Read Claimed, a vampire romance (Lost) for Free Online Page A

upward in parts. She was surprised that Cameron's low-hung sports car had made it this far.
    “Do you know of any businesses here?” Rachel asked. The area seemed completely deserted, not somewhere a bar would flourish or, for that matter, where anyone would choose to host a party.
    “Some warehouses, one lunch spot for the people who work there. But those are only open during the day.”
    Rachel wondered why her friend claimed to be visiting a bar here but kept the thought to herself. If Shelby had secrets, it wasn't Rachel's place to draw attention to them.
    She sucked in a breath, straightened her shoulders, and then forced herself to move in the direction Cameron had pointed. “She said she'd be waiting.”
    Cameron didn't reply, but she could feel him following her. His closeness made her legs move a little more confidently and her heart slow to a steady beat. But she was still on alert. There was something about the place, some feeling that she couldn't shake.
    She longed to know if Cameron felt it too but wouldn't allow herself to glance his direction. He'd know she was scared if she did, and he'd seen her scared enough.
    A few more steps and they were out of the open area where they had left Cameron's car. Shacks, for fishing or storage, Rachel guessed, lined the street on their right, next to the lake. Bigger buildings constructed of sheet metal and steel lay on their left.
    They, she decided, were the problem. There were no lights along the lakeshore, and the warehouses on the left blocked any light and sound that might have made its way here from the rest of Crystal City. They were like a wall, cutting Rachel and Cameron off from every sign of life.
    “Rachel? Is that you?” Shelby stepped from behind a rolling trash bin twenty feet ahead of them.
    Rachel's heart skipped, and she had to fist her hands to keep herself from racing forward to grab her friend and hurry as quickly as they could from this dark place.
    Instead, she stopped. She felt Cameron stop too, but not until he was even with her.
    “The car's back there.” She pointed over her shoulder. “We'll go somewhere... else and talk.”
    Shelby took a few steps, but more to the side than forward. “Is that your vampire with you?”
    Rachel stiffened. Cameron didn't know that she'd told Shelby what he was, or he hadn't. Embarrassed and a little annoyed that Shelby would out her like this, she kept her gaze on her sorority sister and her tone level.
    “Yes, Cameron is here. He's going to drive us. He's a... friend.” More than a friend.
    “You're sure?” Shelby tilted her head as if thinking, but then shrugged and started in their direction.
    Tension flowed out of Rachel, and she twisted in place to smile at Cameron.
    But her smile soon died.
    A man dropped from the roof of a building behind Cameron and landed on his back. Cameron stumbled forward but didn't fall. He reached over his shoulder, grabbed the smaller man by the arm, and tossed him back toward the building from which he'd jumped.
    Before Rachel could react, two more males dropped from the roof of the same building onto the asphalt next to Cameron and charged forward.
    “Rachel, run.” Cameron growled out the order then turned to face his attackers.
    For a moment, Rachel stood frozen. Cameron was being attacked— running seemed wrong.
    Then the man Cameron had tossed away like a soggy towel rose onto all fours and howled. His chin lifted and his body shook. Hair— fur— sprouted from between his eyes, and his ears lengthened.
    He was changing into a wolf.
    Rachel stood frozen again, this time in horror and shock.
    Being told werewolves were real was one thing. Seeing someone shift into a wolf... She shook her head as if the motion would shake the image away.
    But it didn't. This was no Etch-a-Sketch creation of her imagination.
    This was real.
    The wolf, fully formed now, shook his body like a dog removing water after a bath and lunged.
    His teeth sank into Cameron's calf. He