Savage Heart (Savage Island Book 1)

by Maggie Walsh

  “That may or may not be, but until I get a few answers, no one, and I mean no one, will interfere with my investigation. So, step back, soldier,” the FBI guy replied.

  Wade uncrossed his arms and held them out to his sides, palms forward. “Do you have any idea who you’re apprehending there, Agent?”

  “I couldn’t care less if he was the President. You commit a crime, you do the time. Just because he’s a highly decorated General for the Navy has no bearing on whether or not he should be arrested for a crime he may have committed.”

  “I see you know who he is, which means you must also know who I am, so before I get myself arrested for taking you down, how about you ask your damn questions so we can get this over with and show you how wrong you are,” Wade stated calmly, but with a tight voice.

  “What are the charges, Agent?” Destrain asked, as he too moved closer and stood beside Wade, blocking Gill’s view completely.

  The Agent slid his gun back into his holster, then grabbed Savage’s arm again. “That’s something I don’t need to tell you, so―”

  “That’s very true, Agent Knight, but I would like to know why you’ve come into my district to apprehend a suspect, but didn’t bother to notify me first?” Pauly, the police chief’s voice rang over all of theirs, and it was filled with so much authority, it made Gill swallow hard as panic began to enter him.

  “As DA in Maddox, I would have appreciated a warning as well, Knight.” Gill heard Ryder, Pauly’s mate, say and he took a step to the side to peer around Wade.

  “I was going to bring him into your department for questioning, Malone, once I apprehended him. Mr. Savage is being taken in for questioning in the kidnapping of one Gillford Westmore.”

  Wade chuckled as he shook his head and Destrain scoffed. Gill on the other hand was totally shocked. “But he didn’t kidnap me! I’m right here!”

  Wade and Destrain stepped aside, parting, allowing him to step forward. The FBI agent looked at him more intently as his brows furrowed. “You’re Gillford Westmore?”

  Gill could feel his cheeks heat up from embarrassment of the name, but also from the anger that was building inside him. “I prefer Gill if you don’t mind, but yes, I am him… he… whatever. And I’m not kidnapped. I wasn’t kidnapped. Not by Russell, or anyone else.”

  The agent stared at him for a moment, then moved back to stand behind Savage as he pulled keys from his pocket. As he unlocked Savage’s wrists, the agent looked back to him. “Although I have seen your picture and know you’re you, do you have any ID?”

  Gill deflated as he sighed. “No. Unfortunately I lost my wallet when I was attacked and have no clue what happened to it.”

  Pauly moved closer as he said, “But we can all vouch for him. What’s going on here, Knight?”

  The agent raised a brow in question as he froze from releasing Savage’s other hand. “You were attacked? When? By whom?”

  “Yes, I was attacked a few weeks ago in Crystal and Russell saved me. I was badly injured, and he rushed me to get medical help. Russell has been with me the whole time making sure I recovered. He brought me back here to Maddox today, so that I may pack up my belongings and leave Maddox,” Gill explained.

  The Agent unlocked the last cuff from Savage’s wrist, then stepped back as he slid the cuffs into his coat pocket. Savage moved forward until he grabbed Gill up into his arms, lifting him from the floor, and hugged him tight. Gill immediately wrapped his arms and legs around his mate as he leaned heavily against Savage, soaking in his warmth and enjoying the feel of being in his mate’s arms again, which was where he belonged.

  “So tell me again, exactly what happened,” the agent asked.

  Savage turned them so he could look at the agent. “Please, may we all sit and then we can clear all of this up?”

  Everyone took a seat at a nearby table, but when Gill went to move onto his own chair, Savage tightened his hold around him and sat Gill on his lap. Then he felt the warmth of Savage’s breath against his ear as his mate whispered softly, “Stay right here, mate, so I can feel you and keep you safe.”

  “Mate?” The agent asked in surprise, causing everyone to look to him.

  “So you know of mates, which means you must be…” Destrain started to ask, but then trailed off, a question hanging in the air. Gill guessed he was trying to see if the man knew about their kind without actually saying anything.

  “Like one of you?” Agent Knight asked with a raised brow. “Yes.”

  Just then Ezra, his mate Jewel, along with Nick and Jagger walked into the room. As they got closer, Ezra and Jagger stopped and began to hiss in their deadly vampire way. Gill trembled from the sight of seeing their eyes turn red as long fangs sprung from their gums. Damn they were scary looking.

  “Daywalker!” Jagger hissed angrily and held up a hand full of sharp claws.

  The agent jumped to his feet and spun around to face them as he too hissed furiously.

  “Vampire!” The word came out as if it was a curse.

  * * * *

  What the hell have I stepped into here? He had done some of his homework before entering this town, but nothing told him that vamps were here. No, everything said the paranormal world was converging in this region, but no vampires. He had it on good authority that they were about fifty miles away in a town called Kaliss now. With their kind now being accepted by the paranormal council, the damn creatures could slither out of the darkness. So, what were two of them doing here? Thor thought as he faced off against the vampires.

  As he focused his gaze on the one to the right, he cursed internally. Shit, the fucking vampire king. Great.

  “I’m guessing you all know each other?” Chief Malone said.

  “No, we have never had the displeasure of meeting this despicable creature,” Jagger said angrily.

  Thor wanted to jump across the table and snatch the fucking vamp by the throat for calling him that. Sure, his kind were known as blood-thirsty rippers, but he was not one of them. He had worked hard his whole life to disassociate himself with his fellow daywalkers. Yes, his breed was what nightmares were made of, well, that and Hollywood movies about vampires, but not all of them were that way. Okay, so Thor only knew of himself, but still. Nobody should be blaming a whole group of people based on a few nutjobs, murderers, and psychopaths. It was because of the stink associated with daywalkers that he fought so hard to not be what they were and dedicated his life to helping others. His father would probably beat him to death if he knew Thor had turned his back on his kind, but seeing as the asshole was dead, he didn’t have to worry about that.

  “Ditto,” he finally said through clenched teeth as he glared at the man.

  “You said he was a daywalker, what is that?” The guy Wade asked.

  He and the vamp king went to answer at the same time, then both stopped and glared at one another. He and his kind might not observe the vampire king as their own or even respect him or follow his rule, but unfortunately the man was their king and because of who he strived to be, he would shut up.

  The vamp cleared his throat and began again. “There are two types of vampires, us and the daywalkers. As you all know, vampires cannot walk in the sun or eat human food until after we are mated.”

  Thor raised a brow from that information. He had never heard of that before.

  “Yes, so why is a daywalker different?” Wade asked.

  “Because they can walk in the sun and eat human food. They can walk among the humans undetected. But their breed is defective,” the king said the last word like a curse as he narrowed his gaze on Thor.

  Was the man challenging him to disagree? Well he wouldn’t. Even if the words hurt to hear spat about his kind, the vampire king wasn’t wrong. Daywalkers were deplorable bastards who were sick in the head. They took great joy in hurting others and draining them of their blood.

  “They are pretty much everything Hollywood has claimed vampires to be. Daywalkers don’t care who they hurt. When they feed, they
usually drain their victim and leave them for dead. That is after they rip their throats apart. They also keep to themselves and don’t bother with not only others of their kind, but any paranormal,” the other vamp added with venom.

  Thor growled at the uppity vamp as his eyes began to glow with his beast. “I am nothing like my kind,” he said through clenched teeth. “I have spent my whole life fighting against them to be my own man, so control your beast before mine comes out to do battle, vamp. I promise you, you will not win.”

  “I bet you he does,” a large man said in a very deadly voice. Thor shifted his gaze to the guy. “One move against my mate and you’ll die on the spot before you even take a step.”

  Thor was taken aback again. That was now the second time he had heard that word being used among these people. Mate. He knew Pauly and Ryder were mates. He had met them before. But now he had found two other pairs. It was not heard of in the paranormal world for them to find mates anymore.

  “Why do you look so shocked?” The question came from Gill himself, who sat perched on his mate’s lap.

  Thor turned to look at him. “Because I have never heard of three sets of mates in one town before. It is very rare for any paranormal to find their fated one.”

  Everyone around him chuckled, including others who were around the room watching them, but not part of their discussion. “What is so humorous?”

  Russell Savage sat slightly forward as he asked, “Have you not heard of the dragon and phoenix reuniting and what that has meant for the rest of us?”

  “I heard a rumor, but what does that have to do with mates?” Thor asked.

  “Boy, do we have a lot to explain to you, but first let’s get this business with Gill and Savage out of the way. Let me call my brother Dain and ask him to join us with his mates, I have a feeling Rune would like to meet you,” Destrain said as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket.

  Thor’s brows rose high from the name. “Rune? The creator?”

  Destrain looked at him with eyes filled with confusion. “You know of Rune?”

  “Yes. Who doesn’t? He is the creator of the daywalkers.”

  “Shit,” the vampire king said as he sat back against his seat then ran a hand down his face.

  Destrain stood and walked away from the group as he placed the phone to his ear. Thor looked around at all of them, trying to figure out what was going on.

  “I’ll help you out with some of your confusion,” Gill said. “I was attacked by a horrible creature and left for dead. Russell found me and realized I was his mate, so he took me away to save my life. So you see, I wasn’t kidnapped. And as far as mates, I’m human, so it’s not really my expertise, but almost everyone here around you, has found their mate. Hell, most of the paranormals in Crystal and Maddox have found their mates, and the people in Ezra’s town, Kaliss, are beginning to find theirs too, right?” Gill asked and looked around for confirmation from the others.

  “He’s right, Knight. Let’s get some drinks, I believe this is going to take a while,” Pauly said as he stood and headed toward the bar.

  How had he not known about all of this? About the accuracy of the dragon and phoenix reuniting? About mates being found again? He was a fucking agent with the FBI. He should have known these things.

  He had heard about a new council, but everything else had been speculation and rumors as far as he knew. Then again, he had spent most of the past twenty years surrounded by humans with his head either buried in his work, or in one dungeon or another whenever he had a free night to indulge with a sub. It was what called to him on a visceral level and Thor found that it was the best way for him to control his beast and not become the daywalker he was inside.

  “I thought Fallon had killed all of your kind,” he heard a voice say in awe from behind him, and Thor turned to see a man with green skin, long chestnut brown hair, and stunning Aquamarine eyes staring at him in wonder. He suddenly felt as if he had been dropped down the rabbit hole and was about to get more shocks about the paranormal world.

  CHAPTER 16

  “I still don’t understand how that agent didn’t know all of that about your kind,” Gill said as he sat fidgeting in the passenger seat of Nick’s truck that they had borrowed.

  “I guess it had a lot to do with his breed, sweetness. When the dragon and phoenix first reunited, most paranormals believed it to be a rumor and that there was no truth to it, but after the new council was formed, more and more paranormals started seeing the signs of our world coming together again. That’s why so many have been coming to Crystal and Maddox. It was foretold that when the two species came together again, that the paranormal world as a whole would come together for the survival of us all. It has been said that any paranormal to join under the new leadership would be protected. With Agent Knight’s breed being one that has always been outside our world and him admitting that he has even taken himself outside the daywalker world, they most likely aren’t aware of anything that has happened since Day and Ethan mated, reuniting us all.”

  “That is still so amazing to me. Do you think anyone would mind if I use some of that in my books?” Gill asked in excitement.

  Russell chuckled as he reached out and clasped his hand, entwining their fingers. “No, I don’t, sweetheart. As long as you don’t give away certain secrets, I think you’ll be okay. Maybe you could ask me to look at what you wrote first, so we don’t have to worry about Illan and the rest of the council.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

  “So where should I go next?” Russell asked as he stopped at a stop sign.

  Gill looked around to see where exactly they were and the butterflies in his stomach returned. Every time he thought about facing his father and mother again, all he wanted to do was throw up and hide. Looking around, he could see that they were only a couple of houses from his parents’ home. “Make a right and it is the second house on the left,” he mumbled softly.

  Russell gave his hand a squeeze, drawing his attention. When their gazes met, Russell gave him a reassuring smile, which helped in quieting some of the flitters inside him. “It will be okay, Gill. You’re not alone anymore. I’m right here with you.”

  “I know, it’s just…” He took in a deep breath, then released it before he went on. “You don’t know my father. He’s going to flip his lid and he most likely won’t even let you in the house. I wouldn’t put it past him to let the hounds free to attack you.”

  “The hounds?” Russell asked with a raised brow, then turned his attention back to the road and made the turn.

  “Yes. He has a pack of eight rottweilers that he had trained as guard dogs to patrol the grounds. They are very vicious little assholes that only listen to my father. They don’t bother my mother at all, but they have been known to stalk me a time or two and growl at me as I walk from the house to the car or vise versa. Normally I love dogs, but the way my father had this pack trained… they are evil,” Gill explained with a shudder.

  Just then Russell pulled up to the large iron gate that blocked the driveway. “Well, maybe I’ll give the little critters a taste of their own medicine, hmm?” He said with a mischievous smile that made Gill giggle.

  “So how do we get in?”

  “You need to put in the code. If it hasn’t been changed since I was last home it should be seven six four two,” Gill replied.

  Russell lowered his window and pressed the keys on the keypad as Gill instructed. There was a clicking sound before the gates began to swing inward. Once they were open, Russell drove forward down the long drive until they reached the circle in the front of the palatial home. It wasn’t anything like one of those Hollywood mansions Gill had seen in movies and on TV, but it was pretty big. The house was his mother’s pride and joy with ten bedrooms, fifteen baths, a library, a garden room, and her favorite, the solarium, which was more like a glassed-in patio in the rear of the house where she spent most of her time entertaining her uppity friends. As well as the normal large li
ving room which his mother called a salon, the family room, a dining room that sat twenty at a long table, and a state-of-the-art kitchen. The house was nowhere near as large as Russell’s house on the island, but it was still pretty big.

  Russell put the truck in park, then gave Gill’s hand another squeeze before he opened the door and got out. Russell then came around to his mate’s side and opened his door for him… Gill hesitated. He swung his legs out and looked up at the cold building. He didn’t want to go in there. He hated this house and all it stood for, and just being this close again, made his blood run cold and Gill began to shiver.

  Russell moved to stand before him, spreading his legs apart then moving in closer as he took Gill’s face between both of his large hands. Gill looked into his mate’s loving eyes and couldn’t help but smile. “It will all be okay, mate, I promise.” Russell leaned in to kiss him. As soon as their lips met, the coldness fled and was replaced by a warmth that he had only found being within Russell’s arms.

  “Who the hell are you and how did you get on my property?” Gill heard his father’s angry voice and jumped back from the kiss, then started to tremble.

  Russell gave him an encouraging smile before he stepped to the side and turned to face Gill’s father, the motion allowing his father to see him in the truck. As their gazes met, Gill could see the shock in his father’s eyes, which quickly turned to relief, but with more anger.

  “Gillford, you’re back. Are you hurt?” his father asked but didn’t make a move in his direction.

  “No, father, I’m fine,” Gill answered softly as he looked down.

  Just then he heard the door open and looked up to see his mother join his father. “Gillford? What are you doing in that… that… truck?”

  Gill looked down again before he rolled his eyes at his mother’s words. Gods, she was the most stuck up, elitist person he had ever known. It wasn’t good enough that her son, who she thought had been kidnapped, was now home, or the fact that Nick’s truck was a 2018 GMC Sierra 3500 Denali HD Dual-Rear-Wheel Duramax 4WD, which was one of the biggest, most expensive trucks on the market. No, to her it was still just a disgusting pickup truck. The fact that he was sitting in something she thought was beneath her station was what bothered her. As far as she was concerned, Gill should be sitting in a Rolls or a Jaguar, or maybe a Benz or something.