Page 6 of Kidnapping Their Third

Pike tried to rein in his emotions. “I get that. It's overwhelming to find out about my world and almost be killed by it in one night.”

Cora suddenly looked tired. The tough, angry woman was gone. In her place was a vulnerable human pushed beyond endurance. “I’ve seen more death today than I have in my entire life. I’m glad it was only the bad guys who died, but it was still a lot.”

She shuddered and Pike couldn’t stand it any longer. “Can I hold you, please? I might be a shifter, but I’ve never been involved in a situation like today either.”

Cora wrinkled her eyebrows as she considered. “It’s only hugging. It doesn't mean anything.”

“Only hugging,” he agreed.

“Then, yeah, I could use a hug.”

Letting go of her hand, he popped up and leaned over the table to grab her. She made a little gasp as he lifted her small body and sat back down on his chair with her on his lap.

“Warn me next time,” she grumbled even as she wiggled around and settled her right side against him as he wrapped his arms loosely around her. Her head fit perfectly under his chin, and he felt her relax into him with a small sigh.

Both he and his inner bear felt better now they were holding her. It settled something inside of them that had been unsettled for a long time. The only thing missing was Kimble, but hopefully Cora would let him in soon.

Cora was fiercely loyal. All he needed to do was prove to her that he and Kimble deserved her loyalty and love.

Chapter 3

Cora

An insistent knocking woke Cora out of a sound sleep. Groggily, she started moving even before her eyes were completely open. Except she wasn’t in her bed and when she tried to sit up, she found she was already sitting up.

Arms tightened around her, keeping her from falling flat on her face as a familiar voice murmured in her ear, “Easy, it’s only the blood delivery.”

Standing up, Pike placed her on the chair he’d been sitting on. She’d fallen asleep on his lap. Rubbing her face, she yawned and then watched Pike answer the door. A totally non-descript guy handed Pike a small cooler, then turned and walked away without saying a word.

Closing the door, Pike stood there, staring at the cooler that looked like it belonged to a child in his big hands. “I need to feed this to Kimble,” he mumbled without looking up.

Cora was still half asleep and had a headache, probably from lack of food. It took her a few seconds to realize Pike was acting weird. He kept standing there, as if waiting for her to say something, but what? She asked a question instead.

“Did people have to die to get that blood?”

Pike looked up at her with wide eyes. “No! I swear that’s not a thing. This is donated blood that blood bankscan’t use because it’s got something wrong with it. Vampires are immune to everything, so they can drink it without an issue.”

“That’s efficient,” Cora said with approval. “Do you need me to help or anything?”

Pike went back to looking uncomfortable. “I don’t need help, but I thought you might want to watch. To see if you think it’s gross or you can’t stand it.”

Oh, he was scared she’d turn and run after watching Kimble feed. Cora wasn’t one to be soft on people, but Pike looked so worried she wanted to soothe him. “Yeah, I’ll watch. I’m sure it’s fine, though. It’s not like he’s ripping the heads off chickens or anything.”

Pike managed a smile. “Nothing like that, I promise.”

Tucking the cooler under one arm, he held out his hand, inviting her to take it. She felt a little wobbly getting up, so she was really going to need to eat soon, but at least her vision didn’t have spots. Gray spots were a clear sign her blood sugar had tanked, and she was going to suffer some severe consequences very soon, but for now she still had a little time.

Tension went out of Pike’s shoulders once she slid her hand into his. Leading her to the bedroom, he nudged the door open. Kimble looked sound asleep even though the lights were all on.

No, sound asleep was the wrong term. He looked dead, but he wasn’t. Or maybe he was? Did they use the term undead or was that offensive to vampires?

Either way, Cora took a moment to really look at Kimble. He reminded her of Tom Hiddleston when he was playing Loki, except Kimble’s hair was longer and unkept, and he might be a little paler than the English actor. Oh, and there were the red eyes too, hose weren’t anything like Tom.

What would Kimble look like if he smiled? Would he appear adorable like the actor, or would his expression be more menacing? Cora found herself surprisingly curious about what the vampire would look like cleaned up and happy.

It had to be stress and low blood sugar, that’s all.

Leading her to the bed, Pike stopped at the foot and looked down at her, his body tense. “If you need to look away or leave, that’s okay. I, um, I don’t want to scare you or anything.”

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