Max parked the truck right next to Dylan’s in front of the club. They weren’t opening for another five hours.
“You doing inventory today?” Max asked Rhys.
“That and I have to make some calls. Elizabeth needs me to look into a few things.”
“Where is your new mate? Did you seal the deal, or did she run again?”
“She’s still looking for the missing girls.” He pulled the door open to the club. Dylan was behind the bar, wiping down the bar to unstack the glasses ready to be put away, along with the new bottles of liquor to add to the shelf.
The door flew open behind them. Evan’s eyes were glowing bright red, and his teeth were extended. He looked like one of the monsters in a fairytale his mom used to read him as a child.
“What the…”
“Abigail’s in trouble.” Rhys heard a bear’s loud roar, followed by howls on the wind. The afternoon air was filled with screams.
“Where is she?” Rhys demanded, knowing she was close enough for him to hear Colton’s anger.
Another ear-piercing scream.
Evan’s eyes turned pure white, void of pupils as he spoke. “She’s near the park.”
He blinked, and the red glow returned to his eyes, glowing in anger. “She’s losing blood. We have to help her.”
Rhys didn’t wait on the others as he tore through the building, bursting out the back. Fire fueled his anger. Lizzie was hurt. Whoever had dared lay a hand on her was about to die. Spotting them just inside the tree line, he ran, pumping his arms and legs as fast as they would take them. He shifted in mid stride. His clothes shredding into pieces as he landed on paws instead of feet as he crashed through the tree line. He growled, smacking at the wolves on his mate. He’d knocked three of them off when another one jumped. He caught him and broke his neck, tossing him to the side.
He stood in front of Elizabeth, blocking her. Colton was next to him, bleeding from his fight. His brothers took up places on each side, forming a semi-circle around her, growling and daring any of the wolves still standing to try again. He roared, and they inched back. Four bears versus the three wolves left standing and the two wounded. It wouldn’t take much to finish them off.
Rhys heard Elizabeth moan in pain. It was the only thing that kept him from chasing the others that were running off. He turned to find Evan lifting her in his arms. His bear growled as Evan started carrying her back to the bar.
“I’m the only one that can help her.” He looked over at Rhys as Rhys began the shift. “No offense, big guy, but if she takes your blood, you’ll die, and then she’ll really kill me.”
Evan pushed through the back door of the club and into the security room with the big tables.
Elizabeth lay limp in Evan’s arms as he eased her down onto the table in the lounge area. She turned on her side, gripping her stomach, moaning in agony.
“Elizabeth.” Evan’s voice was deep and calming. “Look at me,” he compelled, and she turned to face him.
“You feel no pain.” He brushed the hair out of her face, and her moaning stopped. Holding his arm to his mouth, he ripped it open before holding it to her lips. “Drink.”
She latched on, holding his arm with both hands. Rhys watched her eyes close.
“How is this possible?” he whispered.
“We need to leave.” Evan pulled his arm free, and Elizabeth’s eyes opened wide, and she hissed with her pointy teeth. “We need to leave now.”
He placed his hand on her forehead. “Sleep, Abigail, sleep.”
Rhys watched in amazement as her eyes fluttered closed and her body went limp.
“Why did you do that?” Rhys yelled, his bear wanting to break free.
Evan scooped her up in his arms. “Because she needs more blood than I have, and if she tried to drink you, it would kill you.” Evan glanced up at him. “If she bites you, then you’ll die. Not that I would mind, but she’d kill me. I need to take her to the others. Together, we can help her, but we can’t here. Everyone’s at risk. Get dressed, bear. You’re coming with us.”
Colton came jogging into the room. “Horace is dead. The rest took off.”
“Where are her damn shots?” Evan questioned.
“I don’t know. She was given plenty to pack for this trip.”
Rhys stormed into his office and grabbed another pair of clothes, shoving his legs into his jeans. He pulled a shirt over his head and carried his shoes with him.
“What shots?”
“They’re specially designed just for her. They mask her scent with an added kick of the blood enzyme that sustains us. That’s why she never knew she was immortal.”
Evan carried her toward the front door. Max tossed Rhys his keys as he stormed by. “Where to?”
“The compound,” was Evan’s only answer.
****
Elizabeth fought to open her heavy lids. Loud, angry voices pulled her from the dark, deep sleep that had consumed her. She rolled her head, and her whole body ached. Her muscles were stiff and heavy to move. Where was she? Dead? Or worse, had Horace captured her?
The yelling in the room stopped, giving her a reprieve from her pounding head.
“Lizzie.” She heard Rhys calling her name, felt his touch on her forehead. “Everything is going to be okay, baby. It’s time to wake up.”
She tried to speak, but her words came out in a moan as she turned her head into the warmth of his touch.
Her eyes slid open, and she blinked until she could focus.
She heard Evan’s command. “Rhys, you need to step back. We don’t know if we gave her enough.”
“Fuck off,” Rhys growled back. His lips felt familiar and warm on her hand.
“Rhys.” She croaked his name. Each syllable felt like tiny shards of glass cutting and ripping her dry throat.
“I’m here, baby.” He lifted her into his arms, cradling her head. “You need to drink this.”
He pressed it to her lips, and she opened for him, grateful for the cold liquid that replaced the fire and pain. The liquid was sweet and tangy, unlike anything she’d ever drunk. The color was dark red, but she didn’t care.
He set the glass down and eased her back down on the pillow.
“Where am I?”
Memories started to flood her mind. The fight? Colton? The wolves? She gasped and tried to push herself up as fear gripped her heart and squeezed tight. “We have to help Colton.”
“He’s fine, Lizzie.” Rhys picked up her hand and kissed it again.
“Where am I?” she asked, turning her head to look. The lights in the room were dim. No windows on the wall. She tried to move her hand, but Rhys stopped her. She turned toward her arm and saw the IV stuck into her vein.
“Rhys?” Her voice rose an octave, laced with panic.
Evan answered from across the room. “You’re at the compound, Elizabeth.”
She turned toward his voice to find him leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, and he was wearing the familiar scowl that she’d come to know.
“What compound?” she asked.
“Our base of operations. It was the only place we could treat you.”
“I don’t understand.” She turned her questioning gaze to Rhys, and he shook his head, closing his eyes in resignation.
“You needed our enzymes to survive. Without them, you would have died or ended up killing whoever was around you,” Evan answered.
“Way to sugarcoat it, asshole.” Rhys turned to growl at Evan.
Evan stepped closer. “She needs to know, and I take full responsibility. I should have taught her how to fight the immortal way.”
“Wha…” Memories of her shift into a vampire flashed in her mind. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to him. “You! You did this to me.”
He remained quiet, unspeaking as he watched her.
The door to the room flew open, and a big brooding man stepped inside. His salt and pepper hair was cut short and matched the color of the stubble on his face. It was a face she recognized instantly. Twins, she remembered Evan telling her. This man was her father. The same asshole that had sent her away to be raised by his mortal brother.
“Everyone out,” he demanded.
She felt the power rolling off of him and pulsing in the room. Evan walked out of the room without question. Rhys didn’t budge, remaining firmly by her side.
Elizabeth swallowed and leaned back against the pillow. Did she really have to do this now?
“Out now.”
She snapped her gaze to the old man. “Rhys stays.” She glared at him, daring him to tell her and Rhys what to do. “He stays, or you and I won’t be discussing anything.”
Her father’s jaw ticked, and his eyes were calculating. He might look like the man who’d raised her, but she could see the cold look behind his eyes. “You don’t have a say in this, Abigail.”
Elizabeth yanked the needle from her arm and tossed it on the other side of the bed. She eased herself up; using what strength she had, she slid her legs over the side of the bed. “My name is not Abigail. It’s Elizabeth, but then you wouldn’t know that, would you? You don’t get to tell me what to do. You gave up that right when you tossed me out like the trash to be raised by your brother.”
Rhys helped her stand, keeping her steady with an arm around her waist, supporting her as her vision clouded and swayed.
“Elizabeth.” Her father’s voice softened. “Fine, he can stay.” He gestured back to the bed. “Now sit down before you fall.”
Elizabeth didn’t follow his orders. If she sat back down, she wouldn’t be getting back up again and depending on what dear old dad had to say…she might still be leaving.
“You can be angry with me, but I did what was best for you. Please…” He gestured to the bed.
Lizzie eased down to sit on the bed, keeping hold of Rhys’ hand.
“That’s a hard sell, old man. How was it best I didn’t know I could shift? It might have saved my life. Or, more importantly, how was it best for me when I was abducted?” She rose from the bed again, and anger stirred in her belly. “Was it best that I didn’t know how to defend myself? Was it best that I can shift into all kinds of animals, including one that will never let me experience my mate’s bite? Explain that.”
“Elizabeth.”
She watched her father’s patience dwindling, as he grew tired of her tirade, and yet she didn’t care. Irritation flashed behind his eyes. Good, because she was pissed, too.
“Everything you went you through and everything you are has turned you into a stronger woman that will one day rule in my place.”
She shook her head. “You should have had more kids. Maybe one of them would want the job.”
Her thirst returned with a vengeance. Her throat constricted, and she felt the length of her pointy teeth protruding. She squeezed Rhys’ arm and closed her eyes. Evan, you better get your ass in here and fix me, she grumbled in her head, angry at herself, angry at her father, and angry at the man who’d turned her into this monster she didn’t know how to control.
“Elizabeth, what’s wrong?” Rhys asked while helping her lie back down.
“She hasn’t had enough enzymes,” the man claiming to be her father said as the room started to spin out of focus.
Evan burst through the door and rounded the bed. He picked up the IV and shoved it into her vein before lifting the cup she’d been sipping from back up to her mouth. She took a long pull, only stopping to gulp some air.
“She needs more, and you’re not helping.” He glanced over at her father. “She needs rest, sir. This conversation needs to wait.” Evan bowed his head out of respect. “Please have one of the other guards show Rhys his room.”
“I’m not leaving her.”
Elizabeth reached for his hand and squeezed. “I’ll be fine.” She shook her head and gave him a small smile before turning to look at her father. “Rhys is my mate. If anything happens to him, you should know that I’ll tear this place apart brick by brick with everyone in it.” She narrowed her eyes in challenge. The room flashed red, and she knew that one of her beasts was seconds away from bursting free and out of control.
“You, my dear, were born to be a queen.” Her father grinned and gave her a slight nod as if he’d approved of her demanding, threatening outburst before escorting Rhys from the room.
“Asshole,” she grumbled as Evan propped more pillows behind her head and handed her another full glass of what she’d been drinking. He pulled up a chair and leaned comfortably back, crossing his legs at the ankles.
“You know what they say about the apple and the tree.” Evan grinned while lacing his fingers behind his head.
“What the hell am I drinking?” she asked, looking down into the cup. It looked god-awful no matter how good it tasted. If she ever got in a similar predicament and knew how to take care of it herself, she wouldn’t have to rely on anyone else, least of all these people. She wouldn’t be coming back to this place.
“It’s a blood and enzyme concoction. It’s the way our kind receives nutrients without having to eat directly from the source.”
“The source being anyone with a vein?”
“Yes.” He let out a long sigh. “You especially can’t bite others because you’d kill them.”
“Why do I need this now when I didn’t before?” she asked and began sipping again.
“We had it stored in the shot you were taking to mask your scent.”
Elizabeth covered her mouth to stop from spewing her drink everywhere. “Jamieson knew?”
“Jamieson is the head and lead physician of the Protectors. He’s one of ours, strategically placed into your world to see to any and all of your medical needs.”
Another man she considered a friend was what…working for her father? Her heart cracked a little more.
“It’s not what you think, Abigail.”
“Elizabeth,” she corrected him. “And it’s exactly what I think.”
“Jamieson is like us. He’s an immortal. He delivered your grandfather, your father, and then you. He’s an important part of your family and the ONLY person I trusted to see to your needs when I couldn’t bring you in.”
She shifted her gaze to his. “You wanted to bring me…here?”
“Of course. This is where you were to return when you turned twenty-five, although it was to rule under your father, but after giving you my blood, I always knew you were destined to become a protector.” Evan uncrossed his legs and sat up, resting his elbows on his knees. “I need to train you how to fight and teach you how to use your new skills. You are one of us, Elizabeth. You belong with us, living among us, and fighting beside us. It’s who we are. It’s who you are. I know you better than you know yourself. The throne will never make you happy, not like fighting to protect the innocent people of the world.”
“My whole life was nothing more than an elaborate lie. Is Rhys even my mate, or is he part of this world, too? Did you guys give me some bad juju full of pheromones to make me feel that pull?”
“Hardly,” Evan answered and stood up, walking to the other side of the bed where the empty IV bag hung. He began replacing it with a fresh bag before sitting down on the side of the bed, leaving one foot on the floor. “Tell me what you want, Elizabeth. What will make you happy?” His haunted eyes held hers. She felt the sorrow, his feelings and knew that he genuinely cared.
“I want to find the girls. I want to destroy the lab and protect the other shifters from asinine laws meant to restrict them. I want to feel the mate bond with Rhys without killing him. I want people to quit withholding the truth from me because they don’t think I can handle it. I want…” She let her words trail off. “It doesn’t matter what I want. You guys have manipulated my entire life.”
He took her hand in his. She felt the strength in his touch, the support he offered. “You shall have all of those things and more.”
She looked up to meet his gaze.
“Get some rest, Elizabeth.” He patted her hand. “Once you’re better, we’ll start on that list of yours. Rest assured, I know for a fact the women being held are fine, and we will rescue them.”
He rose from the bed and walked to the door. Pulling it open, he paused. “I’ll check on Rhys to make sure he’s comfortable and then start planning the rest. You have my word, not as your protector but as the other half of your soul. It will be done.”
He bowed as if addressing royalty and walked out of the room, leaving her with nothing more than her thoughts.