Skin Walkers: Monroe

by Bliler, Susan

  “Mine!” Monroe growled.

  Eden’s mouth fell open and she slowly backed away. She’d never seen Monroe with such total lack of control. The rage burning in his eyes was terrifying. She kept on backing up.

  The action drew Monroe’s attention to her. “Don’t move,” he ordered and when he lifted his head and locked his eyes with hers he slumped forward, falling across King as he growled in pain.

  “Jesus!” she couldn’t hide the whimper in her voice, “King? W-what’s going on? What’s wrong with him?”

  King gently rolled Monroe off him. “You should go now, Eden.”

  “But…shouldn’t we…”

  “Go!” King demanded.

  “NO!” Monroe snarled. “She’s mine! She stays!”

  Eden watched as Monroe then clamped both hands to his stomach and curled into himself. When he threw back his head and howled, “AAAAAAAGHHHHHH!” Eden turned and hurried out the door, slamming it behind her.

  In the hall she heard King command, “Monroe, no! You’ll hurt her.”

  “She doesn’t leave!”

  She didn’t wait to hear the rest. She neared the stairs with as much speed as her still healing leg would allow. She had to get Jenny! Her heart pounded in her chest as she hurried down the stairs throwing a worried glance over her shoulder. Something had gone wrong, terribly, terribly, wrong and whatever it was she knew she was the cause.

  She had just cleared the second floor landing when Monroe dropped from the floor above. How he hadn’t injured himself she wasn’t sure but she was certain adrenaline had something to do with it as he crouched in front of her to cut off her escape. His head snapped up and he pinned her with a furious gaze.

  “You are NOT leaving!” His voice was harsh, almost animalistic and his once blue eyes were now fully black. Chest rising and falling rapidly with his ragged breaths, he slowly stood, his shoulders hunched and his hands curled into claws.

  The impeccable CEO from mere moments ago was gone and Eden didn’t know what she’d done to cause such a horrific transformation, but the primal male standing before her was unrecognizable. His once perfectly styled, raven colored, hair was mussed and wisps hung nearly into his eyes. His jaw worked furiously and when he took a menacing step closer, Eden backed up and in reflex, reached for her pistol.

  Fearful eyes jerked to her empty hip before shooting back to Monroe. She backed up another step and lifted her hands to show him she meant no harm. “M-Monroe?”

  “Don’t run!” he commanded.

  Don’t run? She had every intention of racing to safety the first chance she got.

  “Eden,” King spoke slowly and quietly from behind her.

  “W-what do I do?” she questioned without taking her eyes from Monroe.

  “Stop backing up!”

  It was hard, but she forced herself to obey King’s directive. Immobile, it took only the blink of an eye for Monroe to be on her. One hand circled her waist while the other collared her throat and pushed her chin up. Her heart thundered in her chest as she watched him eyeing her throat. He leaned down and brushed his nose along the satiny column, and inhaled deeply. She felt a rumble vibrate his chest.

  She didn’t even try to disguise the tremble in her voice. “K-King?”

  “It’s okay,” King soothed from somewhere behind her. “Just don’t move.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sentries racing up from downstairs. They slowed, then stopped completely when they were twenty feet away. Oh God, this can’t be good!

  “M-Monroe?” Her soft voice drew his eyes to hers and she was startled to see no hint of the man she knew. It was as if he were…possessed! She wondered if he was going to bite her, choke her, or just simply snap her neck in two. “Don’t…don’t hurt me,” her voice broke when his eyes returned to her throat.

  As if startled by her words, Monroe jerked back. His eyes locked on hers. The need to bind her with his halo and to fuck her raw was imperative and nothing was ever imperative to him. He’d made sure of it. His entire life had been a trial of endurance, a self-imposed Spartan lifestyle of self-denial. Intentionally, he’d rarely permitted himself the small and simple pleasures in life for the simple fact that it built character. Every day he carried the burden of being the Dominant Skin Walker. He could never show weakness, never stumble, never have an off day. It was an impossible weight and one he grew weary of carrying. But right now, touching Eden and knowing she was his to love and to cherish and to share his life…well, his control was tenuous at best, and if she wasn’t careful she’d find herself fucked right there in the hall and he didn’t give a damn who witnessed the claiming.

  The thought was jarring. Inside, the man struggled for control. He was scaring his angel and was not only considering taking her in a manner that would no doubt humiliate her, but would leave her little choice. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, do that to his Eden.

  HIS! As if it was a trigger, the need to bind and claim her crashed over him in such a wave of resurgence that it nearly took him to his knees. If this was the affliction, then it was worse than he ever could have possibly imagined.

  He forced his fingers to loosen on the slender column of his angel’s throat. She was so fragile, so breakable. He’d have to be careful. His other hand remained clamped at her lower back as he spoke to King. “Get her to my suite. Lock her in. She doesn’t leave!”

  Eden’s eyes rounded and she gasped. He couldn’t really mean to have her locked up.

  “Consider it done.”

  Accusing eyes focused on King as he stepped into view.

  “But you’re going to have to let me take her, Crow.” King’s tone was calm, as if he were trying to sound soothing, cajoling.

  Monroe’s still black eyes jerked to King as he growled, “Don’t touch her!”

  “I won’t,” King shook his head quickly. “I’ll only follow her. I’ll lock her up. She won’t escape you.”

  Monroe’s nostrils flared and he scented her fear and uncertainty. It angered him that he was the cause but whatever else happened in the next few hours he knew one thing beyond all certainty. Eden was his and he couldn’t allow her to leave. It was dangerous outside his walls, outside the shield of his protection. Anything could happen, but he wouldn’t allow it. She’d stay close until he could get a grip on himself. No matter what, he’d keep her safe.

  His hand loosened around her waist and when she took a step back he fortified his hold and crushed her to him. There was no hiding the steel length of his cock as it pressed into her soft tummy.

  “Run from me, Eden, and I promise you’ll regret it. If you aren’t in my suite when I get there I will hunt you! No matter where you are, or who you’re with, I will strip you bare, take you to your knees, and fuck you so thoroughly that your screams of pleasure will serve as notice to all on this goddamn estate that you recognize that you belong to me!”

  Eden shuddered at the image. She should have been terrified and some small part of her was, but his words sent a punch of lust shooting through her so swiftly that she couldn’t even clench her thighs against the building heat and the sweet nectar that spilled to coat her sex, preparing herself for him on some primal level.

  His nostrils flared again and his eyes fluttered closed even as long, sharp, canines peeked out from his closed lips. With eyes still closed, he hissed long and low before he commanded, “King! Move her now!”

  “Eden.” King extended his arm.

  When Monroe finally released her, she was too afraid to do anything but step in front of King, bow her head, and walk back upstairs to Monroe’s suite.

  Chapter 13

  “Fix it!” Monroe demanded.

  Dr. Jenny Arkinson, shook her head. “I can’t fix it, you know that.” She sat at the desk in her dimly lit office and watched him pace back and forth. “I can temper some of the effects. It’s the best I can do.”

  “I’m out of control!” he snarled, stopping to sneer at her. “I could’ve hurt her!”

/>   “You’d never hurt her,” Jenny supplied lamely, “she’s your angel. It goes against every instinct you possess.”

  “You didn’t see me Jen.”

  The use of a nickname was surprising and had her brows hiking. The CEO was all business, all the time, but as he stood in her office practically begging her to eradicate something he’d enjoyed seeing others inflicted with… Her lips tweaked as she dropped her head to feign studying his lab results for the umpteenth time. Good for him! God, how the women and mated Walkers had yearned for this day to come. Monroe deserved to know exactly what it was he’d forced so many of his own kind to face. He deserved an epic affliction and that’s exactly what was coming.

  As the Dominant Walker in North America, his symptoms were more than heightened; they were off the chart. His compulsion to keep her secluded was a first. Typically, Walker’s merely needed to be in their angel’s presence, but not Monroe. He didn’t want Eden near anyone else. When King had arrived at the Infirmary to inform him that Eden had been sequestered, he’d nearly ripped the Chief of Security’s hands off as he jerked them to his nose to ensure King hadn’t laid a single finger on his angel.

  He started pacing again and plowed a hand roughly into his hair. “Tell me again,” his tone was laced with impatience. “I’m having difficulty concentrating.”

  Jenny didn’t bother hiding her smile this time. “That’s because your thoughts are consumed with claiming your angel. The affliction has set in Mr. StoneCrow. You have but only one recourse now.” Her smile broadened when she saw him pale. Just desserts!

  It was well known that while he encouraged his Walkers to claim their mates, he was reluctant to do so himself. It was understandable. Heavy was the head that wore the crown, and his particular crown was made up of more thorns than jewels. Eden would be in danger, as would her children, by something as simple as mere association. They’d be targeted simply for belonging to Monroe. It was a fate he’d hoped to not only spare himself, but his angel as well.

  “Give me the serum,” he demanded.

  Jenny shook her head, “It won’t do you any good.”

  “And why the hell not,” he snarled turning on her as his eyes flashed dangerously.

  “Because,” she stood and planted her hands on her desk, leaning toward him, “you’re not suffering from the affects of failure to eat or sleep. You’re suffering from your need to claim.” She lifted her hands helplessly, “My serum doesn’t work for that.”

  He knew it was true. Damn! He’d find no easy out here, no putting off or tamping down the need that coursed through his veins with such fiery demand that he felt like his skin was on fire.

  “You need to go to her,” King spoke up from near the door. “She’s alone and terrified, Crow.”

  His expression softened. His poor angel. What had he done? He’d practically attacked her and in her eyes it had been for no apparent reason. She must think him mad. He was afraid to ask but forced the words out anyway. “Did she say anything?”

  “She just asked…”

  When Kings stalled, Monroe pinned him with an angry frown.

  “She just asked if you were going to hurt her. She asked me to protect her children.”

  If Monroe wasn’t mistaken, his Chief of Security, lead Sentry, and best friend was pissed at him for how he’d handled things so far. King was right. He needed to go to Eden, to comfort her and explain himself.

  Turning, he stalked determinedly to the door. “I’m going to my suite. I don’t want to be disturbed. King,” he barked, “check on the children.”

  “Done.”

  ***

  Eden paced the large confines of Monroe’s suite. Her leg ached from her mad dash of earlier but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. Her gut was still in knots as she tried to decipher exactly what it was that she had done wrong. Her eyes shot to the door as she wrung her hands. She wondered if the children were okay. King had promised to check on them and to protect them, but she wasn’t comfortable leaving their safety in another’s hands. Several times she’d considered throwing the door open and stalking down to their quarters, but if Monroe meant what he’d said then he’d take her in front of them and she couldn’t allow it.

  The door opened and she backed up, putting herself in position between several tables where she’d mentally noted items that she could use as weapons. Her stance was tense when Monroe entered.

  He looked like hell. His tie was long gone, his shirt was ripped and partially un-tucked, his hair was disheveled, and his face looked haggard. She couldn’t help but ask, “A-are you okay?”

  He hid a wince at the fear he scented and the cautious way she regarded him. She looked ready to bolt at the slightest hint of danger. “I’m…fine.” His voice sounded rough so he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair in hopes of taming it. “How are you?”

  Her eyes flicked to the door behind him then back. “I’m ready to leave.”

  Shit! His mate was terrified of him. He took a step toward her and felt rejection bite hard when she backed up. “Angel, I’d never hurt you.” His eyes were soft, imploring.

  She lifted a small hand to her throat, and he knew she was remembering the way he’d grabbed her in the hall.

  “I was…” afflicted sounded esoteric. As he struggled for the proper explanation he watched her inch closer to one of the side tables. His gaze followed her and he knew what she was thinking. The heavy, silver, candelabra sitting in the center of the table had been a gift from Conn and Aries. A show of gratitude for being allowed to stay on at StoneCrow until their daughter, Wynter, was older. They wanted to be near other children for their child’s sake. The weighty object would make a great weapon.

  “I was stricken,” he began again. “The Doc says it’s a rare form of virus. I apologize for my behavior. It was…” Again he stalled to find the right word.

  “Terrifying!” Eden supplied but didn’t move, her eyes alone darted to the door. “Am I free to go?”

  NO! The beasts inside snarled and something must have flashed in his gaze because Eden stepped back and reached for the candelabra.

  “Go to the children,” he ground out. “But you can’t leave the estate. It’s too late.” The lateness of the hour was an excuse. Now that he knew she was his, he’d never let her leave. It took every ounce of his power to step away from the door. He watched her and she waited.

  After several tense moments, Eden set the candelabra down and began slowly inching toward the door, all the while keeping her gaze focused on him. When she got to the door she twisted the handle as if she didn’t think he’d allow it. Her gaze darted between the door and him and when he made no move and the door clicked open, she flung it aside and hurried out of the room and down the hall to her children.

  Alone in his suite, Monroe threw his head back and roared not caring who heard. The beast had finally found his beauty and just as in the fairy tale, she wanted nothing to do with him because of the monster that he was.

  Chapter 14

  It had been two weeks since he’d seen Eden. Well, since she’d seen him. He spied on her daily…and nightly. She was never made aware of his presence, but he was always there. Today, she’d requested a meeting and he knew the topic. She wanted to leave. She’d made requests through King, Aries, and even Lilly, but all were ignored. She thought she was taking his children—and that’s how he thought of them—and waltzing off of the estate and out of his life as if there existed no tie that bound them to each other. She was sorely mistaken.

  He scented her before there was even a light tap on the door to his office. He shifted uncomfortably at the growing erection that tightened the material at his lap. Damn! She was already affecting him and she wasn’t even in the damn room?

  “Enter,” he commanded. He didn’t dismiss Gauge and King from where they stood at either end of his desk. They’d been briefing him on York’s mission to the Philippines where the Walker Sentry was tasked with locating and retrieving Shy�
�s estranged sister.

  Eden entered and Monroe casually lifted his head from the e-pad that sat atop his desk. He intended to pass over her with a cursory glance but he did a double take and his eyes locked on the sight of her. The first thing he noted was that her walking cast was gone.

  She was dressed in a flowing, white, skirt and matching sleeveless, blouse. Her slender legs looked smooth and the scarring to her once injured leg was surprisingly sexy as hell. She looked like a battle worn siren, and she was. Who else would surge forth into the frigid depths of a Montana blizzard to rescue an injured wolf and to track two armed offenders? His eyes swirled with hunger as he drank her in. Her hair hung free, down past her trim waist. He’d never seen her look so sexy. She was barefoot and her crimson tipped, dainty, toes instantly had him wondering what the rest of her would look like bare. Controlling himself now was going to be much harder then he imagined, especially considering that the affliction had set in full force.

  The affliction, so donned by the Walkers, was an instantaneous animalistic attraction to their destined mate. Designed to force Walkers to recognize that their female holds some significance to them, they are incapacitated at the Walker’s recognition of his angel…afflicted. Triggered by his primal understanding that he has found his mate, a Walker will forego eating, drinking, and sleeping until the claiming is complete. A Walker’s preoccupation with claiming, mating, and binding his angel with his halo is all consuming, an animalistic phenomena to ensures that only the seed of the strongest and most virile of the male Walker species is passed on. Survival of the fittest. Walker men were even known to challenge other males that got in close proximity to their unclaimed mates.

  Monroe had been unable to eat or drink anything and was forced to succumb to Dr. Arkinson’s injectable concoction of nutrients and supplements. For the sake of his Walkers, he also visited the infirmary nightly to be drugged to sleep. It was uncomfortable and when he rose each morning there was never relief. The affliction greeted him and he felt no revitalization from the forced sleep. It was a health precaution that he chose to endure, but it was getting old fast. The only thing more pressing to him now than eating or sleeping was claiming his mate. He wanted Eden and he wanted her now!