Trusting Her Protector

by C. D. Gorri

  Trusting Her Protector

  A Federal Paranormal Unit Story

  C.D. Gorri

  Copyright

  Trusting Her Protector

  A Federal Paranormal Unit Story

  Wyvern Protection Unit Book 1

  by C.D. Gorri

  Edited by T.P. BookNookNuts

  Copyright 2020 C.D. Gorri

  Published By MT Worlds Press, Inc

  Winter Springs, FL 32708

  https://mtworldspress.com

  Cover Design & Formatting by C.D. Gorri, Mystic Worlds Ink Publications & Design

  When it comes to Dragons, size doesn’t matter.

  STOP! Before you go, sign up for my newsletter and get the latest on my releases, giveaways, freebies and more:

  SUBSCRIBE HERE

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, places, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either part of the author’s imagination and/or used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights are reserved. No part of this book is to be reproduced, scanned, downloaded, printed, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of any materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Contents

  A Note from the Author

  Blurb

  Wyvern Protection Unit

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  Connect with C.D. Gorri

  Other Titles by C.D. Gorri

  P.S.

  Excerpt from Grizzly Lover:

  A Note from the Author

  Hello Readers,

  Thank you so much for purchasing book 1 in my Wyvern Protection Unit set in Milly Taiden’s amazing Federal Paranormal Unit Series. I am so honored to be a part of Ms. Taiden’s unique worlds and to be able to write for you all. I sincerely hope you enjoy these stories of a band of unusual serpentine Shifters and how they get their mates.

  Happy Reading!

  Xoxo,

  C.D. Gorri

  Blurb

  Tagline:

  She needs someone to trust, but can he be more than just her protector?

  Synopsis:

  Jasper Wessex has just been given the assignment from hell. Literally. A woman on the run from a minor Egyptian Demon? Um…what?

  With his father ailing, normally Jasper would pass on this one, but then he gets a look at her. How can he resist the owner of those flashing blue eyes?

  Carolina Moore is in danger, but who can she trust when an ancient Egyptian Demon has decided she is his property and will stop at nothing to claim her?

  Recently divorced, she’d just returned from a trip to Egypt where she’d spent time on an archeological dig with a student group as a guest lecturer with an unfortunate souvenir, mainly a Demon who wants her for his own.

  Luckily, she is friends with Jennifer Dylluan who assigns her a guard from the Wyvern Protection Unit. But what happens when her protector poses more of a threat to her than the person she was running from?

  Wyvern Protection Unit

  Hatched in a science lab after three hundred years of waiting, the four Wyvern eggs had changed hands many times over the centuries. After finally being discovered by the U.S. government sitting uncatalogued on a museum shelf, ex-Army general Arthur Wessex raised the brothers as his own.

  The brothers Wessex are four Wyvern Shifters, the first of their kind, named for the unique coloring on each of their eggs. Jasper, because of his opaque yellow and black marble-like egg, Heliodore, because of his crystal-like yellow egg, Larimar, because of his pale green egg, and Zircon, because of his light blue pellucid egg. When Shifted, each of their Wyverns retains that coloring, and each has a special ability unique to him alone.

  At the hands of their adoptive father, the brothers learned combat, stealth, and above all, honor. Together they are an elite, and secret, force working for the federal government. The Wyvern Protection Unit is the only one of its kind. They have sworn a duty to protect and serve wherever they are needed.

  “With honor and faith, we vow to keep safe those in our charge. Our lives for theirs, until our bodies turn to ash and our fire runs cold.”

  Prologue

  “Father is pissed again,” Heliodore grunted as he lifted the old cargo van up and over his head before dropping it back down again.

  “Yeah, what else is new?” Jasper replied as he focused on trying to control his flame.

  When done right, he could release one precise laser-like beam. He currently aimed his fiery breath at an old hubcap. It was one of several dozen he’d melted that very afternoon.

  Good thing the Sloth Shifter who ran the junkyard didn’t mind when he and his brothers came to workout. In fact, old Hector often joked about putting them on the payroll.

  After all, the Wessex boys got rid of half his old stock without him having to lift a finger. But where else were a couple of Wyvern Shifters supposed to burn off a little energy without the fear of being seen?

  “Why do you think father is mad again?” Jasper asked before he dropped, rolled, and bounced back up aiming his fire at the small metal disc.

  “Nice shot,” Heliodore stretched and nodded at the puddle of metal that was all that remained of the thing, “Larimar and Zircon gave Jennifer a hard time with their last assignment.”

  “Yeah, well, she should’ve known better than to have the two of them work together when it comes to guarding any of the rival World Cup teams.”

  “I know, I told her that myself.”

  “Oh, well, I’m sure everyone got to where they were going otherwise we’d have heard about it.”

  “Yeah, they’re both flying home today. But Italy beat Germany, so now Conny is claiming Lari’s new Harley as his prize.”

  Jasper snorted. His brother Zircon’s, or Conny’s, as they affectionately called him, antics were legendary. As the youngest to hatch, he was always being teased for being the baby, much to his consternation. Probably why he was such a fucker about winning.

  And as far as Jasper knew, Larimar just had his bike custom outfitted by a bunch of Dire Wolves near Blue Valley or somewhere in that area. He loved that thing. The Dire Wolf Motorcycle Club were renowned for their knowledge and expert care of all things motorcycle.

  Whatever floats your boat, he thought. Jasper never understood his brother’s obsession with his Harley. They were Wyverns. They had wings. Who the fuck cared about wheels?

  “Well, father wants us back for dinner. You coming?” Dor asked.

  Nicknames were something the four brothers had grown up with. They’d been named after the gemstones their eggs, and later their Wyverns, resembled by the man who’d adopted them. Jasper, Heliodore, Larimar, and Zircon were their first names. Wessex, after the place their eggs were found, was their last name. Talk about a mouthful.

  It was no wonder their sweet and gentle adoptive mother had shortened their monikers to Jas, Dor, Lari, and Conny. Although it should be noted that if anyone outside of the four Wessex’s
, or their human parents, ever tried to use said nicknames, they typically lost a limb.

  Jas rolled his shoulders and neck. He almost had his fire down to the smallest beam yet. It was a new record, and he was proud. Control was something their father had always emphasized. Being a rare form of Shifter in a world that hardly acknowledged them, put a target on their backs, but they’d gotten this far.

  A couple of decades in a select unit named after their animals and working for the federal government earned them respect in both the supernatural and normal worlds. The Wyvern Protection Unit was the best at what they did.

  They offered customizable protection based on the person’s or group’s needs. Technically, they worked for the government, but their capacity was more or less unofficial. With the FBI focusing on investigative and intelligence missions, even with their own Paranormal Unit of crime fighters, they seldom had time to simply hang around and protect their targets. That was when they called in the WPU.

  Of course, their unit fell under the umbrella of the Federal Paranormal Unit, but no one knew them as well as their handler, Jennifer Dylluan. The Owl Shifter was a walking, talking wealth of information and sarcasm with her encyclopedic brain and quick wit.

  Jasper respected the woman. More so ever since she’d whupped his ass at chess the last tailgating party they’d had before they watched the Red Bulls give up yet another match to those damned D.C. United fuckers.

  Still, he’d been shocked to shit when he’d learned about her plans to retire earlier this year. Just when she’d entered her sixth month of leave, some funny business had ended with a couple of dead bad guys near her Indian lake cabin in upstate New York. Upon which she’d called in the cavalry, mainly the WPU, in to assist in the clean-up.

  After that, he knew Ms. Jennifer would not be able to stay away. She was like the rest of them, duty and honor bound to see this thing through. Hell, she loved working with them.

  So much so, that after the clean-up crew had come and gone, she’d asked Jasper to guard the Grizzly Bear Shifter couple and their young cub until the mess could get sorted.

  It had been a fun weekend up there in the mountains. Well, except for the snow that had still been there in March, and the dang drive. Four hours in a car was just too long for him. The only time he stayed in a vehicle for that long was when he was on vacation.

  Something Jasper hadn’t taken in far too long a time. Something he planned to rectify. After all, it was summertime and father’s beachfront house was sitting all alone down in Sea Bright. First, he had to see what the old general wanted, then he’d snag the keys.

  Who knew, maybe a little flying, a little fishing, and if he was feeling lucky, a little fucking, would make his antsy Wyvern relax. If his beast could just calm the fuck down, maybe his human side could recharge his batteries as well.

  Hmm. He tapped the steering wheel in time with the radio on the way back to his father’s mansion.

  Sounds like a plan, he thought to himself.

  Grrr, replied his Wyvern, grrr.

  Chapter 1

  “I don’t know if I could ever get used to this heat,” Kim smiled at Carolina, and handed her the small pic and brush to add to the rolled canvas bag of dig tools she’d brought with her.

  “Me either,” she agreed and hummed softly as she tucked them away in their proper slots.

  After three years of being married to a man who’d barely even looked at her, Carolina Moore had waited until the divorce was finalized before heading out to join Washington University’s exploratory expedition at Giza. True, she was only an artist, but her interests were vast.

  Her ex-husband, a successful corporate attorney named Joffrey Carrion, hadn’t even bothered to show up at the final meeting between their lawyers. When they’d gotten married, he’d insisted that they maintained all of their accounts separately. Hell, he’d even suggested she not sell her condo, but rather sublet it. As if he knew their relationship would be as brief as their infrequent couplings.

  In other words, a lot of effort to go absolutely nowhere. Well, goodie for her. As it turned out, he was right. Carolina wasn’t the neat, quiet, mouse of a wife he’d wanted. Oh no, Joffrey would have preferred if she were some dress-up doll. He could take her out and put her in something suitable for social occasions, as long as he could return her back to her place. To be left there alone until he’d needed her again. Like one of his Ferragamo ties.

  She frowned thinking about the many times she’d felt like nothing more than an accessory to the man she’d promised to love, though to him he was certain obey was the more important vow.

  Fucker.

  Well, it was history now. Kinda like the dig she was in. Carolina had more than a little savings from her art sales, though she hadn’t been producing. Who had the time when one was a trophy wife? Even though she was a chubby, disappointing one at that.

  “Yes, this is my wife, Carolina Moore, the sculptor,” he’d say and he’d act proud, but she knew the truth.

  Her nudes and flamboyantly provocative depictures were not the types of things Joffrey Carrion would ever want associated with his name. Good thing, she’d kept her own for professional reasons. That and who wanted to be named after road kill?

  She didn’t even think he noticed when she’d packed up two months ago and flew to join Kim, one of her oldest buddies, in Egypt. Her friend had written her in as a guest lecturer for her old alma mater.

  It wasn’t really a stretch. With degrees in art, history, and minors in mythology, Carolina was always on the lookout for fodder to fan her artist’s flame. Egypt was full of things to tempt her muses.

  After all, divorce was hardly good material for sculpting although she was tempted to do a small one of Joffrey with his head up his own ass.

  Unfortunately, she’d signed an agreement upon the divorce that made her promise to refrain from using any part of him, including his less than impressive manhood, in her art.

  Oh well there goes her dream of painting on rice. It would’ve have been true to scale. Snort. Where was she? Oh yeah.

  Searching for inspiration, Carolina had practically jumped for joy when her old college buddy and the brand new head of the archeology department, Kimberley Scott, had contacted her about this dig. It was really one of the areas of study that had always held great interest for Carolina.

  Egyptology. Ooh, even the name gave her chills. She’d already done a twelve part series of sculptures based on Greek myths and after getting Kim’s message, she’d decided Egypt was the perfect setting for her next project.

  Two months later, she was glad, but more than ready to leave the foreign land. Sometimes a girl just needed a Big Mac and a milkshake. Carolina brushed her long, dark hair out of her face and huffed out a breath.

  “The heat might be brutal, Kim, but look at where we are. You did all this, congrats my friend,” she sighed, always the romantic.

  “What are you talking about? We are in a dusty cave with three-thousand year old dead things,” the blonde woman retorted.

  “I thought you loved this stuff,” Carolina teased.

  “Oh, I love it alright, and I would love it more if the Pharaohs would’ve installed central air when they had these pyramids built,” she snarked, “okay, that’s a wrap. I’ll see ya outside?”

  “Yeah, just another second, I want to make sure I have all my things with me. Especially, my sketches and stuff. I am going to ship everything from the hotel before I leave tomorrow.”

  “Nice. Did it help you forget about roadkill boy at all? I mean, it’s been fun, hasn’t it?” Kim’s sparkling green eyes held so much concern, Caro nearly teared up, she squeezed her friend’s hand and nodded.

  “Yes, it has been wonderful. Thank you so much, Kim, it was just what I needed,” Carolina hugged her then and went back to packing up her things.

  She was going to miss Egypt. The beautiful desert skies, and the amazing hotel. She’d been able to afford a bit of an upgrade from the rest of the dig team
on her own dime, of course. And it had been worth it.

  Her ex had been more than stingy about vacations. Joffrey never wanted to leave his work long enough to go anywhere and when they had it was budget time.

  Carolina was the complete opposite. She loved to travel. Now that she was divorced, she did not have anyone or anything holding her back. There was no need for any more of that negativity in her life.

  The room where she’d been working with some of Kim’s students seemed creepier now that she was alone. All the worthwhile artifacts had been removed and taken to labs. They’d been left with some dusty carvings. Although the subject of those carvings was very interesting.

  Rare hieroglyphics from the Book of the Dead, as well as, a few paintings, and a half a dozen stone shelves containing sacred jars, and a small puzzle box of sorts remained. They were all carrying the same symbol.

  Exceedingly fragile, and thoroughly fascinating, Carolina couldn’t understand why the people in charge had not taken those items as well. Didn’t matter, she was leaving now. The rest of this stuff was being packed off to the university’s archeology department. As for the carvings on the walls, Carolina had done a few rubbings and carefully catalogued and photographed them for her own records.

  She had a contact, who specialized in ancient languages, and he said he’d have a translation by the end of the week. He recognized one hieroglyph in particular, the one that was repeated on the items left behind. It was the symbol for the Demon Medjed.