My eyes flicker with shock and then pride as I take in the scene. My sexy mate’s knees are crossed with her thighs wrapped around the neck of a man who must be human, judging by his inability to shift. I don’t have time to question what a human is doing with these werewolves as she flings her body toward the ground, silently and effortlessly. Tossing his large frame in the air, he lands hard on his back with her sitting on his chest. The crack of his bones echoes in the alley as she peeks up at me.
Holy fuck.
My gaze is locked on her as she lashes at his throat, slicing it with a small knife nestled between her knuckles. Her expression is that of a ruthless predator. Her perfectly pinned bun has fallen, leaving her black curls to cascade gently down her back. Confidence and power radiate from her small frame as she turns, still crouched on his chest. Her dark red, plump lips part as she lifts her head and hisses at the remaining shifters, revealing long white fangs that reflect the light of the moon.
The shifters stumble back, mouths gaped, but before they’re able to turn and run she quickly flings her hand outward, sending two blades flying. The first lands in one man’s back, effectively paralyzing him and his limp body instantly sinks to the ground, crashing against the cement. With nothing to break his fall, blood flows freely from his broken nose, pooling around his face. The other blade is lodged in the last shifter’s neck. As his hands fly up to his neck, my mate, my vampire mate, sends more blades darting through the air in a rhythmic dance, pinning his hands to the base of his throat. Blood spurts from his jugular. The sight is violent and bloody, brutal and efficient. As the shifter struggles to breathe, landing hard on his knees and coughing up blood, my mate saunters over casually and twists the knives while ripping them out. His dead eyes stare at nothing as blood forms a puddle around him and his face flattens against the brick.
Noticeably catching her breath, her chest rises and falls and I’m given a moment to admire her. A vampire. My mate is paranormal, not human. There will be so much less to explain.
With dark red blood splattered on her blouse, her heels click as she strides to the other shifter, who’s limp yet conscious. With my hackles settling, I prowl closer, but give her the room she obviously desires. Squatting, my gaze is captured by her leather skirt sliding up her leg, revealing a black lacy garter belt holding up her thigh highs. She is the sight of deadly beauty. Still in wolf form, I groan with lust and desire. I move to shift, but her dark eyes find mine and her lips part as she says,
“Stay. I want to feel you … like this. I want to see you up close.”
If I could grin, I would. She’ll know damn well how much hearing that pleased me the moment I shift. Pride flows through me and I huff in agreement as I pad over swiftly to be closer to her. Her delicate hand grabs the knife, but before retrieving it she looks back at me. “I thought we could keep him for Devin.” Although it’s a statement, it’s clear she’s asking me. My hackles raise, realizing she knows more of me than I know of her. She waits for my nod and then she removes the knife. It’s a silver blade. He’ll heal with time, but we’ll deal with him before he has a chance to come to. I watch her skilled moves while coming to terms with the situation. My mate is a vampire and she knows of Devin. Numerous questions pile in my mind, but in wolf form I’m unable to speak. Standing, she places the bloody blade behind her back and tilts her head as she takes me in.
Her dark eyes travel down my body. Although she’s shorter than I am, we’re the same height while I’m standing on all four paws in my wolf form.
“Lie down.” Her command makes me grin inwardly. I’m so fucking turned on it hurts. I need to shift so I can play this game with her. Obeying my mate, I settle on the ground in the brick alley. A low rumble vibrates my chest as she spears my fur with her small hands, petting me. She moves in front of me and takes my large head in her grasp before gently scratching my chest. Her touch on me is a heaven I didn’t know existed. I resist the urge to close my eyes so I can stare back at her while enjoying her touch. A small smile plays at her lips as she watches her fingers disappear in my thick, soft fur. All too quickly, she stops. Her smile vanishes as she glances at the bodies around her.
She purses her lips and looks behind us at my tattered and shredded outfit. “You ruined your clothes.” I sit up, making me about a foot taller than her so I tower over her, but she maintains eye contact. “What are you going to wear now?” Is she admonishing me? “I’m going to need help moving these bodies and storing him in the trunk.” Her thumb points to the incapacitated shifter. “I have silver rope in the back of the car, but how the hell am I going to carry him?” Her tongue clucks as she surveys the scene. “You need clothes. Do you have any?” I shake my head, causing her dark eyes to narrow. “Shift.”
My mate is … testing me. I allow a moment to pass, observing her and she stares back at me, her confidence disappearing for only a moment. “Please,” she adds, dragging out the word as if she’s not used to saying it.
That’s better. All I can think before I shift back is that my mate is going to challenge me, push me, command me even … and I’m eager to play and to do the same in return.
Vince
Tossing her keys on the bedside table in the hotel room, I perk up as I hear the shower being turned on. I buried the human and the two shifters in the woods after tying up the remaining one with silver rope and locking him in Veronica’s trunk. Her name was the first thing I requested. I can’t get over the way the four syllables roll off my tongue.
Time was short between us, though, with barely any words spoken other than a hastily devised plan. Bury the three, throw the other in the back of her trunk and then lie low at this hotel.
After all of that, a shower is desperately needed and then I have to call Devin. He needs to know everything and more importantly, that we have a shifter roped in silver to interrogate.
The fucker pissed all over himself, but he’ll live. For now. I don’t know how long that’ll last once Devin finds out what they were planning.
I strip out of the jeans and simple white T-shirt my mate got me. The shirt barely fits, but I think she likes seeing it stretched tight across my broad shoulders. She knew damn well I needed a larger size.
So far I’ve learned my mate is opinionated. She likes what she likes, and I’m hard as a fucking rock for her. Every little detail about her seems to scream to me to pay attention. From the way a soft accent lingers on a few of her words, to the way she tucks her jet-black hair behind her ear to accentuate her slender neck. I crave every inch of her.
Every step I take toward the bathroom makes my dick harder as I imagine my gorgeous mate wet and naked, waiting for me to ravage her. Palming myself, I stroke a few times.
The bathroom door opens with a soft creak, allowing the steam to billow out and I find her wrapped in a towel. Her hair’s dry and she’s rubbing some balm that smells like honey into her shoulders. There’s a large dark bruise covering the crook of her neck and the sight of it makes me growl deep and low.
They hurt her. I was right fucking there and they laid hands on her. Weakness and anger war within me. I was right there and I didn’t protect her. The bastard in the trunk is lucky that she wants to give him to Devin. If it were up to me, he’d be dead like the rest of them. I know vampires heal, but obviously they don’t heal as fast as we do.