Woman of Midnight (Wardens of Midnight)

by Helen Scott

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  Woman of Midnight

  A Wardens of Midnight Novella

  Helen Scott

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  Also by Helen Scott

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Woman of Midnight

  A Wardens of Midnight Novella

  Copyright © 2017 by Helen Scott

  Cover Design © Natasha Snow

  Editing by Courtney Umphress

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the brief use of quotations in a book review.

  This book is intended for adults only. The sexual activities represented in this book are a work of fiction intended for adults. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously by the author. Any resemblance to actual places, events, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Chapter 1

  How long had Harper been cocooned in her bed? One day? Three? Sure, she’d gotten up to pee and eat, but other than that, she had just been shutting the world out. Escaping reality was her primary goal, either through TV, video games, or books. The medium didn’t matter so much as the results. She knew she had to get up, that she was supposed to move on with her life, but her bed was just so damn comfy, and none of her friends understood what she was going through.

  It wasn’t like any of them had been left at the altar.

  No one she knew, outside of movie and TV heroines, had ever been forced to tell all their gathered friends and family that the wedding was off. They’d never paid for their dress, hair, makeup, and their bridesmaids’ dresses and makeup, only to find the money completely wasted. The things she could have done with all that cash . . . She shut down that line of thinking. It would only end up pissing her off as it had done so many times before.

  It might have been a year ago, but that didn’t make the pain and humiliation feel any better, especially not on the anniversary of the event. Nope. It was just as raw as the day it had happened. It probably didn’t help that there was still a white dress in her closet and a ring in her jewelry box. Harper glared at her closet while she debated for the millionth time what to do with the dress. The responsible thing would be to sell it or donate it, but all she wanted to do was burn it. Watch the whole glittery mess go up in flames, just like her life had since that day last June.

  She sighed and pushed herself up, feeling the stiffness in her joints and muscles from lack of use. A lady on the TV prattled on about how easy it was to spruce up a living room to appeal to potential buyers. It went in one ear and out the other as she made her way to the bathroom. She’d never been stunning to look at, but this was probably an all-time low. Her hair was starting to mat on the side she slept on, while her puffy red eyes made her look as high as a kite. She looked and felt disgusting.

  Without thinking, she turned the shower on and stepped in, peeling off her pajamas as the water began to soak them. The ratty old boxers and the thin T-shirt made a cracking noise as they hit the bottom of the tub. It stirred another memory in her, one she wished she could forget above almost all others, of when her mother slapped her across the face, demanding she pull herself together for the sake of their guests. It didn’t matter that her heart felt like it had been drawn and quartered before being run over by a semi-truck. Oh no, all that mattered was the appearance of the family, of making it seem like they could deal with anything and everything without so much as blinking.

  She pushed the memory away, focusing instead on the sharp pings of the water hitting her skin as she turned the temperature up, making it as hot as she could handle. Maybe it could melt some of the grime off her. As she went through her routine, she began counting. It was her ritual to keep her mind busy when she was doing something mundane that didn’t require much thought.

  Her dresser was the only place she kept clothing anymore, since every time she opened the closet, she wanted to barf. After she pulled on some fresh shorts, her stomach growled, letting her know it didn’t approve of the current state of affairs. She went to the kitchen to rummage for food. Her stomach clenched painfully as she stared at the mostly barren fridge. All that remained was some milk, orange juice, and cheese that looked like she should probably throw it out. She sighed and went back to her bedroom to pull on real pants, the kind that could be worn in public. Her apartment wasn’t big, just a one-bedroom, practically a studio given that the so-called wall that separated it from the living area was just the free-standing closet. It had been all she could afford by herself, and no one would have wanted to be her roommate; at least, not for a while. That much she was certain of.

  It was Thursday, which meant the takeout place down the street had free egg drop soup with any order over twenty bucks. Her usual order of beef lo mein, General Tso’s chicken, crab Rangoon, and an egg roll always put the total at about twenty-five dollars, so she usually got whatever the coupon special was for free, which didn’t bother her at all. Plus, it would keep her fed for a few days, so she could hole herself up in her apartment again and not have to emerge until she needed to go back to work.

  Harper had used her remaining vacation time to take off, since she knew she’d be a wreck, anyway, and useless if she was able to actually make it into work. The last thing she needed was to piss off her clients and give them the wrong dye job or cut more hair off than they asked for just because she couldn’t get her head on straight.

  As she shoved her wallet and phone into her pockets, she made her way toward what she was sure was steamy summer air outside the doors of her apartment building. The hallway was humid enough to convince her of that. It didn’t help that it smelled faintly of fish and stale beer, which turned her stomach. She pushed open the glass door covered in handprints from the customers going into the Mediterranean restaurant she lived over, and exited in the direction of the Chinese restaurant. Living over a restaurant, at least for her, meant that she never wanted to eat there. She smelled the food enough throughout the days and weeks that it killed her appetite for it.

  Harper didn’t even see the guy there. Maybe she was too lost in her thoughts, but she could have sworn he’d just appeared out of nowhere just in time for her to smack into the wall of his chest. Before she knew what had happened, she’d bounced off the hard surface and landed on her ass in front of him.

  “Shit. Are you okay?” a deep voice rumbled above her.

  She pushed up to her elbows from where she lay sprawled on the sidewalk, ignoring the man in front of her. “I’m fine,” she said, waving him off as he leaned down toward her.

  A large tawny hand hung in front of her face as she tried to get to her feet, her limbs not fully cooperating
with her intentions. She took it, and he tugged. Harper was standing before she had even processed the sensation of his hand in hers. His skin wasn’t just warm, it was hot. The heat seared her own hand as he continued to gently hold it. Once she was stable, she yanked her hand back from his. The feeling of an almost electric current ran over her skin just before it separated from his. Her eyes darted upward, and she found herself almost drowning in the rich brown orbs that stared back at her, stealing her breath.

  “Here,” he said, holding out a flier. She took it, glancing at the image of a person running with a dog, before going to move around him. “You should come. It’s more fun than it looks. Plus, the dogs and cats love meeting new people.”

  “Yeah, sure, whatever,” she said, nodding at him as she moved toward her goal of the takeout restaurant.

  Harper could still feel those eyes on her as she hurried down the sidewalk, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It was unsettling, but it wasn’t the first time something like that had happened. It might have been the strongest reaction she’d ever had, though. She shoved the paper in her back pocket and pushed the swirl of feelings and thoughts aside by starting to count again.

  Later that day, when she rolled over and heard a crumpling sound, her hand reached behind her and retrieved the stray piece of paper she had completely forgotten about up until that point. At the top of the page was the logo she’d first noticed. It was a sketch of a woman running with a dog with “Run 4 Paws” in script next to it. A dog’s face was just under the logo, staring out at her from the paper. Two rich golden eyes were seated in a deep chocolate-brown face with a white stripe running from between its eyebrows down over its muzzle, punctuated by a dark-brown nose. One ear was perked up, while the other was flapped over, making a little triangle on the side of its head. “Atlas” was printed just underneath the photo, along with “Meet me on Saturday, the 9th!” followed by the details of the event. At the bottom was a line of human footprints and dog pawprints, followed by the logo for the animal shelter itself, Wardens of the Heart, and the name of a local pet store sponsoring the event.

  For a moment, she thought about going. The event didn’t start until ten, and it was only eight, not that she’d really been to sleep the night before. The memory of those deep-brown eyes that had peered into hers danced in her mind’s eye. She hadn’t noticed it at the time, but he had a birthmark just under his left eye that for some reason made her want to touch it. A groan that was almost a scream reverberated through her chest. What the hell was she thinking? Touching a random dude’s birthmark? Yeah, totally normal. Thinking about going to a 5k when she probably couldn’t even run a mile? That was never going to happen. She balled the flier up and threw it into the corner so it landed in the general vicinity of the trashcan before she rolled over once more and buried her head in the pillow. Tomorrow she’d get up and go for a walk or something, but in that moment, she just wanted to sleep and forget.

  Chapter 2

  Domino hadn’t been able to get the woman who had run into him out of his head. The pain had practically been a physical thing around her. His bear had roared inside him, demanding that he protect her from whatever it was attacking her. She hadn’t come to the 5k, probably hadn’t even looked at the flier, but part of him had hoped to see her there. He wanted to kick himself, knowing that he should have made more of an effort to talk to her. That kind of thinking wasn’t healthy, though, especially when he had a litter of puppies in front of him that needed his full attention as he tried to corral them.

  Their room was being cleaned, which meant playtime in the atrium for the lab mixes. The five of them were adorable as they tumbled over each other, and he had no doubt they would get adopted quickly. Their baby growls and yips filled the office area as everyone else prepared to open.

  The Wardens of the Heart animal shelter was almost a second home to him, had been ever since he’d started working there when Valentina opened it. Their pack wasn’t traditional in any sense of the word, and he’d never expected to be part of something like it in his whole life, but it satisfied something inside him that he hadn’t known needed soothing. Bears were usually loners by nature. Sometimes the females of his kind would congregate and raise their young together, but it was usually without the men.

  When he had moved to Chicago, he hadn’t realized just how many areas were dominated by different packs. No one wanted to welcome a bear, so he’d slowly moved further and further out, eventually stumbling into Valentina’s territory. She had been the last thing he’d expected, but exactly what he’d needed.

  He scooped the puppies up and moved them back to their freshly cleaned room in time for opening. The five of them wriggled and squirmed in his arms, but when he began to hum, his low voice calmed them so that they all made it to the room without falling. He set them down on the pillowy bed and closed the door behind him while they began to tumble and roll off the fluffy white material, their legs still awkward underneath them.

  Domino came back into the atrium, knowing he needed to respond to e-mails and set up some special adoption appointments before they got busy. The last thing he’d expected to see was the woman who’d dominated his thoughts for the last few days standing there.

  She looked as though she hadn’t expected to be there and was surprised by what she now saw in front of her. Her wavy brown locks curled around her shoulders in a way that made his fingers twitch with the need to touch them, to run through the silky strands.

  “Can I help you?” he asked softly, trying not to startle her. The pain still shimmered around her like heat off a fire, and it made his bear pace within him, restless now that she was in front of him once more.

  “Um, yeah, I’m looking for a dog?”

  “Lost? Or looking to adopt?”

  “Adopt.”

  He nodded, saying, “Here, I’ll show you where they are.” Domino beckoned for her to follow him, knowing that he should leave her to find her own way so he could help other guests, but his bear would only be more agitated if he walked away.

  “Thanks,” she said as she looked at the floor, tucking some of her hair behind her ear before wrapping her arms around herself protectively.

  “Are you looking for anything specific?”

  “No? I don’t know? I guess something small since I only have a one-bedroom apartment.”

  “Do you know if they allow dogs?” he asked quietly, hoping he wouldn’t have to refuse this woman who was so clearly in need of comfort.

  “Uh, I don’t know, but I can call my landlord.”

  “Sounds good.” He nodded again as they rounded the corner to the hallway that held most of their dogs. He led her a few kennels over toward the smaller dogs that they had available. “Here you are. Take a look around. If you see someone you like, just let me know and we can take you out to the play area so you can get to know each other better.”

  “Okay,” she whispered as her eyes stayed firmly fixed on the cages in front of her.

  “You look familiar . . .” His mouth moved before his brain could stop it, and he immediately wanted to smack himself in the forehead. What kind of pick-up line was that? Plus, he shouldn’t exactly be hitting on women who not only looked emotionally drained but were also customers at the shelter. Her deep-brown eyes looked up at him, and suddenly the loneliness she felt was almost palpable in the air between them, and he realized exactly what she needed. He cleared his throat. “I think we ran into each other a few days ago, literally.”

  Red flushed up her neck and onto her cheeks. “Oh, um, sorry about that.”

  “No worries. It’s not every day a guy gets almost tackled by a beautiful woman.” He cringed inwardly.

  She smiled. It was small, just a tug at the corners of her mouth, but it was genuine. Some of her hunched posture relaxed ever so slightly, and he wondered how long it had been since someone had paid her a compliment.

  “I’m Domino,” he said, sticking his hand out between them.

&nbs
p; She took it, and the same sensation of chills broke out over his skin. His bear wanted to rub against her. “Harper,” she said, looking him squarely in the eye.

  “Nice to meet you, Harper.” He smiled down at her. “Would you like me to suggest a couple dogs? I’m here almost every day, so I get to know them pretty well.”

  “That must be hard,” she said under her breath, her voice quiet with an emotion he couldn’t name.

  “You get used to it. It doesn’t hurt that I have my own pup to go home to.”

  She looked up at him for a moment, and he couldn’t quite tell what was going on behind those brown eyes of hers, but he desperately wanted to find out. “Is there a dog that needs a home more than others?”

  “We’re a no-kill shelter, so every animal that comes in here is rehomed one way or another. But if you’re asking who’s been waiting for a home the longest, well, that would be Daisy.” Domino led her over to a room on the other side of the hall from where they were standing.

  “Do you know what her story is?” The hitch in Harper’s voice tore at his heart.

  “She was transferred here from another shelter. I think she was just found by someone, but I’m not sure off the top of my head. When she was brought in, she’d already lost her left eye and a lot of her fur. We gave her teeth a good cleaning and ended up pulling quite a few, which is why her tongue hangs out of her mouth a lot of the time.” He looked down at the blonde wire-haired pup cautiously looking up at them. She had one chocolate-brown patch that covered her left ear and eye, but the rest of her was a blonde so pale, it was almost white.