Midnight Guardian

by Tamara White

  “Come on then, you pussy! Come get a taste of a wolf who likes to bite back!” I smirk and steel my body, knowing he’ll strike fast. Once he’s within my reach, he’ll realize his mistake.

  Sure enough, not even a second goes by before I feel the shift of air behind me and I spin, my hand striking out and gripping my attacker by the neck. The vampire’s burning red eyes widen in shock.

  I smile at him, even as he tries to free himself from my grip. He slices his elongated nails along my wrist, making me hiss in pain. My grip loosens just enough for him to stumble back. He hits the ground on his ass, and his gaze unconsciously drops to my feet, landing on my right ankle where my very distinguished mark from the one who bit me is located. He gasps, the scent of fear immediately coating the alley.

  “I’m sorry,” he rushes out, crawling backwards. I advance on him as he tries to scramble back, forgetting he can run. Maybe he senses that would be more fun for me though.

  He staggers to his feet, holding out his hands out in a pleading gesture. “Please, have mercy!”

  I cock my head, intrigued by his tactics. “You think I should give you mercy after five years of endlessly feeding on the humans here like they were nothing more than cattle? Your life was forfeit the moment you took a life. Your death is deserved many times over.”

  His back hits the wall of the alley and his head flicks back and forth, looking for an escape. I notice the flash of determination in his eyes when he decides just to risk it and make a run for it.

  I let him go, the animals with me humming in approval at the chase. “I love it when you guys run,” I purr, using my superior speed to chase after him, grabbing him by his shirt before he can leave the alley.

  I pull his back to my chest, wrapping one arm around his middle and holding him flush against me as I rise up on my toes, licking the curve between shoulder and neck.

  At the entrance of the alley, I catch sight of a familiar face. He’s not a threat to me, so I simply smirk at him, daring him to intervene.

  My fangs descend and I sink my bite into the vampire’s throat, feeding on his very essence. My body pulses with arousal and power as I feast, while my gaze is fixed on the newcomer with the same red vampire eyes as my victim.

  Once I can feel the life has left my prey and absorbed into my body, I release him, watching as his corpse crumbles to dust before it even hits the ground.

  I reach my hand up to wipe my mouth clean and ensure I have no blood on my lips, then I meet the eyes of the newcomer who stalks toward me with hunger in his gaze.

  He throws a bundled up shirt at me and I pull it on. Once it’s covering everything important, I meet the red orbs of a man I love, my mate. “What are you doing here, Jordan?”

  I walk by him, trying to ignore the arousal that’s nothing more than a direct result of my feeding.

  He’s cute in a boy next door kind of way with his sandy hair and sweet, baby boy face with the cutest dimpled cheeks. I used to be jealous of his pretty face, but now that I’ve come to accept my own appearance and accept that beauty comes in many different shapes and forms, not just by an appearance.

  “I’m here because the council got word of you living both here and in an abandoned town across the country. Drake thought you wouldn’t be stupid enough to be near civilization, so he took the one across the country. But I bet when he realizes you aren’t there, he’ll come here.”

  I freeze at the mention of my ex-fiancé. I unconsciously rub my stomach, remembering the pain I went through when I left six months ago.

  Jordan watches the move with sympathy. He was there when I left and with me for everything that happened after. This is not the first time he’s caught up with me after I escaped from the gilded cage the council tried to keep me in. They told me I would want for nothing, that I would be fucking royalty, but that was only if I obeyed their every little command.

  Six months ago, I saw the truth behind all their lies.

  “You know the council suspects I’m helping you, and if I fail to bring you in, then it’s me who suffers.”

  I shrug, not giving a shit. He can try to drag me back to them, but he knows I’m not the weak girl he met two years ago. Back then I was clinging to my humanity, trying my best to honor my family’s memories. They may have been killed but I would have done anything to ensure that their spirit lived on through me.

  Now, I’ve thrown all that pesky humanity out the window and settled on plain old vengeance and retribution. They may be dead but I will do my utmost best to ensure the people responsible pay for what they had a hand in.

  I start to walk past him, heading to my small apartment that’s only a street away from here. He follows me the whole way back without saying a word, but I feel his eyes on my ass. He always did prefer to watch me walk away rather than lead. It was Drake who needed the control, to be the one to guide us where we went. He’s too Alpha for his own good.

  Once I reach the door to my temporary home, I simply open it and step inside. I left it unlocked, knowing there is nothing of value that people could take. My weapons are hidden away and the only real things of value that aren’t easily replaceable. I’ve picked them up from various people I’ve met since I left the compound.

  I enter my home and leave the door ajar, knowing Jordan will follow me in. He obviously has something more to say, otherwise, he would have attacked me, or tried to, in which case I would have knocked him out, then got the hell out of town before he awoke.

  Jordan closes the door behind him and flicks the lock.

  I face him, my hands on my hips as my gaze roams over his body, remembering the times we’ve had together. Every time is better than the last. And the last time was a little over a month ago but still too long in my books.

  I missed him and his touch, but I can’t use him every time he shows up in my life. I have to learn to get a handle on the arousal that comes with being a different creature, one ruled by primal instincts rather than logic.

  “I’m not going back, J. If you want to try and take me, then you know what will happen. I’ll beat the shit out of you and leave you bloodied and almost dying. The council will find you and punish you for failing regardless.”

  He strides determinedly toward me, and I swear he can feel the way my pussy throbs in his proximity. It’s one of the significant side effects of feeding on another’s life, the rush of energy that comes with it. It’s intoxicating.

  As if Jordan can tell I’m using all my restraint to stop myself from jumping his bones, he cups my cheek tenderly, his expression morphing from one of frustration to arousal. “I’ve fucking missed you, Iz. It kills me knowing you’re out here all alone. You’re my mate. You should be by my side, protected.”

  I shrug, letting my tough exterior drop as I meet his eyes. “What else am I supposed to do? You’re bound to the council. If I stay with you, I expose myself to them. I could go back but then I’d be forced by the council to be in a relationship with Drake, a man who wants me for my title alone. No, I don’t fucking think so. If Drake wants the title that comes with me, then he’s gotta fucking earn it and my trust, neither of which will ever happen after he fucked that skank in our bed.”

  Jordan rests his head against mine with a frustrated sigh. “I still don’t know what the fuck happened, but you two are both messed up. You say he cheated, but he says you cheated. It’s like a fucking human soap opera happened the whole week I left the compound.”

  “I know what I saw, J.” A tear falls and I hurriedly wipe it away.

  A sad sigh leaves his lips. “No matter what happens between the two of you, I’ll always love you, Iz. It fucking kills me to see you like this. Hurting so much.”

  “That’s life. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, it’s nothing but darkness and pain.”

  As I study the compassion in his eyes, my will to hold myself back from his touch starts to cave. It’s only been a month since his last touch, and while it offered the safety and wholeness I was craving
, it didn’t last. I had to run again before the council used his oath to track him, and possibly me. It fucked me up deeply because it felt like I had used him. As it does every time I have to leave him in the middle of the night.

  But what makes it all that much harder is that while I’m pissed at Drake for what he did, Jordan did no wrong. He was just the by-product of everything that happened. Jordan didn’t want to take sides since he didn’t witness what happened. He only heard it from both of us.

  I went to Jordan the moment he came back and told him what I saw, but then Drake started claiming it was me that had been the one to cheat. When Drake started off with that bullshit, it was the last straw for me, and I got my ass off the council complex.

  Focusing on the moment as we both silently study each other, I remember the exact second I fell in love with Jordan. I’d been in the council compound for a little over three months, and I had shifted back from wolf to human for the umpteenth time and he was there with a massive smile on his face. He scooped me up and told me how amazing I was, even after the council had demeaned and belittled my shift. They wanted a powerful wolf, but to them, I was weak. Jordan stood up for me and told them exactly where they could shove their sentiments before whisking me away to his room. He comforted me and reassured me that I was more than they would ever be able to comprehend.

  That night he worshipped me like I was a queen and gave himself to me completely. He told me of his past, things he had never told others, and when he admitted to the deaths he’d been responsible for, it was the guilt in his words that made me realize he was a genuine person.

  He would kill for the oath he made, but it was not something he condoned or cared to do. Something I had begun to realize didn’t apply to all supernatural creatures.

  With that sweet memory in mind, I twine my arms around Jordan’s neck and pull his lips to mine, claiming him as mine again. When I move away, I don’t get a chance to tell him how much I love him before he’s grabbing me by the ass and hauling me up so I’m straddling his waist. His lips slam down on mine with a growl that could rival even my wolf’s.

  Jordan trips over the rug in the main room in his hurry to head toward the door that leads to my bedroom. My back slams against the floor, and rather than be contrite by his rough move, Jordan simply grins down at me.

  I smirk back. “Just like old times, huh?”

  I lost count of the number of times Elder Jebediah told us to stop our fuck sessions. Apparently, Jordan and I are loud enough to wake the dead, but this isn’t going to be like then. I can see it in his eyes, Jordan is just as desperate to connect with me as I am with him.

  One hand goes to his jeans, freeing his cock, and I wrap my left leg around his waist, using my foot to pull his body closer. He slides into my wet pussy without hesitation.

  He stills once fully sheathed within me, and this feeling of wholeness settles inside me. Being with him is like finding home again.

  I cry out as he begins to move, letting me adjust to his size before picking up speed. He fucks me mercilessly, as if it will be the last time he’ll ever see me. A tear falls, not from sadness, but from the realization of how much I missed him.

  Jordan freezes at the sight of my tear, and I can see my pain mirrored in his expression. We love each other, but we have different objectives. He’s choosing to stay with the council because of an oath he made, while I’m plotting to bring the whole fucking system down.

  “You okay, baby?”

  I smile up at him, and in the blink of an eye, I flip us so I’m straddling his cock. “I’m more than okay. I just miss you,” I admit, rising up and sinking back down slowly. He grips my hips as I start to fuck him with one hand on his chest for leverage.

  My body is vibrating with arousal, and I want nothing more than to make this last, but I know it will be quick. Jordan reaches up with one hand to roll my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, pinching just on the edge of pain. His other hand moves from my hip to my center, his thumb pressing hard against my clit and causing me to tremble as I try to keep my rhythm. He knows my body inside and out.

  I throw my head back, crying out when my orgasm crashes violently through me. Jordan clutches my hips and takes over as little aftershocks render me immobile. I’m useless to do anything but hold on as he nears his own climax.

  A second orgasm triggers just as Jordan stills, grunting out his release, and I moan happily. It was always quick between us, especially when it had been more than a day or two since we’d reconnected.

  I collapse on his chest, my body shaking as I roll to the side. Jordan turns and encloses me in his arms, pressing a kiss to my temple.

  We lie there in the silence of my home, the only sound our heavy breathing. After a few minutes, I groan, knowing he’ll have to leave soon. He’s going to have to shower my scent off him before he returns to the council. Not that my scent is strong enough for them to detect, but if he walks into a room with Drake, then my ex will undoubtedly know what happened here tonight. He’s the only person in the world who can recognize the unique scent that is me.

  While Jordan gets up and wipes himself off using some nearby tissues, I grab a few paper towels from the kitchen to clean myself up. After we’re done, I meet his gaze, my heart aching with longing. What I wouldn’t give to have him stay here with me.

  “You should come back with me, Iz. Maybe if we used your magic, we could get some answers as to what exactly happened between you and Drake.” He pauses, thinking over his words carefully before continuing. “I think you should also tell Drake about what happened after you left too. I don’t like keeping such a secret from him.”

  “No.” There is no fucking way I will ever let myself be near Drake again because I can’t trust that I won’t kill the bastard. Jordan may hate keeping the secret from him, but in my mind, Drake doesn’t deserve to know about the baby we lost. He didn’t know about the pregnancy to begin with, neither did Jordan. Hell, I didn’t know until I wound up in a human hospital and a shifter doctor filled me in, and by then I’d already lost my baby.

  Jordan sighs loudly, leveling me with a look of sympathy. “Fine, if you insist on running, then that’s your choice. But the council will never stop hunting you, Isobel. You’re the Supreme Alpha whether you like it or not. That comes with responsibility. Do you really think you can spend the rest of your life just hunting bad supernaturals down? Don’t you think your family would have wanted you to have more purpose in life rather than just the reputation of an executioner?”

  His words hurt, but I’m smart enough to hear the undertone of a suggestion in his voice. “And what exactly are you proposing?” Little does he know I have my own plan in the works, I just can’t share it with him for fear of the council finding out exactly what I intend to do to their corrupt system. Tear it all down to the ground.

  “Midnight Society,” he states with a grin. “If you can’t come back to the council, then it’s the logical place for you to go.”

  I stare, unsure if he’s pulling my leg or not. I’ve heard of Midnight Society several times when I was in the council home. It’s nothing more than a school, from what I remember.

  “You want me to go back to school?” I question. Surely he must see the absurdity of such a statement. I finished school and college. Why the hell would I go back at twenty-three years old? That seems like a nightmare waiting to happen.

  “Because Midnight Society is not just a school, it’s an all age supernatural school. People who have been turned attend the school to learn about our life, and to study what we’re capable of. They also learn the rules the council has instilled on us since the first Supreme Alpha gave them a position of power. It also has people from various different packs across the world. People who may know more than you could imagine.”

  Maybe he does understand some of my plan after all, but to be honest, the idea really doesn’t appeal to me. An all age school is definitely not in the cards for me. I could blend amongst the people there, using the
ir scents to cover mine, but there is no guarantee the council wouldn’t find out I was there.

  He smirks in response to my disinterest. “It’s a shame you don’t want to go. What with it being the only place in the world to have libraries of infinite information on the Supreme Alphas, as well as all their abilities. But I mean, if you don’t want to get answers on why you’re different than most other supes out there, well, I guess I can understand.”

  That bastard! He knows just how much I want answers about what I am. I was supposed to be just one type of supernatural, but as luck would have it, I am so much more.

  So far, I have six different supernatural traits. All of which Jordan knows about. He was the one to see me shift smoothly from wolf to fox while I was locked away in the council dungeons. But they aren’t the only forms I have. In the past two years, I’ve shifted into a bear and lioness too, while earning the bloodlust and fangs of a vampire and having subtle spurts of magic that’s indicative of me being a witch also.

  “And just how exactly am I supposed to enroll in a school for supernaturals without the council knowing? They’ll see my name and know immediately where I am.”

  Jordan’s smile grows until all his teeth are on display, even those sharp fangs of his. I forgot how fucking sexy it was to see his fangs pressing into his bottom lip like that.

  “Well, word on the grapevine is that you were quite a unique human before you turned. I’m sure skills such as yours didn’t simply fade when you turned?”

  A genuine smile takes over my face. It’s been ages since I’ve hacked into any systems that could offer a challenge. A supernatural school should have a few decent firewalls and make the time very fun for me. I could enroll in the system under a fake name and get away with fake records. It may take a bit of time to work up, but if I could insert myself in this school and get some answers, then it may be worth it.

  “Thank you, J. I’ll look into it.”

  “Just promise me you will be careful. The council may think you’re too stupid to go there and while they don’t exactly have too much interaction with the school, I would hate to see you caught by them. I know you’re working on something and if I can help you, then I will.”