Page 2 of Plug and Claim

He’s fucking humming?

Kira watched the door warily. Would he break it down? Her gaze slid to the windows. Or smash the glass in?

Slowly, she looked up at the wooden beams and thatched roof.

Maybe he’ll get creative and drop down on me.

She flinched as a knock came at the door.

She had not expected him to knock. The polite gesture was surprising, and a mockery in light of what he wanted to do to her.

Feed. Fuck. Tease.

Brainwash her until she obeyed. Quite possibly in that order.

The knock came again on the front door.

Kira rose to her feet. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. Whoever was on the other side of that door would take her away. She’d returned to the cottage knowing this would happen, but there was no avoiding destiny.

Her feet felt like lead as she walked to the door. There was a very real possibility that she would never see the tiny, peaceful cottage she’d grown up in again. It was too late to say goodbye.

Her hands were clammy as she turned the handle. She was as ready as she would ever be for the vampires.

But were they ready for her?

The enemy was on her doorstep. Had she been in wolf form, her hackles would have been raised. Taking a steadying breath, she wiped the animosity from her face, and adopted an expression of polite confusion as she prepared to welcome her captor.

The vampires thought they had discovered her secret—but although she was indeed a creature of darkness like them, she was not the one they expected.

They thought she was a wolf shifter hiding amongst the humans, but they were wrong. She was so much more.

They thought she was a sweet, pliable wolf who would become a good student and integrate into their academy—wrong again.

Little did they know that she had no intention of falling into line. She was not there to be groomed and dominated by vampires.

She was there to start a rebellion.

Chapter 2

Collared

Kira

Slowly, the door creaked open. The first thing Kira noticed was the vampire’s eyes—a piercing bright blue that captured her and did not let go. He was tall and impeccably dressed, with a black suit and a dark wool coat that had a sharp collar and tails trailing down to his calves. A few strands of his icy blond hair, which was loosely combed to one side, had escaped and fallen across his forehead.

“Good evening,” he said, his voice deceptively pleasant. “I’ve come to extend an invitation for you to join our illustrious ranks at Volmasque Academy.”

Of course you have.

Kira repressed a snort as she peered past the vampire’s shoulder into the dark yard. He was alone.

The vampire raised an eyebrow. “Expecting someone else?”

“No, I wasn’t expecting anyone,” she lied.

“Well, then, I hope you will consider joining us. I presume you already know about our academy…and the expectation that you attend.”

“Expectation? I thought you said it was an invitation,” she said wryly, unable to help herself.