by PA Vachon
The rest of Hatchet’s clan had arrived. I ran for my room thinking to grab my .45 that I kept in my nightstand. I didn't get far before I was grabbed by a big, beefy hand that pulled me up short by my hair. I screamed in pain as the hand tightened at my nape. I could hear Ian in the other room fighting with at least one other person.
The guy with the handful of my hair yelled into the other room, "Grizzly! I have your slut, so give up or I will slit her throat." His fetid breath crossed my face as he forced my head up and dug his knife into my throat. I could feel the wetness from my blood that was weeping from the wound that he made. My bra was slowly turning scarlet, the sting of the cut making me freeze in terror. Where was my inner badass bitch? I was more like a simpering mass of fear than my normal snarky self.
“Are you ready to die, slut?” one of the ugliest men I had ever seen yelled into my ear. Scars bisected his face, hands, and his exposed arms. Some were new, others a faded silvery map.
The sounds of fighting could be heard, then silence. Nothing. I feared for Ian; was he injured, dead? The man holding me tightly yelled for his buddy.
“Steven. Steven, answer me!”
No answer was forthcoming. Nothing could be heard, and the next thing I saw was Ian, a little worse for wear with even more blood than when I had found him earlier in the night lying in that shallow ditch.
“Let her go, Hatchet,” he said in an almost unintelligible animalistic growl.
“No can do, Grizzly. Where is Steven?” Hatchet demanded in an equally harsh animal-like voice.
“Sorry, Hatchet, Steven is a little dead right now. Let her go, or you will have a serious problem on your hands,” Ian said.
The knife dug deeper. I was starting to get lightheaded, and a feeling of hopelessness was creeping in. This was it, the end, it was over. My life, this new something that could have been a beautiful life with Ian that I had just found. There didn't seem to be anything I could do. Anything anyone could do.
Hatchet backed towards the closed window by my bed as Ian advanced on us with a look of vengeance in his cold eyes and an equally large knife he clutched in his hand.
“Hatchet, you need to let her go or there won't be anything left of you to bury,” Ian spoke one last time, then he made a grab for me. As I was pulled away, I could feel the coldness of the knife slice ever deeper. I was pushed aside. Frantically I grabbed at my throat hopelessly as I was no longer in Hatchet's clutches.
The last thing I remember before the blackness took me was seeing Ian pummel Hatchet, then Hatchet went through the bedroom window. The shattering sounds of the glass the last thing I heard.
When I saw Lauren fall to the ground, that was it, game over. Assclown was dead just like his buddy, Steven. I quickly dispatched the fucker through the window and rushed to Lauren’s side. She was bleeding profusely from the neck wound that Hatchet caused. Bruises were forming on the side of her throat where Hatchet had gripped tightly. So tightly you could make out his individual finger marks.
“Lauren,” I shouted. “Lauren, please wake up!” I felt helpless. There was no magic cure. Shifters are born, not made, and some healing is possible between mates once they are committed to each other, but at this point, there was nothing I could do to save the one person only for me. The only thing I could do was call for help.
I scrambled for something, anything I could use to slow her bleeding down to give paramedics time to come and help her. I desperately wanted Lauren to live. I grabbed what looked like a tee shirt from the floor and held it to Lauren’s wound one handed as I dialed 911 on my phone.
“911, what is your emergency?” I heard the operator ask over the open line.
“I need help. My girlfriend has been attacked. I need an ambulance. She is bleeding badly,” I spoke urgently into the receiver.
“Sir, is your girlfriend breathing? What is her name? Can she speak?” the voice said calmly over the line.
“Yes, she is breathing, but barely. Her breathing is very labored. Her name is Lauren. Please send help. I can't lose her,” I frantically told the operator.
“Sir, can you tell me what happened?” the 911 operator requested.
“We were attacked in my girlfriend’s home by two men. Please hurry,” I rushed out in a frenzy as I hung up the phone.
I tried to block out the smell of fresh blood, hoping someone, anyone would arrive in time to save Lauren.
Just as I watched Lauren struggle to take what looked like her last rattling breath, I heard a man's voice say,
“Sir, please move back so we can help your friend.”
It was the first responders; the paramedics and a police officer were standing over us. I heard one of them ask in a voice that sounded like it was coming from a tunnel speaking on the radio, “Dispatch, this is Medic one, we have a female, mid twenties, roughly one hundred sixty-five pounds and approximately 5’3” tall, who has a laceration to her neck starting at her left ear to her right. Please adviseSnoqualmie Valley that we have an ETA of 10 minutes.”
I didn't hear the dispatcher’s response. The police officer that had arrived with the paramedics was then joined by a second officer. They started asking me rapid fire questions almost as soon as the paramedics started transmitting.
“Your name, sir, and I will need to see some ID as well,” the first officer stated while surveying the scene.
“Ian, Ian Jones,” I replied.
“Can you tell me what happened here, Mr. Jones?” the officer asked after checking my driver's license.
“Two men broke into the house and attacked us,” I said as I helplessly watched the paramedics take Lauren away on a stretcher, an IV attached to one arm and an oxygen mask over her face. She was still unconscious and not breathing well at all.
“Where are these men now? Did they run off before we arrived?” the second officer asked.
“Run off?” I scoffed. “Of course not. They are both dead; one of them is on the living room floor, and the other took a header out the window,” I said in surprise while looking towards the broken window.
“Sir, there is one hell of a mess out in the other room, and obviously, we can see the broken window,” the first officer stated. “But there are no bodies, either in the house or in the yard.”
“Wait, what?” I asked in disbelief as I headed for the other room. Steven was not where I had left him. I headed back to the bedroom and looked out the window. No Hatchet.
“Crap, I don't have time for this. I need to get to the hospital. I have to protect Lauren from…”
“From what, Ian?” the officer asked.
“I have to protect her from the rest of Hatchet's thugs,” Ian explained.
“We'll take you to the hospital. Can you tell us more about these men?” the officer asked as we all walked to the front of Lauren's house.
Chapter 3
Slowly I open my eyes. The pain is unbelievable; on a scale of 1-10, it’s at a 1000. I can’t breathe and start to panic. I think to myself, “Where is Ian. Is he ok?”
A nurse appears and tells me it was touch and go, but they fought hard to keep me in the here and now. They were able to stop the bleeding and stabilize my vitals to get my neck wound sewn up. There was a lot of damage, and the scar would be epically bad.
“Now that you are awake and able to breathe without the vent, let's get it removed,” the nurse says cheerily.
“Ok, on 3, I want you to cough for me. 1, 2, 3 ---” and the tube is removed from my throat painstakingly slowly. It feels like it takes hours instead of seconds.
“How long have I been here? Where's Ian? I wonder if he is ok?” I ask the nurse in my rough unused voice.
“This is day four, Lauren,” the nurse responds to my question patiently. “Ian? Is that the gentleman who came in just after you?”
“Where is he? Is he in the hospital, too?” I ask, panic rising with every second that I had to wait.
“I will see if I can find him. Lauren, please try to relax,” the nurse s
ays soothingly. She turns away and starts to leave the room when, at the door, I hear the greatest voice I had ever heard. I turn towards the door and there he is. Ian.
“Lauren, I am right here,” Ian says in a relieved tone.
The nurse left us alone to talk. A eerie quiet took over the room as I stared into Ian's eyes, so glad that he was not injured but confused as to what had happened to me.
He was a sight, his hair was haphazardly finger combed, his clothes rumpled as if he had slept in them for more than one night.
“What happened?” I asked him.
“Hatchet and one of the others were at your house. They were looking for me,” Ian sighed. “They found me and almost took you from me.”
“Hatchet had you in the bedroom and he sliced your throat. I wasn't able to get to you before you were almost killed,” Ian said in a tortured voice.
“But you did get to me, or else I wouldn't be here talking to you,” I pointed out.
“I did, this time. But I told you they would go after you to get to me,” Ian sounded resigned. “I'm still worried that the rest of the clan will come for you, Lauren, but I can't live without you. You're my everything now.”
Ian looked at me and said, “Lauren, would you come away with me? I have to get back to my clan and I need to get you somewhere safe.” Ian looked scared. This man, who was also grizzly, looked scared. What was I going to do?
“Ian, I can't just leave. I have bills, a job, my home. How can I leave?” I asked him.
“We can find you another job once you are safe, but there is only one you,” he said as he held my hand to his lips. I knew I would go with him anywhere on this green Earth.
“Ok, let's get me outta here and we can go to your clan,” I told him.
The nurse came back into the room as we were finishing our conversation and heard my last statement.
“I am afraid you'll have to stay a little longer with us, Lauren,” she said, looking much too long at Ian's backside as he leaned over my hospital bed.
I gave Nurse Happypants a hard look and said, “Please get my doctor. I need to go. I feel fine.”
The nurse left the room in search of my doctor. While we waited, I asked Ian to fill me in on what had happened while I was unconscious.
“After the paramedics arrived, the police questioned me. They thought at first that I was lying about Hatchet and Steven. Luckily, there was enough evidence in your living room and bedroom to show two different fights,” he said.
“Once I was able to prove to them that we were attacked, they brought me here to the hospital. I sat by your bedside the whole time, except when the police had updates or if the doctors or nurses needed me to leave the room, and even then, I wasn't far away, just right outside the door.”
“When you first arrived, you had flat lined in the ambulance. The paramedics brought you back, and you were taken directly to an OR to get your wound taken care of. I'm loving the sexy rasp of your voice but I am so sorry that you were hurt like this. It is unforgivable.”
Lauren interrupted me to say, “This wasn't your fault, Ian. You can't take the blame for this. It was Hatchet and the rest who are responsible.”
“I know that I didn't put that knife to your neck,” I said. “But if you hadn't stopped to help me and if you weren't my mate, they never would have known about you.”
Lauren stared at me for a moment before saying, “But if we hadn't met, we would each still be alone. Me wondering what my life is supposed to be, and you chasing after bad guy shifters. Isn't it better that we have each other now?”
“Of course it is,” I said in exasperation. “But I still won't forgive myself for letting them near you.”
“Ian, blaming yourself does nobody any good. Let it go. Please, for me?” Lauren implored me. How she could make sexy puppy dog eyes at me while laying in a hospital bed is beyond me, but it sure worked.
“Ok, so I have been out for several days, the police questioned you and decided that you didn't hurt me, and the bodies disappeared from my house… What next? Where do we go from here?” Lauren asked me.
“We need to get as far away from here as possible. Somewhere you’ll be safe. I have a place of my own within my clan,” I told her.
“As soon as the doctor releases me, we can go, Ian,” Lauren said.
Chapter 4
The doctor finally arrived, and against medical advice, I was released from the hospital into Ian's care.
We went to my house to get as many of my clothes as I could fit in two duffel bags and a few personal sentimental items that I felt I couldn't live without.
“Ian, can you come in here and help me please? I am having a problem getting my bag zipped closed,” I said as I struggled with the oversized bag.
“Yep, I am on my way, Lauren,” Ian replied.
I turned towards the door and stared at him. Oh boy, he was just way too hot. I was getting bothered just looking at him, and not bothered in a bad way. Well, unless we didn't do something about it.
Ian looked at me as he entered my room, and I could hear a growly purring type noise coming from him. “Ian, what is that noise you are making? You are kinda freaking me out here,” I asked him as he advanced towards me.
“It's my bear. He's glad you are ok, and now he wants to claim you so that if anything happens to you again, we can help. Not cure you, of course, but I could have stopped the bleeding faster if we hadn't been interrupted before,” he told me. “I am having a really hard time curtailing my lust for you, Lauren. I don't want to hurt you though, and I am afraid I might be too riled up to not hurt you.”
“Oh Ian, I am feeling fine. I don't think you will hurt me at all,” I said to him as I wrapped my arms around his neck and threaded my fingers into his hair.
I raised myself up on tiptoe and kissed him. It was like coming home. It was a melding of our mouths, our tongues. It was like that first drink of water when you feel like you will die from dehydration. Ian took control of our kiss, deepening it and thrusting his tongue into my mouth. We were dueling for supremacy to see which of us would be in control of our first intimate contact since before Hatchet had broken into my home.
While he was plundering my mouth, I worked my hands down his back to his very toned ass. I gave a squeeze to both cheeks simultaneously and Ian growled his appreciation.
“Lauren, you may want to slow down. I don't think I can do this slow this first time,” he whispered.
“Who wants slow, Ian,” I asked as I once again gave his ass a hard squeeze. “I want you anyway I can get you.”
He pulled me closer and lifted me onto my bed. As he laid me down, he moved away from me. With a whine, I said, “Wait, where are you going?
“Nowhere,” was his reply as he removed his shirt and shucked his pants. His erection pointed at my center like a homing beacon. Ian lowered himself between my legs and kissed the inside of my thigh.
“Ian, please,” I whispered.
“Oh I am going to please you,” Ian laughingly said. “In so many ways and so many times”
His tongue ran from my inner thigh to my core, where I was desperate for him. I could feel my wetness. It was an unusual feeling. No one before Ian had made me so horny. I needed him like I needed air.
“Ian, please. Don't torture me,” I whined, asking for him to put me out of my sweet misery
“Getting there is half the fun, Lauren. Watch me,” he said as he lowered his head to my waiting pussy. I could feel his hot breath, and just as I thought I wouldn't survive, his tongue rasped through my center, barely touching my clit. I jumped slightly, the feeling electric. Ian licked me again and again. I could feel my orgasm starting, and then he stopped. With a low whine in the back of my throat, I begged.
“Please, Ian, please don't stop,” I pleaded as I writhed on the bed. Ian drove his tongue
deep within my folds, and with an upward sweep, he licked my clit again. Then taking the small bud into his mouth, he sucked, and not lightly. I came screami
ng his name. Before my orgasm had ended, Ian was sheathing his cock into my spasming pussy. I cried out as I came again, surprised. I had never been multi-orgasmic before.
Ian slammed into me, his balls hitting my ass, and he asked, “Am I hurting you, Lauren?”
“No, of course not. Please, Ian, harder…,” I panted out.
Ian withdrew from my grasping inner muscles to the tip of his cock and slammed back into me. I could feel another orgasm beginning as he pumped into me harder and harder.
“Ian, I am gonna cum again,” I struggled to say as I panted like a bitch in heat.
“I know, baby. I can feel your pussy gripping my cock, and it feels almost too fucking good. I need you to turn over, baby. I want to claim you as my mate,” Ian growled and shuddered for control as he withdrew his cock completely from my body. As I made to get onto my knees, Ian grabbed me and gave me a scorching kiss.
