Adored By The Rancher: Mail Order Brides Box Set

by Dreams, Brittany

  She dialed his number quickly. The call went straight to voicemail again and she left a message saying that she knew where Asher was. She gave the address and begged Shane to come quickly and help her.

  She stepped silently from the car and approached the derelict metal building with no small amount of dread. Luckily there was a sort of alley that ran beside the warehouse and a building beside it. They both looked like they were about to fall over. The moon glinted off the metal siding in the spots where it had yet to rust. She kept to the shadows, hiding herself between the buildings, searching for a door where she could sneak into the warehouse.

  There was an ancient dumpster, rusty and long since emptied. She crept behind that and spotted a door a couple feet away. It had been left open a crack and a weak beam of slight slanted through the crack, spilling onto the dirty snow outside.

  Dawn held her breath, waiting and watching. Everything was silent. There was no movement inside. After a couple minutes of anxious waiting, Dawn gathered her courage and slipped out from her hiding spot. She stayed pressed close against the building, edging along until she was able to peer through the crack.

  Nothing. She breathed out, releasing the pent up breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She spotted a stack of crates just inside the door that would provide the perfect hiding space. She sucked in a breath and marshalled her courage. It was still a long while before she could force her fear paralyzed body into action.

  She ducked through the door, quickly moving behind the crates. They were huge and made of wood, more like a box than anything. She closed her eyes and hoped that none of the men had seen or heard her come in. Dawn was certain that she could do nothing to stop them or harm them if she was discovered. She had no weapon, and even if she did, she did not know how to use one.

  A low moan came from somewhere deeper in the warehouse. Despite her fear, the sound of Asher in pain drove Dawn to move. There were stacks of crates and trash and boxes piled up along almost the whole wall. She crept behind them until she was well into the warehouse. Finally she chanced a glance out through a space between two of the square, wooden crates.

  Her heart broke when she saw Asher. He was slumped in a chair, back towards her, hands chained behind him, chains around his legs. His head was tilted forward and he moaned softly. The three men in front of him laughed as the largest grabbed a handful of Asher’s long, blonde hair and struck him hard across the face with his fist. A spurt of bright red blood shot onto the floor and covered the man’s fist.

  Dawn gasped. She slapped a hand over her mouth, horrified and disgusted. Her stomach rose to the back of her throat and she had to swallow painfully. None of the three men glanced in her direction. She had to do something! She didn’t know what but she had to force herself to move.

  Unable to stand his pain a second longer, Dawn stepped out from behind the crates, startling the three men into a frozen trance. They stared at her as if she could not be real, uncertainty glinting in their eyes.

  “That’s right,” Dawn forced her voice to be strong. She took her phone out of her pocket and held it high in the air. “You’ve been discovered and I’ve already called the police. In a few seconds this place is going to be swarming.”

  The largest of the three men, a middle aged man with a scar by his left eye that was about two inches long, and a hard face with pockmarked cheeks, glared at her.

  “Go ahead. I’m glad you’ve called the police. This creature, we caught him trying to drink my girl’s blood. I should have called the cops myself and turned him over. Would have got a ton of coverage, maybe even a reward. Rid society of whatever menace he is.”

  Dawn wondered for a moment if the men realized Asher really was a vampire. They perhaps just thought he was some freak. People did strange things after all. She’d heard of dentists giving people fangs, people who really did drink blood and pretend they were vampires. Maybe they thought he was part of that kind of group. She could only hope so.

  “And you think the police would let you go? After what you’ve done to him? You would be arrested as well. All three of you.” Dawn stared the three men down. They were all middle aged, the other two tall and skinny. The two could have been brothers. They had the same thin lips and evil snarl. Their eyes were squinty and beady and they both looked as though they’d done some hard living and hard drugs in their time. They glanced at the bigger man, the obvious ring leader, in question.

  The large man shook his head slowly back and forth, obviously trying to figure out what to do. He finally decided on a course of action. He pulled a long, gleaming knife from behind his back. Dawn’s eyes widened in fear.

  “No!” Asher groaned. He lifted his head and his eyes were full of pain and sorrow.

  The man advanced on Dawn and she took a slow, halting step backwards. She held her hands up in front of her. “You don’t want to do that,” she said in a rush of words. “The cops will be here soon and you don’t want to have this to answer for.”

  “I’ve no intention of answering for anything,” the man said menacingly. He kept creeping forward, knife extended, the silver blade gleaming wickedly.

  Dawn knew then that they planned on killing or wounding her and fleeing. She kept backing up, wondering if she should make a break for the door. She weighed the odds of outrunning the man and getting to her car. He was much bigger than her and she didn’t dare turn and expose her back to him. One wrong move and he would catch her. There was no one coming. The hard knowledge that she had been bluffing about the cops chilled her.

  The man got closer and closer. Dawn’s back butted up against the hard door she’d come in. She fumbled for the handle but it seemed to be stuck closed. She gasped, her breaths coming in frantic bursts. The man lunged and she closed her eyes, waiting for the strike of the blade.

  Chapter 13

  There was a rush of air in front of her and then a hard thump. Dawn’s eyes flew open in time to see the knife clatter off to the side.

  There was a man dressed all in black. He had come out of nowhere and tackled the large man just as he lunged at her.

  Dawn stared in horror as the two men scrambled and rolled. There was a feral, pain filled scream from the other side of the warehouse and Dawn stared in shock as Asher slumped as far forward in the chair as the chains would allow. The two tall, skinny men were rushing away from him, beating a hard path towards the opposite side of the warehouse.

  They didn’t get far.

  Two black shadows appeared out of the air and tackled the men to the ground. The two were caught completely off guard and they went down easy.

  The shadows, men dressed all in black, grabbed the two skinny men, forcing them to their feet. They pinned their hands behind their backs and the men squirmed and cursed futilely. The one who had been about to stab Dawn was now being hauled off the floor by the other man dressed all in black. The ugly face was made all the worse by the fact that it had now been beaten into a pulp.

  There was another rush of air and Shane appeared right beside Dawn. She let out a startled cry and jumped off the side, her heart hammering painfully in her chest. It only took her a second to react to seeing him. She cried with relief, tears streaming down her cheeks as she was gathered into his arms.

  “Come on. We don’t have any time to waste. They’ve nearly killed Asher and I need to get him back to the house. Can you drive us? The others can dematerialize after they’ve dealt with these three?”

  “What are they going to do?” Dawn stammered, glancing at the three men who were rapidly being escorted to the far side of the warehouse which stood in shadows.

  “Little more than they deserve. I doubt there will be much left after they’ve finished. They are quite… hungry after being in hibernation for so long.” He spat onto the dusty warehouse floor in disgust.

  Dawn shuddered. She knew it wasn’t right. As bad as those men were they didn’t deserve to die. Shane had not said they would kill them but he had certainly implied something ver
y bad awaited them.

  Shane released Dawn and rushed over to Asher. She forced her feet to move forward. She was shocked to see a blade, a small, pop knife handle, sticking out of his back.

  “Oh god!” She gasped. Bile rose in the back of her throat and she thought she was going to be sick.

  Shane gripped the chains in his hands and literally tore them from Asher’s wrists and legs. They snapped apart as though they were made of little more than air, the links spraying and tinkling to the ground in short, musical bursts.

  “How did you do that?” Dawn stammered. She was rooted to the floor, watching the horrible sight.

  “Asher will be as strong as I am one day but it takes time. His body was in hibernation for a very long time. It will take months if not years to regain the strength he lost. He was too weak to break the chains now.”

  When Shane lifted Asher’s head, Dawn gasped. It was a mess of blood, cuts, and bruises. His one eye was swollen shut. Twin streams of blood leaked from the corners of his mouth. He had been stripped naked and was bleeding from cuts and was bruised all over his entire body. When she could see the full extent of what those men had done to him, she wanted to throw up.

  “Is he dead?” She gasped.

  “Oh no. But he’s lost a lot of blood and that knife is going to be an issue. Luckily the others will feed now and be strong enough to feed him in return. Now come Dawn.” Shane lifted Asher into his arms as easily as though he weighed nothing at all. Dawn stumbled along after them, out into the cold night. Shane loaded Asher into the backseat of her car and got in with him. He held him propped up safely away from the knife which was jutting from his shoulder. Dawn jumped in the front. She started the car with trembling hands, thankful when it fired to life and she could peel out of that horrible place.

  “I’m going to get us home as fast as I can,” she whispered. She watched the rearview mirror almost constantly. She was not sure they were safely away until she had driven a few blocks. The site of Asher’s pale face and still form in the backseat reminded her that his safety was anything but assured.

  Dawn sped back home as quickly as she dared. She parked the car around the back of the house, as close to the back door. Shane has Asher out of the car faster than she would have believed possible. She followed them into the house, down the secret passage, through to the underground rooms.

  Shane laid Asher on the bed, placing him on his side so the knife would not be disturbed.

  Dawn climbed carefully onto the bed beside Asher. She placed her hand gently on his battered cheek. She knew of a vampire’s healing power and she was alarmed that none of the cuts or bruises or marks were healing.

  “I- I don’t know what to do.” Dawn tried to keep her voice from breaking, but she barely managed to utter the strangled words past the lump in her throat. She cursed herself for not being strong. She glanced up at Shane helplessly.

  “I could use some bandages and towels if you have them. Leave the rest to me.”

  Dawn quickly hurried upstairs. She rushed to the hallway cupboard just by her room where she kept spare towels and her first aid kit. She grabbed both.

  By the time she got back down to the Asher’s room, Shane had already pulled out the knife. He put his palm over the wound, which was spewing blood. He grabbed a towel from Dawn and jammed it in place. He held it there while at the same time he turned Asher into his arms.

  “Open his mouth for me,” Shane instructed.

  Dawn scurried onto the bed. She took Asher’s face between her hands, parting his lips with her fingers. It was strange, to see him so helpless and ghostly white.

  Shane’s fangs descended and he bit his own wrist deeply. He held it up to Shane’s mouth and let the blood drip into it. It pooled there and on instinct, Dawn tilted Asher’s head so that the blood would pour down his throat.

  “He’s not waking up,” she whispered.

  Shane’s own face looked worried. He kept pouring blood down Asher’s throat. The seconds ticked on, seeming to last an eternity. Suddenly Asher’s eyes flew open. They blazed that otherworldly blue. He latched onto Shane’s wrist, drinking hard from the wound in long swallows.

  Dawn gasped, her hands still on Asher’s face. Her hand had fallen away from his mouth. The full impact of what had transpired finally hit her. She had been waiting for the sorrow to come, and now that the adrenaline had partially worn off, she was filled with the most profound grief. She felt like there was a physical weight oppressing her body, threatening to collapse her chest. It was a long time before Asher stopped drinking. He went limp against Shane.

  Shane brought his wrist to his mouth, sucking at the skin to heal the wound. When it was done he turned Asher, muttering his relief when he saw that the wound on his shoulder had started to close.

  “Dawn?” Asher’s voice was so weak she barely heard. Her gaze met his pain filled eyes.

  “They took- everything,” he whispered. “Everything- that- I- am.” Dawn took Asher’s face in her hands.

  “They took nothing that you are!” She protested angrily. “You’re still here with me. We got to you in time. I promise it will be alright.”

  “You don’t understand.” Asher’s voice was so tired Dawn worried he shouldn’t be trying to speak at all. Slowly he opened his mouth. She and Shane stared at Asher. They both saw the gaping holes at the same time.

  Shane let out a primal cry of outrage that seemed to shake the entire house. The hair on the backs of Dawn’s arms rose. She trembled at the black look in Shane’s eyes. It was murderous. He wanted revenge.

  “They took his fangs,” Dawn whispered, though it was obvious.

  “I should have liked to kill them myself,” Shane said under his breath.

  “The others…” Dawn asked.

  “Will be here soon.” Shane seemed far from satisfied with whatever revenge they had wrought on those men. Dawn shivered again. It was unthinkable what they had done but it was even worse to think what had happened to them. “I thought this was a safer time. How could I have been so wrong…”

  “No Shane! You can’t think that way,” Dawn pleaded. “Please stop. You don’t need to talk about this now.”

  “No….” Shane looked down at Asher. He carefully arranged the other vampire so he was propped against the pillows. Dawn noted that some of his color was returning and that the marks on his body were fading. Shane’s ancient blood brought a healing power that Dawn was so very thankful for.

  She sat by Asher on the bed. He had lapsed into silence and she could think of no words. She had feared his would happen. What if Shane and those other vampires hadn’t come when they did? Would she be dead by now? Lying in a pool of her own blood? That man, she was sure, had meant to kill her.

  There was a noise above and Shane disappeared. He came back later, followed by the other three vampires. Their black clothing now had dark patches on it. Dawn felt sickened when she realized it was blood.

  The four vampires faced Dawn and Asher solemnly. “Dawn, this is Aylona,” Shane said, indicating the tall, thin vampire that Dawn realized was female. Aylona took off the black hood that had covered her long blonde hair. She shook her head and it spilled over her shoulders in a thick, tumbling mass. She was the one who had tackled that man who had tried to stab Dawn. Dawn owed her life to the beautiful, blonde female.

  “This is Keerin and this is Saber.” Shane indicated to each of the huge men. They were both dark haired, the hair cropped close about their skulls. Their blue eyes blazed from their square, chiseled faces.

  Dawn gulped. She didn’t know what to say. Aylona stepped forward. Dawn took in the beautiful woman, so slender and pale, yet exuding a confident strength that was almost intimidating. Aylona seemed to glow in the slight overhead light, her skin shone with alabaster radiance. Her body was proportioned just right. Long slender legs led up to a tiny waist finished by a shapely upper body. Not to mention her beautiful face. Flawless skin, blue eyes, full lips, and cascading lengths of lustrous blonde
hair.

  “I can feed Asher now.” Aylona stared at Dawn in what was an obvious attempt to get her to leave. Dawn wondered why she couldn’t stay. A hot, irrational stab of jealous flooded her chest.

  She nodded and climbed from the bed. She hurried from the room without a backward glance.

  Chapter 14

  Dawn paced her room in agitation. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going on downstairs. Was Asher going to be okay? Did he still want her? That female vampire Aylona, she was spectacular. Dawn felt boring and plain next to her.

  She recalled something Shane had said about Aylona being his mate yet she had been ready enough to feet and help Asher. Was it just that she was willing to help or did she secretly harbor some feeling for him? Dawn didn’t even know how vampires worked. Perhaps even if Aylona was Shane’s mate it didn’t mean she couldn’t have other males as well.

  After a few long minutes of pacing, Dawn no longer knew what to do with herself. She was filled with restless anxiety.

  Her heart hurt. She felt utterly lost. She had to assure herself that Asher was going to be fine. Even if she wasn’t his choice, and how could she hope to be? She was mortal and he was a vampire. She never should have got involved with him. It would be too hard to leave when the time came and she was sure it was coming soon. Even if she did eventually leave, even if she never saw Asher again, she had to speak with him now. It mattered to her that he was well.

  Dawn padded downstairs on silent feet. She slipped through the secret passage, which was still open and crept down the stairs. The door to Asher’s room was shut but she could hear voices and murmuring coming from one of the rooms down the hall.

  Something in her told her not to venture forward but she couldn’t stop herself. If she couldn’t see Asher she had to speak with Shane. She had to be sure Asher was going to be alright. She also wanted to know what was going to happen to her. She was sure she couldn’t sleep a wink if she didn’t know.