My Protector (Bewitched and Bewildered Book 2) (2 page)

"What else could go wrong?" she demanded shaking her fist at the sky. A crack of thunder was her answer as rain began to fall, creating rivulets of water running down her body. Whimpering she prayed that someone would come by soon.

*****

Two hours later Elizabeth was thoroughly drenched and shivering. She had already dismissed the idea of shifting since her animal would be just as cold and wet as her human form. If help did come, she didn't want to experience that awkward moment where she shifted back and was naked. She was about to give in to the urge to cry when she heard a car approaching. It slowed down and stopped. She got to her feet and heard a car door open and close.

"Hello there," a male voice greeted.

"Hello," she said.

"How are you?"

Seriously?

"I'm fine and you?" she asked keeping her voice even.

"I can't complain. What are you doing out here? Don't you have a coat?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes, I do, but it's in the trunk along with my car keys and phone. I have been stuck out here for the past couple hours."
 

"Sorry, honey! I didn't realize you had been out here so long; I wouldn't have just chitchatted if I had known. Hold on." Elizabeth smiled at the distress in his voice. He was cute.

A minute later, he easily popped the trunk open with the pry bar he had grabbed from his car. She watched him as he walked back toward her with her coat. He was tall and had warm blond hair and bright green eyes. His smile was rueful but kind.

He held her coat. She dug into the pocket and pulled out her keys and phone.

"Thanks. I was about to lose it there," she admitted.

"I can imagine. My name's Colton. Where are you heading?"

"I'm Elizabeth, Elizabeth Monroe. I'm heading to Lycaonia." She stretched and cracked her back.

"We've been on the lookout for you. Let me finish this up and you can follow me in. I can swap out your other tire with my spare, which should last you until we can get it fixed. If you don't mind a slight delay, we can go to the Alpha estate, and I can drop off my car and ride into the city with you, to show you around." His smile turned devilish.

She thought about it for a second before nodding.

"That might actually be a good idea. In my current state I don't know where I would end up." Grimacing, she saw that her new coat was covered in mud from her tire, making her sacrifice seem pointless. Not wanting to get her seats dirty she made sure she had her keys and phone in hand before she threw the coat back into the trunk.

"Great, it won't take me a second. Go warm up in my car." Colton pointed to the car behind them.

"Thanks." She handed him the keys and walked to his car. She climbed in and jacked up the heat. Why did crazy things always happen to her? The only thing she could count on was her bad luck.

True to his word, Colton finished ten minutes later and walked over to the car.

"We're not far from the city gate, from there it's about twenty minutes to the Alpha estate."
 

Elizabeth got out rubbing her arms briskly. "I'll be right behind you."

Colton grinned and winked. She laughed. He was such a flirt. She walked back to her car. He had left it running with the heat on. What a sweetie. She followed his car down the dirt road. When he turned down an almost undetectable path, she sent up a prayer of thanks that he had found her. She would have never found the city entrance without him.

Twenty minutes later they were pulling up to a large estate house. She parked behind him and got out. They walked towards the porch.

"I'm just going to let them know that I found you and I'm heading to the city so they can put someone else on perimeter watch." Colton held open the front door for her.

"Sounds good. I still need to find a place in the city to stay and a garage to get these tires replaced, so we'll have to take care of that," she said.

Colton nodded. "No problem. I know a few retired warriors that rent apartments, we'll check with them first."

"That would be a life saver," she smiled up at him.

Colton shut the door behind them. She took two steps forward and tripped over the ornate rug in the foyer. Unfortunately, she landed face first.

"Shit! Are you okay?" Colton gently helped her up and winced when he looked at her face.

She gingerly touched her nose and her fingers came away with blood. "At least it's not broken. I know how that feels."

"Do you break it often enough to know?" Colton's eyes widened.

"Yup. I'm kind of a klutz."

"That sounds familiar." Colton was now frowning.

"You." A deep male voice said from above them. Elizabeth turned and looked up. At the top of the stairs was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. He was tall, but lean with broad shoulders that tapered off to a narrow waist. Dark hair fell carelessly around his shoulders in waves. But it was his grey eyes that captivated her, the intensity in his gaze mesmerized her. It was as if she could see the weight of ages in his eyes. When they shifted from eternal grey to red she swallowed hard.

His movements were a blur as he flew down the stairs. He backed her up against the door caging her in with his arms on either side.

"Gavriel! Man! What the hell?" Colton yelled.

"Leave us!" the dark haired man demanded.

"No way. Get your shit together." Colton said as he tried to wedge himself between them. Her body reacted to Colton's interference. She didn't want to move away from this dark stranger. When she inhaled, it dawned on her that this man was a vampire and he was her mate.

Gavriel swiped at Colton dragging his claws across his forearm.
 

Colton cursed and grabbed his arm. "Man! What the fuck?"

"Colton back off. She must be his mate," a third man said edging close to them from behind Gavriel.

"Ryuu, are you sure?" Colton asked and started to back away.

"I'm sure. He is my mate," Elizabeth spoke up. Gavriel moved her towards the open door to their left.

"Elizabeth, you don't understand," Colton began.

"He's my mate. He won't hurt me," Elizabeth let herself get herded towards the door. She stepped backwards into the empty room and her mate kicked the door shut behind him, never taking his eyes from her.

"You're Gavriel, right?"

He circled her, getting closer with every step. His eyes burned a deep red. Growing up in Noctem Falls, she had only ever seen this once before, when one of the men had been in the midst of his vampiric transition and his more aggressive tendencies had risen to the surface.

"My name is Elizabeth Monroe. I'm your mate." He stopped circling.

"I know. I dreamt of you." His voice sounded deep and raspy.

"What did you see?" she asked.

"You. You falling all of the time." He leaned in and inhaled. He closed his eyes a blissful expression on his face. She realized he could smell her blood.

"Are you in transition?" She watched his face carefully.

He nodded and opened his eyes. "How did you know?"

"I was raised in Noctem Falls."

"Then you know that you need to stay away." He turned his scarlet eyes to her. She flinched. There was barely anything human in that gaze. She looked towards the door but her animal began to protest. This was her mate, it was her responsibility to take care of him.
 

He gave an anguished cry and doubled up, wrapping his arms around his torso. He shook his head and when he turned to look at her, his eyes flicked from red back to grey.

"Please go! I don't want to hurt you!" he gasped as she watched the muscles under his skin shift and tremble. It was then that she realized how much pain he was in. He was experiencing blood depravation on top of transition. There was no way she could walk away and leave him writhing in pain. She stepped closer.

"Let me help."

He shook his head. "Please!" he begged.

"No. You're my mate, it is my right and my duty to feed you. I offer all of myself to you," she recited the words that she had heard so many times amongst the couples growing up. To be able to feed your mate was a gift.

"You won't hurt me and I can't stand to see you in so much agony. Please feed." She placed a hand on his back. His head turned and he stared at her his eyes shifting from grey back to red.

"I'll try to be gentle," he whispered. He rose up, slowly unwinding his arms. When he stood to his full height he was trembling and near exhaustion. She could see that he was literally fighting to remain lucid.

He took her in his arms and for a moment simply stood there with her cheek against his chest. She inhaled taking his scent deep in her lungs. She would never get enough of him. With every breath his scent was getting ingrained on her soul. He lowered their bodies slowly to the rug and tilted her head to one side. He ran his tongue down the column of her neck and she shivered. She had expected him to strike like a starved animal, yet even at his most desperate, he was taking time to ensure that she felt as little pain as possible.
 

When he began to nip and nibble behind her ear she sighed as her body coiled in expectation. His arms tightened before he sank his fangs deep in her neck.

She had expected pain, but there was very little, just a quick pinch then a flood of pleasure. He held her as if she were the most precious thing in the world as he drank deeply. She could feel his restraint as he took slow, measured sips. Each pull of his lips sent jolts through her body, it felt as if he were licking and caressing her nipples and clit from the inside. Panting, she thrust her hips against him trying to find relief. She felt his lips curve against her neck and he brought his thigh up between her legs. The second his firm muscles hit her throbbing flesh she cried out and ground against him chasing the pleasure that stayed just out of reach. When his hand reached down to brush against her tightened nipples, she exploded crying out. Wave after wave of pleasure cascaded through her. She felt the swirling darkness begin to take her. Smiling she let go. The last thing she remembered was his gentle kiss against her neck.

*****

"Are you certain she is well?"

"She's fine."

"I could have killed her."

"She's a shifter. It would take more than a blood donation to kill her." The male voice sounded amused.

"Listen to Adam, my friend. He doesn't know much, but he does know about healing," another male voice spoke.

 
Elizabeth blinked and focused on the voices. Of the three, her mate's voice was the sexiest. She froze. Her mate? That's right she had found her mate.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Aiden. Be nice or I'll figure out a way to put Meryn on a caffeine IV drip."

"Gods no!"

Elizabeth smiled. "That actually sounds good right about now." She sat up to face the men. Two of them towered over her mate and looked enough alike she assumed they were related. Instantly her mate was at her side running a gentle hand over her hair.

"How do you feel,
zain'ka moya?"
he asked.

"What's
zain'ka
?"

He leaned in and whispered against her neck. "My sunshine or rabbit. I thought it fitting."

His warm breath against her neck sent renewed shivers through her body.

The two men behind Gavriel cleared their throats. Gavriel stood and kissed her forehead.

"Elizabeth, I know it may be belated but I am Gavriel Ambrosios. May I introduce to the Unit Commander Aiden McKenzie and his brother Adam McKenzie. Adam runs the clinic for the unit warriors. Gentleman, I finally have the pleasure of introducing my mate. Elizabeth Monroe." Gavriel brought her hand up and kissed it.

"I'm glad she made it to Lycaonia in one piece. Thrice welcome Elizabeth, you couldn't ask for a better mate." Aiden gave a courtly bow. Adam smiled and waved.

She looked at Adam. "You're the doctor?"

"Yes, I am," he replied.

"You and I will be great friends. I am constantly tripping or falling, or tripping then falling over things." She turned to Gavriel when he groaned and covered his face with his other hand. He looked at her, a pained expression on his face.

"So what I saw in my dreams was your everyday life, not just the terrifying moments?" he asked.

"I'm not sure what you saw, but I do get hurt on a fairly regular basis."

"Did you fall out of an office window?"

"Yes."

"Did you fall down the sewer ladder?"

"Yes, that was equal parts painful, humiliating and disgusting." She shuddered.

"How did you manage to live to adulthood?"
 

"That's a question for my father. I'm sure he could give you an entire dissertation about my childhood." She grinned up at him.

"I may just have to ask him," he murmured.

"Elizabeth are you well enough to leave? My mate was curious about you." Aiden said.

She nodded and gently pulled her hand from Gavriel's. Reluctantly he let go. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and went to hop off but her right leg became tangled in the blankets. If it weren't for Gavriel's reflexes, she would have spilled onto the floor. Aiden and Adam stared at her open mouthed, Gavriel paled.

"I'm okay, really." She stood and smoothed out her clothes.

"Okay then. I'll drive." Aiden held up his keys.

Gavriel kept a hand on her lower back as they said goodbye to Adam and walked out to the parking lot.
 

"Do you all live together?" Elizabeth asked once they were on the road.

"Yes, all of the Alpha Unit members live together," Aiden confirmed.

"Even your mate?"

"Meryn has made some changes recently." Gavriel had yet to let her hand go. It was as if he had to be touching her.

"She just couldn't stand to be away from me," Aiden said puffing his chest out. Elizabeth looked over to her mate who just shrugged.

"What is Meryn like?"

Gavriel shook his head. "Meryn cannot be described, only experienced."

"Now I'm really curious."

"She's one of kind," Aiden said proudly.

"She sure is. I can't wait for the two of you to meet," Gavriel said.