Protection (To Love And Defend Book 5)

by Daniella Starre

  Thankfully, Keira knew where the chief kept the numbers for all of the werewolf higher-ups in the other branches of law enforcement including the FBI and CIA. Kiera called all of them. It wasn’t easy to convince them that there was going to be an attempt on the president’s life, but when she told them that the person in charge was a werewolf who wished to expose them to the humans, they sang a different tune.

  That night, Kiera stayed at the station. No one was going to break in and killed Adrian, and that he would still be alive in the morning didn’t mean that he was the killer. She refused to consider that for longer than a few seconds. That wasn’t Adrian. He had made mistakes, yes, but he would never go around killing people like that. She knew him.

  Hell, she even loved him.

  When that had happened, she wasn’t sure, but she knew she did. Otherwise, she would be home right now in bed.

  Morning came, and Kiera had to make more phone calls and try to organize things and figure out how to mesh all of the moving pieces together. She also needed the help of the alpha in Detroit. Grayson Earle was a reasonable man and was appalled to learn about everything that was going on ten miles away. He promised to help with anything and everything she needed.

  When it was doomsday, Keira peeked in on Adrian. He was sleeping. She wanted to wake him, to open the door, to kiss him, to tell him how she felt about him just in case she didn’t survive, but she didn’t. She let him sleep and hoped she wouldn’t regret that decision for the rest of her life. Then again, if she regretted it, most likely that would mean her life had already been lived.

  Armed to the teeth, Keira headed toward the door.

  “Kiera!” the chief barked.

  Uh oh.

  She rushed over to his office. “Yes, sir?”

  “Why the hell wasn’t I informed about all of this?” he asked. A tall, fit man, Rob Speare looked younger than his age if you ignored his crow’s feet. He had some grays, yes, but his hair was mostly dark yet. His dark eyes, though, revealed that he had dealt with more than most.

  “With Peter, sir?”

  “Yes, with fucking Peter! I didn’t realize it was this serious.”

  “Sir, that’s why I wanted to keep an eye on him. I knew he was up to something. I was right.”

  “You contacted the FBI?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You aren’t even a detective.”

  “No, but—”

  “You are now. Do you need me to oversee anything?” the chief asked.

  “No, sir. Please, let me see this through.”

  “Fine, this operation is yours.”

  “If you could keep an eye on Adrian Hawkins for me, I would appreciate it.”

  “Ah, yes. The last one that you think the killer is targeting.”

  “Yes.”

  “Consider it done.”

  * * *

  The drive to Detroit and the exact location took no time at all. It helped that she used her lights and forced cars out of her way.

  The FBI agent she had talked to on the phone, Scott Mathews, met her, and they sat in a surveillance van together. As much as Kiera wanted to be out there, on the ground, she didn’t want to be in over her head. This could not fall apart, and there was a reason why she had called others for assistance. She wasn’t too proud to admit that she needed their help and expertise.

  He barked orders into his headset, and his men were in position. They were using snipers and had soldiers on the field too. Kiera had provided them with all of the names Adrian had given her as well as pictures.

  There were watching eight different cameras, each pointing at various locations. Through the first, Kiera observed the president’s secret service came into view first and then the president. She winced as she watched agents take down and arrest not one but two snipers in different positions. A slight commotion drew her attention to another screen where she watched with Peter fight several officers. He managed to jerk out of their grasp and dashed into the crowd.

  Kiera muttered a curse, and the FBI agent handed her an earbud.

  “I’ll tell you where to go,” he said.

  She nodded, grabbed her gun, and dashed out of the van.

  “Due north,” Scott said in her ear. “Hang a left there. He’s trying to leave the entire area.”

  “On it,” she said even though she wasn’t sure if he could hear her.

  “Run up another block and turn right and then another right. Yes. Another right. He should be right ahead of you.”

  “I see him.” Kiera was just a step behind Peter. As he turned to look at her, she slammed the back of her pistol against the back of his head. Down Peter went, out cold.

  “Nicely done. Cuff him, and we’ll take him into custody. Nice work, Officer Turner.”

  “Didn’t you hear?” Kiera asked breathlessly. “It’s Detective Turner now.”

  Chapter 19

  The time spent in his cell had given Adrian hours to consider his life choices, his goals, his wants, desires, needs, fears, worries.

  His biggest life choice? Killing Melvin might’ve been a mistake.

  His goals? Honestly, he wasn’t sure outside of bringing Peter down and locating the werewolf serial killer.

  Wants, desires, needs? Could all be summed up in one person. Kiera Turner.

  His fears and worries all concerned her too.

  For five years, a part of Adrian had died. When he had killed Melvin, Adrian had changed. He became more withdrawn even as he tried to help more people. He lost friends and threw himself even more into his work. He stopped enjoying life.

  Hazel Park had changed too. It had been a quiet, peaceful place for kids when he and Alexis had grown up. So much violence, so many crimes, so many deaths.

  Although he struggled to do what he could to right his wrong, Adrian never felt as if he had accomplished enough. Maybe that was why he had started to become so drawn to Kiera. She was fighting that same battle, only she did it because she was an amazing, special werewolf. Not to atone for a sin.

  To Adrian, she was pretty damn close to perfect, and he hoped he hadn’t lost his chance to be with her. Because, damn it all, he loved her. He didn’t deserve her, but he needed her, wanted her, loved her with everything that he had. She pushed him out of his comfort zone. She got him to feel alive again. She made him a better werewolf.

  But did he do the same for her?

  Right now, she was risking her life to try to thwart Peter Martin. If anything happened to her…

  Did she think he had been the one to kill the others? Had the thought crossed her mind? Adrian had to admit that it looked bad. Who could the killer be?

  Just then, the door to his cell creaked open, and he spied a tall, older werewolf standing there.

  “So, you’re the one who killed Melvin Hayes,” he said.

  Adrian gulped and slowly climbed to his feet without saying a word. He didn’t like the glint in the werewolf’s eyes.

  “I’m Rob Speare,” the werewolf said, “and you and I are going to have a little chat.”

  Lightning fast, Rob punched Adrian in the temple. Down he dropped like a stone, unconscious.

  When Adrian came to, he wasn’t in his cell. No, he was in a house, tied to a chair.

  Sitting across from him in an identical chair was Rob Speare.

  “You’re wondering who I am, aren’t you?” Rob asked.

  “You’re clearly a cop,” Adrian said.

  “More than just a cop. I’m the police chief.” Rob wrinkled his nose. On his lap rested a gun.

  Adrian’s mind raced. It wasn’t possible that the police chief was the killer, was it? Why would he do it?

  “Do you have any idea how difficult it’s been these past five years to try to maintain any semblance of peace?” Rob asked conversationally.

  “There hasn’t been any peace,” Adrian said dryly.

  “Because of you!” Rob jumped to his feet and pressed the barrel of his gun against Adrian’s forehead. “I should ju
st pull the trigger and be done with you now.”

  Adrian swallowed hard.

  “Ah, quiet now, are you? You’re going to answer some questions for me first. Why did you do it?”

  “Kill Melvin? Because he—”

  “Why didn’t you become alpha?” Rob shouted. “We are humans, but we are also wolves, and wolves need strong, capable leaders. We have been without an alpha for five years, and it’s all because of you!”

  Adrian said nothing and dropped his gaze to the gun.

  “Don’t worry about that for now, coward. There will be time for that.”

  “Who?” Adrian whispered.

  “Speak up.”

  “Who? Who told you about what I did?”

  “Kiera did. Oh, you mean out of the witnesses to your heinous act? It was Joel. Joel Hall. He watched as our society degraded. He hated every second of it. So did his sister. She had been raped by Melvin. Well, because of the lack of an alpha and the anarchy and general chaos that had become everyday life here in Hazel Park, she was raped again by another werewolf and committed suicide. That was the last straw for Joel. He came to see me, told me everything about that night.”

  Adrian winced. He hadn’t known any of that about Joel and his sister.

  “I never intended—”

  “Fuck what you intended! You failed as a werewolf! You failed as a decent human being. Just the sight of you disgusts me. Do you know what makes it that much worse for me? Melvin had raped my wife. I didn’t know about that until after you had killed him. If I had known, I would’ve challenged him. I would’ve killed him. I would be alpha right now.” Rob grinned maniacally. “I will be alpha as soon as you’re dead. No one would be able to come forward and say that you killed Melvin, that you should be alpha. I killed all of them just for this so that no one will be able to deny me. Now that Peter’s been taken care of, there’s no one who is a threat to me. No one will stop me.”

  “Go ahead,” Adrian said. “Shoot me. I deserve it.”

  The police chief grinned. “Yes, you do.”

  In a fraction of an instant, Adrian realized three things.

  One, he couldn’t change the past. He could only move forward and do his best to help as many as he could.

  Two, as guilty as he felt, he didn’t want to die.

  And three, he wasn’t about to just roll over and give up.

  Before the police chief could pull the trigger, Adrian stood, headbutt him, and then slammed the chair down to the ground so hard that it broke. Pieces remained attached to his arms as Adrian began to swing at the older werewolf.

  At that moment, two shots rang out. Neither hit Adrian, but Rob staggered and fell to one knee. A third shot landed square between his eyes, and the police chief collapsed dead.

  Adrian turned to see a pale Kiera. Tears streamed down her face. “I heard it. I heard his confession. I can’t believe it, Adrian.”

  He yanked off the binds that had him tethered to the chair pieces and gave her a tight hug. “It’s okay,” he murmured, rubbing her back, holding her close. “It’s all right now. It’s over. The nightmare is over.”

  Chapter 20

  All of Peter’s followers were being rounded up helped to alleviate a lot of the crime in Hazel Park. The aftermath of the police chief being killed in self-defense, however, did cause a bit of chaos, and FBI agent Scott Mathews showed up the next day to help.

  As soon as he walked into the station, he found Kiera. She had been explaining herself over and over again, and finally, she shouted, “It happened, yes. I killed him, yes. He had gone mad. I can play you the videos. We have footage of him removing Adrian from his cell. I recorded the bit of conversation that I heard between the two of them at the chief’s house. He confessed to killing five people. Not by name, no, but he did. He created a lot of anarchy and fear based on those murderers. Now, are we going to allow anarchy to reign, or are we going to be cops and detectives and get back to work?”

  Pamela began to applaud. A few others did too, and Kiera threw up her hands.

  “Get to work!” she said with a laugh.

  Scott approached. “You should be it.”

  “What?” she asked, distracted. “Chief?”

  “No. Alpha.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “No. You helped to save not only Hazel Park but also werewolves across the globe. You saw the footage and immediately went to Speare’s house despite him meaning everything to you. You—”

  “You know a creepy amount of information about me.”

  “We like to investigate, us FBI agents.” He winked. “Consider it.”

  “I don’t know if everyone would rally behind me,” she protested. “Especially when you consider who I killed.”

  “Oh, you mean a werewolf killer,” one of the other werewolves on stage-whispered as he walked by. “You got my vote.”

  “A female alpha? That’s unheard of.”

  “Not unheard of. Unlikely, yes, but there have been others.”

  “I… I don’t know.”

  “Need to talk to your boyfriend first?” Scott asked.

  “I need you to stop prying,” she said wryly.

  Scott laughed. “I’ll gather all of the werewolves for you to make a formal statement in front of them tomorrow at noon. Sound good?”

  Without waiting for a response, he walked away.

  “I like him,” Pamela said.

  “What about your boyfriend?” Kiera asked.

  “Who, Mark? You mean my fiancé?”

  Kiera shrieked, and when Pamela showed her the ring, she shrieked again. A few others glanced over, but Kiera didn’t care.

  Things were looking up, finally. Maybe it wasn’t so crazy to consider love after all since Hazel Park and the entire world were now protected.

  “Go see Adrian. Talk to him. Consider being alpha. Don’t accept if you don’t want to. But go.” Pamela practically shoved her out the door.

  Not a half hour later, Kiera was at Adrian’s place, standing in his living room, trying to find the words to say.

  “I love you,” he said, breaking the silence.

  Before she could respond, he picked her up and carried her to his bed. He gently removed her clothes and then showed to her with his movements, his kisses, his caresses just how much he loved her. She gave all of herself back in return, meeting him thrust for thrust, spreading her legs and taking all of him and then riding him long and hard, loving him with her body back.

  After she came a total of six times compared to his three, she laid her head on his chest and sighed.

  “It’s not easy,” he said, running his nails up and down her back.

  She shivered in delight. “What isn’t?”

  “Coming to terms with killing someone even if it was for the greater good.”

  “I know. The chief meant so much to me. He had been my boss but also a mentor and friend. That he would have killed you to become alpha is mind-boggling.”

  “Especially because he stood a chance to be alpha even without any of the murders,” Adrian pointed out.

  “He was mentally unstable,” Kiera murmured. “Clearly. In the long run, he wouldn’t have been a better alpha than Melvin had been.”

  “We still need a new alpha.”

  “We do.” Kiera hesitated. “Love? What would you think about me being the alpha?”

  “I think I want to hear you say that again.”

  “What would you think about—”

  “The other part.”

  “Love,” she whispered.

  “Hmm. I love you.”

  “I love you too. Now stop being distracted,” she scolded.

  “You would make a wonderful alpha.”

  “You really think so?”

  “Trust me. I’m my father’s son. No nepotism. You would make a wonderful alpha. You are about protecting everyone, not just werewolves and not just the werewolves who live here. That’s exactly the kind of alpha we need.”

  “It’ll b
e scary.”

  “Yes.”

  “A huge adjustment.”

  “You’ve handled huge adjustments just fine.” His hardened cock jumped.

  She giggled. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah. Just one thing.”

  “What is it?” she asked, knowing better than to blindly accept anything.

  “That I get to be alpha in the bedroom.”

  “Hmm.” Kiera tapped her chin in consideration and then slid on top to resume riding him. “Sometimes.”

  Adrian groaned. “That works for me.”

  Kiera smiled and closed her eyes as she made love to her werewolf. Maybe one day, he wouldn’t be her boyfriend anymore but her husband. For the first time in ages, Kiera was looking forward to the future, and she hoped that all of the coming days would be filled with peace and love.

  His Satisfied Soul

  Adrian Hawkins' life couldn't be better. Things have finally turned around for the better in Hazel Park at long last. Well, actually, there's one thing Adrian wants to make things absolutely perfect...

  Chapter 1

  Adrian Hawkins hadn’t been this nervous in a long time. He wasn’t used to cooking for more than one, and his stomach was basically a disposal. He would eat just about anything.

  But not tonight. Tonight, Adrian was cooking for two. He wanted nothing more than to make Kiera Turner’s favorite meal—lasagna. He had found out that his love preferred it to be more meat and cheese than noodles, and he was going to do his best to make it the way she wanted it.

  After all, she deserved to have a homecooked meal. She was the new alpha of Hazel Park, and she was always so busy. He wanted her to remember to take time for herself. She had been alpha for all of a month now, and she hadn’t stopped to take a breath. It was on him to make sure she did.

  She was one stubborn as hell werewolf, though, but she was going to learn that he could be just as stubborn too.