Page 67 of Don't Tempt Me (Nora Jacobs 4)

We get to the bar whereRook and Wulf are still hard at work, and as soon as Wulf finishes with his patron, he flashes me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen and leaps over the bar. His wolf strength and grace make it seem like an easy feat. Before I can ask what’s going on, he scoops me up in a bone-crushing hug. “Welcome to the family!” he crows as he lifts me off my feet and spins me in a circle.

“Wulf!” I laugh. “What’s gotten into you?”

He sets me back on my feet and grips my shoulders, still smiling at me like a maniac. “Rook told me the news. Congratulations on the new mating.”

For a split second I think he’s talking about my having had sex with his brother, and my face catches fire. But then I realize he means Rook and I claimed each other. That’s a lot less embarrassing, but I still feel shy about it. “Thanks.”

Wulf’s smile widens again and he pulls me back to his chest as if he can’t help himself. He squeezes me again and kisses my head. “I’m so happy,” he says. “I’ve wished this for him since Lily was taken from him. I never thought it would happen. Thank you, Nora. You’ve made him so happy. More than you’ll ever know. You’ve saved him.”

“Wulf?” I croak with a laugh. “Can’t breathe.”

Wulf chuckles and lets me go, but he still grips my arms. His smile softens as he looks at me. “You’re perfect for him, Nora. I know you’re worried about him being unhappy because of the harem thing, but trust me. He’s happy. So happy.”

My throat clogs up, and my eyes start to burn. I really needed to hear that. “Thanks, Wulf.”

“I also talked to Terrance,” he says. He takes a breath, and his excitement turns into something softer. Affection. “You have no idea how much it means to me that you want me to join your clan.”

I ride out another wave of emotion. “So will you join us? I know you like being a lone wolf, but will you at least think about it?”

He kisses the top of my head again. “I don’t have to think about it. I’m in.”

I gasp. “Are you sure?”

He grins. “Your clan has none of the politics that a wolf pack has. Joining you guys is like getting only the best parts of pack living. I get to have a family again. I get to be with my brother, and my baby sister-in-law. And thanks to Terrance’s dominance, I’ll never have to worry about my wolf wanting to lead the pack. It’s perfect. Plus…” He smirks. “I can’t help but appreciate the lack of females in your clan vying for a strong mate.”

I laugh. “You’ll settle down eventually, and I’m going to love watching it happen.”

His smirk grows. “Not anytime soon. You have my word on that.”

“Good thing I’m immortal, then.”

We both laugh. He takes my hand in his and squeezes it once. “You won’t mind if I don’t move into the den, though, will you? I’m sort of in love with my place and, no offense, but the idea of living with you and my brother while you’re in the newlywed phase grosses me out.”

I snicker and open my mouth to retort, but there’s a quiet whizzing sound and then Wulf jerks back against the bar with a grunt. Something warm splats across my face. I wipe it off and see the red just as Wulf is shot again. He drops with a roar that suggests he’s in complete agony. Nick whirls around and is hit next, with enough bullets that he falls, too. A scream rips from my throat, but it’s cut off when a hand clamps around my mouth from behind me.

A tall man drags me away from the bar into the now panicking crowd of clubbers. I thrash in his grip, but he’s much stronger than me, and he drags me toward a fire exit with ease. A roar rips through the building so viciously the walls shake. Terrance has just figured out Wulf and Nick have been shot. A howl splits the air next. Rook.

I scream again, but the sound is muffled. The man throws me against a wall and, with his hand clamped over my mouth, says, “You will not scream. You will come with me.”

His compulsion settles thick in my head. Vampire. My instinct is to panic, but I can’t allow that to happen. My siren rages inside me. I want to let her out, but Parker’s compulsion holds strong. My life isn’t in danger—not technically—since the contract on me stipulates I’m not to be harmed. And I know this man means me no harm because my psychic senses are not warning me of danger.

I have to think. All I need is a minute for Rook and Terrance to find me. I just have to keep this man from taking me. He grips my wrists and jerks me toward the emergency exit. My feet force me to follow. “Where are we going?”

I get no reply, but that doesn’t matter to me. Talking and asking questions helps keep my head clear. The thing about compulsion is that it’s all in the wording. He told me I couldn’t scream, but not that I couldn’t talk. And he told me I had to come with him, not that I couldn’t fight him as I went.

I reach for the ash wood stake belted to my waist and take a breath as I get a good grip on it. I’ll only get one chance. I have to hit his heart.

A snarl has the vampire whirling around, and he shoots just as Rook, in wolf form, leaps at him. He lifts the gun in his hand that has a silencer on it and shoots Rook in the chest twice. To my surprise, Rook drops. He howls again, his voice laced with pain. The bullets must be silver, because I’ve seen Rook get shot before and it didn’t drop him so easily.

“Rook!”

“Come,” the vampire demands.

Yeah, right. Not if I can help it. As his eyes are on Rook and he’s holstering his gun, I lunge forward and slam my stake into the man’s heart. It slices through him with ease, thanks to Illren sharpening my weapons for me on a regular basis.

The man grunts, then gurgles and blinks at me in shock before he crumples to the ground. I know the man is dead because I’m freed of his compulsion. The weight of his commands snaps, and immediately a scream is ripped from my chest. “Rook!”

I rush to Rook, who is writhing on the ground. “Terrance!” He’s the only one here who didn’t get shot. What about Wulf? And Nick? I want to go to them, but I have to deal with one problem at a time, and right now my mate is dying.

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