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

by Vivian Wood

  Her mates needed her like this, needed her body. Needed release.

  And Sera wanted to give it to them.

  Steadying herself on one hand, Sera reached out and put her free hand on Kieran’s bare ass, drawing him in further. Encouraging him, driving him higher.

  “Fuck!” he gritted out. His excitement made heat coil lower in Sera’s body, the tension ramping up as Kellan reached around and pressed his fingers to her clit, massaging in slow circles.

  Sera burst again, pleasure firing bright, her veins flooded with the sensation of her two mates fucking her at once. She was only vaguely aware of Kieran and Kellan tensing and crying out, both pulsing their seed deep inside her. She was too overloaded to know anything, too overfull of bliss and heat and wonder.

  When Kieran and Kellan positioned her to kneel on the bed, each one on his knees beside her, she bit her lip.

  “Mark me?” she asked, though she already knew they intended to do it.

  Twin growls burst from their lips as Kieran and Kellan sunk their teeth into the soft skin at the base of her neck, one on each side. The pain was nothing compared to the glowing pleasure that bloomed in her chest, the feeling of connection that warmed her from the soul outward.

  They collapsed in a sweaty, naked heap, kissing and laughing and cuddling. No more needed to be said, just the pleasure of one another’s company.

  When Sera fell asleep, tucked between her two brawny alpha mates, she’d never felt quite so cherished in her whole life. More than that, even…

  She felt more than desired. She felt loved.

  13

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sera left her two mates sleeping in Kellan’s bed. Big though it was, the men dominated it. Sera found herself wondering whether they would keep up their current arrangement, each twin with his own room and Sera’s in the middle. Would she go to one of them or the other depending on her whims, or would they always share her as they had tonight?

  It remained to be seen. She padded down the hallway to her own room, conscious of her nakedness. She’d never seen another Guardian on this floor, but someone might see her from the stairs. The Guardians and their mates kept odd hours, someone was always coming or going, but tonight the whole Manor was quiet.

  Sera’s lips twitched when the thought occurred to her that the other Guardians might be trying to follow in Cassie and Gabriel’s footsteps, have a baby of their own… and they might be starting right now, the old fashioned way. Shaking her head, she went into her bedroom and pulled on a pair of silk pajamas and a robe.

  You just have sex on the brain, she told herself, but she probably wasn’t too far off base. Looking at little baby Marie had stirred something in Sera’s heart, not that her biological clock was any surprise. It had been ticking, and ticking loudly, for a few years now. The second she was done with her high-pressure medical residency, her body had been ready and willing.

  She headed downstairs, her head in the clouds.

  Now, she had everything she needed to succumb to her ticking clock. The Gray brothers were the final piece of Sera’s puzzle. Not one, but two mates to cherish and provide for a baby. An image of Kieran and Kellan each holding a baby, a pair of twins just like themselves…

  It turned Sera gooey inside, almost to an embarrassing degree.

  “Daydreaming?”

  Sera jumped, her hand flying to cover her heart. Duverjay stood in the kitchen, polishing a large pile of silverware.

  “You scared me!” she said with an uncomfortable laugh. “Do you ever sleep?”

  She cocked her head and examined the butler, who was still perfectly pressed and impressive in his conservative tuxedo. It was only then that Sera realized that though she had the vague impression that Duverjay was Kith, she didn’t know precisely what kind he was.

  Much like her own uncertain lineage, as a matter of fact.

  “I do,” he assured her. “I require much less than the average human, though. Just an hour or two during the afternoon, when the whole Manor is quiet.”

  “I gotcha,” Sera said with a nod. “Well, I don’t mean to disturb you. I just came down to look at a couple of the texts on the library wall down here, and maybe look up some stuff online.”

  “Very well. Would you like something to drink while you work? Coffee or tea?” Duverjay suggested.

  Sera pursed her lips, then smiled.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have hot cocoa, would you?” she asked.

  Duverjay’s face split into a grin.

  “Of course, my lady.”

  Sera tried not to roll her eyes at his formal address, thanking the butler and moving to the conference table. One corner of the meeting area boasted floor-to-ceiling wood bookshelves, crammed with reference books on all things magic. Sera took her time, scanning all the shelves and selecting a half-dozen tomes that she believed would be the most relevant to her research.

  Duverjay brought over her hot cocoa, neatly arranged on a tray with some Danish butter cookies.

  “You are a wicked man,” she teased him, grinning when he turned to leave with a pleased smile.

  Sera nibbled a cookie and sipped her decadent cocoa as she dove into the books she chose, flipping through the first without much luck. Tons of mentions of different creatures, a huge chunk dedicated to whatever the heck a djinni was, but nothing on phoenixes.

  The second book at least had a beautifully illuminated photo of a phoenix, a stunning jewel-toned bird in a bright burst of blue flame. After scanning the information below, she quickly surmised that this wasn’t what she was looking for. After all, she wasn’t a damn bird, she was just…

  A mystery.

  Pushing the second book away with a sigh, she pushed on. The third and fourth were a bust, which frustrated her. Maybe she was crazy to be pursuing this based on the word of some old Kith man who hung out in the French Quarter all day. She didn’t know him from Adam; he could have been making it all up.

  The enthusiasm in his eyes, though… it had seemed genuine. Wrinkling her nose, Sera grabbed the fifth of her selections, a mammoth leather-bound book whose cover read Mythes. No other description, but it looked much older than most of the books in the Manor’s small library, which was her reason for choosing it.

  Unfortunately, when she flipped open the creaking brown leather cover, she discovered that the whole thing was in French. In fact, Sera had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t even modern French, just going by the unfamiliar characters and the strange ways the words were clustered.

  Sera groaned and shoved the book away, then pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. She should just head back upstairs, try to get some sleep, forget this whole thing.

  “Did you need assistance?” Duverjay asked, making Sera jump for the second time that night.

  “Ah, no more cocoa,” she said, dropping her hands and looking up at the butler, trying to keep her tone lighthearted. “And I’d love more cookies, but I don’t want to have to run off all the calories tomorrow.”

  “As you wish, ma’am, but I was referring to the book,” he said, pointing to Mythes.

  “It’s in French,” Sera said.

  “I know. It’s my book,” Duverjay said, arching a brow.

  “You read ancient French?” she asked, her face heating. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea.”

  “It’s Old French, actually, and yes. Is there something particular you’re looking for?”

  “Yes. I’m looking for any information about phoenixes. Not the birds,” she added hastily. “The, um… beings. People.”

  Duverjay didn’t comment, or even react.

  “I think I have just the thing,” he said, gesturing to the seat across from hers. “If I may.”

  “Of course, yes, please,” she said. The servant-master thing still flustered her; it was something that she would perhaps never get used to. As a doctor she gave orders and ran important operations, but she also believed in acting as if she served her patients. After all, their well-bein
g came first.

  While she was busy mulling over the philosophical ramifications of having a butler on the Guardians’ staff, Duverjay seated himself and sifted through the book’s pages with great care.

  “Ah, here we are,” he announced. “The Phoenix.”

  He scanned the page for a long moment before beginning. Sera’s heart began to beat a little faster, her mouth going dry. Curiosity gnawed at her insides.

  “The phoenix is an immortal being who lives a thousand or more lives. They have existed since antiquity, the sons and daughters of the sons and daughters of the gods. Like many powerful creatures, they have been hunted nearly to extinction, prized for what they can give another. The phoenix’s power is no common thing, as it only rises once every thirty years. In the thirtieth year of life, under the fullest moon, a phoenix will rise and change, opening portals to other realms and making many impossible things possible… but only while the phoenix is in-between rising and razing. Once the phoenix burns, they rise from the ashes, fully formed and grown but different than any person they’ve been before. Then, the cycle begins anew. Live, rise, burn, recur.” He paused. “That’s the end of the article, my lady.”

  Duverjay looked up from the text, then turned the book around and slid it over to Sera. There on the page was a sketch, the curved outline of a woman with her hands thrown up in the air, as if rejoicing. All around her were flames, but her expression was jubilant. No fear, no pain, no sorrow.

  Radiance was the word that came to mind.

  “Wow,” was all Sera could think to say.

  “Indeed.” Duverjay rose and pushed his chair back into place, giving her a little bow. “Let me know if I can assist you further.”

  Mind whirling, Sera forced herself to open and examine the final book in painstaking detail, though it contained no information of value.

  Thirty years. Fullest moon. Rise, change, burn…

  She could barely process it, and once she had gone through all the information a few times, she wasn’t sure what to do with what Duverjay had read to her. After all, it was a single centuries-old source, origin unknown. Depending on the precise age of the text, the people who wrote it might have also thought the Earth to be flat.

  In addition to that, Sera had turned thirty nearly eight months ago. Her thirtieth year was nearly over, and surely in the eight moons she’d witnessed this year the fullest had already passed. Didn’t that take place in the summer, like pagan fertility festivals and whatnot?

  Sera couldn’t remember. Still, she was sure it was just a superstition. She’d just need to keep researching, look for something to support or deny the claims of Mythes. Until then, any actions she took would just be grasping at straws and jumping at shadows.

  “Duverjay?” she called as she rose and began to reshelve the books.

  “Ma’am?” he said, appearing around the corner.

  “Would it be all right if I asked you to keep this research between the two of us? I’m not quite sure what it means just yet.” She bit her lip, trying to seem as innocuous as possible.

  After a moment, he nodded.

  “Of course, my lady.”

  “Thank you, Duverjay. I’m off to bed,” she said, picking up her cocoa tray and handing it over to him.

  “Sleep well, ma’am.”

  Sera nodded and gave him a brief smile, but it lacked warmth. What he suggested was impossible, with all these new ideas swimming around in her brain.

  Sleep would be rare tonight, indeed.

  14

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Are Cassie and the baby all settled in?”

  Sera looked up from her armful of research books to find Kieran waiting in the little sitting room they all shared. He dominated the plush chair he sat in, legs crossed as he sprawled, a determined set to his jaw.

  Not a good sign, though Sera didn’t know what he was upset about.

  “They are,” she said, dropping the armful of books on the room’s only table. She walked over to the fireplace, glad that it was lit and roaring, and held out her hands to soak up some warmth.

  Kellan strolled in, giving her an appreciative up-and-down glance. Still neither of her mates said anything. After a few more moments, it began to put Sera on edge.

  “What?” she asked, turning to eye them both.

  “I didn’t say anything,” Kellan drawled, but she could see that he had something on his mind.

  “Just spit it out. What are you two conspiring about?”

  Kellan snorted, but Kieran took the bait.

  “We want you to take a longer leave from work,” he said.

  The words took the air out of Sera’s mood, and she scowled at them both.

  “No,” she said simply.

  “Sera…” Kellan started.

  “You two are being ridiculous. All this talk of prophecies and danger, but none of it even seems real. I’m going back to work. Tomorrow, actually. I called and put myself in rotation.”

  Kieran rose, his posture a mirror of Kellan’s equally hostile stance. Sera crossed her arms and squared off with them, unabashed.

  “Don’t,” she said, pointing at both of them in turn. “You are my mates. You are not my keepers, or my daddies, or whatever. I am in charge of my own life, guys.”

  “Surely we have some say in matters of your safety, though,” Kieran said, his frustration evident. “You can’t just—”

  “Stop right there. It’s been almost a month since you guys brought me here. I’ve played nice, stayed here in the Manor, let you set the course. It’s been too long. As a matter of fact, I got a message from my landlord asking me to come move my car, which has just been sitting on the street this whole time.”

  “And did you give him notice, like we talked about?” Kellan asked.

  “I did. I have a few weeks to move things, but I am going over there now to get some of my more important mementos. And some better work clothes, since all I seem to have here are designer dresses.”

  “They look great on you,” Kellan replied with a shrug, his eyes traveling up and down her body, admiring the clingy gray sweater dress she wore.

  “Not practical for working shifts in the emergency room, though.”

  “So don’t,” Kieran said, but she could tell he was teasing now. He reached out and snagged her hand, pulling her close to him, almost into his lap. “Can you wait until tomorrow to go to your apartment? That way one of us can go with you. Besides, I can think of better ways to spend our time before we go on patrol.”

  Kieran ran a finger from her collarbone to the tip of her breast, through her bra and dress, and Sera shivered. Kellan moved closer, one of his big hands closing around her hip, giving her a gentle squeeze.

  “Mmmmm,” she said, shaking her head even as Kellan kissed the nape of her neck. Kieran’s fingers brushed her inner thigh just at her knee, traveling up, up, up… “Guys, no. We all have things to do. After your patrol, that’s a whole different thing. But right now I’m all business.”

  She pulled away from them, trying not to blush when she saw the heated desire in their gazes.

  “Tonight,” she promised, unable to keep a smile from her lips. “And you two are going to be late for patrol if you don’t leave now.”

  Kieran and Kellan shared a glance.

  “Fine,” Kellan said, shaking his head. “But I don’t like this.”

  Kieran only scowled.

  “You don’t have to,” Sera said, keeping her tone light. “Everything is going to be fine. Let’s all walk downstairs together.”

  She parted ways with her mates at the Manor’s front doors, heading out front. She pulled out her phone and hailed an Uber, passing a quiet ride to her MidCity apartment.

  Once there, she managed to pack all her necessities and put the boxes she’d loaded in her car in less than two hours. Looking around at the rest of her furniture in her strangely bare apartment, she pursed her lips. What to do with the rest of it? Maybe she should hire movers and just put ever
ything in storage, for now.

  But if that was just for now, what would come later? The Manor wasn’t her home, not in a long-term sense. She was embarrassed to realize that she hadn’t put any real thought into the situation, much less talked to Kieran and Kellan about their future plans beyond the Guardians. Simply put, she’d been too drunk on love and sex to spend a lot of time thinking any of it through. So unlike her!

  Mulling that thought over, Sera headed out of the apartment and locked up. She crossed the street, heading for her car, running down her to-do list in her head. She’d just hit the unlock button on her key fob when she heard the screech of tires.

  Turning her head, she saw a white van fly around the corner of the quiet side street where she was parked. Sera flattened herself against her car, thinking that the driver was drunk or perhaps lost control of the vehicle.

  When it skidded to a halt only feet from her, Sera turned and scrambled to open her door. The sliding door began to open, and her heart pounded in response. She had no idea what was happening, only that something was very, very wrong. She’d just managed to get into the car when a dark-robed figure ripped the car door clear off its hinges and reached inside to grasp Sera’s arm.

  It took three of the faceless, monk-like assailants to drag her from her car. Sera screamed at the top of her lungs, and she even saw someone pass by on the street, turning to watch, what was apparently, her abduction. The stranger pulled out a cell phone, but Sera lost track of him.

  A dark piece of cloth was thrust over her head, her hands bound too. Then her attackers picked her up and tossed her in the van as easily as a bag of garbage. Her head smashed against something, hard, and the fight went out of her.

  Never let them take you to a second location, rang in her head, the advice useless.

  Her head ached, and for a moment she thought she might be sick. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying not to react when a set of ice-cold fingers brushed her neck, checking her pulse.