Page 18 of Kidnapping Their Third

“Damn, I wish my family was like that,” Cora muttered. “Tell me about you and Kimble meeting.”

“I thought I did,” Pike said, putting the biscuit disks on a tray, then popping them into the oven. The sausages looked done, and he had a good amount of grease to make the gravy, so he pulled them out and placed them aside.

“You told me he rescued you, but I want details,” Cora pressed. “I feel like there’s a lot of stuff you left out.”

Pike felt his face getting hot. “Um, well, uh…”

Cora crowed out a laugh. “You’re blushing! Oh, this has to be good. Spill everything, Pike!”

There shouldn’t be secrets between mates. Reluctantly, Pike started talking.

Chapter 7

Kimble

Unwilling to strain his body while the sun was out when he didn’t need to, Kimble remained in the bed and listened as Cora and Pike talked in the other room. It was good that his flock was getting to know each other, but Cora’s question about his rescue of Pike pulled him deep into that moment.

He let himself fall into the vivid memory as Pike described that night to Cora.

Hunger. Always so much hunger.

The need to feed consumed him.

The driving hunger was so bad, he thought of himself as the personification of hunger. Since he couldn’t think of what name he must have possessed before instinct took over, Hunger was as good a name as any.

In an attempt to satiate his driving need, he’d fed on several people, but one of them had died and that scared him. The man had been scum, smelling of drugs and talking on the phone and threatening someone. He hadn’t meant to drain the human dry, but he couldn’t stop once he started.

Somewhere in his chaotic brain, he knew causing too many unexplained or strange deaths would mean he’d be hunted down. He didn’t want to die. He was feral, not suicidal.

He’d decided that if he found someone big enough, he might be able to feed without accidentally killing them. He’d beenflying high in the night sky, searching for the largest person he could find. That’s when he’d spotted the massive shifter. It was clear from his bright aura that this was probably a type of bear shifter, giving Hunger hope for a good meal with no bad outcomes.

Dropping into a hidden spot not far away, he’d shifted to his human form. He planned to circle around the large male, but then a dozen angry nagas appeared, making him pause.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t easily defeat the nagas, but he didn’t want anyone to know about his existence. He couldn’t talk and had limited control. Slaughtering a dozen nagas would definitely be noticed.

Then the wind had shifted, and he caught the bear's scent at the same time he heard the large shifter pleading with the nagas to let him go. Something had snapped into place in his head, and he’d flown in to defend the bear.

It had taken no effort to scare the nagas off and then he was alone with the gorgeous, sweet-smelling shifter.

“Oh shit,” the bear said, pressing his back hard against his car. He talked fast, his voice full of fear. “Thanks for the rescue, but please don’t hurt me. My name is David Pike, and my parents would be really sad if I died. I have a lot of friends who call me Pike, and they’d be sad too. They might even try to avenge me, so you should probably keep yourself safe by leaving me alone.”

As much as he loved to hear this male talk, the worry in Pike’s voice was upsetting. He’d tried to speak soothing words, but only got one out.

“Flock,” he whispered, stepping up close to Pike.

“Flock?” Pike repeated, his body relaxing a little, and the fear faded from his face. “You think I’m your flock?”

“Flock,” he agreed.

Reaching out a hand, he cupped Pike’s cheek. The bear didn’t flinch, so he pressed his smaller body against the shifter. Pike’s warmth helped chase away the cold that had seeped into his bones. Some of the chaos in his mind calmed.

Pike leaned in close and pressed his nose into Kimble’s wild hair, breathing in deep. “Oh, you’re my mate.”

He knew that was important to shifters. It was rare for someone to refuse joining a vampire’s flock, but it could happen. It was a relief that both Pike’s human side and his inner bear were responding favorably to Hunger.

Pike wrapped his big arms around him, hugging tightly. The embrace felt so good, he couldn’t help the soft, content sound that came out of his mouth.

“Yeah, you feel good too,” Pike murmured. They stood there embracing for several minutes before Pike spoke again, his voice full of wonder. “I can’t believe I found my mate. Or I guess you found me.”

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