His to Protect

by Alice Cain

  "Our resident computer genius has gone rogue on us," Adrian said, trying not to react to the wolf at Ricky's feet. Jordan was barring his teeth aggressively and the wolf side of Adrian wanted to react in kind. Grinding his human-shaped teeth together, Adrian tried to concentrate past the primal instinct. "We need you to shutdown the guy's online role playing game." Adrian glanced over his shoulder to check on the whereabouts of the alpha wolf, but she'd apparently decided Adrian wasn't a threat. Ricky looked really surprised when the she-wolf pushed past Jordan and went into the house. "Please Ricky, people are dying. We need to shut this site down."

  Ricky dropped his hand to the head of the wolf at his feet, nodded, and then moved back to let Adrian in. "I'll do what I can."

  Twenty minutes later Adrian's head was still spinning from the way Ricky handled a computer. The website was shutdown, the accounts closed and deleted, and Adrian even had several more physical addresses that might lead them to the man they were looking for. Ricky's skills made Brian—the best computer expert they'd been able to hire—look like a beginner.

  It was all done so quickly, Adrian wasn't even sure what to say.

  "Thanks," he finally said as he handed over his business card. "If you ever need anything, please call."

  Ricky glanced down at the card, then over to the young woman wearing what appeared to be Ricky's borrowed clothes, sitting on his couch, and the wolf still pressed against his legs. "I seem to be well protected," he said in a tone that sounded a touch annoyed, "but you know where to find me if you have more computer problems."

  "I'm sorry that we needed to involve you. Ricky," Adrian said sincerely.

  "I'm not," Ricky said, glaring at the wolf when it made a sound of disapproval. "The world is a dangerous place, Jordan, you know that better than most, and if can do something to make it a little safer, then that's exactly what I intend to do."

  Adrian was pretty sure Jordan wouldn't be happy about that, but Adrian also had no intention of getting involved in an argument between mates.

  "We'll try not to call on your skill again before you've finished college," Adrian said, hoping he'd be able to follow through on that assurance, "but if you're still interested in a couple of years, we have a place for you on our team."

  Jordan growled, and for one tense moment Adrian thought he might have to fend off a physical attack, but Ricky simply dropped his hand back onto the wolf's head and spoke in a firm tone.

  "Thanks, Adrian. We will stay in touch."

  Adrian nodded, quickly offered a goodbye, and stepped out the front door of Ricky's home...and nearly fell into his own living room.

  Damn. He hated when Anaedra did that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  "Okay, class dismissed."

  Tyler couldn't help but smile at the enthusiastic response to those three simple words. Slow moving, docile, barely-awake teenagers suddenly sprang to life and left the room in record time. He laughed as they all tried to go through the narrow doorway nearly at the same time. Tyler's classes were usually better received, but being the last class on a Friday before spring break had rendered most of his kids impatient to finish school and get their vacation started.

  "Mr. Defoe," Kelly, one of his harder working students said as she ignored the mass exit and moved closer to the teacher's desk. "Dixie told me that Mr. Danton resigned."

  "That's true," Tyler said, wishing that the cover story they'd concocted wasn't really necessary. "He has a family issue to deal with."

  "Do you think he'll come back?" the young girl asked hopefully. Tyler wanted to say yes. He really did, but it would be cruel to give hope where there truly was none.

  "I'm sorry, Kelly, he won't be coming back."

  "But you're still friends with him, right? I mean you can still…like…talk to him and stuff."

  "Yes, we're still friends," Tyler said, wondering where this conversation was going.

  "Do you think he'd mind if I sent him a letter or an email or something?" The girl looked slightly embarrassed to have said that so loudly. She glanced behind her, seeming to sag with relief when she realized the rest of the kids had already left. "It's just that he was, like, you know, my favorite teacher." She blushed and stammered, "That's um not saying…I mean, not that you're not my um…favorite as well or anything, but well…he helped me with my math, made it make sense for me. All my other teachers just sort of, you know, didn't get that I didn't understand it." The girl blushed, probably realizing she was dissing other teachers to a teacher but it was clear that she had a point she really wanted to make. "Mr. Danton helped heaps. He took his time to explain it to me in a way I could, you know, get. I went from like a D minus to a B plus and that made my 'rents real happy. Mr. Danton's the reason I can do math at all, but he left so suddenly I didn't get a chance to thank him, you know?"

  "I know," Tyler agreed quietly. Logan had been an extraordinary teacher, always going above and beyond what was expected by the education system and truly helping his students to succeed. Losing him would be a harsh blow for many of the kids at this school. "I think he would really enjoy getting an email from you, but maybe leave it a few weeks while he deals with important stuff."

  Tyler grabbed his cell phone, scrolled down to Logan's details and quickly wrote down his email address on a slip of paper. Kelly took the paper, but hesitated.

  "If I…um…you know, flake out and get too embarrassed to send it, or something, can you make sure Mr. Danton knows how much I appreciated his help?"

  "Of course," Tyler said with a soft smile. He'd dealt with teenagers long enough to know that it wasn't really acceptable to suck up to teachers, but he appreciated Kelly's attempt to at least try and thank a teacher who'd made such a difference in her life. "Enjoy the break."

  "I will," Kelly said, smiling brightly. She was half way out the door before it occurred to her to offer a similar farewell. "And…ugh…you, too, Mr. Defoe."

  Tyler nodded, smiling at the current similarities between the teenagers Logan used to teach and the half man, half vampire he was at the moment. Kelly might be awkward and self-centered at this stage in her life, but it was clear that one day soon she would grow into a lovely young woman. Tyler hoped Logan didn't take quite as long. Having a best friend who acted like a teenager at times was growing very wearing. Logan's childish moments were fewer and further between now, so he was heading in the right direction. Tyler would never turn his back on Logan, especially when he needed a friend so much, but it would be nice to permanently get back the man he'd known.

  "Ready to go?" Adrian asked from the doorway. He'd "allowed" Tyler to go back to school for the last week of term, but he'd insisted on keeping a close eye on him. Tyler probably should have been a bit annoyed at his heavy-handed bossiness, but it had sort of become an informal part of their Dom/sub arrangement. And it was kind of nice to have someone care enough to make sure he got home safely each day, and he really liked the way Adrian's caring made him feel. Of course it had nothing to do with hoping to get an invite into Adrian's life permanently.

  A part of him knew it was a futile dream. Adrian was a very long-lived werewolf for heaven's sake, but that still didn't deter Tyler's imagination on what might have been under different circumstances.

  Tyler was still shivering inside from the amazing orgasms Adrian had given him one night last week, but Adrian had been the perfect gentleman since. Tyler had been disappointed to wake in Adrian's spare bed in the guest room the following morning, and since then nothing at all had happened. It was very confusing, especially when Adrian still acted like he was Tyler's Dom.

  Cohabitating with him was growing harder and harder each day. Getting to know him as a person made Tyler want to know him as a real lover—not just the sub he was supposedly training. In the past week the man had shown far more restraint than Tyler had thought humanly possible.

  Although considering that Adrian wasn't actually human…

  "I just have to make sure everything is locked and then I'm goo
d to go."

  The sound of breaking glass only reached his ears after he hit the ground hard, a huge body pinning him to the floor as the strange popping sounds seemed to go on and on. He shook violently, not even realizing until he closed his mouth that the high pitched keening noise had been coming from him.

  Adrian half dragged, half rolled him against the brickwork and wedged him under the window before moving his weight off him.

  "Stay down," he growled a moment before scrambling away. He lifted his head just enough to see over the window sill, before quickly ducking back down. His phone was in his hand even before he could blink. "Kyle, I've got a shooter on top of the east building of the high school." He listened intently for a few moments as he shuffled back to where Tyler was still lying on the floor trembling. "No, he's all right. Shaken but not injured."

  Shaken didn't begin to describe the terror Tyler was feeling. Even after everything that had happened in the past few weeks—discovering the murders, learning that his friend was a vampire and that werewolves and other paranormals were real, falling for a bossy man who was likely more than he could handle—none of it had really prepared him for getting shot at.

  "Somebody just shot at us?" Tyler asked in a voice that didn't sound anything like the one he owned.

  "It's okay, sweetheart."

  "No, it's not," he said deliberately letting anger start to burn low in his belly. "Somebody just fucking shot at us." He tried to stay angry, tried to hold on to the clarity it provided, but then his responsibility to his students kicked in. "Kelly!"

  "The students were all gone. The hallway was empty when I came in."

  Tyler nodded, refusing to give in to fear ripping at the edges of his mind. Adrian said something else into the phone, searched for the button that would disconnect the call, and then crawled back to where Tyler was still pressed against the wall.

  "I hate new phones," he said as he moved to lie over the top of him. Tyler rolled onto his back so that he could see Adrian's eyes.

  "I hate being shot at," Tyler said as the absurdity of his situation started to sink in.

  Adrian leaned over and pressed a kiss to his nose. "Believe it or not, sweetheart, I don't much like it either."

  "Is Kyle okay?"

  "He's fine. Pissed off that he had to climb in human form, but he got the guy's scent. Our shooter is the man we've been looking for. Shooting at and attempting to murder a human teacher should earn him a good long jail sentence."

  Tyler nodded. He'd hated the idea that when they did find the human who'd murdered Logan and William that he might get to walk away simply because there was no record of William having even existed and Logan wasn't exactly dead.

  "How did Kyle get here so fast?"

  "That was luck rather than good management," Adrian admitted with an apologetic smile. "We've been tracking down leads all day and it's been one of those days when everything took longer than it should have. I didn't have time to go back to the office and get my car." He tucked a stray curl behind Tyler's ear. "To be honest, I think it was just Kyle's way to manipulate me into finally introducing you."

  Tyler smiled at Adrian's annoyed expression. He'd already met Gavin, Lilly, Brody, and Derek, and Troy was still on assignment out of town, but as far as Tyler knew, Kyle had been home for more than a week now.

  "Why do I get the feeling you'd rather not introduce me to Kyle?"

  Adrian laughed softly. "Is it that obvious?"

  "Only to everyone else."

  Adrian leaned over Tyler, smiling widely as he dipped his head to kiss him. It took at least three minutes of serious necking before Tyler realized what the man was doing.

  "You're trying to distract me."

  "Is it working?" Adrian asked unrepentantly.

  "No, well, yes, but…what if the guy with the gun has friends helping him?" Ironically, despite the question he wasn't really worried that they were in danger any longer. It almost seemed strange to trust someone so completely.

  Adrian laughed, and grinned widely. "I have one word for you," he said leaning over him, cocooning him in his warmth, blocking everything else from his vision so that Adrian was the beginning and the end of his world. "Werewolf."

  ~*~

  Adrian had no doubt that Tyler would react differently once he realized how close he'd been to dying only moments ago, but right now it was in everyone's best interests if they both remained calm.

  The fact that Adrian chose to do that by pressing against Tyler and kissing him passionately wasn't something he intended to explain even to himself. Tyler accepted his kiss, relaxing in Adrian's arms, showing complete faith in his ability to keep him safe. Adrian tried to deny the fine tremor that ran through his muscles as he replayed just how close the bullets had gone to taking Tyler from him, but he'd never been one to avoid the truth.

  Tyler wasn't just another assignment, wasn't just a sub he would play with at Santutegia once a week. He was an essential part of him, a man he loved, the mate he'd never realized he might one day find.

  "Marry me," Adrian demanded as he finally lifted his mouth away from Tyler's.

  Tyler looked stunned, but Adrian didn't care that his timing was lousy.

  He just needed Tyler to say yes.

  The sound from the hallway was really bad, fucking timing.

  ~*~

  Tyler didn't have a clue what was happening.

  A moment ago he'd been cuddled up to a man who'd just demanded he marry him and now he was face-to-fur with a huge wolf. The fact that the furry beast licked Tyler's face before moving away simply made the situation more surreal.

  Yes, Adrian had told him he was a werewolf, but apparently knowing and seeing were two very different things. Tyler was really close to hyperventilating when he realized just how huge a wolf—sharp teeth and all—Adrian truly was.

  The wolf growled, low and deep, the sound scaring the ever-loving-crap out of Tyler. Intellectually he knew he was in no danger from the wolf, but that knowledge was doing nothing to slow the rapid beat of his heart.

  He almost missed when a man he didn't know, had never met, and had only seen in a single photo, stepped into the room and aimed a gun at Tyler and the wolf now standing between them.

  "You took her from me. Now you're going to know what it feels like to lose someone you love."

  Her?

  Tyler might have blurted out a question or two if he hadn't very literally been paralyzed with fear,

  "I loved her, but when she woke up a vampire she didn't even remember me. You stole her from me."

  Her? As in the girlfriend that had only existed in Brian's mind? Jane…something?

  The huge wolf shuffled in place, but it seemed that Adrian was controlling his instincts to attack so that he could stay in front of Tyler and protect him.

  "You told me vampires stay the same. You promised."

  Adrian didn't seem inclined to change back into a man and verbally defend himself, so Tyler finally found the strength to do it for him.

  "He wasn't lying. They do stay the same."

  The man huffed in annoyance as if he wasn't pointing an automatic weapon at a huge angry werewolf and a scared-as-fuck human.

  "Clearly you've never had a person you love be turned into a vampire."

  "My best friend is a vampire," Tyler said as annoyance overruled good sense. Was he really arguing with a man with a gun? Except that, oh yeah, Brian had come here to kill Tyler anyway, so arguing was probably buying him some time. Surely, Adrian's brother, Kyle, wasn't that far behind. "He was only changed a few weeks ago."

  "Did he change? Did he forget you?"

  "He did…for a little while," Tyler admitted, "but he's mostly back to himself now. Every vampire I've met is the same."

  And yeah, okay, he was exaggerating since he'd never actually met another vampire, but Adrian and Gavin had both spoken of other men and women who'd retained their human traits after being changed.

  "So why didn't she remember me?" Brian asked in
a voice that cracked with grief. "I loved her so much."

  It probably wasn't wise to point out that Brian's relationship with the woman might have been all in his head. From what Lilly had found in her investigation, no one who knew Jane had ever heard her mention Brian. It seemed very clear they were dealing with someone who'd only imagined he knew the woman well enough to love her.

  "I don't know why she changed," Tyler said, hoping that his sympathetic tone hit the right notes. "I'm really sorry it didn't work out."

  "So am I," Brian said, his tone suddenly devoid of emotion. Tyler couldn't see past the werewolf in front of him, but judging by Adrian's increased tension, the gun was once again pointing in Tyler's direction.

  Tyler nearly leapt out of his own skin when the deafening sound of gunfire filled the room. Adrian yelped, but kept his body between Tyler and the gunman even as he moved toward the bullets. Tyler closed his eyes, too terrified that Adrian was dead to care if he was about to be shot next. He didn't even bother to scream when he felt someone kneel beside him.

  "Are you hurt?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

  Reluctantly Tyler opened his eyes.

  "Are you hurt?" the man asked again. Tyler's ears were still ringing from the noise of gunfire, but he was pretty sure that was what the stranger was asking.

  Tyler shook his head and finally found the courage to glance over where he'd last seen Adrian. His lover was back in human form, naked and bleeding, but still alive and apparently still doing his job.

  "He's not hurt, but he's going into shock. Get your ass over here, Adrian. Tyler needs you."

  Adrian raised an eyebrow and then dropped his gaze to the man he currently held facedown, and gave the man a completely exasperated look. "Do you think maybe you could take over here, Kyle? And what took you so damn long to get here anyway?"

  "Locked doors," Kyle said with a shrug and a smile for Tyler. "I figured the school board wouldn't be happy if I smashed through them." He winked as he moved back onto his feet. "Besides I knew you'd have everything under control." Kyle patted Tyler's upper arm affectionately, and then moved to take over their prisoner. "The sheriff is on his way," he said to Brian as he easily took over the hold Adrian had been using. "He's going to be very interested to learn that a human was trying to kill a high school teacher. That's against the law you know."