“You still are. You’ll never outrun your destiny.” Evan took a step in her direction, and Elizabeth aimed the gun a foot in front of his boots and pulled the trigger.
The shit head didn’t even jump.
“That was the only warning you’ll get, asshole. Not another step or the next one is through the heart.”
“I’m your guard,” he answered. “My job is to protect and guide you.”
“I’m her protector,” Rhys growled and stepped up beside her.
Evan made a gesture to the blood soaking Rhys’ shirt from the wound at her shoulder. “She’s bleeding. You both are. We need to take this in the house so I can tend to her.”
“If you’d like to keep your hands, I’d suggest letting Rhys tend to her,” Max advised, stepping forward with Dylan flanking him.
There was way too much testosterone aimed at her in the clearing. Not to mention that she was seeing more of Rhys’ brothers than should be legally allowed.
Rhys tenderly brushed the shirt to the side to see the damage left by the bite marks at her shoulder. They were already healing because of her shift. She touched the wound, her fingertips coming away sticky and wet, yet she felt no pain from the wound thanks to the adrenaline pumping through her body.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” He swept her off her feet. She squealed in protest, bound in his embrace, while he carried her back toward the house. “Bring him inside,” he called over his shoulder.
“Put me down. I can walk.”
“I know,” he answered, holding her tighter, careful of her shoulder. He pressed a lingering kiss to her head. “I’ll put you down when we’re inside, Abigail.”
“Call me that one more time and it’s you who will need patching up, bear.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes but settled into his embrace. “My name is Elizabeth. Abigail died years ago.”
Rhys carried her straight into the house, ignoring the burning steaks still on the grill.
She glanced over his shoulder longingly at the black smoke rising from the grill. “The assholes ruined our food.” She pouted.
He grinned. “Don’t worry. I’ll feed my kitty some meat.” He took the stairs two at a time, which was impressive with her in his arms. “You could have told me your animal was a tiger.”
“Well….” She snapped her lips closed. The Siberian tiger may have been one of her animals, but she had a crap load more that could have just as easily made an appearance. “There’s a lot more I need to tell you.”
He stomped through the room directly into the bathroom, putting her down on the counter between the double sinks.
“You don’t need to go to all this trouble. I’m sure it’s healed by now.” Without thinking twice, she pulled the shirt off and set it beside her, twisting her torso to get a better look at the scratch in the mirror. It was on the same side as the mark Boris left on her.
“I know you’re new to shifting into an animal, but we don’t just heal completely because we shift.”
“I do,” she answered matter-of-factly, not sure what to make of the fact that others didn’t. Was that just another anomaly that separated her from the others?
Rhys used a wet washcloth to wipe away the blood. He paused, resting his hands on her legs, looking at her freshly knit skin. His mouth parted and he just stared at her shoulder. The same side of her body where the scars Boris had given her had knit back together, leaving only a light pink scar where the tear had once been. “I don’t…”
He lightly touched the year-old scar on her shoulder, and heat flushed her skin. She was sitting entirely naked in front of her mate for the first time. A single touch and flames licked her veins, making her throb at her core. Her nipples pebbled, begging for his touch.
“Who did this to you?” he asked. His lips dipped into a frown.
“A dead bear,” she answered placing her hand over his. She slowly moved his fingers in a path over her collarbone until they rested on her breast. Whether it was the adrenaline from the fight or just the fact that her mate was standing between her legs and naked as the day he was born, she didn’t care. She traced the muscles on his chest and arms, exploring him for the first time, pulling her deeper into a lust-filled haze.
She reached between his legs and stroked her thumb over the head of his shaft. Running her fingers down his length, she gripped him and pulled in long, even strokes.
“Elizabeth.” Her name came out as a growl deep in his chest as he lowered his head, running his wet tongue around her rosy nipple. He scraped his teeth along the tender flesh before sucking it deep into his mouth. His hand stilled hers on his shaft, and he pulled it away to rest at his side before cupping her other breast, running his thumb over the peak.
Fuck….the sensations consumed her, reminding her of all of the feelings she’d given up.
“Oh god.” She moaned, scraping her nails in a light path down his back. She needed to be closer. She needed to feel him.
One last lick and he raised his head, locking his gaze with hers. He pulled her closer to the counter’s edge. Hunger, desire, and everything she’d never known she wanted looked back at her. He leaned in and kissed her in the hollow of her throat, leaving a tender swipe with his tongue before raising his head again. His normally blue eyes were stormy and dark gray. His cock pressed at her heat, rubbing through her juices. He stood unmoving.
“Tell me you want this.”
She wrapped her legs around his waist and used her heels to inch him closer.
“More than anything.” She hardly recognized her own husky voice. “I need you, Rhys.”
He reached between them and used the pad of his thumb, circling on her clit. He pressed a finger into her juices, and she clenched it tight. Her head fell back on her shoulders, and she moaned, clutching his shoulders tightly. She was close, so damn close.
He eased his finger in and out and added two more, stretching her as his mouth latched onto her other breast, suckling and scraping his teeth against her sensitive flesh. His fingers quickened, and every muscle in her body clenched, trying to fight off the rising orgasm about to consume her.
“Oh yes, faster.” She moaned. “More.”
He twisted his fingers and pressed deliciously against her G-spot while his thumb pressed on her clit. Colors exploded behind her closed eyes. She said his name, her voice coming out raspy from heat. Her body shivered in convulsions as her channel tightened on his fingers. He continued to stroke her, easing her down from the ledge.
She rested her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck. Every muscle in her body relaxed into his hold. Pulling his fingers free, he licked her juices from his fingers, moaning at her taste.
“Your turn,” she whispered and guided his shaft to her sex.
He pressed in, seating himself in one full stroke. She moaned and clenched his arms, scratching his arms with her nails. She raised her hips, needing him to move, needing all of him, more of him.
He eased in and out, leaning over her, deliciously pressing her clit with each stroke. Her orgasm built again, and his extra-large cock grew thicker inside of her, touching and stretching, claiming and demanding her to accommodate him.
A growl formed deep in his chest. “Damn, baby. I’m not going to last this first time.” He pressed into her harder, lifting her legs over his arms and holding her open for his view. He pumped in and out of her, making her take everything he had to give. “Fuck, you’re such a pretty pussy cat.” He reached between them and circled her bud once again. “You’re coming with me, baby.” He grunted out each word as her orgasm built, growing, tightening against his throbbing cock.
“Oh yes, Rhys.”
“That’s my girl. Feel me, baby. This is yours, all yours.”
The combination of his words, his finger and his strokes sent her over the top. He dropped her legs and leaned over her. His lips pressed to hers in a searing crush, and he swallowed the scream of his name, not slowing until she felt his release. His hot seed shot, filling her channel until they both collapsed in a whimpering, sweaty mass of bodies pressed intimately together.
His rapid heartbeat slowed, matching hers. He lowered his head, pressing a lingering, sweet kiss to her lips. “I’m sleeping with you tonight.”
She chuckled. “What about waiting for an invite?”
He eased an inch out of her before pushing in again. She felt him growing by the second.
“Am I not invited?”
He stroked her again.
“Oh yeah, you’re invited.”
He pressed another kiss to her neck before pulling free.
“We need to get cleaned up so we can go deal with Evan.”
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the mirror. “You’re right.”
Fifteen minutes later, after a quick shower, she felt better than she had all day. Her muscles were boneless and sated until she followed Rhys back down the stairs, and she instantly felt the aggravation coming from Evan.
“Enjoy yourself, Abigail?” he asked with a raised brow.
She glanced at him and narrowed her eyes, stepping down the last five steps. “Call me that again. I dare you.”
He held her gaze, unrepentant, yet to his credit, he was smart enough not to say her name again. “What happened to the girls from the club?” she asked, standing at the bottom of the stairs.
He didn’t reply, just kept a watchful gaze on the occupants of the room.
“Fine, let’s start with an easier question. How do you know the name Abigail?”
“Because I’ve known about you since the day you were born.”
She rested a fist on her waist. Her whole body was strung tight. She was ready to explode at the first, wrong word. “Yeah?” she spat out. “As my protector, right? Isn’t that what you said?”
She gritted her teeth and lifted her chin. The more she thought about what he was saying, the more pissed off she became.
“Always.” He bowed his head.
“Then where the hell were you a year ago?” She lunged for Evan, ready to strangle the lies from his throat.
“There is much you don’t know.”
Rhys caught her in his warm, strong embrace. He wrapped her into his arms, pulling her back against his chest as if sensing she needed the restraint.
He placed a tender, calming kiss on her neck, and her anger returned to a simmer, waiting for the temperature to kick in. “He’s lying.”
“Unhand her, bear,” Evan demanded in a deadly tone, rising to stand in front of the fireplace. “My job is to protect you, Abigail, even if it’s from yourself. He is not your mate.”
She chuckled at his words. Maybe it was her nerves, her agitation, maybe even the sex she’d just had, or hell, it could have been from the deathly stare Evan was giving her, but she couldn’t help herself. She let the giggle building inside spill from her lips. Anger and agitation about this whole new feeling ripped through her. Here was this maniac telling her not to trust the only man, besides Trapp, who’d ever helped her, who’d ever vowed to make her happy. Who she was learning to…like. She hadn’t wanted a mate, but now…Being told that Rhys wasn’t hers? That just aggravated the piss out of her. What the hell did this schmuck think she was going to do? Trust him? Her whole body shook as she laughed at the situation. The attack, Evan, hell, even Horace coming after her. She continued to laugh hysterically until tears slipped free from her eyes.
They all watched her as though she’d grown a second head, but their confused looks just made her laugh even harder until she snorted, and that sound had her doubling over at the waist laughing even more.
“Did you tell him?” Evan asked, stepping closer.
She righted, swiping at her tears, taking deep, long breaths to push away the humor that only she apparently felt from the situation.
Dylan and Max moved across the room closer to her and Rhys, as if waiting for Evan to attack.
“Tell him what? That you’re missing a few screws? I think that’s pretty obvious.” She cleared her throat, trying not to smile.
He clicked his tongue and folded his arms over his black sleeveless leather vest. The top of his muscled arms were covered in some type of intricate tribal tattoos. Others might call her stupid for baiting this man, but she was past the point of caring what anyone thought. Evan was surrounded by a roomful of bears…and her.
“That the cat isn’t your only animal, that they’re all part of you.” He growled. “I saved you when you were taken.”
Elizabeth’s mouth parted at his words, and heat flooded her cheeks. She moved out of Rhys’ embrace, calling on the strength of her dragon that would tear apart Evan’s lies. She stepped toward the intruder, the man no longer welcome in this house. “Saved me? I don’t remember anyone putting a stop to those needles being shoved in my arms.” She took another step closer, grinding her teeth, the muscles in her shoulders strung tight. “Or when Boris was trying to tear out my throat…or hell, when I was on the verge of dying from all of that foreign DNA mixing in my veins. No…I don’t recall seeing you anywhere nearby, you delusional prick.”
“How easily we forget.” He answered.
She was standing directly in front of Evan, daring him to make a move, daring him to shift into anything so she’d be justified for killing the asshole just like she’d done to the scientist that had tried to kill her soul.
“Elizabeth.”
Rhys’ warm palms rested on her waist. He’d moved in behind her, and she felt his warmth radiating and surrounding her like a blanket on a cold winter’s day, calming her anger once again, in a way only he could. He eased her body back into his chest. His move was such a natural thing and yet unfamiliar to her.
Evan’s jaw ticked. His eyes flicked from mossy green to deep black like the pits of hell before returning to green. “You might not have seen me, but I was there. I switched the vials they filled you with. If it hadn’t been for me, you would have died. They would have stripped away and killed every animal you have, leaving you nothing but a shell. That was their plan all along. You and you alone were the target. The other women that were taken were merely test subjects. It was you who they planned to make into a killing machine, and if that didn’t work, they’d planned to destroy you. Did you honestly think that it was possible for a normal human to survive all of that DNA?”
She remained silent. Her eyes flashed, changing the color of the room red in her vision.
“They pumped you full of your own blood, Abigail. That wasn’t a coincidence. It’s your own blood coursing through your veins.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. Why me? And how was it my own blood?”
A shimmer of something flashed in his eyes before he quickly masked it. “Because of who you are. You don’t you remember?” His words softened. “I promised to help you escape.”
Recognition of his voice made her pause. “You didn’t stop the bear? Because of you, I almost died.”
“The bear that used his bite to infect you with his enzymes was a stupid fuck. It was never his bite you had to worry about killing you. He’d ingested the enzymes in your blood and would have died within a month had you not already taken care of it yourself.” He stepped closer to her. “No, sweetheart, if I hadn’t intervened, you would most definitely be dead from the crap they had planned for you. There was a reason why I had access to your blood. They took it from you, and they studied it.”
“You were one of them?” Elizabeth felt the muscles in Rhys’ arm growing tense with the more this asshole shared. Soon her secrets would be all out in the open.
“The games they played did nothing more than bring out your true identity; so in reality, they did you a favor by awakening you from the damn sleep you were in…It didn’t kill Abigail. It brought her to life for the first time ever.”
“That’s not possible.” Elizabeth’s words were a breath between them. Confusion clouded her brain. Rhys took a step back, taking her with him.
“You were supposed to be told.” Evan ran his hand through his hair. “On your twenty-fifth birthday, your uncle was supposed to prepare you for what to expect when you returned to us. Shit.”
“What the hell are you talking about; I don’t have an uncle.” She screamed.
Dylan interrupted her argument. “I called Trapp. He’s on his way.”
“Abigail…”
“That is not my name!” she yelled. Something inside her snapped, and she swung, her fist making contact with Evan’s nose. She heard the crunch of his bones as his face whipped to the side. He slowly turned to face her; his glowing red eyes matched the blood from his busted lip.
“Want to play hardball?” He narrowed his eyes. “Fine. I thought it would help to ease you into this information, but no.” He rubbed his jaw and narrowed his eyes. “You, princess, are a natural-born descendant of the royal line of Jordanians. They’re a sacred breed of ancient shifters whose main mission in life is protection. You don’t have one animal to call your own. They are all yours, and I am your guard.”
“Nice job you’re doing.” Her lips curled. She turned her back on the crazy man. She cupped Rhys’ face and pressed a kiss to his lips. “You can deal with him. I’m starved.” She winked before she sidestepped him, heading for the kitchen. She paused at the threshold and glanced over her shoulder. “You were wrong about one thing, Guardian.” The word dripped with hatred and distrust. “Rhys is my mate and is more of a protector than you’ll ever be.”
“Your father has called you home.”
She clenched the door frame at his words. Ice skirted down her spine and through her veins.
She slowly turned in place to face the liar. “My father is dead.”
“The human man who raised you is dead. He was your uncle, killed by the same people that abducted you. He’s the one that failed to explain things to you before you turned twenty-five. It’s not his royal blood coursing through your veins that gave you life.”
She ground her teeth. If Trapp didn’t get here soon, he’d be staring at a dead suspect in the women’s abductions. “I have his eyes,” she countered, her words a whisper in the quiet room. “And my mother’s temper.” Her voice was becoming louder. “There is no way that you will ever convince me that the man who raised me was not my father, so you can save your breath.” Her nostrils flared, her vision flashed red, and her nails lengthened without a shift.
“Your father was a twin. One was to be king, the other a commoner among mortal men.”
Rhys growled at the accusation, but her anger eased.
This man was mental. He was sick. That was the only explanation she could form. “Assuming this breed even exists, you’re trying to tell me that the Jordanian King let a commoner raise one of his children?”
“His only child.” He bowed and lifted his arm across his chest in a weird salute. “Princess Abigail. Your father sent you to live with his brother so you could understand exactly what you were meant to fight for. You weren’t supposed to find out until you were ready. You alone can save both of our kinds.”
“Great,” she mumbled. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but I can’t even locate three women that went missing from a nightclub, much less know how to save not one but two races. Well, go ahead and kiss your ass goodbye. We’re all doomed.” She glanced toward her mate, the one she still hadn’t legally claimed. “Rhys, I’m going to fix a sandwich and check the woods for any lingering animals. Will you tell me when Trapp arrives?”
“Max, Dylan.” He gave them a nod to follow her.
“I’ll call Marcus to open the bar.” Dylan’s brows dipped.
“I’ll make the food.” Max started pulling things out of the fridge.