Alpha Guardians Series - The Complete Collection: 650+ Pages Of Sizzling, Fast-Paced Bear and Dragon Shifter Romance

by Vivian Wood

  She looked up at him, her eyes giving away how vulnerable she was right now.

  “Claim me, Asher. Give me everything, all the things I was supposed to have since Union City.”

  Asher stared back at her, paralyzed.

  “Kira…”

  “Please, Ash. Say you’ll think about it.”

  How could he say no to her, even if it was for her own good?

  Asher just nodded. Kira’s lips found his, her hands pulling at his jeans.

  “Not tonight,” he rasped. “I won’t mark you tonight.”

  “Okay,” Kira said, lips grazing his neck.

  She undressed him and straddled him, kissing him deep as she took his cock deep inside her body. Kira held Asher in place, hands on his chest, and rode him with complete abandon. It was torture, the way she worked him with her body, the way she threw her head back. The way she took all of him, every piece of him, it ruined him even as she set his soul free.

  They came together, sudden and violent. Spent, Asher clutched Kira to his chest, his heart overfull with a thousand conflicting feelings. She slept in his arms, her breath warm on his bare skin, leaving Asher to mull over her request.

  How could he give her what she wanted, knowing where it might lead?

  Worse, how could he refuse?

  11

  Chapter Eleven

  Asher made it precisely five days, eighteen hours, and twenty-six minutes between the moment of her request and claiming Kira as his mate, fully and irrevocably. He’d holed up with Kira at the Manor, moving her into his room and more importantly his bed, only coming up for food and the occasional shower or few hours of patrol duty.

  On day two, Asher knew he was in trouble. Being with Kira was just too good, and he was addicted to her presence, the sound of her laugh.

  On day four, he tried to talk to her about what was happening. Not to scare her off, or even to explain that he had lost any and all self-control and might slip and sign both their death warrants. More just for the purpose of conversation.

  “Hey, I am going to give you the mating bite, any minute now. I don’t know how I’ve managed to hold out during the last five minutes. You do realize that this will kill us both, right?” That sort of thing.

  Unfortunately, she’d silenced his attempt with those lush, pink lips, and his words had slipped away, forgotten.

  Early on day five, he was in a nasty, near-unwinnable fight with six Aszgraethe demons. He found himself welcoming the violent, bloody death that was about to happen. Kira would mourn him, of course, but she would be safe.

  Gabriel and Rhys intervened in the fight just in the nick of time, and Asher actually felt bitter about it.

  Now, five days, eighteen hours, and twenty-eight minutes after Kira pleaded for him to mark her, Asher was nearly delirious with simultaneous emotional gloom and pure, total physical satisfaction. Kira was snuggled down in his arms, sleeping away the afterglow of their mind-blowing, mating-bite-giving, death-sentence-creating sex.

  Asher ran a fingertip over the bare skin of her neck, just above the bright pink mark that claimed Kira as his, forever. Strangely, though there was an endless well of rage and self-recrimination boiling somewhere deep inside him, he simply could not bring himself to feel upset. Not with his mate in his arms. Not with everything inside the Manor so quiet and safe, so comforting.

  The calm before the storm, as it were.

  12

  Chapter Twelve

  Asher’s selfishness had truly reached epic proportions today. Years of denying himself his mate had accumulated, and the reward had been too sweet to resist. A conversation had been the tipping point, actually.

  “We could start over,” Kira told him, tracing a pattern on his bare chest with her fingertip. “Somewhere too far away for anyone to find us.”

  “Yeah?” Asher asked, humoring her.

  “Yeah. A bolt-hole. We create the perfect place. We go in… we never come out. Simple.”

  “And what is this perfect place like?”

  “Somewhere by the sea, but with seasons. I like to have fall and spring as much as anyone,” Kira said.

  “I think you’ve forgotten something in this clever plan. Or someone, I should say.”

  “Who?”

  “Mere Marie. Hiding from your father is one thing. He’s only a terrifying archangel of doom and death. Mere Marie on the other hand…” Asher said. He was teasing… but only halfway. He gave Mere Marie his word, and he couldn’t leave until the debt was forgiven.

  Kira gave a grunt of disapproval, shaking her head. But her solution wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, and the idea took root in Asher’s skull and wouldn’t go away. Or perhaps it gave him a reason to hope, which was as good as hanging Asher and Kira both by the neck until dead.

  As it turned out, hope had been Asher’s Achilles’ heel. It lulled him, made him stupid.

  Asher closed his eyes and let himself drift. When he opened them a few minutes later, sunlight flooded his bedroom. He sat up, realizing that a few minutes had actually been quite a few hours. He also realized that Kira was gone, her side of the bed cold as ice.

  “You’d better be downstairs, playing backgammon with the fucking cat,” Asher said aloud.

  She wasn’t.

  Nor was she anywhere else in the Manor, and Asher looked everywhere. He actually roused Gabriel and Cassie from what looked like some fairly spectacular and gymnastic pregnancy sex, not that Asher gave a crap.

  In the end, everyone stood in the living room, trying to figure out where the hell Kira could possibly be.

  “Could Pere Mal have gotten access to the house again and kidnapped her?” Cassie asked, her eyes going wide. “He did that to me, you know.”

  “Doubtful.” Cairn, Mere Marie’s furry little familiar, jumped on the conference table and addressed Asher.

  “While you were sleeping the whole day away, your mate was asking a lot of questions, poking her nose in a lot of things,” the cat announced.

  “Like what?” Rhys asked, giving the cat a stern look. “Come out with it.”

  “She wanted to know where Pere Mal might be holed up. She seemed to think that he might know how to summon Rezeal. She also asked me for some particularly nasty attack spells. I told her it was a bad idea,” Cairn said with a lusty sigh. “She wouldn’t listen.”

  “And you didn’t think to tell anyone?” Asher shouted, his bear rising.

  “You know… I didn’t,” Cairn said, turning and taking a running leap off the table when Asher leapt forward with a menacing growl.

  “That fucking cat…” Asher hissed.

  “Did Kira say anything, do anything strange the last few days?” Gabriel interrupted.

  “No. She…” Asher paused. “Shit.”

  The insistence on being marked, even though she knew it was dangerous… The way she’d talked about it…

  No matter what happens, she’d said. Now, while we’re together.

  “Fuck. Fuck!” Asher said, shaking his head. “I should’ve known. I just thought she was finally happy.”

  “Don’t blame yourself,” Echo said with a sigh. “None of you Guardians do well with knowing what women are thinking.”

  Gabriel snorted, a sound of agreement. Rhys scowled at his mate.

  Asher was barely aware of the exchange, mentally scrambling.

  “What are we going to do? Where the hell do we find her?” he asked, agonizing.

  “She’s the most powerful thing in the city, and she barely knows how to shield herself. I think we’ll find her just fine,” Mere Marie said. “It’s what we’ll do when we get there that I’m worried about. Suit up and let’s go get her.”

  As it turned out, Mere Marie was right about finding Kira. It would have been almost impossible not to find her, because she and Pere Mal were fighting, and subtlety never entered the equation.

  Kira and Pere Mal stood at opposite ends of the French Market, a huge open-air structure covered by a green tin roof.
The French Market was a half-mile of broad cement floors crammed with vendors selling every imaginable tourist knickknack or trinket on the planet, a boisterous and packed venue.

  At the moment, it was eerily empty, a few stragglers sprinting away from the Market like their hair was on fire. Out of the corner of his eye, Asher saw the bright blue flash of a spell and a t-shirt stall go up in smoke. No wonder everyone had cleared out; neither Kira nor Pere Mal had even bothered to mask their magic, and they were lobbing some very dangerous spells back and forth, not to mention making a lot of noise and mess.

  “Think we found them,” Gabriel uttered.

  “Kira!” Asher shouted, trying to spot her. He cringed when she popped up from behind a table of macramé jewelry, stared at him, and then had to fling herself out of the way of a nasty-looking fire spell.

  Asher started forward, but Mere Marie surprised him by stopping him with a hand.

  “Allow me,” she said, strutting right into the middle of the fight.

  Pere Mal and Mere Marie engaged each other at once, and soon flashing spells were flying everywhere, blowing up piles of decorative Mardi Gras masks and leather flip flops. Asher edged around until he was closer to Kira, separated by a few folding tables covered in jewelry and t-shirts.

  Kira shot Asher a questioning glance, and he scowled.

  “You thought I wouldn’t come after you?” he called, ducking to avoid a spell that hit a few feet to his right.

  “I need this to be settled,” Kira said with a wince, crouching to hide under a table. “I want us to be together, but I can’t just hide out forever and hope that my father doesn’t kill you.”

  Asher dropped down and belly-crawled over to join her under the same table.

  “You should have talked to me about it,” he said, grabbing her wrist to get her full attention.

  “You wouldn’t have let me come here,” Kira said with a snort.

  “Damn right.”

  “Asher…” Kira sighed, shaking her head.

  “We’re mates, Kira. That means something to me. A lot, actually. If you wanted to take on Pere Mal, we would have found a way to do it, together.”

  “Ash, I’m not taking on Pere Mal,” Kira said, pulling an exasperated face. “Pere Mal is just a pawn in this game. I’m using him to summon my father.”

  “The hell you are,” Asher growled.

  “You can’t stop him,” Kira said, looking a little sad. “Rezeal is going to come after me sometime, and I’ll be damned if he’s going to hurt someone I care about in the process. I’m not running and hiding anymore. I’m doing this now, on my terms.”

  Before Asher could say any more, a spell hit the top of the table, sending Kira and Asher flying back in opposite directions. Asher landed hard on the cement, thankful for the still-smoldering pile of cotton dresses that broke his fall. When he scrambled to his feet again, Kira was running full-speed toward Pere Mal, holding a blazing golden ball of light in her hands.

  She lobbed the spell at Pere Mal, who deflected it at Mere Marie instead. Mere Marie gave a yelp and dove under a table, leaving Pere Mal free to turn and launch himself at Kira.

  A guttural roar ripped from Asher’s throat as Pere Mal formed a massive ball of crackling black energy, tossing it at Kira. It caught her from a dozen paces away, expanding in a flash to trap her whole body, freezing her on the spot.

  “Revelos!” Pere Mal cried, throwing another spell at Kira.

  Asher actually felt the sizzling wave of energy and heard a distinct pop as Mere Marie’s cloaking spell fell away. The sense of Kira’s power was instantly palpable, the strength and clarity of it giving him goosebumps. She was a beacon, beaming her presence into the sky. Beckoning.

  Asher knew all too well just what would come calling in response. He opened his mouth to shout to Mere Marie, but then he jerked to a stop.

  White lightning lit his veins, power surging through his body. All at once, a hundred different creatures filled the space inside him, crowding in with his bear. His bargain with Mere Marie was torn asunder, his shape shifting abilities returned.

  The sensation overwhelmed him, dropping him to his knees. He clutched at his head, trying to calm the chaos, but there was no silencing what came from within himself. A scream pierced the suddenly-still air in the French Market as Asher fought to control the raging, seething tide inside, fought to stay in his human form. He barely knew his other forms any longer, and controlling them would be next to impossible if he gave them free rein.

  Outside the Market, darkness descended. The sun seemed to recede, the sky fading to an eerie dark gray, and lighting crackled and split, lashing the ground around them, close enough that Asher could feel the heat of it.

  A strange thrumming sound started, soft at first before increasing to a roar. It was hail, heavy sheets of icy rocklike hail falling from the sky. The wind picked up, rushing and ripping at Asher’s clothes, scattering the debris from the Market. Asher groaned and lurched forward, trying to gain his footing again, trying to beat back the creatures within.

  He needed to get to Kira, protect her…

  Mere Marie appeared at Asher’s side, putting a hand on his shoulder. Instantly his mind quieted and cleared, and he looked up at her with gratitude.

  “I can quiet them for a little while longer,” she said, her face lined with concern. “A soothing spell, nothing more. You might need them, because I think—”

  Her last words were swallowed by a ghastly screech, metal on metal, impossibly loud. The wind howled, nearly knocking Asher over. He snaked an arm around Mere Marie to anchor her to the ground, afraid that her slight weight might let the wind carry her away. The world went completely and utterly black for a full, breathless minute.

  Slowly, gray light crept back into the world, and with it a new energy filled the air. Power, dark and malevolent. Asher felt it on his skin, thick, creeping and invasive.

  Lightning struck, revealing a lone figure at one end of the market, outlining the man’s massive, raven-black wings.

  Rezeal had arrived.

  13

  Chapter Thirteen

  The second that her father made his entrance, Kira felt like she’d been dealt a physical blow. She felt him arrive, though the sky was black as ink. When soft gray light crept back into the world, illuminating Rezeal, he was half what she remembered, half monster. He was too beautiful, too perfect, and yet the energy rolling off him was sinister and black.

  Tall and lithe, Rezeal sported a mane of glossy black hair that perfectly matched his ten foot tall wings. His face was carved from the finest marble; sharp cheekbones, perfectly arched nose and a hard jaw line. He appeared to be only a few years older than Kira herself, but his sharp, ice-gray eyes spoke of an ageless intelligence. Clad in black leather from head to toe, Rezeal looked more like a villain from Sons of Anarchy than anyone’s father.

  When Rezeal’s gaze landed on Kira, her stomach turned. A flicker of interest lit his face, and then he actually grinned. Kira thought she would vomit, but she felt unable to look away. He was magnetic, irresistible. Kira found herself swallowing hard, feeling sorry for her poor mother. To be the object of Rezeal’s attention, much less affection… it was unthinkable. Terrifying.

  “Rezeal!” Pere Mal called, moving toward the angel.

  Rezeal cocked his head and slowly turned toward the dark-suited Voodoo king. Pere Mal faltered, seemed to think better of approaching Rezeal, but it was too late.

  You dare to summon me?

  The words thundered through Kira’s mind, though Rezeal did not speak aloud. Her father seemed to be broadcasting, projecting his thoughts to those present. She couldn’t move, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Mere Marie gain her feet with a shudder. Mere Marie and Asher must be hearing him as well, then.

  “I brought you a present,” Pere Mal said, clearing his throat. “A trade, if you will.”

  He pointed a bony finger straight at Kira, making a fine sheen of sweat break out on her skin.
Rezeal considered Kira for a moment longer, seeming perplexed.

  You offer a trade for what is already mine?

  “A bird in the hand,” Pere Mal said, crossing his arms. “I caught her. I revealed her to you. I placed her in an energy field—”

  Cease.

  Rezeal’s gaze flickered to Pere Mal. Pere Mal opened his mouth to speak, and an icy gust of air escaped his mouth. He jerked, his movements slowing. A thin, icy layer of frost spread across him, and he went silent and still.

  Kira was freed suddenly. She stumbled forward a step, sucking in a deep lungful of air. Rezeal prowled toward her, the sea of tattered debris parting before him as he moved.

  Meredith.

  Kira took a step backward and stared at Rezeal, shaking her head. He’d spoken her mother’s name, seeming to pin the name to Kira. Was he confused about who Kira was?

  “Not Meredith. Kira,” she said, her voice as shaky as her hands.

  Meredith. My love.

  Kira’s mouth was so dry, her tongue glued to the roof of her mouth. She glanced over at Mere Marie, trying to understand. She wanted more than anything to run to Asher, who was way across the Market, but she didn’t want to draw Rezeal’s attention to her mate.

  “Kira,” she managed, a little more forcefully this time. “Your daughter.”

  Daughter? Rezeal slowed, as if digesting that information. He shook his head. You can’t fool me, Meredith. You are mine.

  “Rezeal, no. Meredith… Meredith died,” Kira told him. “Remember?”

  Rezeal let out a bark of laughter, only a few yards away from her now.

  No. I would not let that happen. Meredith, you are mine. Come with me, now. Leave these… creatures. Rezeal’s gaze lit over Mere Marie and Pere Mal, a sneer forming on his lips. They are nothing, Meredith. I will take you home.

  “To Union City?” Kira asked, confused.

  The Lower Realms, Meredith. I promised I would take you there. Lucifer will exalt us, treat us as the gods we are. Rezeal paused, a flicker of genuine sadness crossing his face. I have waited so long for you, Meredith.