by Mandi Casey
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Sorry I brought it up.” I wanted off the phone, pronto, but I didn’t want to be rude about it.
“Sydney? This is really bothering you. I’m sorry. I attempted humor to make you feel better about it. Would you like me to speak with Daire about this”—he paused, not knowing how to define my predicament—“situation?”
“No, don’t say anything to him just yet. I wanted to make sure he couldn’t use glamour on me. He can’t, can he?” I held my breath, needing confirmation that I didn’t have to worry about Daire forcing me to use my Selected powers for evil, or even worse, donating my blood to quench his thirst. As far as I knew, the prophecy forecasted Kieran as the vampire to one day walk in the sun.
Grandma wrote that the prophecies consisted of layers. All I knew for sure was everyone seemed to have something to hide. I wanted to find out what they were keeping from me before getting caught up in their twisted worlds, more so than I already was.
Ignorance equated danger.
I was determined not to let anyone I cared for to get caught in the fray. Ignorance was no excuse.
“No, Sydney, you are completely immune to vampire glamour. Your thoughts, feelings, and, uh, reactions, are all your own. Is there anything else bothering you, my dear?” Kieran sounded more like my aunt, full of worry instead of the scary vampire I knew him to be. I had to hand it to him, he was making progress for his efforts to appear more human-like. He’d never be able to hide the red, glowy eyes, though. I wasn’t sure if even contacts could cover those babies up.
I didn’t know how much to tell the coven leader. Deciding to confide in him my fears, I said, “One more thing. How is it possible Daire is able to infiltrate my dreams?”
A low hiss sizzled on the other end of the line. That caught Kieran’s attention. “Sydney, Daire is not full-blooded vampire. He was born to one of King Alexander’s Judges.”
I bent over in my bed, feeling ill. Not only did I almost have dream-sex with a vampire, but I almost had dream-sex with a vampire who was also half demon. That’s when the odd occurrences began to make sense.
“That doesn’t answer my question. Is Daire able to manipulate my Selected powers because he’s half demon?” I was struck with the realization my newly assigned bodyguard could be a serious threat on multiple levels. Being the Selected, I couldn’t afford beings with the ability to use my powers against me or against the wolves and vampires.
I didn’t fully trust either of the vampires or the wolves, but I trusted Judges even less. Judges had their own agendas.
Kieran didn’t sound happy in hearing about the new developments. In fact, he sounded pissed that he may, once again, have a traitor in his coven. “Sydney, I’ll look into the matter. For now, I ask that you tell no one about this. I want to give the man the benefit of the doubt. He’s never done anything to make me question his intentions before.”
“Okay, but I don’t like secrecy. Withholding information from the wolf pack might not be the best idea.” I laughed despite myself. Blake was clearly hiding something from me. I didn’t understand why I felt obligated to stay true to him while dealing with Daire.
That was a lie.
I knew the reason.
I loved Blake, but I wasn’t so blind I couldn’t see the reality of what was going on. Blake was heir to the Midwestern Werewolf Pack. He would do anything to protect them. He should do everything in his power to make sure their existence continued on through time. There was once a time he made me feel he was just as protective about our relationship as he was the pack.
I no longer felt that way.
“You are mature for your human years, Sydney. I know how you feel about the wolf. I appreciate your cooperation. Give me time to have this situation dealt with. One way or the other, we’ll find out if Daire’s intentions are less than honorable.”
Still doubting if I made the right decision in telling Kieran about Daire, I noticed that my toe began to tap nervously on the carpet of its own accord.
“Keep me in the loop. Don’t hurt him too badly. I still need a bodyguard, you know.”
“You’ll be the first to know what I find out. If he does anything, contact me directly. I don’t want to alert him that my eyes are now upon him. Be yourself, however you normally act around him.” The line went dead. Kieran had hung up the phone.
Heat went through me. How was I supposed to keep acting normal around the vampire-demon when all he did was turn me on? I couldn’t deal with how my body reacted to him, let alone hang out with the guy. Plus, I seriously didn’t want to face him now that we had been intimate, even if it was just a dream. That dream was all too real. Just imagining the feel of his flesh made my body quicken with need.
Screaming for all I was worth, I threw myself back against the mattress.
Nothing happened.
I screamed again.
Okay, that didn’t make me feel better. Actually, it just gave me a headache for my trouble.
Clicking the screen button on my phone, I turned over onto the pillow with a groan. Two hours left before I had to get up for work and I couldn’t sleep.
Lying awake, I shook my head. Sometimes thinking of how my life had taken such crazy turns made me question the reality of it. I remembered the night the werewolf had attacked me in the alley alongside the store a mere few months ago. That fateful night had changed my life forever. I wondered how long it would’ve taken my mother or Aunt Judith to come clean about my being the next Selected if the wolf’s bite hadn’t triggered my powers.
Would they have asked Kieran to bite me as a scheduled event? Questions plagued my mind, making sleep elusive. I finally gave up trying to sleep, even though my head was fuzzy from exhaustion.
Hot water pelted my skin as it shot from the showerhead. I closed my eyes letting the steam fill the confined area of the bathroom. With a bright pink towel wrapped around me, I headed back to my room to get dressed for the day when my arms broke out in a cold sweat as I reached for the dresser drawer handle. A split second before pain clenched my gut, I knew a rogue was near the house. Light from the coming dawn spilled in through my bedroom window, but I couldn’t tell if the low level of sunlight coming over the horizon was enough to keep a vampire rogue in hiding, or if the rogue prowling the property was a wolf.
The muscles in my back, arms, and legs jolted with spasms. I waited for the pain to consume me. All the other times I had been so close to a rogue I had lost consciousness.
It didn’t come.
The pain in my gut began to recede as I dressed.
Relief washed over me as the pain continued to release its hold on my insides. My muscles stopped twitching. My vision returned to normal. I sighed, glad I didn’t have to call Blake for help. I didn’t want to admit that just maybe he was right. Maybe I did need him.
I hated that I needed his help with the rogues.
I hurried down the stairs after drying my hair. Scratching noises sounded from beyond the front door so I tiptoed over, listening while being sneaky.
The sound stopped. I looked through the peephole but couldn’t see anything. Figuring it was an animal getting into birdseed Aunt Judith had left in a heap on the porch, I opened the door.
My breath caught in my throat. It would have been useless to scream. The neighbors were spread far apart. No one would hear me.
“Hello, Selected.”
My question had been answered. The rogue was a wolf.
“What do you want?”
He stood just beyond the frame of the front door.
I stared at the werewolf in amazement. His hair and skin were clean, unlike the rogue who’d attacked me in the alley. The wolf standing in front of me wore clothes worn from manual labor.
He took a step forward to come into the house. Shrieking in pain, the rog
ue threw up an arm to shield his face.
Aunt Judith’s ward worked.
He couldn’t come into the house. I blew out a breath and gave him a wicked smile.
“I want what every young wolf wants. I want you. Dead.” He snarled, showing me his dirty, elongated teeth. A whiff of his breath traveled between us, making me cough from the horrid stench.
A blur sailed just past the front door. A whoomph erupted from the rogue as he landed somewhere on the porch beyond my line of sight. Fear loosened its grip on me. I was finally able to move. I grabbed for the front door to close it when footsteps sounded on the wooden planks of the porch.
The footsteps became louder as someone came closer to the open door.
The uncomfortable buzz from the rogue’s presence slowly dissolved into nothing as a form darkened the doorway. Taking a few steps back, my heart thumped in my chest at the new threat.
The form stepped over the threshold of the house. He came into the light issuing from the lamp on the far end table.
“Matt? What are you doing here?” As far as I was concerned, the Mobile wolf wasn’t any more trustworthy than the rogue.
The golden-haired, sexy-as-sin wolf sauntered farther into the living room, assessing his surroundings as he moved. “Selected, I make my rounds.”
I raised a questioning brow and he laughed. “The look on your face proves to me the local pack isn’t doing their job. You should be used to wolves watching over you.”
I didn’t like the gruff tone in his voice but couldn’t help notice how nicely the white T-shirt he wore hugged his biceps.
Crossing my arms in front of me, I said sternly, “I am, and that doesn’t explain your presence on my property.”
Matt crossed the distance between us and stood so close his warmth enveloped me. To my dismay, my body reacted sweetly, and traitorously, to his nearness.
The wolf smiled a lazy half-smile and licked his lips sensuously. My body shuddered with tantalizing thoughts of how he could use that glorious tongue of his on my flesh.
“Sydney, I was in the neighborhood so I thought I’d check in on you. Lucky for you I happened by. You shouldn’t be left alone out here.” He swung his arms up in the air and the manly scent of the forest and something more spicy and wild met my nose and my body clenched with need. What the heck was wrong with me?
“Thank you for taking care of that rogue, but I had it covered. He couldn’t come in so I was plenty safe. You should probably go wherever you were headed now that the threat is gone.” I stepped to the side while lifting my arm to the door.
Matt let out a growl, making my nipples perk up to attention. “No.” His deep voice filled the room. “I will not be leaving until I’m sure the rogue was working alone.”
Now it was my turn to throw my hands into the air. Letting them fall in exasperation, they landed with simultaneous slaps on my thighs. “Yes, you will be going. I have to get ready for work.”
Matt’s movements were quick. I barely saw him as he approached. The next thing I knew, the deliciously sexy wolf stood before me. His warm breath blew against the skin on my face, putting my body into an involuntary shudder of excitement. Dang it, I was going to have to hole up somewhere until I figured out why I was reacting so strongly to every gorgeous man I ran into.
Matt firmly placed his hands on my hips, bringing our midsections together. His fingers dug into my skin through the jeans. His touch was a mix of pleasure and pain. To my surprise, I liked how he touched me.
“You misunderstand the purpose of my coming to this dreadful city. The North American Selected is the one who can fulfill the prophecy foretold by the Moon Goddess. I’m here to make sure that happens, no matter what it takes.” His grip tightened, becoming more painful.
“You’re hurting me, wolf.” I didn’t want to admit it, but I’d rather have had the rogue back at my doorway instead of Matt inside of my home.
Matt’s green eyes turned a deep emerald hue with a gold ring around the irises. If his inner wolf was anything like Blake’s, Matt was either becoming aroused or angry. “Selected, you are to be cherished and looked after. The wolves in this area are selfish. They don’t care for you or your safety as they should. Come back with me, to Alabama.”
I threw my head back, laughing at him, and no longer feeling Matt was so much of a threat, more like another egotistical male trying to tell me what to do. “Now you’re just being ludicrous. I’ll never leave Kenosha.” I shrugged my shoulder while putting my foot to the side, planning on sliding out from his grasp. Matt didn’t let go, spiking my anger. Good, anger was better than having lustful thoughts of his naked body while we stood talking.
He shook his head. “Then you leave me no choice, Selected. My father sent me here to ensure your safety.”
I put my hands on his chest and pushed, hard.
Matt didn’t budge.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you need to leave. If you don’t, I’ll call Blake. You know he won’t be happy you were anywhere near me.”
“Like I said, I’m doing this for your own good.” He smiled, showing me his teeth in a sneer. They were no longer the straight row of pearly whites, but jagged, overgrown, pointed chompers.
“What?” Before I could struggle against his hold, Matt’s elongated fingernails dug into my side through my jeans. Searing pain shot from the gashes he created with his claws. I felt warm liquid dripping down the outer edge of my thigh.
“What the hell did you do to me?” My brain struggled to process the white-hot pain coursing through me with every beat of my heart.
He withdrew his grip on my hips to help me over to the couch. If Matt hadn’t held me up, I would have fallen to the floor. I was sure I was going to lose consciousness from the pain.
I was wrong.
My head swam as nausea swirled from the pit of my stomach traveling up to my throat. Both waves of discomfort began to recede almost as quickly as they’d come.
“What have you done to me?”
I could tell something in my body was changing, but I didn’t know what.
Matt tenderly put his warm palm over my forehead. His contact gave me instant relief from feeling ill, but the weakness plaguing my muscles remained.
“I did what Blake should have done to you the first day you set foot in this city. Sydney, you are the Selected. I am bound by the Moon Goddess to protect you.” The wolf stayed hovered over me while I slouched against the cushions of the couch.
I shook my head then instantly regretted the motion when my head began to swoon again. “That doesn’t answer my question. What did you do to me?”
Matt’s face brightened suspiciously with glee.
“I marked you.”
Chapter 9
I shot up from the couch but Matt moved his arm faster than I could avoid. He pulled me back down with an unceremonious yank. Because of my weakened state, I wasn’t capable of fighting him off. I screamed, “Let go of me!”
Pounding his chest with my hands, I could think of nothing but the cuts on my hip that blazed with fire.
Matt leaned his weight on my body, forcing me further into the cushions. His maneuver made it even more difficult to fight him off. Not that any of my efforts were working.
“Knock it off, Selected.” Matt gritted the words through his teeth as he kept me pinned in place.
My head pounded with blood rushing to my temples. “You don’t know what you just did.”
He smiled a toothy grin. “Oh, believe me, Sydney. I’m more than aware of what my mark on you will do to Blake. Keep in mind I’ve only done what the local pack has failed to do.”
The Mobile wolf’s malevolent disposition toward Blake’s pack shot fear into my heart. Matt didn’t care about Blake’s pack. For some reason, Matt acted as if M
orris and his wolves were less significant. Matt thought Morris incapable of handling rogue, pack, and Selected issues.
My breathing regulated itself despite Matt’s heavy weight crushing me. “Matt, Blake will kill you. I’ve heard of wolves marking their mates. You’ve crossed a line with what you’ve done.”
The burn of the claw marks began to fade as the tension between us rescinded. Blake was going to flip.
What was done couldn’t be undone.
Matt shrugged his muscular shoulder with arrogance. My body, once the rage inside of me had left, began to react to his masculinity and the contact of our bodies as he held me in place. The scent of his maleness filled my nostrils. I peered up at Matt’s eyes to see if he noticed.
Dang.
His eyes were back to deep emerald green with a vibrant gold ring accentuating the irises.
I needed to put some distance between us.
“Please let me up, I need some air.” After a few minutes, his weight began to shift from centering over my midsection to the cushion next to the one I occupied on the couch.
Leaning against the farthest armrest away from him, I turned my head to focus on breathing without inhaling the erotic smell of him.
Matt startled me when he gently placed the tip of his finger underneath my jaw. I hadn’t felt him move. With an unusual show of kindness, he brought my eyes up to meet his.
“I find your wolf lacking, Sydney.” The gruff sexual undertone of his voice tugged at the very base of my womanhood.
Pushing his hand away from my face, I stood up. Walking to the front door, I said, “I appreciate your candor where the pack is concerned, but I think your visit was a big waste of time. The local pack is more than capable of handling the problems at hand. You’ve now just made the situation worse by placing your mark on me.”