Page 13 of Kidnapping Their Third

Kimble refused to sleep while his flock slumbered. It was his job to keep them safe and so far, he’d done a horrible job. His human had come close to dying, and his poor bear was run ragged. Everything was constantly going wrong, and it was all his fault. If only his mind would work as it should!

It was as if his memories before finding Pike were locked behind a wall. He knew they were there, a rich history of a long, successful life, but he couldn’t make them come forward. The worst part was there had to be wealth somewhere that belonged to him, but if he couldn’t even remember his name, how would he find it?

One thing vampires did very well was amass money. Within several decades, a vampire was often quite rich, allowing them to live a comfortable lifestyle and focus on finding their flock. If he was old enough to go feral from lack of a flock, he must be wealthy. He should’ve been able to solve all of Pike’s money problems, but no, he was reduced to a simpleton instead. Young children could communicate better.

When his mind came back, he was probably going to die a second death from humiliation.

Not that his bear would ever be unkind to him about his feral state, and his new little human seemed tough but gentle. Still,it was humbling to be forced to rely on his flock to keep him fed and safe instead of the other way around.

The little human was curled up against, fast asleep. She was so much different from him or Pike. Small and delicate looking but possessing a will of iron. She hadn’t frozen with fear when he’d flown away with her. The moment he landed and shifted back to his human form, she’d attacked him with all the force she possessed.

Her little fist had bounced off him as she cursed and screamed. He’d been scared to try speaking to her and making everything worse. He knew Pike would return soon and make the human understand that she wasn’t in danger, but it was hard to listen to her curses and threats as he carried her inside the apartment.

As he expected, Pike arrived and calmed down the little human. It had all worked out and now they could be a flock! As soon as Cora agreed to exchange pieces of their souls, they’d all be stronger and safer. It was hard, but he forced himself to be patient. He couldn't force a soul exchange on her. If Cora didn’t wholeheartedly agree to the exchange, it would poison the relationship. Vampires had few instincts but almost all of them revolved around creating and protecting a flock.

That meant Kimble planned to ignore Pike's insistence that they give Cora timeand space.She could have the time, but she needed him close. She was the most vulnerable of the three of them; he couldn’t let her go out in the world where anyone might hurt her. Especially now that she smelled of bear shifter and vampire.

Secure in the knowledge that everything was going to work out now, Kimble let his mind drift. If he was well fed and relaxed, sometimes a memory would float across the barrier. So far, they’d all been meaningless moments of enjoyment where he heard music or saw a work of art, nothing that would clue him in to who he was. Occasionally, there would be words in Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, or a language that felt ancient and without a modern country to tie it to. This led him to believe he might have been a human in eastern Europe before being turned.

Kochanie.

He knew it meant my beloved but wasn’t entirely sure which language it was. Probably Ukrainian, as that seemed to be one of the languages he favored the most after English.

Yes, that was perfect for his little human. He hadsloneczko, his sunshine bear, andkochanie, his beloved human.

An awareness of someone powerful nearby made him tense. It was faint and could be a vampire simply passing outside, but he thought that unlikely. He’d only sensed one vampire nearby the entire time he’d lived here with Pike and that had been brief.

No vampire would come near here except to put him down or steal his flock.

Getting out of the bed, Kimble paused to gaze at his flock. Without him holding her, Cora made a grumbly sound in her sleep and rolled over. When she found Pike’s massive body, she snuggled up close and settled back down into sleep. The covers had fallen down to her hips, and he tugged them back up. It was too bad Pike was so far into sleep he couldn’t embrace the human.

No sooner had he thought that than Pike came awake enough to roll on his side and wrap a beefy arm around Cora. The tiny human made a soft, content sound as she rubbed her face against Pike’s broad chest. They were a perfect contrast both in bodies and temperaments, and he couldn’t imagine having a more beautiful flock than these two.

He might not have words, but he could show them his love and devotion with actions instead.

Moving silently, he walked into the living room and closed his eyes, sending his magic out. He kept his touch soft and found a familiar young vampire getting much closer than he liked.

What was she doing here? He’d saved her life and the life of her flock, the least she could do was stay far away.

She must want hiskochanie. Cora wasn’t bound to him yet so another vampire could potentially steal her for their own flock. This young vampire was going to die due to her greed!

Stopping at the front door, he flung it open to find the vampire and her two flock members standing there. She looked surprised, but the shifters didn’t.

“Mine!” he growled. When he’d rescued Cora from the collapsed building, he’d found her being sheltered by this young vampire, Imani. It was clear this vampire and his human werefriends, that’s why he hadn’t hurt her earlier. She had pressed her luck too far by showing up at his domain!

He was well fed, and it was full night, so he’d easily destroy all three of these intruders if they tried anything.

Understanding the danger, Imani took a step back and held up both her hands, palms out. Her long magenta braids swung behind her shoulders, revealing the torn and dirty state of her clothing.

“I’m not here to steal or hurt anyone,” she said in a calm, reasonable tone. “I only want to make sure Cora is safe.”

“I warned you this was a bad idea,” the chimera shifter muttered. His hand was behind his back, telling Kimble the male was probably hiding a weapon. If the chimera showed the weapon, he was going to lose that arm. Out of the three of them, this male was the deadliest. There was something about him that told Kimble he knew how to kill mercilessly and with great skill. If violence became unavoidable, the chimera was going to need to die first.

“Shut it, Lex. I’m not abandoning Cora,” Imani retorted.

“The sun is going to be up soon,” the bear shifter said. He was as big as Pike but looked far more dangerous. He didn’t have the deadly air of the chimera, but the male had scars indicating he was used to conflict. “We don’t have time to chit-chat. Let’s go. We’ll come back tomorrow night.”

“Cora might be dead by tomorrow,” Imani said to the bear. “I can’t abandon her like that, Mac.”

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