Saving Penelope (The Knights Book 1)

by Zoe Jane Fox

  “That was amazing! You didn’t tell me the bite was going to heighten my pleasure” She says as she sits up looking at me with an eyebrow raised like I was holding out on her.

  “I wasn’t sure how exactly it would be seeing as I have never been mated before. I’ve only heard stories that it’s really enjoyable.” I say. My bear makes a rumbling noise, he’s feeling content and happy knowing we have claimed our mate.

  “Monroe, you said I would change into a bear shifter like you. When will I shift?” She asks sounding serious. I’m worried she is changing her mind now, I pull her back down to me and kiss her on the forehead.

  “Most shifters are born this way, like myself, we start shifting around five years old. It’s not uncommon to mate with a human, it actually happens a lot. Those who have been turned normally shift anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. I guess it depends on the person. Are you regretting what we did?” I ask feeling nervous about how she will feel. There’s no going back so maybe she will grow to love me and everything that comes with me over time.

  “No! I was just curious Monroe.” She says as she squeezes me to her tighter. Not wanting to keep those thoughts of her not being happy in my head, I decide I need a distraction. I get upbringing Penelope with me carrying her to the bathroom.

  “What are you doing?” She asks as we get inside. I sit her on the counter before making my way to the shower turning it on to warm up before we get in.

  “Getting you all cleaned up before we have to head downstairs and talk. Bastian is coming back over so I’d like to talk to you before he gets here.” I say as I pick her up and carry her in the shower.

  "Ok. Maybe I can taste you as you did me while we're in here." She says as she slides down my body. I don't know how much I can take before I'll want to have her pussy wrapped around my cock again. The second her mouth touches my cock I swear my eyes roll all the way to the back of my head. I let her have her fun for a few moments before I pick her up, pushing her against the shower wall to have my way with her again.

  15

  Penelope

  After the shower, we head downstairs, Doctor is so excited to see us, jumping all over the place. It’s been a while since he has been outside to use the bathroom so I ask Monroe to go with me to take him outside, knowing it’s not safe to go alone. As soon as the front door is open Doctor runs out in the grass doing his own thing. I look around noticing there are a few men standing around the house. I turn to Monroe asking what is going on when he tells me he had some men come out to guard the house until we catch this guy. I noticed while getting dressed, I was starting to feel some of Monroe’s emotions and he told me it is part of the mating bond. Right now I’m getting the feeling he is nervous and feeling a bit guilty.

  "What is going on Monroe? I can tell you're nervous and guilty, so what is it? I know it's not from the rogue being after me." I say while turning to him. He lets out a breath before calling Doctor back to us and leading us inside. We go into the living room, taking a seat while Monroe gets his thoughts together.

  “Bastian found out that the rogue was going in the victim’s apartment, drinking from them, it wasn’t enough to drain them but it was enough to tell. When Hank went to your apartment, he smelled the faint scent of a vampire in your home.” He says as he lifts his head from his hands to look at me. I can tell this is hard for him and it is for me too.

  “I already figured that out when I heard the three of you talking when you thought I was playing with Doctor. While it scared me, I realized I was lucky to be alive when the other women are not.” He looks shocked by what I just told him. “By the way, you guys suck at being quiet,” I tell him trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

  “Of course, you heard us! I’ll have to be more careful from now on” He says while laughing, then leans over and gives me a kiss. I poke him in the ribs and back up a bit.

  “Monroe, do not keep secrets from me, I don’t like it,” I said while glaring at him. He reassures me that he won’t unless it’s for my own good. Before I can protest, he gets up heading to the kitchen telling me he is going to make us some tacos for dinner, that Bastian should be here soon. Frustrated with him I get up to unpack some of the things Natalie picked up for Doctor. Taking out my anger on cleaning has always seemed to help me calm down so maybe unpacking will too. While I’m setting up the Doctor’s doggy bed Monroe comes out of the kitchen telling me Bastian just went through the gate and should be at the door any minute. Before he goes to open the door, he comes over to me, pulling me into his arms, leaning his forehead against mine.

  “I’m sorry. I know I upset you, that is the last thing I want to do. I’m trying to keep you safe. I love you, it would kill me if something happened to you. My job is to protect you and by keeping some small details hidden from you so you’re not upset is part me of protecting you.” I start to open my mouth to say something when he adds “I know you don’t like it and I promise not to keep anything from you unless it puts you in danger.” He finishes and gives me a soft kiss.

  "I love you too, Monroe," I say against his mouth. Monroe lets out a growl before squeezing my butt, bringing my body closer to his until the doorbell goes off.

  "Fuck." He mumbles.

  Letting me go, he goes to the door checking the peephole before opening it, in walks Bastian looking upset. Monroe tells us to come into the kitchen that we’ll talk while we eat. I absolutely love tacos, they're my favorite and some of the anger from earlier is slipping away so I'm able to enjoy them. I get up to get us all some beers and as I'm sitting down at the table handing them out, Something bothers me.

  "Ok, if you're not dead, how are you a vampire, Bastian?" Then I slap a hand over my mouth, shocked at myself for blurting it out. I hear laughter, snapping out of my little shocked moment to see Monroe has thrown his head back and is full on laughing, Bastian is right there with him. Getting frustrated that they're laughing at me, I start tapping my foot underneath the table. Monroe, who senses my frustration slowly stops laughing. He reaches over, grabbing my hand, bringing it to his mouth, placing a kiss on it before putting it back down. Now all I'm thinking about is wanting his mouth back on me but in other places. When he looks at me again, his eyes darken with desire, then he winks at me, knowing he turned me on. Bastian clears his throat, shaking me out of my lustful thoughts of Monroe.

  “We all come from magic and are the same as humans just a little bit different. Vampires need blood, have fangs, but are mostly the same.” Bastian says with a shrug of his shoulders. I think about what he said for a moment.

  "You can read minds too," I say. He nods his head, but then gets a grim look on his face, which has me scared for what he's going to say next.

  “I can also use mind control to make you do what I say. I don’t like doing that either unless it’s for an emergency” He says while looking down at his food like he’s ashamed he has these abilities.

  "Well, that's actually pretty cool, maybe a bit frightening. So I'm taking it witches are real too if there’s magic?" I ask taking the subject off Bastian when he seems uncomfortable with it. He looks up at me then nods his head.

  "What about fairies?" I asked, unable to resist that one. Both Monroe and Bastian laugh before telling me no fairies don't exist. That leaves me a little bummed, I always believed in fairies as a little girl.

  16

  Penelope

  It has been two weeks since Monroe saved me and brought me into his home. There is still no sign of the rogue that chased me that night. I feel like maybe he has given up since I now have gained a family after mating with Monroe. Natalie and Andrew have even started insisting I call them Ma and Pa, once they learned my parents died in a car wreck when I was seventeen leaving on my own since. I've grown close with Damon, most days when I take Doctor outside, he comes up to the house. Some days he stays in bear form just sitting there in silence, then there are days he shifts into his human form talking to me. I was feeling disappointed I haven't shifted yet, not e
ven sensing my bear so I talked to Damon about it, he said not to worry it will come in time. I haven't told Monroe because I don't want to add to his worry. Monroe doesn't feel like the rogue has given up so he hasn't dropped all the guards around the house yet. He has gone back to work even though most days he's working with Bastian trying to find the guy. Today is one of those days, where he is at work while I am at home. Monroe talked me into giving up my apartment, it wasn’t like I could afford it anyway. He sent some men over there packing up what I wanted, donating the rest. I quit working at Ted's diner telling them a little bit of what happened just leaving out the vampire part. I will miss hanging out with Mabel but maybe after this guy is caught I'll be able to go visit her. I decide to call her using Monroe’s home phone while I have nothing to do.

  “Hey Penny, How is it going?” She asks as she answers the phone.

  “Eh, it’s going ok I guess I’m just bored out of my mind,” I say while sitting at the bar stool swinging my legs back and forth.

  I hear laughter before she says “Yes, it must be so boring sitting at home all day and not have to work anymore.” I hear the sarcasm in her voice. I know she’s right, we both have had to work hard for different reasons.

  “Yeah, I know. Now tell me how mad is Ted that I had to quit without notice?” I ask. I’m nervous about what she says, not that it changes anything, I just don’t like people to be mad at me.

  “He was upset that he was short-handed but he understands why. Ted hired a new girl yesterday. Man, let me tell you, she is clumsy.” She says while giggling.

  “Oh no! I bet that’s really driving Ted mad, he took my tips for a few days when I broke one freaking plate,” I say, cringing when I think about my first few days as a waitress. I hear her laughing in the background and decide to change the subject.

  “So once all of this is settled, we need to have a girls night out, it’s been forever since the last one,” I say while hoping she will make plans and actually keep them this time, we haven’t got the chance to hang out in four months.

  “Um… yeah, sure. Listen, I have to go, the sitter will be here to watch Mel, while I head to Ted’s” She says quickly like she doesn’t want to me to get a word in.

  “Ok, bye. Tell Mel I said hi!” I say as I hang up the phone.

  I know things are not easy for her, but I wish she would let me help her. Doctor starts whining at the new patio door, letting me know he needs to go outside, pulling me out of my thoughts. I get off the bar stool going over to the door, opening it up before stepping outside with him. I'm still nervous about letting him outside alone in case he runs off and gets hurt. I start looking around to see if Damon is coming to join us today when I notice that the guards aren't outside like they have been. I get goosebumps all over my body, I know I need to get inside and lock the doors while calling for help but when I turn to get Doctor I don't see him anywhere. I'm starting to get really scared when I see movement from the corner of my eye, turning I see it’s Doctor. He's going around the side of the house, I can't leave him out here since it's not safe, so I start running to where he has gone. As I turn the corner, I'm hit in the head, feeling dizzy I fall to the ground. The sun is bright in my eyes for a moment before a dark figure looms over me. Then all I see is darkness.

  17

  Monroe

  I’m with Bastian going over all of his notes on this rogue for what feels like the millionth time. I’m so ready to find this guy so I can kill him and make sure my mate is safe. My bear starts growling, nudging me that something isn’t right, but I don’t know what is bothering him. I look over the paper I was reading to see if I missed something that my bear wants me to see when my phone rings. I look down to see who is calling and see it’s Damon. I hit answer with a smile on my face.

  “Hey Bro, what’s going on?” I ask. I’m loving that he and my mate are getting along great. He’s normally shy, liking to keep to himself, it’s nice to see him coming out a bit and welcoming my mate so easily.

  “Monroe, you need to come home now!” He yells breaking me out of my thoughts.

  “Why, what’s wrong? Is it Penelope??” I ask trying to remain calm before I shift, not able to get the answers I need. While scared of what his answer is going to be.

  “Yeah, man just get home quickly and I’ll explain everything,” He says as he hangs up.

  I push my chair back, turning to leave when I see Bastian is at the front door with his truck keys in his hands.

  “I’ll drive, you’re in no shape to be driving right now,” He says. All I can do is nod at him not able to form words. Praying Penelope is ok.

  "I'm sure everything is fine, you have guards in place and Damon was out there as well," Bastian says sensing where my mind was going.

  Fifteen minutes later, we're pulling up to the gate, pressing a button on my phone to let us through. Bastian slams on the gas driving us the rest of the way to my house. Before the truck is to a full stop I'm hoping out, running to the front door. As soon as I open the door, my bear wants out, we know our mate isn't here. I turn seeing all the guards sitting or standing around the house looking worse for wear.

  "Where is my mate and what happened? Why is everyone just standing around?" I ask through clenched teeth when Damon walks up to me.

  “I was in the woods patrolling like I have been when I felt like something was wrong over here. I was making my way here when I was shot with some kind of tranquilizer, I was knocked out cold instantly. I woke up sometime later surrounded by the guards all laying down knocked out too. I tried getting up but whatever was in my system wasn’t fully out and I couldn’t move my legs. I was able to lift my head when I saw a blonde man lift Penny off the ground and carrying her away.” he says while grabbing a hold of the wall trying to hold himself up.

  It’s all too much and I can’t take it anymore, I head out the front door, letting out a roar as I shift. I notice everyone is looking at me in shock because normally I’m always calm, but I don’t give a shit, I want my mate back. I go around the house smelling where my mate was at when everything happened. I start to let out another roar when I hear whining. I stop in my tracks, listening for it again when I turn to the woods making my way to the sounds. When I get there I see Doctor lying on his side, he looks up at me and it looks like relief is on his face. He has gotten used to seeing me and my brothers in bear form over the last few weeks. Shifting back into my human form I reach down to pet him. He starts whining again, I notice one of his back legs seem to have been broken. Rage pours through me like hot lava, it’s bad enough, this fuck has taken my mate, hurt my brother and men. Now he hurts a poor defenseless dog. I carefully pick him up and cradle him to my chest and he starts licking my neck.

  “It’s ok, Doctor, I will find your mama,” I say as I make my way back up to the house.

  I see Ma and Pa pull in the driveway, as they get out of their car they start running to me. I tell them everything I know and ask them to take Doctor to the vet because when we get Penelope back, she will want him with her, and I do mean when because there is no other option.

  18

  Penelope

  I wake up feeling groggy, wondering how long I have been asleep, maybe I'm coming down with something because I feel like crap. Opening my eyes I notice I'm not in our room, looking around the room trying to figure out where I am when I remember everything that happened. I try to sit up but my arms are heavy, I’m unable to move them. I try to calm myself down while thinking of a plan to get out of here. It looks like an old warehouse that you would see down on Parnell street close to Ted's. That must be where I'm at, I know Monroe will do everything he can to find me, I just need to hold on a little bit longer until he comes to get me. I try to move again now that my arms don't feel as heavy, but when I go to move them, I notice my hands are chained to the bed. I look down to see my legs are chained to the bed as well. I pull on them to see if I can break anything to make my escape, but nothing happens besides making a bunch of noise. I stop moving,
hoping the rogue didn't hear it, but I know if he's in the warehouse he heard it. Bastian had told me that vampires have even better hearing than shifters do. I hear movement outside the room I'm in, causing me to fear for what's to come. I wish I could tell Monroe I love him one more time. I'm sad we will not get to have a wonderful life together with babies and everything else that we could have had if it wasn't for this man. The door creaks open, in walks a slimy looking man with blond hair and green eyes.

  “Good, you’re awake,” he says in a voice that makes my skin crawl.

  "Who are you and what do you want with me," I ask angrily pulling on the chains again, hoping they come loose so I can get away from him.

  "Ah, so your lovely mate and his buddy Bastian haven't figured that out yet? What I want from you is for you to die as I had planned. If it wasn't for you running into that building you would have been dead already" He yells as he leans over me spit landing on my face with each word he yelled. I want to gag, but I'm not sure how he would take that. I feel like I need to play his game a bit to make it out of this mess.

  “No, they didn’t figure it out. So who are you?” I ask avoiding talking about him wanting to kill me seems like the safest bet.

  “My name is Eric Bishop, you see I am a part of the vampire council along with Bastian. There are few who get to be in the council, I have been in it longer than most. In comes younger vampires wanting to change the way, we do things. Saying it’s better to get our blood from blood banks instead of feeding off humans. It will bring too much attention to ourselves and it’s bad, blah blah blah. It’s a bunch of horseshit if you ask me. So to show them we can still feed off humans without bringing attention to ourselves I decided to show them. I had planned to kill at least twenty people before bringing it to them. BUT YOU JUST HAD TO RUIN IT!!” he’s back to yelling now, but thankfully he has turned away from me and isn’t spitting in my face. I feel bad for Bastian knowing this is going to hurt him, that someone close to him is the one killing women.