by Sabrina Rue
Her body moved with the recoil as if she’d shot the gun a thousand times in conditions exactly like the ones she now found herself in.
Desiree had never fired a weapon in her life.
Every shot found a target in the neck or spine of a Purist. They dropped like rag dolls to a dirty concrete floor that was already running with her Mate’s blood.
The scent of him saturated every pore but not in the same way as when Titus touched her, kissed her, showed her how grateful he was for her.
No, his scent inspired every molecule of Were female and Wolf to howl in a killing rage because he was badly wounded. There was more of Titus’s blood on the floor than remained inside his body.
His silver hair was stained red, hanging limp and wet against his skull. His face was swollen, battered beyond recognition, and all she could think about was killing every Purist in the room and taking her Mate away from this nightmare scene.
She knew the Daemons who’d escorted her, the Royal Guard, were engaged in combat with the Purists who surged from the outer walls. There were screams and she didn’t know if it was the screams of Titus’s people or the screams of those who’d brought him here.
It didn’t matter.
None of it mattered because she was going to make it to his side and kill anyone who tried to get near him bearing a red Purist tattoo. Even if she died, she’d take as many of them with her as she could and be at peace knowing that Titus would no longer suffer.
These were the true animals. The real monsters. They would not be the cause of her Mate’s death. They would not have another opportunity to hurt him. Not as long as there was breath in her body.
Her teeth fully extended, her eyes glowing, vicious growls pouring from her chest, she got closer and closer to the Daemon male she needed and wanted with every fiber of her being.
Thirty feet. Twenty. Ten and then she was on her knees in front of him, gripping the iron chains that had no effect on Were kind.
Even in her rage, she wasn’t strong enough to break them. She shielded Titus with her body and shot the bolts to the cuffs.
Yanking them away from his flesh, she threw them across the floor hard enough to make sparks.
Then she slit her wrist and held it to his mouth. “Drink from me, Titus. Take all that you need.”
His breath was hot against her skin and she thought he was so deep in his mind to block the pain that he couldn’t sense her.
“Mate! Drink from me!” Holding the back of his head carefully, she reached up and dragged her claw across her jugular. “Titus!”
Pressing his mouth to her neck, she felt his lips move. Afraid to touch him for fear of causing him more pain, she held his head and murmured at his ear.
“Stay with me, Titus. Drink and stay with me, Mate.” Then he was sucking, his hand weak as it lifted to grip her hip. “Yes. That’s it, Titus. Take what you need. Let me help you.”
His hold on her firmed, moved up to clasp her waist, around to hug her back. Harder and harder, he held her, drank from her.
Killian appeared beside them. “Lord Titus. You’re going to drain your Mate. Release her, Majesty.”
There was a small whimper, almost a sob, and he lifted his mouth from her skin. Resting his forehead on her shoulder, his breathing was ragged as he held her.
“He’s unconscious, Lady Blackwell. We need to get him to Drake.”
Desiree nodded and cradled Titus’s head. When she tried to stand, his grip tightened on her and he issued a fierce growl.
“You’ll need to move us like this, I think,” she told the bodyguard tiredly. “Is it possible?”
“Of course. Stay here a moment.”
Exhausted, sapped of strength and adrenaline, Desiree rested her head against her Mate’s. “We’re getting you out of here, my love. Don’t leave. You can’t leave me. Not when you’ve only just found me.”
Time seemed to skip and she heard Titus screaming but didn’t know where he was. She was in a dim space. Sitting up, she saw she was in the small den of the guest house on Texas Pack land.
Titus screamed again and Desiree made it to her feet.
Holding the walls, the furniture, the bannister, she made her way to the second-floor master bedroom.
Her Mate’s raw flesh had soaked the sheets beneath him with blood. She stumbled around the bed and climbed up on it. Collapsing beside him, she placed her hand on his head.
“Let me take it for you. Be at peace for a little while, Mate.”
She pushed him into a mental stasis and stole away the physical pain he still felt. Sobbing into the pillow next to him, she bore his agony as a Daemon she didn’t know worked over him in silence.
It was the least she could do after his days of endless torture.
Biting into her wrist, she held it to his mouth. This time, his lips latched on even unconscious and he suckled reflexively.
“Yes, Titus. Take what you need and let me help you.”
Drifting, a child screamed in the distance and adults argued. There was the sound of glass breaking, growls, wood splitting, a door crashing open, and small running feet.
Juliette landed on the bed and Justice bounded up beside her. They had tears streaming down their faces. The little girl placed her palms on Desiree’s torso beneath her shirt.
“We’re going to push your body to produce more blood. Enough for you and Titus. Rest and let us help you.” Looking at her brother, she told him, “As much power as you can give me, Justice.”
He nodded and put his hand on her back. Their eyes glowed and fangs descended. “Keep feeding him, Aunt Desiree. Your blood will help more than anything else. We’ll keep your body churning at high speed. We’re sharing the burden so you don’t collapse.”
She said faintly, “Thank you, children.” The tears that slipped into her hair were almost painfully hot.
Looking at Titus’s profile as he sucked at her wrist, she told him, “Don’t leave me, Mate. Drink from me. Come back to me.”
Deep within her mind, he whispered, “Desiree…”
Gasping on a sob, she moved as close as she dared. “Rest, my love. Rest so you can heal.” Her vision blurred further and the voices around her were hard to understand.
Titus breathed beside her, drank from her, and nothing else mattered.
* * *
The light was strange. Desiree thought she might still be asleep. There was a cool mist around her but she didn’t think she was outside.
Glancing down, she smiled at the elegant gown she wore in dark blue crushed velvet. Soft satin slippers covered her feet.
Titus appeared in front of her in a suit, fully healed.
Almost hysterical, she threw herself into his arms and wept bitterly against him. “Titus.”
Strong arms held her against his chest and one hand stroked over her hair. “Were you frightened, Mate?” he asked gently.
“Terrified. You were hurt so badly…”
“Ssh, it’s alright now, my beautiful Desiree. Dance with me.”
Music began to play from somewhere, slightly muted by the mist, and they danced. Her heavy skirts twirled with every turn and disturbed the damp fog in small clouds.
“How I’ve missed you.” His voice was low, deep.
Nodding against him, she murmured, “I-I didn’t know you’d been taken. In Heat, I didn’t even know you were gone. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t come for you sooner. They hurt you so badly.”
“No. No, Desiree. I shouldn’t have ventured abroad with my Mate in Heat. I was distracted, not paying attention, and three dozen ambushed me. It was no fault of yours. The mistake was mine. All of this is new to me, too.”
“Stay with me,” she begged.
“I couldn’t leave you. I won’t.”
Time didn’t exist as he held her, danced with her, and murmured soft words to soothe her mind and heart.
“We’ll put away what you had to do…”
“No,” she said against him. “I won’t go b
ack to being vulnerable. I’ll never again depend on others to fight for me, to protect what I love.”
“The weight of it will haunt you, Desiree.”
Raising her face, she stared into his silver eyes. “Every being that’s ever been in battle, who has ever taken a life, is haunted. What right have I to tuck it away and live as if I didn’t make the choices I did, didn’t take the lives I took? No. Keeping them makes me stronger in many ways.”
Titus held her and whispered, “You’ve given me too much blood. Drake pushed you from consciousness to save you. The children work to mend you as he does the same for me.”
He lowered his mouth and kissed her deeply. Against her lips, he told her, “Thank you, Mate. I didn’t want you there. I wanted to protect you from the horror of it.”
“You blocked me.” He nodded. “If you ever do that again, I won’t forgive you, Titus. You don’t keep me from helping you. I may be weak but it’s my right to be at your side. Life or death.”
The glow of his eyes brightened and he cupped her face.
“I am your Mate, Titus. Never forget you’re also my Mate. I have a blood right to protect you, to come for you, to stand between you and danger…just as you would do for me. It’s a biological imperative.”
Straightening, she infused her voice with her Wolf. “I am a full-blooded Were female and I fight for what belongs to me by any method available to me. Whether that’s with teeth and claws or absorbing weapons training from one of the best. Never underestimate me again. I won’t be coddled when your flesh is being flayed from your body.”
“Understood,” he growled. “It won’t happen again.”
Pulling her against him roughly, he devoured her mouth with a touch of violence that made her heart race. His fingers gripped the hair at the base of her skull and held her still for his aggression.
No part of her wanted to resist.
He addressed her Wolf and she allowed the being who lived inside her to answer him. Concentrating intently, she jumped, making her clothing disappear as she forced Titus to catch her naked body.
Her arms and legs wrapped tightly around his torso.
Holding his silken hair in her fists, she growled as she returned his kiss and worked her hips in a slow roll against his cock. Only the clothes he wore separated them.
His canines nipped her lips and hers drew his blood as well. The tips of her claws pricked his scalp as she took what she wanted from her Mate. Moving one hand to his chest, she pushed at his jacket.
“Give to me. Take it away!”
Spinning quickly left his upper body bare but he’d left low-hung leather pants on his lower half. She growled in frustration.
“Not here, Mate,” he told her hoarsely. “This isn’t real.”
Whimpering in need, she touched as much of him as she could. He held her hips, working himself against the most sensitive part of her.
“I won’t claim you, Mark you, but I will fucking give you pleasure.”
Her back touched a solid surface that wasn’t visible and he ground his cock along her bare folds.
“Yes…”
His kisses, his touches, the way his body heated, all of it felt as real as anything. She took what he was willing to give her, determined to give back as much.
She moaned, “Titus…”
“How beautiful you are in the throes of passion, Desiree. I’ve dreamed of seeing you fall apart in my arms.”
Licking the hollow of his throat, she hummed against his skin. “Yes. I’ve seen your dreams. Felt them. Experienced how your body imagined it would feel fucking me. It was exquisite.”
Growls louder, eyes brighter, teeth glinting, he moved faster and harder against the center of her and she dropped one leg to brace herself for it.
“You’ll fall apart for me as well, Titus. After you take me apart, I will have your control, your release, to show for it. A mutual victory.” Dragging her teeth along the column of his neck, she whispered at his ear, “Pleasure in the giving and the taking. Filling me up with all of you, leaving evidence of your presence behind. I long for it, Mate.”
Her body arched and she released a long growl as a climax from the friction rolled over her and stole her breath.
“Desiree!”
Titus gritted his teeth against what appeared to be a mixture of pleasure and pain. The veins were pronounced beneath his skin and she watched him, felt his heat increase, as he gave himself to it.
His growls slowly faded and she whimpered, holding him as hard as she could. Her Wolf wanted more, wanted it all, and it was what she wanted as well.
“Please. Please, Titus.”
“Soon, my love. I’ll give you everything you want, everything you need. The first time must be real, Desiree. The first time I leave my Mark on your body and my seed in your belly, you’ll know I’ll never be parted from you again.”
He gathered her close and the heat of him sank deep, to her bones, and she let herself relax in his arms.
It might be an illusion but the comfort she gained from simply touching him, feeling him against her, his love washing over her senses was more real than anything she’d ever seen or felt or known.
They drifted together, their limbs tangled, their hearts beating in sync, and she sent as much mental energy into him as she could to speed his physical healing.
A year would never work. She knew that now. Her Wolf would never wait and the human part of her agreed.
She needed her Mate.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Four days later…
Desiree blinked against bright sunlight. The back of her body was warm and strong arms circled her torso. One hand cupped her breast and she noticed that the skin looked badly sunburned.
Turning, she stared into Titus’s beautiful silver eyes as she held his face. His hair shimmered in the light of her bedroom.
Trailing her fingers over his cheeks, she was happy to see how quickly he was healing. Drake, the Daemon healer Killian called in to treat Titus, had explained that wounds made with iron caused more physical damage and took longer to heal.
“You’ve stayed with me,” he murmured.
“Where else would I be, Titus?” Leaning forward, she lightly kissed his lips. “Rest. Let yourself heal, Mate. There’s no rush, nowhere to be. Give your body what it needs.”
He brought her close, hugged her firmly, and kissed her hair. “Just this. Just you beside me, Desiree. That’s all I will ever need.”
Within a few minutes, his battered body took the option from him and his eyes grew heavy. Soon enough, he was deeply asleep again.
She listened to him breathe and felt true gratitude that he still did. When she was certain he would rest for a while, she gently removed herself from his arms and the bed.
Walking into her bathroom, she showered and dressed as quietly as possible. Wearing her usual training clothes, she slipped silently from the room and went in search of her Alpha.
Harmony stood from behind her desk and jogged around to greet Desiree. Holding her shoulders, she stared into her eyes for a long moment. She gave a single brisk nod and then pulled her into a hug.
“Killian and Una filled us in on what happened. They were impressed with your concentration and fighting ability.”
“I have you and Hope to thank. Without your intense focus, calculation, and calm under the most terrifying of conditions, I never could have used the weapon skills I took from Hope. I owe you a great debt, Alpha. The two of you helped me save my Mate.”
A slow smile spread across the brunette’s face. “We gave you the tools but you were the one who saved your Mate. Every step of the way, you determined what you needed and gained access to it with an indomitable will that was probably unexpected to those who’ve known you all your life.” She shrugged. “I wasn’t surprised at all.”
Desiree’s eyes widened. “You weren’t?”
“In my life, I’ve seen a lot of fighters. My family, the men and women of Montana Pack, people I met the
years I was running, and now the members of Texas Pack. It isn’t easy to take on the mantle of warrior, Desiree. You hold the lives of others in your hands and one mistake, one miscalculation, one hesitation can mean the difference between their life and death.”
“Your strength makes it a natural fit, Alpha.”
“Do you think so?” Desiree nodded. “I wanted to be a veterinarian.”
“W-what?” Nothing her Alpha could have said would have surprised her more. “How is that possible?”
“My father trained us, prepared us. Titus warned him of the rising Purist threat and Dad wanted to be ready to protect his people. All that he taught us was supposed to be nothing more than a precaution.”
Tugging her toward the couch, Harmony sat and Desiree lowered beside her. She seemed to choose her words carefully.
“Packs require a lot of food. Hope loved being involved in the farming aspects of our life in Montana. I gravitated to the animals we bred and raised. Chickens, goats, pigs, cows. I was an avid equestrian. I spent more time with my horses than I did with my family.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I loved every stray dog that wandered into our lands. Fed the barn cats and made sure they were warm enough in the harsh winters. If birds were injured or someone found a baby squirrel, they brought it to me.” She chuckled. “Animal care was part of my daily life.”
“That’s amazing, Harmony.”
“I ran a wolf-dog rescue. Bringing in the hybrid animals who were bred and typically abandoned. We have an affinity.” She blinked against tears. “Slade told me that when we were banished, Gregor had all of them killed and burned in a pit.”
Her sigh was heavy. “The point is, I never expected to actually need my training because it was a game. I loved my father and spending time with him made me happy. His tests kept my mind sharp and my body flexible. I adapted to the changes as I’d been trained.”
“Now, I must adapt as well.”
Harmony nodded. “You’re well on the way. Will you seal away your quest to rescue your Mate?”
“No.” She looked through the office window to the forest beyond. “I want the skills, the knowledge. I know I didn’t earn them the way you and Hope did but after seeing what they did to Titus, I won’t hesitate to fight, to kill, in order to protect him or another.”