Page 3 of His Mate By Vengeance

A slow smile spread across Corvin’s face and his eyesflashed silver in the way vamps do when they’re hunting prey. “I can hear the lie in your voice and the excitement in your blood.”

“It’s anger, not excitement. Put some fucking clothes on.”

Corvin’s eyes trailed down Angelo’s body as he considered his demand, and it was all he could do not to shift on his feet or lunge at the vamp who clearly had a death wish. The vampire smirked as his gaze drifted below his belt and saw the bulge he had no hope of hiding. Angelo gritted his teeth and let out a low growl of warning.

What the fuck was wrong with him? He didn’t like vamps. Hell, he barely liked his own kind. He was a quick fuck in the back hallway of a club kind of guy, and always with a woman, because who could be bothered with male shifter dominance posturing just for a quick hook-up? He didnotwant whatever that cocky look was proposing.

Spinning on his heel, he stormed out to the car to grab the bags and the cooler he’d left there. By the time he’d managed to Tetris the supplies into the tiny cupboards of the kitchen, he was feeling a little more under control and he turned back to the magnetic presence he’d been ignoring who was now lounging on the bed. At least the vamp had found some clothes, even if they were some sort of mesh shirt that did nothing to hide his piercings and a black, kilt-like skirt that would be all too easy to hike above his waist.

“I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. Or should that be paw? I’m Vin, your friendly neighbourhood assassin,” the vampire said, sliding off the bed and holding out a hand to Angelo as he flashed him a manic grin. His voice was pure sex—gritty, but still soft enough to entice a man to his death.

Angelo kept his expression blank as he contemplated the delicate hand before him. Was this guy for real? Vin’s eyes hardened as the seconds passed and Angelo remained frozen in place, but he kept his hand waiting. Finally, just to breakthe stalemate, Angelo relented and engulfed the soft hand in his own, giving it a perfunctory shake and ignoring the zap of electricity the skin-on-skin contact sent through him. It had just been too long since he’d been to a club. He’d fix it when this week was done.

“Angelo. Your bodyguard,” he said.

“Lucky me. My very own guardian angel,” Vin said.

“I’m a fucking wolf. There’s nothing angelic about me and if I had my way, you’d be dead,” Angelo snarled, squeezing Vin’s hand hard enough that something would’ve broken if he’d been human. He didn’t know what to make of his own behaviour. His pack would’ve been wide-eyed at the amount of emotion he was letting leak through.

A hint of steel entered Vin’s tone. “You could try, anyway. But you won’t. I know how your packs work. Your Alpha gave you a command. You’ll follow it like a good little puppy.”

And then the tiny man reached up with his other slender, delicate hand and wrenched Angelo’s fingers off his own in a move so fast he barely had time to process it before he was spinning with his arm twisted up behind him and his face smashed against the nearest wall. He tried to shove backwards, but the damn vamp was like an immovable boulder. With as slight as his build was, he doubted Vin was actually stronger than him, but the vampire had training on his side and he wasold. Powerful. Angelo was forced to admit it would’ve been him who died if that was what Vin had wanted.

“Submit, wolf,” Vin said from behind him, still sounding calm as anything while his cool body pressed up against Angelo’s in a way that shouldn’t have felt good given he was a fucking vampire assassin who’d pinned him in place like a bug.

Angelo growled again, but his wolf knew when someonemore dominant was in the room and he was baring his neck before he could stop himself.

“Good puppy,” Vin said, releasing his arm and patting his ass before drifting back to the bed and pulling out his phone as if nothing had happened.

Angelo could feel the heat of rage and embarrassment rising in his face. It was one thing to submit to his Alpha, but to thisvampire?What. The. Fuck?It took everything in him to keep it all inside.

“If you’re so deadly, why do you even need me?” Angelo asked through clenched teeth.

Vin glanced up at him with a slight frown. “I don’t. Like Dar said, I just need the cabin to lie low in for a few days. The timing was unfortunate. I was on a job for Kyan only a couple of doors down when the bomb hit, so he suspected me immediately and knew exactly where to find me. Honestly, I’m a little insulted. If I wanted him dead, he would be. He should know that. My safe houses were compromised, and he has eyes in too many places for me to get clear without leaving a trail of unnecessary bloodshed behind me.”

“Oh, so the vampire assassin has a conscience?” Angelo scoffed.

He could swear a flash of disappointment crossed Vin’s face before he smoothed his expression. “Be grateful. If I didn’t, you’d already be dead.”

Angelo bared his teeth again, but his wolf wasn’t having any of it when they’d already submitted, refusing the partial shift of his fangs he was going for.

“Are you going to be this tiresome the whole week? I don’t know if you noticed, but there’s only one bed and I don’t think the dining chairs will be very comfortable to sleep on,” Vin said.

“I’ll shift and sleep outside,” Angelo muttered.

“How will my Angel guard me if he can’t see me?” Vinteased, leaning back on his hands and arching one elegant brow.

“As you already said, you don’t need me.”

“But your Alpha told you to guard me,” Vin said.

“He also said if you don’t follow my orders, he’ll deliver you to Kyan himself.”

Vin’s smirk just grew wider. “Kinky. What are you going to order me to do, Angel?”

CHAPTER 2: VIN

Vin baredhis teeth in a savage grin as the delightfully amusing wolf tried to glare him into submission. Letting one of his knees fall to the bed, he watched Angel’s pupils dilate as his skirt rode up, revealing an indecent amount of thigh.

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