Part 2: Torn Desires (Chosen by the Vampire Kings: BBW Romance) by Charlene Hartnady Page B

to the ground.  It
wasn’t something you would see unless you were specifically looking for it.
    “Take
a look around. He pointed at the dirt on either side of them.” Red dust with
patches of grass. Nothing unusual.
    Zane
let out a pent up breath as he rose taking her up with him, their hands were
still clasped. “Damn. The bastards were here.” His eyes followed the dirt to
the grass beyond.
    “I
don’t see anything.” She knew she should keep quiet.
    “That’s
the problem. This ground was swept. It’s too smooth.” He walked her a few feet
up the side of the fence. The ground had a very different look. Nowhere near as
smooth.
    “Oh,
wow.”
    “That’s
not the worst of it,” Ross’s expression was grave as he spoke.
    “I
was afraid of that.” Zane angled her back to where they had been standing, he
used a hand on her lower back.
    Ross
clasped the fence, his eyes solidly on the ground on the other side. “What do
you make of that?”   
    Zane
dropped her hand and mimicked Ross. Tanya did the same. There were definite
prints on the other side. Zane gave a sharp intake of breath. “Not a fuck.”
Tanya felt tension radiate from his body. His hands were white knuckled on the wire.
Tanya turned back to the churned up earth, not sure of what it was she was
supposed to be seeing. Over to the right was a definite indent of a huge paw.
    “An
animal?”
    “Not
bad, human,” Ross said. “Try shifter. Too big for a regular wolf.”
    Now
that he had highlighted the fact, she realized that he was right. She could
most likely fit both her splayed hands inside the print.
    “Mother
fuckers were here together,” Lance’s voice boomed from behind them.
    Tanya
shrieked, grabbing at her heart. Stupid vampires and their ability to sneak up
on a person. All three men looked at her. Zane slid his hand around her waist.
The show of… affection …more like possessiveness shouldn’t be endearing,
yet, it was. She got the feeling Zane didn’t normally touch women in public, at
least not very often. If ever. Silly man had never even kissed before.
    “Are
you sure they were here together and not on separate occasions?”
    Lance
raised his eyebrows. “You’re seriously asking me that?”
    “I’m
being hopeful. Besides, it’s never good to assume.” Zane narrowed his eyes at
the other vampire.
    Lance
inclined his head slightly. “I had our best tracker take a look and Griffin was
one hundred percent sure. Wolves and elves. They seem to have joined forces.”
    Zane
shut his eyes while using his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
    “There
are more tracks once you get into the cover of the forest, they go on for a few
hundred feet,” Lance paused as Zane turned to look at him.
    “Go
on,” Zane growled.
    “I’m
not sure of the reason for the breach, but I would suspect they chose this fence
because it’s furthest away from the castle. It’s also the part of our perimeter
closest to the forest. I suspect that they entered our territory to check if
they could get away with it. With the intention to scout our land in order to
plan an attack.” Lance lowered his voice, his eyes darting around the clearing.
“They would have been watching for us, but they are long gone by now.”
    “I
think you may be right, Lance. This changes things. Let’s follow their tracks,
I want to know what they were up to.”
    “I
assure you there isn’t much to see. They entered, walked for a few hundred feet
under cover of the trees, turned and made their way back. Exiting through the
same cut in the fence.” Lance gestured to a long belt of thick forest that
wound its way as far as the eye could see.
    It
wasn’t lost on her that the forest was the very same one that she had looked on
earlier from Zane’s tower at the castle. The werewolves and elves would be able
to hide in the thick foliage Were they really planning an attack? Tanya
shivered not liking the answer that formed in her head. Surely they couldn’t