pain.

Dage brushed her curls back. “No love, you’re not dying. But you might not like my solution.” His voice softened, while his eyes hardened with purpose.

She tried to roll her eyes, but even that slight movement tugged her stomach into a nauseous swirl. “I am not having sex with you right now, Dage.”

A snort sounded from a few rows up.

Dage grinned, slow and sexy. “Turnabout’s fair play, love.”

“Turnabout?” Why did her head feel so heavy?

“Yes.” A flash of silver sparked. Dage slit the vein in his left wrist. He cupped her head and brought his arm toward her mouth.

“No.” Emma yanked to the side, squirming to get away from him. Oh God, no way. Clarity came with a flash, as did a shrieking pain in her arm.

He held her still, his hand firm. The bloody wrist came at her relentlessly. The wet skin met her lips and she fought a gag, clutching both hands into his arm to push it away. Dage pressed harder, forcing the liquid into her mouth. “Drink Emma, or I’ll plug your nose until you do.”

The king’s strength easily outmatched hers. She opened her mouth to scream, and he took full advantage, shoving more of his wrist inside until her teeth had no choice but to clamp on. Blood dripped down her throat and burned. The thick liquid sizzled like carbonated hot coffee.

A craving for more lit her on fire.

Moaning deep, she sucked with great pulls, her mind spinning with the greatest high imaginable. It was ... heaven. Beyond heaven. Against her will, her jaw slackened. Her body became too heavy to move and her eyelids dropped. She stopped fighting.

Her heartbeat slowed and she barely registered when Dage removed his arm, brushing a gentle kiss to her cheek. “Sleep now, love. You’ll be all better when you awaken.” A soft blanket swished over her, and she snuggled down with a whispered sigh.

She dreamed in color—bright flashes of inspiration and beauty through tunnels of expectation, of history, of the future. Visions flashed into her brain with a rapid staccato—some new, some old.

There was nowhere to hide from one vision that caused her heart to shatter, her mind to scream, her soul to thunder in fury. She’d been asleep for several hours, knowing full well she needed to awaken to keep it from happening. But the darkness won, as always.

The vision opened on a summer dawn, pure sky, a slight tulip-scented breeze with Dage striding toward a white metal building where she worked, a lab of some sorts. She knew without question she was inside. Shadows walked with him, probably his brothers. But this plan, this glimpse into the future was about the king. He looked strong, a smile on his face, those dangerous dimples flashing. Safe.

He nodded, saying something to a shadow as a flash of fire reflected in his eyes. The earth trembled. A cloud of black billowed into the sky where the building had stood.

Death danced around the destruction, and the king fell to his knees. Raw agony ripped across his face, and it was as if Emma could actually see his heart harden and disappear. Gone. Destroyed. His head dropped to his chest.

She came awake with a start, her mouth opened to scream.

“Shh, love, it’s okay.” Dage settled himself more securely around her, his breath whispering against her hair.

Air shot into her lungs and she gulped, trying to quell the rapid beating of her heart. Darkness met her gaze. “Where am I?”

“Colorado. In a residence facility outside Boulder.” He ran a gentle hand over her arm. Her healed arm.

“I slept the whole way? Even from the plane to here?” Her mind spun as she stretched against him. Her body felt fantastic. “Your blood provides a serious whammy.” Too bad her heart ached from the vision.

“Thank you.” He flattened a hand against her tummy. “Tell me about your dream.”

Dread flushed through her. “I don’t remember it.”

“Liar.” The room tilted and she ended up under a vampire. He dropped a gentle kiss on her mouth. “I want to know what frightens you so, love.”

She couldn’t tell him. He’d made no secret of his intent to love and protect her, a path that might destroy him. Past failures already haunted her, and she was a woman who learned from her mistakes. This vision she’d heed. “How is everyone else?”

“Fine.” He settled himself more comfortably at the apex of her legs, and she fought a whimper.

A sudden thought occurred to her. “Why aren’t you reading my mind?”

He lowered his head to run his heated mouth along her neck to nibble on her ear. “You have shields up. Even when you’re asleep.”

Her hands crept down his back to clench his tight ass on their own volition. “Couldn’t you breach my shields?” He’d won their last psychic contest of wills hands down.

“Yes.” His palm spread over a breast before he rolled the nipple between his fingers.

She arched into him, her mind spinning for a moment. “So why didn’t you?”

He pinched and she fought a moan. Then he grasped the back of her thigh and pushed her leg up, opening her for him. “Because I respect your privacy?” His heated palm reached around to clench her hip.

Oh God. “Is that why?”

His hand slid under her ass to squeeze. “No.” He nipped at her jaw until reaching her mouth, sliding his tongue between her lips to tempt her with pure male.

Her head spun when he deepened the kiss and it took a moment to refocus as he began to wander that mouth down to her breasts. “No? What do you mean, no?”

He sighed, raising up until his silver gaze slid through the darkness to pin her in place. “I didn’t breach your mental shields because you’re too fragile right now.”

Fragile? Bullshit. “I’m not fragile.” He needed to learn she was strong enough to protect him, maybe even stand beside him someday. She tried to lower her leg, but his broad hand clasped her thigh and held it in place.

“Yes, you are. You’ve recently been marked and now you’ve been shot. I could damage you if I ripped open your shields.” He sighed. “Though I’d hoped at some point you’d trust me enough to take them down.”

The damn king had a sweetness to him he’d certainly deny. One that she was going to miss. “I’m done talking, Dage.” She reached for him, so full and hard.

He growled low when she took him in hand and began to lightly run her fingernails along his length.

She smiled. “So. Are you going to use this or what?”

Grabbing her hand, he manacled both wrists above her head. “Nice distraction, love. Though I’ve had enough of this bullshit.”

The crass language from the king sent an alert through her system. “Ah, doesn’t duty call? Shouldn’t we get to work?” She tried a tiny struggle, not surprised when he held her in place.

He settled his erection against her core. “The king’s life is about duty, love. You belong to the man.” The nip to her lip nearly stung. “And the man wants to know why you deny what he can feel in your heart.”

She rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to rub against him like a cat in heat. “Talking about yourself in third person is a bad sign, Dage. Nutsville.”

He grinned. “True. Not letting me help is crazy as well. Tell me what you’re running from.”

She couldn’t. Well, she could, but there was no way Dage would allow the visions to alter his life. For once, someone would have to protect the king. And the man.

Determination filled his eyes. “Is it about your childhood?”

She froze. “What do you know about that?” Her hands loosened their hold on his butt.

A ticking set up in his jaw. “Cara told me your father was a mean drunk who liked to hit.”

Cara had told him that? Interesting. “She never talks about that time in our lives. I’m surprised she said anything.”

Dage planted a soft kiss on the underside of Emma’s jaw. “I think she was trying to explain why you’d be a pain in my ass. She told me about the times you purposefully put yourself in his path so she wouldn’t get hurt.”

Loyalty welled up in Emma’s heart. “Cara saved me more than once. She even bit him so he’d drop a knife. She was so brave, Dage.”

A broad hand that would never hit brushed Emma’s curls off her forehead. “You were both brave.”

She sighed. “I wasn’t sorry when he died. Something in me should’ve been, but ...” The guilt from letting her mother die, too, would forever eat at her, but she couldn’t tell Dage about that.

“I don’t blame you. But times have changed, your life has changed. As has your role.” A firmness entered the king’s tone to replace the kindness.

“My role?” Emma tensed.

“Yes. You’re no longer a shield, love. That’s my job.”

Her mind began to spin. “I don’t understand.” Hoping to distract him, she wrapped both legs around his heated hips. Damn but he felt amazing against her. Power hummed through her veins from the blood he’d given her, and she wanted to take it for a spin—with his incredible body.

“You understand. Use that gigantic brain and click the facts into place. Why did you think you needed to protect your sister and mother?” Desire turned his voice to a raspy timbre that made her shiver.

She struggled to focus on the thread of conversation. “Because I could. I’m stronger—harder to hurt.” Physically and emotionally. Cara’s gift as an empath came from the heart, while Emma’s psychic ability was all mental.

“Are you stronger than me?” He lifted his eyebrows as if in a dare.

Come on. The guy was twice her size as well as being a vampire. “Pain doesn’t have to be physical, Dage.” Emotional scars cut much deeper than a backhand from a drunk. And the king had his own ghosts. She wouldn’t become one of them. She’d never haunt him, so long as their relationship ended quickly.

“Listen.” He swept a kiss across her mouth, his gaze pinning hers. “I may not be inside your head right now, but I can feel enough to know you’re protecting me. It’s beginning to piss me off.”

Too bad. For too long the king had single-handedly shouldered the world, and she’d be damned if she’d allow him to lump her in with the rest of those he needed to shield. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The brand on her shoulder began to burn. An ache deep inside her wanted him to fill her. Now.

“Yes you do. I don’t want your protection. I want your trust.” And your love. The unspoken word hung in the air.

Enough of this. “You need to listen to me. I don’t want this life—I’m not staying.” Her heart sliced into pieces as she said the words. She’d loved him since the first time she’d shared his past in a vision. “After we find a cure for Cara, I’m moving on.” She needed him prepared just in case she didn’t beat death, so she tensed, waiting for the explosion.

A smile flirted with Dage’s lips until spreading into a full grin. He began to chuckle, his eyes filling with amusement. “You’re adorable.”

Fury instantly burst into her. “Don’t you even think about being condescending with me.” She was a top-rated geneticist for God’s sakes. People with brains took her seriously. The king better follow suit, especially since power now pumped through her blood.

He shrugged, grasping one of her hips and plunging inside her with one powerful stroke.

She gasped, digging her nails into his skin. Fire lanced through her and nerves jumped to life as he filled her. Completely.

Dropping his forehead to hers, he tightened his grip. “Then stop being silly.” His fangs flared in the dim light. One strong hand tugged her head to the side, revealing her neck. “Mine.”

Quick as a flash, he struck.