Page 9 of Kidnapping Their Third

Showing their animals must be important to shifters. She reached across to put her hand over his. “I don’t think I’m scared, but let's hold off on making plans until everything around here is settled. Then I can meet your bear.”

He looked relieved and turned his hand palm up so he could close his fingers round hers. The grip was loose, and she could’ve pulled away, but she didn’t. Touching him felt good and settled some of the low-grade anxiety roiling in her belly.

“Finish your omelet before it gets cold,” he urged. No longer in possession of a fork, he simply picked up the rest of his omelet and shoved it into his mouth. That’s when Cora realized Pike could’ve easily eaten three or four omelets and still been hungry. The poor guy had to be starving!

Determined to fix what she could, she ate quickly. The sooner she finished, the sooner Pike would get her purse, and she could start ordering both the bear and vampire all the food they needed.

She didn’t examine how happy it made her feel to think about providing for the guys. She certainly didn’t want to think about how similar it must have been to how Pike felt earlier when he gave Kimble food and her an omelet.

Nope, it wasn’t the same at all.

Chapter 4

Pike

Ignoring his complaining stomach, Pike rushed out of the apartment building and to his car. He almost plowed through Mrs. Jenson walking her dog Muggsie.

“Sorry, Mrs. J,” he said, grabbing onto the elderly woman. He hadn’t touched her, but she still looked unsteady.

“I’m fine, Pike,” she said with a wheezy laugh. “I saw that vampire of yours fly in with a young woman. Is everything okay, or do I need to take care of him?”

If you made friends with Mrs. Jenson, it wouldn’t be long before she’d offered to “take care” of something. Although she was trying to be sinister, she came off as sweet.

Pike moved in five years ago and made friends with Mrs. Jenson right away. At their second meeting, he’d learned all about Mr. Jenson’s passing ten years ago, and Mrs. Jenson’s reluctance to leave the apartment where they’d shared so many good years together. It was hard to feel sad when she was so relentlessly cheerful as she reminisced.

He’d never asked, but Mrs. Jenson smelled 100% human. From their talks, he knew she’d married a shifter, which was why she was able to get an apartment in the building back when the place had been new, elite, and didn’t rent to humans.

Unfortunately, the building had changed ownership two years ago and gone downhill fast. Out of the original ten tenants, there was only him and Mrs. Jenson still living here.

“If Kimble has gone feral, he needs to be dealt with,” Mrs. Jenson insisted. “I haven’t read any reports of mangled bodies turning up, so I haven’t asked before now. You’d tell me if Kimble is feral, wouldn’t you?”

“I promise nothing’s wrong, Mrs. J,” Pike assured her as he leaned over to give Muggsie a pet. The ancient dog tolerated the touch for .00006 seconds before trying to nip him.

“Be nice, Muggsie,” Mrs. Jenson admonished her dog. “We like Pike, remember.”

As if trying to say sorry, Muggsie went quiet and moved his head to the side to invite Pike to pet him again. Pike didn't fall for the trap, withdrawing his hand and straightening up.

“It’s always 50-50 if Muggsie will like me or not. I guess today wasn’t in my favor,” Pike said with a chuckle.

“Muggsie adores you, but he sure doesn’t like your Kimble, I’m sorry to say,” Mrs. Jenson said with a shake of her head. It was obvious Mrs. Jenson wasn’t going to let the topic of Kimble go.

“What happened tonight was only a little misunderstanding, but Cora’s fine, and Kimble won’t do it again. He was only trying to protect her. You know how vampires can be.”

“Cora?” Mrs. Jenson said, her eyes sparkling. “That’s a pretty name. Is she your new girl? I’ve been saying all along that you two needed to add a woman. Flocks always need at least one female.”

“That’s probably true, but it’s tough to find the right woman,” Pike said with a grin. “Especially someone as perfect as you.”

Mrs. Jenson laughed uproariously. “Go on, now. Your mates are waiting for you. Make sure to stop by with Cora so I can meet her. Remember, you can come to me if there’s any trouble. I’ll take care of it for you.”

“Sure thing, Mrs. J,” Pike agreed, then continued on his journey. It didn’t take him long to get the purse out of his ancient, rust bucket Coupe DeVille Cadillac and jog back to the apartment.

He opened the front door to find Kimble and Cora staring at each other. His human mate looked determined, and his vampire mate had his usual inscrutable expression.

“Uh, what are you doing?” he asked Cora.

She turned to him with a shrug. “I have no idea.”

Then she saw her purse and rushed at him, snatching it out of his hand and fumbling it open. She pulled out her phone with a sigh of immense relief. Dropping the purse, she tried to turn it on, but nothing happened. “Damn, I need a charger.”

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