Buch lesen: «Protector's Mate»

Chapter One

Felicia Serna wasn’t ready for the shock of cold air that hit her when she exited the sliding glass door of Huntsville International Airport. The chilly February air was a drastic change from the dry heat of Afghanistan.

The airport was bustling but no one would be there to pick her up. She’d kept her return home to Alabama a secret. Well, home was a relative word. After the way she’d left two years ago, she didn’t think the Alpha of her pack would want to see her. And if he did, it would only be to punish her for defying him. As far as she was concerned, she didn’t belong to his pack anymore and hadn’t for a long time.

She was through with pack rules and through with being someone’s doormat. If she had to live as a lone wolf, so be it. She could take care of herself. Hell, she’d been doing fine on her own for years. The only reason she’d returned was because she had a few human friends here and had shipped most of her belongings back.

As she started to wave down a taxi, a dark SUV with even darker tinted windows pulled up to the curb, blocking her view. She grasped the handle of her suitcase and walked down a few feet so the taxi could see her. It was late and she didn’t want to risk having to wait an hour for another ride. Unlike in Kabul, at least here she didn’t have to worry about safe transportation.

When she raised her hand again, the SUV pulled up farther, effectively blocking her again.

An icy fist clasped around her heart and she tried to shake off the dread that welled up inside her. The driver couldn’t be following her. She was just being paranoid. No one knew she was back. How could they? Before she took another step, the driver’s side door opened and out stepped over six feet of pure muscle and sex appeal and the only shifter who’d ever made her panties dampen with just one look. Her mouth went dry when they made eye contact. What was he doing here? His Alpha’s territory didn’t extend this far north so there was no reason for Alaric to be here unless he was specifically checking up on her. Because she knew for a fact his Alpha had a private plane and he would have no need to be at the airport.

When Alaric, the five-hundred year old shifter who starred in all her fantasies, walked around the front of the vehicle she automatically took a step back. She inwardly cursed the sign of wariness, but if any werewolf intimidated her, it was definitely this one.

Dark hair, dark eyes, generally dark disposition. She’d never seen him in shifted form but, even as a human, the man had a way of putting others on edge in his presence. It was no wonder he was second in command to one of the strongest packs in the United States.

His espresso-colored eyes assessed her from head to foot in a slow sweep. Though she was sure the perusal was cursory, her cheeks heated just the same. She’d forgotten what his mere presence did to her nerves. Okay, maybe not forgotten exactly. Just buried the memory.

Somehow she found her voice and was surprised when it came out strong. “How…why are you here?”

“I’m picking you up.” He answered as if it should be obvious. The deep timbre of his gravelly voice sent a shock of awareness straight to her lower abdomen. She didn’t want to admit that it affected her but just hearing him… She fought off a shiver.

She hadn’t seen him in almost five years, then a few months ago he’d contacted her via email out of the blue. She’d been more shocked than anything that the sexy wolf even remembered her, since they’d only met once before that. When the last few emails had turned flirty, sexual even, it had freaked her out. At first she’d thought maybe she’d misread their tone, but then he’d gotten more blatant and she’d known there was no mistaking he was flirting with her. She’d begun to wonder if he’d maybe confused her with someone else from her old pack. It made no sense for Alaric to be interested in her. So she’d started limiting their contact.

How had he known I’d be at the airport? She wanted to ask but keeping her cool around this wolf was important. Bigger, stronger wolves pounced on any perceived weakness. She’d learned that lesson long ago. Even if Alaric seemed different, she wouldn’t forget the lessons she’d learned as a cub. Some memories went bone deep.

“Knox recently expanded and took over all of northern Alabama. That includes your old pack’s territory—now my Alpha’s territory.” There he went with that voice again.

How did he expect her to think when he talked like that? Wait, what did he just say? His Alpha had taken over? “What happened to Lamont?” Wilson Lamont. Her old Alpha. Even saying that wolf’s name left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Dead. From vampires.”

He didn’t sound too torn up about it either. Interesting.

Despite the acute relief that splintered through her at the news, she held back her frustration at his fairly vague answer. “When?”

He shrugged in a maddeningly pure male way. “A while ago.”

She resisted the urge to growl. That was most definitely something he should have told her in their email correspondence. At the moment, she was so tired even her eyelids ached. All she wanted was a straight answer. “So your Alpha took over his territory? What about the old members of the pack? And I still don’t understand why you’re here to pick me up.”

His dark gaze narrowed for a second. “Most shifters would say ‘my’ pack, not ‘the’ pack.”

She looked away under his intense scrutiny. When Lamont had demanded she submit to him, in addition to his first mate—as if she were some whore—no one had stepped up to defend her. Screw them. They weren’t her pack. They weren’t her anything. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“No, I didn’t.”

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a yellow cab pulling up to the curb. It didn’t look like anyone had claimed it and she didn’t want to miss her chance. She didn’t know why Alaric was here but she wasn’t going to put herself in a position to be at his mercy. “Thanks for coming to the airport, but I’m afraid you wasted your time.”

She turned away from him, but before she’d taken a step he plucked her suitcase and her carry-on from her hands and shoved them in the backseat of the SUV. She blinked once. The man moved lightning fast. Faster than any shifter she’d ever seen.

“What are you doing?” Panic laced her voice and she was unable to mask it.

“You’re coming with me, little wolf.” His voice softened slightly.

Why had his voice gone all husky like that? And why do I like it? Maybe she really was more tired than she realized. She mentally shook herself. It didn’t matter. “Why didn’t you tell me your Alpha had taken over this territory, Alaric? You’ve had plenty of opportunities.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving Afghanistan?” Now there was no softness in his voice. Just anger and something that sounded a lot like…hurt.

She swallowed hard at the surge of guilt that erupted inside her. The thought of telling him had crossed her mind, but he’d have likely wanted to see her. And after those last few emails… She couldn’t deal with that now. Didn’t want to deal with anything. All she wanted to do was sleep in a soft bed. She shifted from foot to foot as she ran over her options. He had her bags and she certainly couldn’t overpower him. Not to mention, making a scene at the airport was stupid. His reputation was fearsome, but she’d never heard that he hurt females. Not much to go on, but her inner wolf didn’t fear him and that said a lot. She ignored his question and asked another one of her own. “Where are you taking me?”

“Where you belong,” he growled softly. Possessively.

She frowned at the tone of his voice, then raked a hand through her hair. She’d been traveling for nearly thirty-six hours and didn’t have the energy to figure out his riddles. Her entire body was tired. And she desperately needed to shift and run free for a while.

When an unbidden thought assaulted her mind, her eyes narrowed on his. “Is the reason you started emailing because of the way I left my old pack? Is this about punishment for my defiance? Your Alpha’s angry with me so he sent you to deal with me?”

His jaw clenched tightly, but he didn’t respond.

When his expression transformed to an unreadable mask, she rolled her eyes to cover her nervousness. That seemed to annoy him and for some reason she took perverse pleasure in the fact. “Fine, but if you’re going to kill me or punish me make it quick.”

He muttered something that sounded German but she couldn’t be sure. Whatever he’d said, it wasn’t endearing. He sounded pissed. At least he had the decency to open the passenger door for her. When she slid inside she was surprised to find they were alone. She’d assumed as second in command for a powerful pack, he’d travel with security. Of course someone like him likely didn’t need security. He could probably kill ten wolves with his pinky toe. Or just stare them down with that penetrating gaze until they submitted.

* * *

As Alaric pulled away from the curb, he wanted to strangle and kiss the gorgeous she-wolf at the same time. Kill her? Not bloody likely. The slim, dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty brought out all his protective instincts. She always had. He’d wanted to claim her years ago but she’d been too young. Barely nineteen, she wouldn’t have been ready for him then. And he’d wanted her to spread her wings and get an education before he made his move. By the time he’d heard what that bastard Lamont wanted from her, it had been too late.

She’d been on a plane to a war zone and had ignored all attempts her pack made to contact her. That’s why he was surprised she’d returned his first attempt at contact all those months ago. A couple years had passed since she’d left the country and he’d gotten tired of waiting for her to come home. She was strong and old enough now and his inner wolf wanted her so bad he constantly ached for it. Given her distrust of her own kind, he needed to somehow convince her she was meant to be his. It surprised him she didn’t feel the same pull he did for her, but persuading her wouldn’t be a chore.

He glanced over at her and had started to ask a question when he realized she was asleep. Not a deep slumber, but her breathing was calm and her eyes had drifted shut. She really must be tired. Only a couple minutes had passed since he’d pulled away from the airport. Her head lolled back against the headrest and although her arms were crossed protectively against herself, her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Even if she might not trust him, her inner wolf knew she was safe in his presence. That had to mean something.

He resisted the primal urge to reach out and trail a finger down her cheek. To run his hands through her slightly curly, chestnut-colored hair. She’d let it grow a few inches since he’d seen her last. Hell, she’d probably had a dozen different styles since then. Her café au lait skin was darker, more tanned than the last time he’d seen her. No doubt from the time she’d spent outdoors. As a nurse for an international health organization, she’d spent a lot of time in refugee camps, something he vastly admired about her even if every day he’d worried about her. He forced his gaze to the road in front of him. He’d been dreaming about this moment for years. He could wait a few more minutes. Too bad his inner wolf didn’t want to listen.

As he cruised through the quiet night streets, he spotted the same green truck that had tailed him to the airport. At first he’d thought he was being paranoid, but this was too much of a coincidence. When he neared the upcoming yellow light, instead of slowing down, he flipped a sharp U-turn into the parallel two-lane road.

Felicia jerked awake with a gasp and grabbed her armrest. A few horns blared and the spike of adrenaline that rolled off her was sharp and acidic. Thanks to the close confines of the vehicle and his extrasensory abilities, he could hear the thump of her erratic heartbeat. “What’s going on?”

“I think we’re being followed.”

She whipped her head around.

In the rearview mirror he watched the green truck jump the median and swerve into their lane. Lately both he and Knox suspected someone from the new pack they’d taken over was plotting to cause dissension among their ranks. Knox had recently mated with a vampire—something rare for a shifter to do, especially an Alpha—so all the warriors had been on edge lately. Especially since they’d had to kick out one of their own when he tried to attack Knox’s new mate. While Alaric couldn’t be sure this was related, he had no way of knowing that it wasn’t. Hell, it could just be a rogue vampire or rogue werewolf out for blood, but he didn’t think so. Alaric wasn’t easy prey and the rogue beasts from both species liked easy hunts.

As the truck gained ground, he switched lanes and pulled down a side street.

“Why would someone be following us?” Despite the tension he scented rolling off her, her voice was calm.

Before he could answer, the back window exploded in a shower of raining glass. Metallic pings ricocheted off the inside of the vehicle.

“Get down!” he shouted.

A slight trail of fear trickled off her as she unstrapped her seat belt and scooted lower in her seat but she didn’t panic. “Do you have any weapons?”

“Yes but they’re in the back—”

Without pause, she dove into the second seat with a speed that impressed him. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and swerved down another one-way side street. For a moment they lost their tail and the only sound was the whistling of the wind rushing through the blown-out window. He caught sight of her in the rearview mirror digging through his bag of weapons. “What the hell are you doing?”

“What does it look like? You want to let some crazy human hunters try to kill us? I’m going to blow out their tires.”

As a shifter, from a young age she’d have been trained like all of their kind to use weapons, but he didn’t like the thought of her hanging out the window making herself a target. “I don’t think they’re human, Felicia.”

Understanding crossed her face as she met his gaze in the mirror. If it wasn’t humans hunting them—and few even knew of their existence so he doubted it was them—it would be someone of the supernatural variety and they’d be more than capable of tracking and killing them. It was one of the reasons the tribe leaders from the six most powerful vampire covens and six of the strongest werewolf Alphas in North America would be gathering soon to discuss a treaty between their kinds. Too many rogue vampires and rogue shifters without tribe leaders or Alphas were wreaking havoc in the human world. Taking victims whenever they felt like it. Since there wasn’t a formal organization to mete out justice to offenders, if paranormal beings didn’t belong to a group and they hurt humans, there was no one to bring them to justice. If the shifters and vamps could come to an agreement and actually work together, everyone would be held accountable for their actions, especially loners.

But Alaric knew a few blown tires wouldn’t slow down either shifters or vamps. It would only enrage them. Not to mention they’d be smart enough to be packing silver-lined bullets, which could be fatal to shifters.

Under normal circumstances he’d stay and fight but he couldn’t risk it. Not with Felicia. Not when she was finally under his protection. As the headlights appeared in his mirror again, he did the only thing he could.

“Hold on,” he said through gritted teeth.

The needle on the speedometer spiked sharply as he pressed on the gas. When he’d put enough distance between them, he took his foot off the accelerator, slightly depressed the brakes and yanked the wheel.

Everything in the vehicle shifted at once.

Felicia let out a startled cry as she slammed against the door, but he didn’t glance back at her. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. Mercifully, the SUV didn’t flip when he pulled it into a one-eighty spin. The engine sputtered and growled as he hit the gas again.

“Are you playing chicken with them?” Now her voice rose, panic clear in every syllable.

He didn’t answer. They’d survive a crash. Sure, they might suffer a few broken bones and internal injuries but they’d heal quickly. It was a calculated risk but he needed to slow down their pursuers and get her to safety. Racing all over Huntsville was a surefire way to get noticed by the human cops, something they couldn’t afford.

Protect Felicia.

It was all that mattered.

The silhouettes of the driver and passenger were becoming more visible. Two males, and possibly a third person in the backseat. He couldn’t be sure. Might be a shadow.

The truck wavered and jerked back and forth, but it didn’t alter its path. Alaric braced himself for impact. If the other driver didn’t back down, this was going to be painful. He’d broken more bones than he could remember over the past five centuries, but it still hurt every time.

As he increased his speed, the truck weaved erratically.

“Strap in, Felicia,” he ground out. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do, but there was no other way.

All his muscles tensed. As he prepared for the impact, the truck swerved off the road at the last second. Glass and metal crunched behind them as the vehicle rammed into a telephone pole. With his extrasensory abilities he heard the pole creak dangerously as it cracked and fell onto the truck, but Alaric didn’t pause in his escape.

“What the hell is going on?” Felicia demanded as he turned back onto a main street. At least she sounded more annoyed than scared.

Even though his Alpha had recently taken a vampire as a mate, he wasn’t sure who would be coming after them right now. Some of the new pack members might not like their new female Alpha, but making a move like this against him made no sense. Alaric wasn’t on pack business at the moment. And hurting him or Felicia wouldn’t affect the upcoming formal treaty between vampires and shifters, which was barely a couple months away. It would only solidify the need for it. He didn’t have time to go into all the possibilities though. “Grab what you need from your bag. Necessities only. I’m going to find a safe place to park then we’re shifting.” It would be harder to track them that way. He could go home to the protection of his pack, but he wanted Felicia to himself for a while. He’d already run it by Knox and his Alpha had given him the okay.

She’d left Huntsville because of her former Alpha and he planned to show her that his pack was different. That she could have a different kind of life than the one she’d run from. Her grace under fire tonight had only solidified how tough she was. She might have worked overseas in a war zone but it hadn’t been in a military capacity. Her reactions tonight had been purely instinctive. Whether she realized it or not, her inner wolf had known they needed protecting and had taken over.

Unfortunately he couldn’t get a read on her. She’d left Afghanistan without telling him, completely cutting him off as if he meant nothing to her. As if their friendship wasn’t as important to her as it was to him. That cut bone deep. He might want her with a fierceness that stunned him, but it didn’t mean she felt the same. A dull throb spread across his chest at the thought that she might never feel the pull that he did. If that was true…he shook his head. He couldn’t even think about that possibility.