Reclaimed

“So, if she’s in your bed, that means you’ll be on the couch?”

“Yup. Don’t worry, it’s a comfortable couch.”

“Yes, I remember.” He winked. “I much prefer the bed, though. So how long will we be forced to be apart? Oh, I sounded mean, didn’t I? Let me rephrase: how long will your sister be visiting?”

“I didn’t get to ask her yet,” she replied. “She was tired, and I wanted to let you know….”

“Ah, well hopefully it will go by fast. No offense or anything.”

“But what about Louisa? What if she gets to my pregnant sister?”

“Connor will be nearby, like usual. He’ll just have to practice being less visible, is all.” He assured her as he gave her a light squeeze. “It’s good for him to test his skills sometimes.”

She breathed a sigh of relief and burrowed deeper into his muscular chest. “Let’s go and get you inside. I’d rather you stayed indoors until we can hunt down Louisa. Maybe tonight I’ll work on doing exactly that, since you won’t be seeing me until tomorrow.” He frowned as his eyes took in every inch of her face.

“I guess it would be a good thing to do. But please, for me, be careful.”

He smiled and kissed her nose. “I will. I promise. Nothing will stop me from returning. I want to attempt another experiment when your sister leaves.” He waggled his eyebrows, and she giggled.

He’d removed her worries over his safety for now. But she really hated it when he left her.

Really.

***

Elijah jumped from the cover of the tall tree as Isaac and Sabrina headed back to her house, hand in hand. Watching their intimacy hurt more than he could imagine. Their closeness appeared more than physical. It seemed like they were in love.

He hadn’t been gone that long, had he?

Isaac planned on leaving tonight. Elijah had heard him say so. He would chase Louisa—just as Elijah had been doing the past few weeks. Elijah wished him all the luck in the world. Lord knew he’d been chasing her shadow the past few days, to no avail.

And while he’d been chasing the bitch, Isaac had been lounging in Sabrina’s arms.

Bastard.

Now, the tables were reversing, and Isaac would be on the chase, leaving him to gather the spoils of war. He loved Sabrina, too. He even loved her enough to let her go if it seemed to be in her best interest. He had yet to be convinced it was, however.

He needed to see her. Soon.

It was unavoidable.

***

For purely selfish reasons, Isaac didn’t alert Sabrina of Elijah’s presence in the clearing. He remained terrified that if she saw him again, history would repeat itself. He didn’t know how he would cope if she chose Elijah over him—again.

Jealousy alone didn’t keep him quiet, though. Elijah posed a danger to her. He’d become a monster, a mockery of a human shell.

Like you’re any better?

Well, he didn’t want to drink her blood, for starters. He turned into a monster, part of the time. And, hell, part-time would always beat full-time.

Damn it.

If she picked Elijah, she chose to become one of them. A monster. She would also become his enemy, and he’d be forced to hunt them down like the beasts they were.

Kill Sabrina? Over his dead body—which would be easily arranged if he turned traitor. He needed to keep Elijah away from her. And even more importantly, away from Louisa. Nothing would stop him from keeping her safe.

Nothing.