Jaxon
I knew something was wrong I just didn’t know what it was until her image flashed in my mind. Her terror hurt my heart. Without a thought I shifted, my wolf took over, and I was running on four legs towards the diner where I’d first seen her this morning. I could feel my pack close. They’d shifted as well and were running right behind me. I told them through our connection to stay hidden. I didn’t want Sierra afraid of us, to think we were monsters just like the dirty bastards who had her now. I could smell two vampires, their stench nearly overwhelming, they smelt like dirt and raw meat. I told my pack to hold off; I didn’t need help, and I knew I could take them out myself. They were attacking my mate; it was my right to kill them. I shifted back to my human form as I got to the mouth of the alley. I heard a muffled sob as I entered and I saw Sierra pinned against the wall. One man was sucking her blood and the other one was undoing his jeans. Fury made me see red, I wanted him dead first. I bit back the howl rumbling in my throat and I moved silently towards him. He should have heard me, they both should have, vampire hearing was just as strong as a shifters, but they were too involved in my mate and that would be their downfall. A quick punch to his stomach and a twist of his neck and the scum who dared to think he could rape my mate was incapacitated. He would revive in a couple of hours if we didn’t stake him, but I didn’t have time to worry. The man sucking Sierra’s blood didn’t even notice that his friend was down. I was so consumed by my anger that I wasn’t thinking straight as I gripped him by the back of his neck and threw him away from her. She slipped towards the floor, and before I could catch her, the vampire charged at me. Her blood dripped from his mouth and fury filled me. I waited until he was close then I threw a hand out, my claws long and sharp sliced open his throat and he went down, landing on the dirty floor with a thud. Gabe, my second in command, whistled as he walked towards the two downed vampires and me. I’d known he was watching me and I was grateful for his presence now. I turned to where Sierra lay on the floor. If not for her heart I could hear beating, I would think she was dead. Regret tore at me when I saw the blood on her neck and knees. Walking towards her, I slipped my hands under her cold body and lifted her. I held her close. “I’m sorry.” I whispered. She didn’t answer me. She moved so her head lay against my neck and shoulder, her cold nose touched my bare skin making me shiver. I felt her breath against my skin and then her body went slack.
“Jaxon, we brought the car. I figured you’d need it.” Gabe said into the silence.
“Thank you.” I said gratefully. Although, knowing I could do it, I was glad I didn’t have to walk all the way home with her. Her skin was cold, her heartbeat slow. She needed to be safe in my house and the sooner the better. I grabbed the keys from Gabe as I passed him, careful not to jolt Sierra. Tightening my grip on her, I headed towards my car. I hoped she wouldn’t wake up just yet; I needed time to think of an explanation for all that had happened. I wouldn’t lie to her, she had the right to the truth, but I didn’t want to scare her more than was needed. When I got to my car, I opened the door and lay her down on the back seat. Grabbing the blanket I kept in there, I draped it over her, covering her chilled body. Her breathing was slow and steady now telling me she was sleeping deeply. I quickly climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car, driving toward home. There were many things I needed answers to, but most importantly I wanted to know how two vampires came to be in my territory without my knowledge. I would find that out once I’d had Sierra checked over by the pack doctor. I wasn’t sure how much blood she’d lost, I could smell her weakness, but I wasn’t sure if she would need a transfusion or just a few meals of red meat. Anger was still coursing through my veins because of how close I’d been to losing my mate before I even knew her. It made me so angry. My fist clenched on the steering wheel and I took a deep breath forcing myself to calm down. My eyes shot to the still figure in the back when I heard her sigh, but she didn’t wake up. Instead, she snuggled into the blanket pulling it under her nose. “Jaxon,” She whispered.
My foot hit the brake a little too hard, and I cursed. She didn’t stir again though, and I stared at her in wonder before tearing my eyes away to watch the road. How did she know my name? It didn’t make any sense, except when I thought about it properly, it made perfect sense. No one had ever told me hers. When a shifter meets his mate, the connection begins immediately. We would have read each other’s minds without even being aware of it. Already, I knew that her favourite scent was Vanilla and her favourite flower a daisy. She was beautiful. Asleep on my backseat, she looked like an angel; her blond hair lay loose around her delicate shoulders. Her chest rising and falling softly assured me she was fine. I put my foot down wanting to get home. I could feel my pack surrounding us and when I drove down the gravel drive towards my house, their eyes shone in the woods as we passed them. I pulled up outside my house and shut the engine off. Gabe opened my door before I could, standing back so I could climb out.
“We disposed of them.”
“Thanks.”
“You should know there are more on their way.”
“What?”
“I checked their phones. They'd been in contact with five other vampires, three of the names I know of. Their messages don’t seem very friendly towards us.”
I nodded feeling torn between looking after my mate or my pack.
“I’ve got this.” Gabe said as he slapped me on the back. “Go, look after your mate.”
“I’ll get her settled and then I’ll meet you in the office. If you recognised the names that means they’re bad news.”
“Aren’t all vampires?”
“No, and I ask you to remember that.” A voice came from behind us.
“Shit.” I cursed. “Deacon, I’ve told you not to sneak up on me like that.”
“Sorry boss.”
“See, this is why I think all vampires are pricks.” Gabe growled.
“Yes, and you don’t trust them. Blah, blah, blah.” Deacon grinned.
I shook my head. “Can I trust that you two will play nice until I get Sierra checked over by the doc?”
“Of course,” Gabe said sounding offended.
They fought a lot, but they’d been friends for years. We all had.
“Oh, she is pretty.” Deacon said as he looked into the window to get a better look at Sierra.
My wolf growled. If Deacon had been in touching distant of her, I would have ripped him apart.
Deacon backed away from me, his hands in the air. I sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Sorry.” I said into the silence.
“Take her inside, Jax. We’re attracting attention. If she wakes up surrounded by strangers, it will scare her.” He pointed at Deacon. “She will definitely be scared if she sees him.”
“You’re right.” I agreed. I opened the door and almost climbed in so I could get a hold on her. She was still sleeping soundly. I kept the blanket wrapped around her protecting her modesty.
“Why would she be afraid of me?” I heard Deacon ask.
“Vampires attacked her.”
“What the fuck. Why are they here, don’t they know it’s your turf?”
“It’s ours. Yours included. And that’s something we need to find out.” Gabe told him.
I stood up with Sierra wrapped in my arms and I felt my anger drain away. Just like before, she snuggled closer to my body making me smile. Deacon and Gabe gave me a wide berth of which I was grateful. I carried my precious cargo towards the house and up the wooden porch steps. The front door burst open and Mary, the pack doctor appeared.
“Put her in your bedroom and I’ll check her over.” She said in her no nonsense tone.
Mary had been the pack doctor longer than I’d been born and I was thirty-six. She was great at her job, and she was a genius at making my men do as they were told when they needed fixing up. Everyone loved her. I carried Sierra up the stairs and into my bedroom laying her on my bed. Gently tugging the blanket from her, I untied her shoes dropping them on the floor, and covered her once again with the blanket. I sat next to her and the bed dipped, making her roll to her side, her head resting against my thigh. I studied her sleeping face. She was perfect. Not one flaw existed on her pale, freckled face. Her eyelashes were so long they left shadows on her cheeks; her pink lips parted slightly on her every breath. I brushed my fingertips against her cheek marvelling at the fact she was here that I’d found my mate.
“Knock, knock.” Mary said as she walked through the open door. I stood up and moved away from Sierra giving her room.
“She smells ok. Over the next few days she will need a few meals with red meat, but other than that there should be no serious side effects.”
“You can tell that from just a sniff.”
“I’ve had practice.”
“I suppose you have.”
“Am I right in thinking you haven’t got a scratch?”
“You are. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Good.” She pulled some cotton wool and antibiotic spray from her bag. “I need to clean her neck.”
“And her knees,” I added. “She fell before I could catch her.”
“Losing your touch,” Mary chuckled.
“Finding my mate does that to me.”
“I imagine it does. I’m happy for you, Jaxon. It’s about time we had some cubs running around.”
“Whoa, you need to slow down. I haven’t even told her what I am yet.”
“She knows enough.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The connection between you will allow her to see it. It would have done from the first moment you met.”
“It works fast.”
“What does?”
“Fate.”
“It does.” She agreed. She pulled out a huge plaster and placed it over the teeth marks on Sierra’s neck. “Can you lift the blanket so I can clean her knees please?”
I did as she asked and watched as she cleaned the grazes and placed plasters on those as well.
“She’s all set. Her mind might be confused right now, but soon she is going to remember that a man tried to rape her.”
“I know. I’ll talk to her.”
“Tell her I’m always around if she would rather talk to me.”
“Thank you, Mary.”
“I know what it’s like remember.”
Mary had been the victim of an attack a few years ago. If not for her wolf strength, her attacker would have succeeded with his assault on her. I nodded and with a wave, she left me alone with my mate. I wanted to wake her up, I wanted to talk to her and explain everything, but it wasn’t about what I wanted anymore, it was about what was best for her. So, with a quick kiss to her forehead, I turned the lights off and left her lying on my bed. Closing the door quietly behind me, I headed toward my office, the place was quiet and I had a feeling I had Gabe to thank for that. He knew I wanted no one but me around my mate until she knew of what we were. It was time to find out what was going on in my territory and what the vampires hoped to gain by gate crashing it. I’d hoped to ease Sierra into the shifter life slowly, but that ship had sailed. She was about to find out that as well as vampires, shifters existed as well and she was about to become mated to one.
When I entered my office, I grimaced. Gabe stood to the side of my desk, his arms folded, and a deep scowl on his face. Deacon stood the other side, and he didn’t look any happier. I met Gabe’s eyes, and I sighed. “What’s happened?”
“The vampires have declared war.”
“All of them?” I asked calmly.
“No, just a few. Well, ten to be exact.”
“Two are dead.” I said with satisfaction.
“Yes, but eight remain and if they can convince others to join, it could get messy.”
“Do we know why this is happening?” I enquired.
Before Gabe could answer, Deacon did. “Vampires have been the weaker species for thousands of years, with shifters breeding and living in large packs they have also been out numbered. Most are ok with this, but now, Simon has convinced a few that by taking your pack out, you specifically, it will leave a gaping hole in the shifter world and their defences, leaving your territory a free for all.”
“Why would they think that? My pack might be the largest, but it isn’t the only pack around here.”
Deacon grimaced. “Yours is the strongest. By eliminating you, it leaves the shifters weakened. Simon hopes to take advantage of that.”
“Well, he won’t get the chance.”
“Maybe, but it won’t stop him trying, and there will be lives lost in the process.”
“We need to stop him before it begins.”
“On that we agree, but it won’t be easy. The elder vampires have no idea where he could be.” Deacon said.
“It’s up to us to find him then. We have to stop them before they bring death to our territory and to our home. We must protect ourselves and the humans.”
“Yes. I’ll call a meeting.” Gabe said, and he saluted me in his usual way as he left the room. I turned to face a thoughtful looking Deacon. “What’s up?” I asked him.
“I think fate is playing you up. You’ve met your mate just as a war is breaking out.”
I grinned. “You might be right, but I can’t say I mind. She is beautiful.”
“She is, but she is also delicate.”
I sighed. “I know. It worries me, but I won’t let anything happen to her, neither will the pack.”
“I can try to find out more from the elders, but they don’t like to share much with me.”
“You scare them.” I grinned. “It’s not a bad thing.” I said when I saw his frown.
“I never asked for this.” He stated.
“I never asked to meet my mate in the middle of a war.” I said with a shrug.
“You think fate did this to me?” he asked with a bite in his voice.
“I think everything happens for a reason.”
He shook his head. “What reason could there be for me to be like this?”
“You act like you’re ill, but you’re not. You are a hybrid, you have all the powers of a shifter, and a vampire combined, without the side effects. It makes you special Deacon, embrace it, and stop fighting it.”
“It’s bullshit.” He snapped. “Being a hybrid isn’t special, it’s just bad luck.”
“You’d rather of died from the vampire bite?”
“I’m a shifter, not a vampire.”
“You are still a shifter, you’re just stronger now. One day you will meet someone who will show you who you are.”
“I doubt that. Vampires hardly ever find their mate that’s why there aren’t many of them.”
“It’s a good job you were a shifter first then.”
He shrugged. “I’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
“You’re staying for the meeting?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. The pack misses you.” I said quietly.
A shadow passed over his face and he nodded before walking out of my office. I didn’t try to stop him, or to say more, I could see he wouldn’t listen to me. Ever since a vampire had bitten him, he’d pulled away from me, from the pack. He’d also started thinking himself alone in the world. We hadn’t known if he would survive when it had first happened, but Mary had worked her magic and along with the vampire elders, she’d saved his life. He was the only known shifter survivor of a vampire bite, no one had known what to expect from him, but he was still himself, except he was stronger, faster and grumpier. He was dangerous, of that, we were all sure, but he had never used his powers to hurt anyone. We’d known each other forever, been best friends since we were able to talk. Deacon sometimes forgot that, and when he did, he pushed us away thinking we would let him be. Gabe thought we should give him the space he wanted, but if we did I had a feeling we would see him less and less, if at all. Right now, we needed him more than ever. My stomach lurched, and I was hit with so many emotions I couldn’t define even one. Sierra was awake. It was time to explain things to my mate.