There'd been nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. She'd had to face him.
And she'd won.
She dipped her hand into the bath and watched the scorch marks heal.
The splintering of the door ripped her out of the strange cocoon and Parker stood there in the full glory of his warrior form.
She could hear the rushing of his blood through his veins, the pounding of his heart in his chest as he prepared to do battle. She could even smell the venom that dripped from his fanged maw.
He was terrible.
He was horrifically beautiful.
And he was hers.
When he turned his full attention on her, she couldn't help but feel like prey. If she didn't know he was still inside of the monster, that it was still Parker, she might've been a little bit afraid.
Then she noticed the blood dribbling from his ears. The shriek had wounded him as well.
"I'm okay," she said.
His eyes were still wild and he opened his muzzle and roared with a ferocity that shook the whole building.
"I'm safe," she said again.
He reached down with his giant claws and plucked her from the bath, holding her high and nosing all over her body. Obviously searching her for some damage, some wound.
She reached out tentative fingers and pushed her hands through his pelt. His fur was like raw silk.
Belle loved how strong he was, how he held her aloft with no effort. She was entranced by the way his fur felt against her nakedness. And she didn't know if it was leftover pleasure from the endorphins in the bath, or if she was actually considering asking this angry werewolf to fuck her against the wall because it was the best thing she could imagine.
He pressed her against the wall and froze. His head cocked to the side and he lifted his snout to scent the air.
There was a question in his eyes. The rage was gone.
She forgot he could smell her desire.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh yeah, baby."
His cock was already hard, nudging at her opening and she was torn between being impressed and a little intimidated. All of Parker's body, she could say with authority, got bigger when he was Changed into warrior form.
All. Of. It.
Parker was pretty strapped to begin with, and this was inhuman.
Of course, so was she.
She dug her nails into his shoulders, and he didn't need any further invitation. He pushed into her, and she knew a moment of bliss so pure, so right, that it obliterated all other sensation. It was even better than the blood.
His tongue was rough and warm as he licked the blood from her skin. A low growl started in the back of his throat that she'd come to identify as a kind of purr.
Holy gods above, and devils below, but that werewolf tongue on her nipples was going to make her come before his cock could.
"Parker," she cried, her nails digging into his flesh.
His claws scored her hips, but she didn't care. His momentum was frenzied and every thrust hit the core of her, sending pleasure radiating in shivering spirals through her body.
"Fly with me," she whispered. They were both so close.
With another roar, his jaws closed around her throat.
It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. It was nothing like the other times he'd bitten her. It was a thousand times more potent. This time, she could feel his venom penetrating her skin, mingling with her blood, and she wanted it. She wanted everything he could give her.
She didn't care if it was poison, she didn't care if his bite scarred—no, she wanted it to. She wanted his mark on her throat always and forever.
And she wanted to mark him the same.
Her fangs descended and she tore into the soft place where his neck met his shoulder. She bit down hard and tasted his blood—just like drinking sweet sunshine.
His muscles seemed to all flex at once, pushing more of his pulsing blood into her mouth. She was flooded with his memories, his hopes, his dreams, and his emotion. She was filling up with everything Parker.
As the sensations and bliss ebbed, Parker slowly regained his human form. His face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, his hair was damp, and he leaned his forehead against hers.
She was just as drained and overwhelmed, but content somehow, too.
They shared a long moment of silence, just looking into each other's eyes. When she thought it was finally going to be too much, he smiled.
Belle couldn't help but think again, of all the treasures she'd seen in the world, none were as beautiful as Parker Woolven.
"I think that's going to stick," he said, and pressed his lips to the mark on her neck.
She shivered. "Wow, that's even more sensitive. I thought scar tissue was supposed to be—"
He grazed his fingers over it and she felt it all the way to her clit.
"Gods, don't do that."
"No?" His fingers crept closer to it and the heat of his touch was a brand.
"Okay, do it again," she purred.
He closed his mouth over the mark and sucked.
Another orgasm rolled over in fire and brimstone.
"So I may actually die," she gasped.
"Well, I can't have that." He pulled back and studied her face. "What happened? I heard a scream and then suddenly I'm in my warrior form trying to fuck you through the wall."
"The Asakku knew I was here."
"How?"
She shrugged and shook her head. "Who knows. It doesn't matter. I used some of the magic Westwood has been teaching me and I hurt him. I saved myself."
"I'm torn between hoping you turned that fucker to dust and wishing he and I could've had a conversation."
"A conversation?" Panic clawed at her throat.
"Yeah, a conversation."
"What, where you tell him to back off or else?" She snorted, trying to be calm. It wasn't that she didn't believe in Parker; he was strong. But the Asakku were old and powerful.
"No. Where Westwood and I peel his skin from his meat while he tells us everything we want to know. One where true death is actually a gift."
She shivered and she didn't know if it was with fear, lust, or delight. Maybe a combination of all three.
Parker was right. She did have a monster inside of her. Maybe that's what she'd been running from all these years. Not just Tirigan.
But herself.
"I'm going to put in a call to the security team. They should've seen something. I'm going to do some quick recon and I'll be back."
That panic she'd managed to quell surged. "No, let's just leave, okay? Let's go to Aphelion."
"Belle, I'm not fleeing a city because there are some vampires here. Trust me to protect you."
"I am. Take me home. Take me to Aphelion," she pleaded.
"I will. After I make sure it's safe."
"We both know it's not."
"Then come with me."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Deadly. You don't feel it's safe. You're my mate. Come protect me."
"No Alpha-growly bullshit about how my place is inside, where it’s safe?"
"It's obviously not. There was an intruder. Which you handled." He shrugged. "I guess it's a good thing I'm not an Alpha."
There was a tinge to his voice that echoed with... it wasn't bitterness, exactly. Maybe it was shame. She didn't know what he had to be ashamed of. It wasn't as if anyone could stand alone against a murder of Asakku.
"Let's put on some clothes, and I'll go with you."
"That might be on my list of reasons to kill the fucker. He made you put on clothes." He growled.
"You know, I liked that roar earlier. Total fear boner."
And to her absolute delight, Parker blushed.
Chapter 11
Parker had no problem with Belle coming with him on his little recon mission.
She was a powerful supe in her own right, and he certainly wasn't going to tell her what she could or couldn't do.
It didn't make
him feel like less of a wolf, either. Mates were supposed to care for each other.
However, what did make him feel like less of a wolf was that she didn't believe he could help her. She wanted him to cower and hide. Parker wasn't stupid, he had no problem with retreat to live and fight another day.
But there were times when the only option was to fight.
They were coming for her, and he knew they were going to come hard. It was his responsibility to get whatever information he could to Blake so he could best defend the pack and the company.
While he waited for Belle to dress, he called Ondrej Tatsu, Alpha and club president of the Drago Knights MC. They were heading up the mobile security team who'd be escorting the Woolven limos.
"What's happened?" Ondrej didn't pull any punches.
"Asakku blood slaves infiltrated the spa."
"Motherfucker. I had guys on the rooftops and inside. I don't know how he got in."
"Magic. He turned himself to smoke."
"Is your mate okay?"
"Belle fried his ass, but there are bound to be more in the area. I'm sure it was a plot to draw us out."
"If you have your witch with you, and she can hide us from mortal eyes, my dragons can do aerial."
"I think our best bet is to capture one or two of them and take them somewhere private for questioning."
"Ah, meaning you'll be on the ground and you want us to snatch whatever comes at you?"
"Basically. I'll be out the back entrance toward the alley in five. I'll have Belle with me."
"I don't suppose it would do any good to ask if we could escort Mrs. Woolven to the car?"
"Not a single bit."
"Figured. I'll get my men in place."
Parker hung up.
"Were those the dragons you were telling me about?" Belle asked.
"Yeah. They'll be waiting."
"I still haven't gotten to see one all dragon-y with scales and fire."
"You might today." He pulled her against him. "But that would be very bad. I know that you understand hiding the truth from mortals, but the supe world is very different than from when you were young. In your youth, you didn't hide what you were. But now, we all do. And we all must. Humans who've seen us must either be made to forget, eliminated, or Turned. It's the only thing that protects us all."
"This is your way of telling me that you won't Change in the middle of the street. No matter what happens."
"We can't show what we are. So you have to keep yourself safe. Because I'd break that for you. I'd pay with my life, but I'd do it."
"Parker, I wouldn't want you to." She sounded horrified.
"That doesn't exactly figure into it. It's primal. It's instinct. There's no logic anymore. The humanity takes a backseat."
She searched his eyes for a long moment. "Do you want me to wait here?"
"I'd prefer it if you were waiting in the limo, yes."
She studied him for a moment longer. "Okay."
"Really?" He was surprised.
"Of course. I don't have anything to prove. If this is what helps you do what needs done, I'll do it. If this is how I can best protect you and myself, I'll do it."
"Thank the goddess." He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her forehead. "I'll join you shortly."
He texted Ondrej. Have Imre escort her to the limo.
Done.
Relief flooded him, and he headed down the stairs toward the back of the spa and the employee entrance.
A myriad of scents assaulted him once he was on the street. The most prominent was the stench of death and decay. Something rotten. Walking corpses.
These were low level Asakku blood slaves. Nothing like the creature that had been waiting for Belle.
"Fetch, doggie." A deep voice emanated from below a grate in the street.
"Why don't you come up here and play?"
"I will. As soon as the sun finishes setting. You should run, baby Woolven. Run as fast as your puppy legs will carry you. Back to Aphelion and your witch. That's all that will save you."
Parker's ears twitched as he caught some sound beyond the alley. Movement. A slow shuffling. He lifted his nose to the air and the scent was almost overwhelming, but that was from the dead thing below. Not whatever waited in the alley.
"That's not for you, Baby Woolven. I'm for you. Come closer," the voice said. "Come and see."
Yeah, fuck that. "No thanks."
"You married my daughter. The least you can do is say hello."
Tirigan? Something cold splashed down his spine. He didn't know if it was awareness, or dread. Or something else altogether.
"The least I could do? The least you could do is allow her to live the life she's chosen without slaughtering everyone who offers her kindness."
"I've never been one to do the least, puppy." A horrible laugh echoed up through the vents.
Suddenly, the sky turned black with fat, puffy, dark clouds that looked like burning marshmallows. "I think it's going to storm," he said with a sound that Parker was sure was supposed to be a laugh, but sounded more like gargling with broken glass.
Strangely tan, yet sallow, fingers wrapped around the grate and popped it from the cement like a puzzle piece.
Tirigan emerged slowly, and to Parker, it seemed like an unseen hand pulling a long, skinny grub out of the dirt.
He was tall, and lean, rangy. His fingernails were black and thick, like talons. He wore a black t-shirt and jeans, which seemed to be completely at odds with what he knew about his age. Yeah, leave it to Parker to decide a dude wearing jeans was odd, but not the fact that he'd turned a sunny day to black and crawled out of the damn sewer like something from a Stephen King novel.
Goddess, his eyes were the most horrible.
They were red as blood. Or perhaps that was with blood?
Everything about him was wrong. In the stories mortals told each other, they whispered about the wrongness of supes. How they seemed out of place to humans. Something other. Parker had never known that feeling. Not in all the different kinds of beings he'd met. Not fairies, or sidhe…not even ghosts affected him like Tirigan of the Asakku.
Perhaps he was, in fact, a blood demon. Or a god.
But he kept his spine straight and his shoulders square. He wouldn't run. He wouldn't embarrass the pack or himself.
He understood why Belle wanted to run. Something about Tirigan triggered his primal fear switch, and his beast was torn between fight or flight.
No, that wasn't true.
It was his humanity that made him want to stay and fight. His beast was smarter.
Tirigan approached him, nostrils flaring as he scented the air. "Can you smell them?"
"Your get waiting for me?"
A smile curved his mouth and revealed the maw of blades. "My get? No, those aren't mine. The silver. They're hunters, afraid this war between the nations will spill out onto their streets. They're here to take you down, Parker Woolven."
Parker had begun to sweat, fighting to hold his beast at bay.
"Do you want to Change now, boy? Are you fighting it?" Tirigan seemed amused. "Perhaps you have some sense after all."
His claws elongated and pierced the palms of his hands.
Tirigan lifted his nose again. "Ah, blood. Will you gift it to me, son-in-law? A bride price?"
"No."
"Why not?"
He'd expected him to attack instead of having a conversation. But here he was, speaking with the oldest vampire on the earth, refusing the creature his blood.
"Because Belle isn't property. I won't pay any price for her, because she can't be bought or sold."
"Interesting to hear from a werewolf. Aren't all you dogs about pissing all over your territory? Marking it?"
He couldn't argue with that, so he shrugged.
Tirigan leaned ever closer. "Not even a taste to earn my goodwill? No? Surely you see where this going? Give me a taste, or I'll take it all."
"You'll do what you want whether I give
you my blood or not. I'll earn more of your goodwill by standing my ground."
"You think so?" Tirigan eyed him hard and the lightning cracked overhead. "You may be right about that." A purple light emanated from the alleyway and it drew his attention, his eyes darting toward it. "It seems our hunters aren't just here for you. It seems they're here for me, too." He laughed, and the sound was just as horrible as the first time Parker heard it.
"Peter Breslin might be worth your attention," Parker offered.
"The hunter? Bah."
"He's been Changed and infected. He's unkillable. Immune to silver."
"That would help you, wouldn't it, if I took care of that for you?” He seemed to pause to consider. “What will you do for me?"
The purple light grew in intensity. "Anything but what you really want, I suppose."
Tirigan eyed him. "It seems we're at an impasse, doesn't it? I want my daughter."
"Have you tried asking her? Have you tried accepting her for who she is?"
Tirigan roared, the sound as loud as any bellow of a werewolf. "She has not accepted who she is."
Parker maintained his cool. "You're right about that."
"Excuse me, what?"
"I said you're right. But it's not for either of us to tell her who she is. It's for her to tell us."
"I'd planned to gut you, boy. To wear your entrails around my neck and your head mounted on the hood of my Bentley." He let the statement hang without further explanation.
"I suppose you could try. You'd likely succeed, but what does that have to do with anything?" Parker saw no point in lying about the odds. They both knew what they were.
"I enjoy you, for the moment. Just when I think there is nothing new under this sun, or moon, as the case happens to be, then I meet you.”
Parker wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he didn't.
"I'll have my child back."
"She's not a child. Hasn't been for a long time." Except, even as Parker said the words, he knew they weren't completely true. There was still something very innocent about Belle. It wasn't just that she didn't know how the supe world worked. There was a sweetness about her that needed protecting.
"You see it, don't you?" Tirigan asked softly.
"Here's what I don't understand. If you want to protect her, how does forcing her to be something she's not save that innocence?"
The Mate Mistake (The Woolven Secret Book 3) Page 10
