“No.”
“You should call him. I’ve never seen him like that over anyone before. I’m surprised he hasn’t called you,” Kristy said, her tone casual. Kristy did that—spoke casually, let conversation ramble, until the other person was ready to speak. She supposed it was to ease the person’s confidence.
Right now, it only irritated her.
“Do you know what Neil is?” she asked pointblank, studying the blonde’s response.
Kristy froze for a moment, her face paling in the light from the window. But it lasted a mere moment. Kristy let out a sigh and bowed her head, running her fingers through her short spiky hair.
“Yes.”
“How could you?” Marissa asked, her voice hoarse. “How could you let him take me home?”
“Because I know Neil, and I know he’d never hurt you.”
“No, a monster wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Neil is not a monster!” Kristy countered. “A werewolf is not a monster!”
“Last time I checked,” Marissa said, “they rank right there with vampires. All are monsters, haunt little children in their sleep, eat humans, and all are not supposed to exist. And he does!” A tear pooled in her eye.
“So do all the mythicals,” Kristy said. “And we live in harmony with them, and have for centuries. So what?”
This was not what she expected. She hadn’t expected such nonchalance to the concept. Damnit, doesn’t anyone around here find it weird or freaky or scary that monsters walk the streets next to us, every day? “He’s a monster.”
“There are monsters and monsters.” Kristy took her hand and squeezed. “Nothing in this world is as we expect. We’ve lived for centuries, millennia, with creatures of the night in our homes, in our neighborhoods, and we don’t have to fear them.”
She glanced up at Kristy’s face. Her friend, who she’d pretty much considered a casual acquaintance for the most part, made sense in a surreal way. There was nothing she could do about the existence of monsters. It wasn’t like she could hunt them down; she’d never know where to begin.
And this went well beyond the realm of just believing in them. This was bigger—so much bigger—than that.
“If I believe you, then everything I’ve ever known is wrong.” She buried her face in her hands. She didn’t want to see her face, because Kristy might bring her to the breaking point with whatever she said.
She thought of Neil, of the way he protected her from Kirk; of the passion he had, of the heat of his stare, and her heart lurched. How could she? How could she even consider such a monster a friend?
Yet in the back of her mind, she knew if she ever needed him, Neil would come running, and that very thought was what kept her up at night.
Not that he was a monster.
That he was her monster, and he would always save her.
“It’s not wrong,” Kristy said. “It’s just more than we ever thought possible.” Kristy’s eyes slipped to her and Dale’s wedding picture, framed in a black lacquer frame.
Her words struck a chord, and for a brief second of clarity, she knew Kristy spoke from experience. Her mind traveled backward in time, and she realized every time Dale had ever been “away for a business trip” it was right on the full moon.
The joke had been that the only normal thing to happen on the full moon was Dale’s scheduled trips.
Her eyes widened.
Kristy seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. “It’s not all bad,” Kristy said. “Once a month, I have the house to myself to do whatever I want, have a girl’s night, whatever. I get a lot of deep cleaning done that day.”
“And where does he go?”
“The compound,” she said. “The Brothers constructed a compound on some land outside of town, and he goes there. They have some kind of cell or something that he stays in for the night. Everything’s really well organized. I hear they play poker until it’s time to lock up.”
“I really want to believe you, I do, it’s just so…”
“So crazy?” Kristy said. “It’s a bizarre world out there. I agree. I’m just glad I have Dale on my side, you know?”
She finally asked what she really wanted to know. “Weren’t you scared?”
Kristy’s eyebrow went up. “We’d had sex by then, so I wasn’t really that scared. Shocked a bit, but not scared. I thought I’d dreamed it.”
The change. She’d seen the way Neil had shifted slightly when he’d climaxed, his animal side coming out. But that hadn’t been the first time, had it? She’d seen the same thing just before he broke Kirk’s nose. She’d thought she’d dreamed it too.
“So what do I do?” Marissa asked.
“Up to you. But let me tell you one thing. When a werewolf chooses a mate, it’s for life. Neil will never cheat on you, he’ll never hurt you, and he’ll never leave you.”
The last words stung, because that’s exactly what he’d done. He’d left.
*
Marissa barely made it home when someone started pounding on her front door.
“Go away,” she muttered, but couldn’t help herself from going over to the door. Deanna’s persistence knew no bounds—even when she’d ignored her friend’s calls, it hadn’t stopped Deanna.
Maybe she should have, because then she wouldn’t have Deanna standing on her porch now.
She yanked open the door, ready to berate Deanna, but stopped cold.
Standing outside were the two SWAT guys from the party. Though this time, they didn’t look as much like SWAT team members—they had on typical clothing. Typical enough, anyway. Tee-shirts and jeans.
Both of their dark gray tee-shirts had the same red iron crosses on the upper left shoulder.
“Yeah?”
Neither waited on pretense, and walked right into her house. The blond went past her and the other, his hair dark and very short, shut the door.
“You know, this is my house. I get to say who comes in,” she spat at them. “Don’t you all have to have permission to come in?”
“That is a vampire,” Liam said. “Though more human folklore than truth.”
The blond glanced at her, his brow arched, and took a seat on her couch. “We could do this on the porch if you want, but I doubt you wanna share this with your neighbors.”
The dark-haired one stood up against the door, his arms over his chest, as if daring her to try and bolt past him.
“Fine, let’s get this over with,” she said, dropping on the couch. “What do you want to know?”
The men glanced at each other. “My name is Sir Adrian, and this is my partner, Sir Liam. Formalities were missed at Dale’s party.”
“Marissa,” she muttered. “And you guys are the SWAT guys who hauled off Kirk. Is he going to jail?”
“What was your relationship to Kirk?” Adrian asked.
“Dated him a few months ago. We’d been together a while, but he was a jerk, messed around and stuff. So we broke up.”
“And you hadn’t seen him around since your breakup?”
“No, not that I remember.”
“Had he tried to contact you since the breakup?” Liam asked.
“Sure, a little bit. Kirk’s a control freak. Didn’t like that I’d broken up with him. So he did pursue for a while, calling every few days, but then he stopped. Didn’t hear for him for a couple of months. I figured he’d given up, at least until the other night.”
Adrian nodded. “You were attacked outside a bar a little over a month ago.”
“You guys are good, I didn’t bother telling anyone about that.”
“We were the ones who found you,” Adrian replied.
“How do you think you got home?” the second one asked, making her jump. She’d practically forgotten he was there.
She ran her hands through her hair. She didn’t like this, not one bit—after all, these guys were the ones who found her? After everything she’d been through, this was almost too much to handle. “Who in the hell are you guys? Police or something?”
“Mythicals?”
“Vampires, werewolves, and about any other mythical creature you can think of. We protect humans from the mythicals.”
“Well, you’ve just done a bang-up job in my case,” she snapped at him. “Seems like I’m frigging surrounded by them.”
The two men exchanged glances. “So Neil told you,” Liam said, coming across the room to sit in the large recliner in the corner, though he didn’t really sit back in it, more on the edge of the thing.
“He told me what he was,” she replied. “And I haven’t seen him since.”
Liam ground out some kind of curse, though it wasn’t anything she’d ever heard.
“Do you plan on seeing him again?” Adrian asked, his eyes warm with compassion.
“I don’t know yet. This is really hard for me to take in, ya’ know?”
“This type of situation isn’t how we like to see humans introduced to the mythical world. However, there’s not much we can do about it.”
“What…are there, like, classes or something to introduce a human to these monsters that walk among us?”
“No, though that’s probably not a bad idea. There are protocols, however, and usually, a mythical, when he or she wants to tell a human about what they are, there are special steps that are required.”
“Like watching ‘Underworld’ or something before they can tell the human?”
“Not exactly. But usually, we try to speak to the human, to determine how they will handle the information before they know,” Adrian said.
“Though it doesn’t always work that way,” Liam added.
“So what do I do? I mean, I’ve slept with Neil. Do I have to get special shots or something?”
“Did you use protection?” Liam asked.
She nodded.
“Then you’re fine.”
“Well, good to know I can’t get rabies,” Marissa replied.
Adrian glanced at Liam, and for the briefest of seconds, it looked as if Liam might have actually smirked.
“Listen, we can’t tell you how to live your life. And we can’t tell you if you should or should not have anything to do with Neil. That’s up to you.” Adrian shifted on his seat. “But know this. We have vowed to protect humans from mythicals, and if, for any reason, you feel as though you’re in danger, you need to contact us immediately. Mythicals aren’t like humans. They’re stronger, they’re faster, and far more dangerous. It’s not your job to protect yourself. That’s our job.” He stood up and handed her two business cards, both identical, instructing her to put one by her phone and the other in her purse in case she needed it.
She accepted the cards as the two men headed for the door.
Then Liam stopped and spun around, his hands resting on the back of her chair, his strength making her shift as he leaned over it to speak.
“Neil Drigan is a good wolf. He’s strong and competent. And he will always protect you. All wolves will fight to the death for their mates.”
“I’m not his mate,” she said.
Liam touched her shoulder. Everything went hazy for a second, but then he let go. “Are you sure?”
*
The Starbuck’s coffee house was dead when Neil walked in. Of course, it was about dinner time, and he would have figured on a Saturday night the place would have been hopping, but it wasn’t.
He was also fifteen minutes early, so he ordered a grande coffee and took a seat near the back, away from the door and other prying eyes.
Marissa’s message had been cryptic. Only instructing him to be here at six.
He hated himself.
He’d never lost control of the beast the way he had that morning. He could blame it on the full moon, but it didn’t have anything to do with the moon anymore than it did with the shade of her blue bedspread.
He’d shown her. He’d shown her the monster. No matter how many times that side of himself had been a benefit in life, at that moment, he’d never been more ashamed of what he was.
The fear in her eyes had scarred him deep within his soul. If Marissa never wanted to talk to him again, he’d understand. She’d had no warning, no preparation for what was about to come.
He’d just flashed.
It made his stomach roll.
He’d been beside himself all week, barely able to focus on anything at work, and unable to eat properly. He’d only managed to stay awake because of coffee.
Several in his pack had figured out at once what had happened to him, and they didn’t sympathize, simply because he hadn’t bothered to give them a chance. At the compound, instead of playing the typical poker tournament they had, he’d hidden away in his cell, refusing to speak to anyone.
He could still smell her on him, even now, though he kept trying to smell the coffee, trying to get rid of the aroma that was Marissa. It seemed like wherever he went, he could smell something floral, and it would send a shock of pain through him.
She stained his mind like a window pane he couldn’t touch; an image of beauty and clarity that was not his. He finally knew he had a mate that was made for him, and she was frightened of him.
Him! He’d saved her twice.
Vague images came back to him about that night when he’d been the animal, but he remembered one thing for certain. She’d touched him, stroking his nose, like she wanted to know her savior, and say thank you, but didn’t know how.
Neil pinched the bridge of his nose, yet nothing, even other kinds of pain, seemed capable of easing his anguish.
The door opened, a soft chirping sound alerting the employees, and they spread on their work faces, saying hello to the newcomer. One whiff and Neil knew who it was.
Marissa looked around, her long hair pulled up into a severe ponytail. Her tee-shirt and jeans looked like they’d been pulled off the dirty clothes pile, and she glanced around, seeing Neil in the corner. She hadn’t made herself all pretty for this.
Couldn’t be a good sign.
Marissa smiled at the men behind the counter, ordered a drink, and came over to join Neil.
“Hello,” she said as she sat down.
“Hi.” He clenched his hands around his coffee cup to keep from reaching across the table and grabbing her hand. Waves of desire burst over him, and he knew he wasn’t going to last long. Just sitting across from her, his pulse quickened, and he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anyone before ever.
If only his brothers could see him now—all wound up for a woman. He made fun of them constantly when it came to their mates. Yet here he was, as bad, if not worse, than they were.
Two months ago, he would have called himself pathetic.
One of the clerks brought her a cup of something with whipped cream on top, and she accepted it with a smile, and didn’t speak until he was out of ear shot.
“I have been busy today,” she said.
“Oh?”
“I went to see Kristy,” she said, stirring her drink and letting the whipped cream mix into the drink. “And I had a visit from the Knights.”
Neil blinked. Hell. He knew they’d go see her, they’d said so at the party. And he hadn’t thought about it at the time—he’d figured he’d be with her when she had to deal with them. Instead, she’d had to face them by herself.
It’s a miracle she was here at all now. The Knights could frighten someone just by looking at them.
“And how was that?” he asked, praying they hadn’t tormented her too much
“Enlightening,” Marissa said. She sipped on her drink, wincing at the heat of it, and he grabbed the edges of the chair to keep from running up on the man who’d made her coffee and belting him for making it too hot.
“Is that good?” he asked her.
“I know I’m not crazy, anyway.”
He smirked. “You’re not crazy.” His heart started to pound. Was
she possibly considering that he wasn’t a freak of nature? That she might actually…
No, it was too soon to think such a thing.
Too soon to imagine she might actually not be frightened of him.
“I was starting to think I was. Werewolves? And after talking with Kristy, I see they’re not the only creatures of the night that exist.” She stirred her drink some more before taking another sip.
“No, pretty much any mythical creature you can think of are around, in some form or another.” He sipped on his coffee. He didn’t come in contact with too many, just the occasional vampire and other wolf packs, but he knew they existed.
“I can’t say that I understand this, and I don’t know if I want to,” Marissa said, her hands trembling. “Just answer me two questions.”
“Okay.”
“You saved me that night in the parking lot, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” he whispered.
She stared off to a spot just over his shoulder. “I petted your nose,” she whispered.
“Yes.” His heart ached in his chest at the faraway look in her eyes. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice barely audible, even for him. Then her eyes flashed at him. “Will you never leave me?”
“Never,” Neil said. “Until I die, I shall be at your side.”
Marissa nodded, and reached across the table. She touched his hand, and he felt his body ignite as she squeezed his fingers.
Chapter 8
December 1st
Marissa sat on Kristy’s deck, the winter a rather warm one. Kristy’s chimanaya was lit, and the two of them stared up at the full moon.
“You know, I never really believed in psychics before, but that one gal, what was her name… The one at the party?” Marissa asked.
“Charlie,” Kristy said. “She’d said she read for you.”
“It took some time to figure out what she was talking about, but she was right,” she said. She’d spent almost every night with Neil since their meeting at Starbucks. They talked about many things, including how the werewolves lived, how their packs were structured, and how the Knights of Templar fit into everything.
“She usually is.”
“I didn’t realize until after your party that Neil was the one that saved me that night in the parking lot. All I could remember was a big dog.”
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