The Hunger (The Lycans 3)

After tossing the bag in the passenger side, I climbed into the driver seat, cranked the engine, and wasted no time in putting the vehicle in reverse before turning around and hauling ass out of there.

I kept checking my rearview mirror, expecting Lycans to come barreling out of the estate, but so far there was nothing. I was pretty sure the fiasco with Luca was what kept them busy, and that was working to my benefit at the moment.

Once on the main road, I really sped, not caring about human traffic laws or how dangerous I was being as I maneuvered the car around bends and turns.

My only objective was to get as far away as possible with my mate, somewhere secluded and private where I could make sure I had the ample time I needed to make her see how right she was to be with me. She’d fight it—fight me—but I had to hope she’d see how much she was mine the same as I was hers.

I scrubbed a hand over my face, thinking of which Lycan property I could take her to where we’d have privacy. Although my bloodline had dozens of estates just within Scotland, we had more within Europe and several in the States.

The faster I drove, and the farther I took my female away, the more my mind started to clear. But every time I inhaled, all I scented was her. That gloriously fresh and sweet aroma that had my beast rising once more. I tightened my hands on the steering wheel, the leather creaking.

She made me want to lose control just by thinking of her.

Out of the country wasn’t going to be possible right now, so I racked my brain as I thought about older properties we owned, ones that wouldn’t be suspicious, ones that were so far from actual saturated Lycan land it would be to my benefit.

And when I thought of a place that would work, I knew the next step I’d have to take was seeking out the Lycan witch who’d be able to give me a talisman to further keep me hidden. The same hybrid who’d given us the mystical protection spell for the gate around the estate.

Because without a talisman, it wouldn’t matter how far I went; they’d track me.

And with Uncle Adryan, my mother’s brother and the leader of the American Vampire Clan, flying in to help with the Ainslee situation, I’d have no chance of staying hidden without this talisman. Because even if I could stay away from my Lycan brethren, Adryan was the best fucking tracker and a brutal hunter. He’d find us so fast my damn head would spin.

“Fook,” I muttered and snapped my gaze to the rearview mirror, looking into my female’s face. She had dirt smeared across her alabaster skin, her expression relaxed as she slept.

I prayed she stayed that way until I got us to the estate, hoped like hell I could make her see that even though what I was doing was wrong as fuck on every level—and I knew that deep down—I was doing it for our benefit.

Damn, even that sounds like a load of bullshit.

I couldn’t stop myself, couldn’t help myself. She was everything to me already, and I didn’t even know her name.

13

Cian

“Motherfooker,” Banner growled as he all but crashed into the estate. “I’m going tae kill the bastard.”

I stayed back as I watched his head swing back and forth, seeking, searching, and then he saw his target and went to her like a battering ram at full force. He pulled his mate into his arms, and I heard their combined groans but turned so I gave them some privacy.

The confrontation with Luca hadn’t ended how we wanted, not when Ainslee had inadvertently gotten hurt in the fray, and the crazed Lycan had taken off with her. Then there was the fact that Caelan had found his mate, the Linked Connection kicking in and making anything else inconsequential.

So there was a bunch of shit now thrown into the fray, the complications piling up.

I heard Luna, Banner’s vampire mate and the triplets and Ainslee’s mam, gasp, and I knew he’d just told her all of that.

I braced my big body against the wall and ran a hand over my face, the exhaustion finally catching up with me as the adrenaline high went down. I’d hardly slept for the last week, not when we all had to be on alert because of Luca pacing outside the gate, and with everyone needing me on guard as we came up with a plan and precautions for whatever might happen.

So on top of that bullshit, now we had the added complication of Caelan going AWOL because he’d found his Linked Mate.

Fooking hell.

I stood there for long moments, waiting for Banner to give us our next orders. I knew he wanted Ainslee safe. Caelan might have taken off, but he was a strong Lycan male and trained enough that he could handle himself. His mate and whether she was of the Otherworld or not was another matter. And what if she hadn’t gone with him willingly? Which I had a feeling she hadn’t, not with her hauling ass out of there. It told me we may have to hunt the pup down and deal with his mess.