I ran into the kitchen, grabbed Callie, and started pulling her toward the door. “We have to go.”
Callie pulled her wrist from my hand and shook her head. “No, I need to finish this potion to help Tucker.”
The wall leading to the kitchen shook with so much force that I thought it would crumble under the strike. “Okay, what can I do to help?”
“Here is a list of ingredients. Grab them from the cupboards.”
***
Tucker
The indent in the wall from his back only drove him wilder. The bear was scratching at the surface of his skin, begging to come out and play. Tucker roared as he charged his enemy and knocked him into the opposite wall. He didn’t care about treaties or battle lines drawn in the imaginary sand. This vampire was going to die by his hands for what he’d put Ashlee through.
Andre retaliated and body slammed him into the floor. When he started punching Tucker, the man became the bear. Claws and snapping jaws fought back.
Callie and Ashlee appeared at the doorway with tiny bottles of red potion in their hands.
Chapter Seventeen
Ashlee
I SCREAMED. I COULDN’T STOP the sound from tumbling from my lips as I stared at the most frightening sight I’d seen all week. It wasn’t Tucker’s bear form, it was Andre’s teeth sinking into the bear’s neck.
“Snap out of it, Ash, we need to help Tucker!” Callie threw the potion vial into Andre’s face. It exploded. The vampire’s face contorted as his skin melted off his bones. The force of the explosion sent him flying backwards. Tucker’s bear rebounded and attacked Andre while he was down.
“We have to stop him from killing Andre,” I told Callie.
“What? Why?”
“Because Andre’s death will result in a war between the vampires and the shifters.” I looked at Callie. “Isn’t there a supernatural police force?”
She nodded.
“Call them.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Tucker said I could calm his bear.” I watched in horror as the bear clawed the vampire, fileting his skin from his torso.
“But… you could get hurt.”
“I know.” I carefully walked up to the bear and his victim. “Tucker, please stop.”
The big, brown, beautiful bear turned and roared. His teeth were fierce, his eyes black with vengeance, and claws, menacing. I took a deep breath and took another couple of steps toward them. The vampire was a bloody pulp. I feared he wasn’t alive anymore.
“Tucker, please. I know you can hear me. He needs to live.”
A warning growl erupted from his mouth.
I reached a shaky hand out. “You said I could calm the bear,” I told him in soft tones. “I pray you weren’t lying.” I bit my lower lip and caressed the fur on his back, gentle just like he always caressed my face. “Come back to me, Tucker.”
Another roar erupted from the bear. When the sound faded, the bear was gone, and he was replaced by the man, a very naked Tucker. I grabbed the throw blanket off Callie’s couch and covered him with it.
“Ashlee?” He looked down at Andre’s torn up body, and his own bloody hands. “Did I kill him?”
“I don’t know. The police are coming, they’ll figure it out.” I held out my arms. “Come to me, Tucker.”
He rushed to my arms and held me tight. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you.”
***
Tucker
The police arrived shortly after he was able to get dressed in the spare clothes he kept in the trunk of his car that Ashlee retrieved for him. Andre was still alive. Tucker was thankful the bastard survived. It meant there wouldn’t be a war between supernatural factions.
He watched Ashlee from the corner of the apartment. The cleaning crew came in to fix the mess they’d made. She handled this situation like a hero. She helped Callie, offered herself as a sacrifice to save her friend, and faced down his bear fearlessly. He couldn’t ask for a better mate, human or not. She was perfect for him.
Could he do this to her? Could he let her live in his world? Be surrounded by constant danger?
Ashlee made her way across the room to his side. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I am, thanks to you. How are you holding up?”
“Better than I thought possible.” She laced her fingers through his and he pulled away.
“Don’t, Ashlee.”
She looked at him with confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this to you.”
“I’m confused. Do what to me?”
“I can’t force this world on you.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “You deserve so many wonderful things in this life, Ashlee, things I can’t give you.”
“You’re not making any sense. I thought we were supposed to be mates?”
“We are.”
“I think I proved I can handle this world tonight. I stared down your bear and did exactly what you told me I could do, calm him.”
He nodded. “You did.”
“I’m willing to give this a chance,” she told him.
His heart broke in that moment. She’d sacrificed so much. Now it was his turn to do the same thing. He needed to let her go. His bear roared furiously in his mind, ‘Don’t do this!’
“I’m not.” He kissed her forehead and left.
Chapter Eighteen
Ashlee
I STARED AFTER HIM AS he walked out of my life. No part of me could comprehend what I did wrong. I just gave him what he asked for and he left, refusing to accept my gift. How was that even possible? Why would he do that?
Why did my heart hurt so much? I felt like my world had been ripped into tiny little pieces.
“Ash, what’s wrong?” Callie wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
“He told me his goddess gave him a month to find a mate. He told me I was his mate. I said I needed space. One day. I only took one day!” I looked at Callie with confusion. “I just told him I was willing to give us a try and he said he wasn’t. How can he change his tune in one day?”
“He didn’t. I promise you, Ash, he couldn’t have changed his mind. Not like that. We all saw how you calmed his bear. He knows you are his one and only.”
I looked at her, tears pricking the back of my eyes. “So why did he just walk away from me?”
Callie sighed. “Are you certain you want to be with him?”
“I wasn’t, not until I saw his bear. I wasn’t scared of him. He was magnificent, Callie. So majestic and beautiful. So powerful. When I placed my hand on his fur I knew I was his.”
“Okay, come with me.” Callie pulled me into her room and took out a suitcase from under her bed.
“What are we doing?”
“I spent the day with him, and he told me about the ultimatum Artemis gave him. He has one month to find his mate or he will be removed as the alpha of his clan.”
“So he’d rather give up his position of power than be with me? That makes me feel wonderful.”
“No. He also told me he was concerned with how you, as a human, were going to handle his world.”
“He did?”
She shrugged. “Well, he made it clear to me that was how he felt because of all the questions he had about you.” She started mixing ingredients into a pewter bowl.
“Oh.” None of this made any sense.
“Don’t you see?”
“No.”
“He’s trying to give you your freedom because he thinks you’ll only get hurt in his world.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“You made a sacrifice for him, now he is making a sacrifice for you. Mating is a ritual that binds two souls together for the rest of their lives. He’s not willing to put that on you in the time constraint given to him.”
“Okay, so what do we do?”
Callie gave me a wicked grin. “We go above his head.” She blew the powder she’d just mixed into my face and spoke some words I didn’t recogni
ze. Instantly, I fell asleep.
***
“Hello? Callie? Is anyone there?” I asked the black void I found myself in. There was nothing in sight, the place seemed empty. “Hello? Someone? Anyone?”
“Well, isn’t this interesting?” A tall, slender redhead walked into my vision. “And who might you be?”
“I’m, um… I’m Ashlee Thomas.” I nervously twisted my hands in front of me. Something about this woman was intimidating.
“Ashlee Thomas. Why did you summon me, Ashlee Thomas?”
“I don’t know, who are you?”
“I have many names, but my most recognized name is Artemis.”
“Artemis?” I searched my mind for a moment trying to figure out why I was here. “Artemis. You’re Tucker’s goddess.”
“Tucker?” She walked around me, her finger gently rubbing against my shoulders as she passed. “You must be his mate.”
“I believe so.”
“You believe so? There is little room for doubt in these things, human.”
“I think that’s the problem,” I mumbled.
“What do you mean?”
I sighed. “He turned me down.” The words hurt as I spoke them.
Artemis laughed. “That is impossible. He told me he found you.”
“And he said no.”
“If that is so, why are you here?”
I bit my lip. “I need your help.”
“Oh, this should be good.”
“He said he had a month to find a mate. I think he is sacrificing himself because he doesn’t think I will be ready in time.”
“And how can I help?” Artemis flicked a piece of lint off my shoulder.
“Give him more time?”
“Not going to happen…” She tapped her slender finger over her pouty red lips, “but maybe I can help.” She snapped her fingers and Tucker appeared next to me.
“What the hell?”
“Hi, Tuck.” Artemis waved at him. “Your mate paid me a visit tonight.”
“She what?”
Tucker looked at me, and I gave him a nervous wave. “Hi.”
“How did you? Why? Do you know what kind of trouble you can get into doing this?” He turned me toward him. “You foolish human.”
Artemis laughed. “I thought you loved her, Tucker?”
“I do, and that means I will protect her.” He pushed me behind him. “Let us go. She didn’t know what she was doing.”
“She apparently loves you too.” Artemis smiled. “I must say, you surprise me, Tucker. I’ve never seen you protect someone so fiercely.” The redheaded goddess looked at me. “He knows I can kill you both without even touching you, and yet he puts himself between you and me. That is impressive.”
“So you’ll help?”
She shook her head. “A deal is a deal. But there are some extenuating circumstances here, and I kind of like your moxie, Ashlee. If you two agree to a binding ceremony, I’ll extend the mating deadline out to a year.”
“A binding ceremony?” I asked, carefully.
“It is a supernatural form of an engagement,” Artemis answered.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Tucker asked. “This is a binding contract, Ashlee. You have to have a legitimate reason to end the binding otherwise you must go through with the mating ceremony at the end of the engagement.”
“What is a legitimate reason?”
“The council will convene if called, and decide if you have a legitimate reason to end the engagement,” Artemis explained. “I must say, I’ve only seen them agree with a breaking of a binding four times in the last two centuries.”
“It is almost impossible,” Tucker told me.
“Okay.” I was never more certain of anything in my life.
“Tucker?” Artemis asked.
“Are you sure?”
I touched his cheek. “Are you?”
“Yes,” he growled before his lips took mine in a kiss that sent electrical currents from my head to my toes.
Artemis cleared her throat.
We parted.
“Okay, so be it.” She snapped her fingers and two rings appeared; one on Tucker’s hand and the other on mine. Artemis held out a contract on parchment and a feathered quill pen. “Time to sign.”
I reached my hand to the pen and Artemis stabbed the pen into my finger.
“Sorry, you must sign in blood.”
With a twitchy finger, I took the pen and signed. Tucker followed my lead.
“I look forward to the wedding.” Artemis snapped her fingers again and we were transported back to Callie’s bedroom.
Callie was putting away her spell suitcase. “Did it work?” She asked when we appeared in front of her.
“Yes.” Tucker grinned as he claimed my lips. Passion and desire blossomed in my body. He deepened the kiss, and I knew I’d made the right choice. He was mine and I was his. Who knew going to a dating party would end in a magical romance?
Author’s message
Thank you for reading book one in Aphrodite’s Love Connection. I hope you enjoyed the love story between Ashlee and Tucker. Please take a moment and review the book online where you purchased this story. There will be another romance in this series in 2017. Join my VIP newsletter for updates when there are more available.
I have many other paranormal romances and paranormal mysteries available. Check them out online at the major e-retailers or my website here. You can also keep up to date with my new releases on my Facebook Author page here.
You can view all my titles at my Amazon Author Page here and check them out by genre category below.
Paranormal Romances
Rayne’s Thunder (Dating a Werewolf Series)
Rhyme’s Reason (Dating a Werewolf Series)
Cherished Gift (Paranormal Hypnotherapy Files)
To Love a Dragon (Shifter Love Tales)
Genie’s Treasure (Magical Secrets Series)
Assassin’s Mate (Supernaturally Shipwrecked)
The Witch’s Vampire (Mystery Springs)
Dragon’s Succubus (Demon Fairy Tales)
Dragon’s Dream Dancer (Demon Fairy Tales)
The Mating Games (Vanished)
Paranormal Mysteries
PBI Case Files series (The Beginning, Outbreak, Lost Plane, Justice Driven, Remote Paranoia)
Ghost Connection series (Lost, Death Does Not Become Her, Dentist’s Burial Ground)
Paranormal Fantasy Adventures
Lone Wolf Rising (Winters Saga Series)
Vampire Princess Rising (Winters Saga Series)
Fire Master Rising (Winters Saga Series)
Nightmare World (Kindle Worlds Vampire Diaries)
Dystopian Romance
Death Interrupted (Vanished)
Paranormal Romantic Comedy
Father Made Me Do It (Demon Ascension Series)
This book was edited by the fabulous Michele E Gwynn. Check out all her amazing books online at most major retailers as well. Thank you for all your support. Have an amazing day.
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