As she glanced back out the door, she realized that the vampire was crossing the street. Startled, she instinctively started backing toward Gabriel. It wasn’t fair to ask for his protection, but she had never been so terrified in her life. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about the mechanic made her feel safe and protected.
Hearing her footsteps drawing near, Gabriel slid out from under the car and looked up at her. “What’s wrong Kiera?”
“He’s coming over. I know that I have no right to ask this, but please help me.” As she looked down at him, her eyes were wide with fear. Her heart had doubled its rhythm and felt as it would burst from her chest.
Gabriel stood up and drew her close to him. She trembled against his body. He absently stroked her back, trying to sooth her. His extra sensitive hearing told him that the guy was almost to the door. Thinking fast, he came up with a plan; one that she probably wouldn’t like, but he was going to enjoy every minute of it.
“Kiera, I’m going to ask you to trust me. Just go with whatever story I have to come up with in order to get that guy out of here. Do you think you can do that? Even if it means being … close to me?”
Kiera looked up into his bright blue eyes and knew without a doubt that she could trust him. “Okay.”
The vampire jerked the door open, tearing the lock apart as the door was torn loose. While Gabriel tried to process that small fact, he bent his head to Kiera’s and kissed her. He had only planned on a short kiss, more for show than anything else, but when Kiera responded to him he pulled her roughly against his chest and deepened the kiss. Every primal instinct in him was yelling for him to claim her as his mate. Her scent surrounded him and he lost himself in the pleasure of her soft body and warm lips.
The vampire stepped into the shop and cleared his throat, attempting to act human. Apparently, he didn’t realize how ridiculous that was after tearing open a locked door. Gabriel pulled away from Kiera, but kept her pulled firmly against his body. As he looked the intruder over, taking in the deathly pale skin and nearly black eyes, he realized that his first assessment hadn’t been far off. It seemed that vampires really did exist.
“I’m sorry, may I help you?” he asked the vampire, trying to sound nonchalant, as if a vampire ripping his door apart was an everyday occurrence.
“I was looking for my girlfriend. I’m afraid I was a little surprised to see her kissing someone else,” the vampire replied smoothly.
Gabriel looked down at Kiera with a questioning look. “Something you haven’t told me, sweetheart?”
“No,” Kiera said in a husky voice, still reeling from his kiss. Hearing him call her sweetheart, even if it was for pretend, made her tingle all the way to her toes. What was wrong with her? He was a stranger and here she was ready to jump his bones! She was starting to feel like a horny teenager. Just the same, she felt safe standing in his arms. Her traitorous body probably wouldn’t move even if she wanted it to.
Gabriel looked back at the vampire, “I’m afraid you must be mistaken.”
The vampire wasn’t happy with the way things were turning out. Why had the stupid woman run in here? Could the two of them really be together? Or was it just chance and they were acting for his benefit? He refused to let his prey slip through his fingers. It wasn’t often that his kind found those of fairy descent. Their blood was intoxicating.
“I don’t think so,” the vampire replied with a low growl.
Gabriel could tell the vampire wasn’t going to back down. His body tensed, ready for a fight. Swiftly, he maneuvered Kiera behind him to shield her from the vampire. He knew it was only a matter of time before the confrontation went to the next level. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if something happened to her.
“What makes you so sure she’s your girlfriend?” Gabriel asked, not entirely sure it was smart to taunt a vampire. “Obviously she doesn’t think she is, not with the way she was kissing me.”
The vampire smiled, showing the tips of his fangs. Now that Gabriel had stepped in front of Kiera he could smell the wolf scent on him. He hadn’t seen a werewolf in a hundred years. Too bad they weren’t extinct as he had thought, however, that could be easily remedied.
“I think I would recognize my own girlfriend. Besides, you’ve never laid eyes on her before tonight. Admit it wolf!”
Gabriel was surprised that the vampire recognized what he was, but he refused to react. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. We’ve been together for a while now. Matter of fact, we even live together.”
The vampire narrowed his eyes, “Why would a wolf associate with a fox?”
A fox? Did he mean that Kiera could shapeshift into a fox? That would explain a few things. A little stunned, Gabriel managed to keep his expression neutral and his voice steady.
“Maybe because the wolf recognized her as his mate regardless of what she could turn into,” Gabriel replied.
The vampire laughed. “Yeah, right. Like an alpha wolf would lower his standards to that of a fox.”
Kiera stiffened behind Gabriel. He was an alpha werewolf? Would he still protect her? In her hometown in Tennessee, the wolves did not associate with any other shapeshifters. They considered themselves above everyone else, superior in all ways. More than once Kiera had been the brunt of their cruel jokes. She pressed herself closer to him, hoping he wouldn’t hand her over. Gabriel was all that stood between her and death, of that she had no doubt.
Gabriel growled low in his throat. “There are no standards to lower. She is my mate and as such my equal.”
The smile slipped from the vampire’s face. This was proving much more difficult than he had imagined. If it weren’t for the fairy blood he smelled running through her veins, he would have given up long ago. Fairy blood was very rare and something he couldn’t pass up. The magic in their blood lasted for at least a year and made the vampire invincible, even against stakes through the heart or decapitation. This was quite literally a game of life and death…his life or death to be exact. The little werefox was of no consequence.
“If she’s your mate, why was she at a club alone? The true mate of an alpha wouldn’t seek the companionship of other males! It’s obvious that you haven’t claimed her.”
Kiera decided it was time to speak up. “I wasn’t looking for men. I went with some friends to keep them company. I was trying to leave when you approached me.”
Gabriel held her back. She had spunk, but he was afraid it would get her killed. Having never met a shifter that wasn’t a wolf, he wasn’t sure how quick she was or how strong. Even though he didn’t really know her, his wolf’s instinct to protect his mate was strong… and Gabriel had no doubt that she was his.
“Kiera is my mate in every sense of the word. To doubt me would be a deadly mistake Vampire.”
The vampire smiled. “What makes you think a single wolf is going to stop me?”
Gabriel felt Kiera stiffen behind him. He wasn’t sure if it was from fear of the vampire or fear that a pack of wolves could come bursting through the door at any moment.
Keeping his gaze calm, he asked, “What makes you think you’d only have to deal with me? In case you’ve forgotten, the fact that I’m the alpha means I have a pack.”
The vampire looked at him uncertainly. One werewolf wouldn’t be a problem, but a pack of them would be a different story. Maybe he could still trick the wolf into handing over his prey. He still wasn’t convinced the woman was really the wolf’s mate. If she wasn’t, there was no way the man would bind her to him permanently.
“I’ll make a deal with you.”
“What kind of deal?” Gabriel asked, knowing the vampire had to be up to something. Why would the bloodsucker give up his meal so easily?
“Since you claim she’s your mate, you shouldn’t have any problem binding her to you in a more official way… say, through marriage?”
The vampire had certainly shocked him with that one. It was his experience that women tended to prefer courts
hip before a marriage, but if it saved her life then maybe Kiera would be up for it. Knowing she was his mate was answer enough for him. The vampire was actually doing him a favor by requesting the marriage.
Kiera cautiously walked to Gabriel’s side. She knew that if they were married, he would be giving up his chance to find his true mate. Werewolves mated for life. It didn’t matter if it was a human marriage or a pack mating ritual; the end result was still the same. She couldn’t ask that of him and she was prepared to turn herself over to the vampire, even knowing that it meant she would die.
As if sensing her thoughts, he gently brushed his fingers across her cheek. “What do you say, sweetheart? Think you can handle a wedding ceremony?”
Kiera forgot to breathe. He was going to do it! He was really going to give up his future happiness in order to protect her. Never had she met a werewolf like him. But she couldn’t allow him to do it. Marrying him, denying him a mate, it would be too cruel. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy and deserved better.
“I …”
Sensing her hesitation, Gabriel stopped her words with a soft kiss. He gently moved his lips across hers. When he pulled back, he could see the desire in her eyes and knew he had won. He had to fight back a smile of victory. While the vampire was their enemy, part of him wanted to thank the leech. Although, just because Kiera was married to him by law, it didn’t mean they would have a real marriage. He would probably still have some work ahead of him to truly make her his mate. Regardless, he knew it would be well worth it in the end.
“Yes,” she whispered, still dizzy from his kiss.
He smiled and pulled her to him. Being a shifter, she was aware that this would bind them together forever. Unlike humans, there would be no divorce. He was glad that she hadn’t turned him down, for both of their sakes.
He gave the vampire and insolent look. “Satisfied?
The vampire was furious. Damn the both of them! How dare they try to thwart him on this? There was no way the wolf had seen her before today. If they had truly been mated, the wolf’s scent would have been on the woman. The smell of an alpha werewolf was very distinct; it wasn’t something a vampire would miss.
“Not entirely. You have one day to arrange the ceremony. I’ll find you tomorrow evening to witness the event myself,” the vampire told them. He wanted to make sure they were stuck with each other if he couldn’t drain her. And honestly, did the idiot think that marrying the werefox would guarantee her safety? This was only a minor delay. In the end, he would drain the woman dry. What were a few days or weeks to someone with eternal life?
Gabriel was a little surprised by both the timeline and the vampire’s response. Trying to buy Kiera more time, he said, “You know it’s hard for a woman to choose her wedding dress in just one day.”
The vampire sneered, “What do I care? She could wear a burlap sack or nothing at all; as long as you’re married it doesn’t matter.” He gave them an evil grin, “And should you fail to get married tomorrow night, she becomes mine to do with as I please. At first, I had just thought of draining her, but maybe I could have a little fun first. And don’t even think of trying to hide her; I’ll find her one way or another.”
Gabriel clenched his fists to keep from attacking the bloodsucker. “You’ll never touch her,” he growled.
In the blink of an eye, the vampire disappeared. Beside him, Gabriel felt Kiera tremble. They may have saved her life, but now she would lose everything familiar to her. He couldn’t have been happier with their predicament, but he was worried that he might lose his mate. True, she would be bound to him, but would she be happy about it?
“I’m sorry that it came to this. For all I know, you have a husband and kids at home; not that you look old enough for that.” He looked thoughtful. “How old are you anyway? I’m not going to end up in jail, will I?”
Kiera laughed; the sound coming out shaky and uncertain. “I’m twenty-eight and no, there’s no one at home. I never knew my mother and my father passed away a few years ago. I’m the only werefox in the area where I live.”
Gabriel released a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “What about friends? Anyone you need to get in touch with? Or explain things to?”
Kiera slowly shook her head. “I came with a group of shapeshifters, but they aren’t really friends. They tolerate me and feel sorry for me. Being the only one of my kind has made me a rather solitary person I guess.”
Gabriel wanted to pull her into his arms to comfort her, but he wasn’t sure how she would react. “You said you came in with them. Came in from where?”
“West Tennessee. I live in a rural shifter community there.”
Gabriel nodded. It made sense that a large number of shapeshifters would inhabit a town of their own. It made things easier when the moon was full for one thing. Gabriel and his brothers weren’t controlled by the moon, but he had heard of some werewolves who were. “We’ll have to go and get your things after the ceremony.”
Kiera wasn’t sure how to respond. She had never met anyone, much less a werewolf, like Gabriel before. He was definitely a pleasant surprise.
Dropping her gaze to the floor, she said, “I’m sorry for all of this.”
Gabriel tipped her chin up so he could see her eyes. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“But now you’ve lost your chance to find your real mate!” Her eyes suddenly widened. “You weren’t already with someone were you?”
“No. I’ve been casually dating someone off and on, but nothing serious.”
Kiera looked at him doubtfully. He was so good looking and so nice that she had a hard time imagining him having a lack of options. Women were surely falling over themselves for a date with him. “You don’t seem very upset about being stuck with me.”
Gabriel smiled at her. “At the risk of you running from me in terror, I’m going to share something with you. I wasn’t lying to that leech when I said that you were my mate. I recognized you by your scent when you came into the shop.” He let his gaze wander from the top of her head to her toes and back again. “Not to mention that you’re beautiful.”
Kiera stared at him, completely dumbfounded. “But… how is it possible for me to be your mate? I’m just a werefox! If you’re the alpha, don’t you have to mate with another werewolf? Your line won’t be pure if you’re mated to me.”
Gabriel burst out laughing. “Pure line? Who have you been talking to?”
Kiera looked at him doubtfully. “The werewolves that run the Memphis territory. They practically own my town.”
That sobered him immediately. “What exactly did they say to you?”
“That wolves didn’t mix with other creatures. They said they wouldn’t have me if I were the last shapeshifter on earth.”
Gabriel could tell there was more. “What else Kiera? If we’re going to make this work, you need to be completely honest with me.”
Kiera looked at the floor in embarrassment. “Please don’t make me tell you. It’s too humiliating.”
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her to him. She felt so soft and feminine. She also felt fragile and he had to remember not to squeeze too hard. Foxes were timid by nature, but she had stood up to the vampire. There was certainly more to her than met the eye.
What had the wolves told her that was so horrible? Or was it more something they had done than what was said? The thought of anyone harming her made him furious.
“Kiera, even though we’re getting married tomorrow, I won’t expect anything from you. After all, we’re strangers to each other still. You can take as much time as you need.”
She froze in his arms and cautiously looked up at him. The pain in her eyes nearly took his breath away.
“You don’t want me?” she asked in a hushed voice. The wolves at home might not want anything to do with her, but it hurt that her mate might not want her either. She had thought she had finally found someone who could accept her for who she was, someone who could come to love h
er one day regardless of what she shifted into.
“Sweetheart, I want you so bad that holding you like this is torture. But I don’t want you to feel obligated to do something you don’t want to do or aren’t ready to do. We have plenty of time to get to know one another first. This isn’t something I want to rush you into. The wedding can’t be helped, but the rest I do have some control over.”
Her hormones were kicking into over-drive again. Just the thought of consummating their marriage was enough to turn her on. A light blush stained her cheeks. “What if I don’t want to wait?”
“I just thought that since you obviously had a rough time with the wolves at home that you might not want to be intimate with a werewolf; at least, not until that wolf has a chance to gain your trust,” he said with a grin.
Kiera placed her hand on his cheek. “That’s very sweet of you, but you already gained my trust. You saved my life tonight. Besides, if I’m truly your mate as you claim, then we’re destined to be together. It won’t matter if we start our life together immediately, in a month, or in a year. Either way, we’re going to be married to each other and living under the same roof. Why prolong the inevitable?”
Gabriel had to bite his tongue. How had he become so fortunate? Not only was his mate drop dead gorgeous, but she was sensible, too. He wasn’t sure if it was so much him saving her, or her saving him. “Of course I saved you! It’s not like I was going to let that vampire run off with you.”
“What if I hadn’t been your mate?”
“I still wouldn’t have let him have you,” Gabriel responded without pause.
Kiera pursed her lips in thought. “Would you have told him that I was your mate if in fact I hadn’t been? Would you still have married me just to protect me from him?”
Gabriel paused. “I’m not sure. I know I would have done what I could to save you, but I don’t know if I would have announced you were my mate and gone through with a wedding. I would like to think that I would have done anything necessary to save your life regardless of who you were.” Gabriel frowned. Maybe he wasn’t as honorable as he had once thought himself to be.
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