Gabriel's Mate

by Tina Folsom

  Her heart made a somersault at his words.

  Gabriel’s eyes drifted away from her and toward the clock above the desk. She followed his gaze. “It’ll be sunset soon. We have to prepare.”

  ***

  The fog blanketed the wooded area as they left the safety of their shelter behind. Maya shivered when the crisp night air touched her warm skin. She hadn’t even noticed how much her body had warmed in Gabriel’s arms, but the contrast was palpable now.

  They didn’t speak in order not to attract any attention should Ricky be near. With her hand resting in Gabriel’s large palm, they walked away from the bomb shelter in measured steps, careful not to step on any twigs that might snap and give their position away.

  Had she not been so tense and worried about the situation, Maya would have marveled at her night vision. She could see everything as clear as by day—except that not even her night vision could penetrate the dense San Francisco fog. She hoped this meant that no other vampire could detect them through the thick mist either. For once she was glad for the fog that plagued San Francisco every summer. At least it provided cover if the night didn’t.

  She breathed evenly, telling herself that the place where she had smashed Gabriel’s phone was far enough away for Ricky to have lost their trail some fourteen hours earlier. And besides, he would have had to find shelter during the day himself and had hopefully had to leave the area in a hurry.

  Maya listened to the sounds of the night, but all she could hear was her own heartbeat and Gabriel’s breathing. She glanced at him from the side and noticed the hard lines around his mouth, his eyes scanning the area around them constantly. She remembered that he’d told her once that he’d started out as a bodyguard, and she was glad for this knowledge now. It gave her confidence. Not that she thought Gabriel wouldn’t do everything to keep her safe, but knowing he had the right skills to do so put her mind at relative ease.

  A squeeze from his hand and a nod of his head indicated that he wanted to change direction. She followed without hesitation; in fact, she would follow him anywhere, even to New York, a city she detested. But if he needed to return there, she would go with him.

  Maya tried to keep her eyes focused on the path ahead, but her mind wandered. Too many things had happened to her in the last few hours. Gabriel’s revelation that they were both satyr had stunned her, but she didn’t question it. In the last week she’d learned that no matter how outrageous a claim, if it came from Gabriel she could trust in it being true. And it all made sense now. The emptiness she’d always felt during sex had been taken away by complete and utter satisfaction when Gabriel had taken her the satyr way. She’d never felt more complete in her life. If she’d ever had any doubts as to whether she was a satyr, that single act had wiped them from her mind.

  The woods seemed to grow denser as their march progressed. She knew they were going east toward the botanical gardens and the tennis courts, but her sense of distance was lacking. She realized Gabriel was avoiding the well-used footpaths and had instead opted to continue through the forested areas where the trees would provide some cover.

  In the distance, Maya saw a white structure, and as they neared it, she recognized it as the Victorian era Conservatory of Flowers that housed a vast number of exotic plants. A small gift shop and cashiers hut stood several yards separated from the main structure. Everything was quiet.

  Gabriel pointed toward the cashiers hut, indicating it was their destination. She nodded. They crossed the open space, and she felt herself tensing. Despite the thick fog, they would be on display, and their dark shadows would be visible. Maya couldn’t help but look over her shoulder, and she noticed Gabriel do the same. Her hands felt clammy, and her heart beat faster than before.

  At the hut, Gabriel pressed his face to the glass and peered inside. “There’s a phone,” he said sotto voce. “Can you open the door from the inside?”

  She understood. They could have smashed the glass, but the noise would attract Ricky if he was in the vicinity, or any human who was out walking their dog. Maya concentrated, closing her eyes and imagining the deadlock turning. She heard a click. She was getting good at this.

  A moment later, Gabriel tried the door, and it swung open. He eased inside the small structure and pulled her with him, closing the door silently behind them.

  When he lifted the receiver and dialed, each key seemed to echo loudly in the small space. She hoped it was only her own senses that amplified the sound. She heard one ring, then a faint voice on the other end.

  “Yes?”

  “Amaury, it’s Gabriel.” Gabriel’s voice was barely audible.

  “Thank God.”

  “We’re at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. Maya is with me. Come and get us. Be careful; Ricky tracked us to the park.”

  “Five minutes.”

  The call disconnected and Gabriel turned to her, pulling her into his arms before lowering his lips to her ear. “Can you get us into the Conservatory? We’ll have more places to hide in there.”

  She nodded.

  The Conservatory was a large structure made entirely of glass and steel. The steel had been painted white and was curved to create a dome the length of a baseball field. A cupola graced the center of the building, reminding her of the cupola of City Hall that was of a similar form.

  Gaining entry to it was as easy as unlocking the door to the hut had been. Maya was grateful for the skill she’d been bestowed, and while mind control would have been a neat skill to have, this one proved to be more practical and useful at present.

  She inhaled the scent of the plants in the tropically warm hothouse. The smells overpowered her senses, the pollen so strong and fragrant, she could barely scent Gabriel next to her. It was as if the flowers blocked out everything else.

  The windowpanes had let in the sun during the day and the large halls had heated up. Even now at night, the structure retained most of its warmth. Maya looked around, noticing the walking paths that had been constructed between the large plant beds. Little boards were erected next to each plant species, explaining their name and origin.

  Gabriel’s arms snaked around her from behind, and for a second it startled her. But he pulled her against his chest and simply kissed her neck. “I can hardly wait to make you my wife,” he murmured against her skin. He nibbled on her earlobe and Maya let herself melt into him.

  She moaned at the pleasure he gave her with a simple touch. “Don’t make me wait too long. I’ve never liked the idea of a long engagement.”

  “Two, three days tops,” he agreed. “Once this is all over and Ricky is dealt with.”

  “You shouldn’t make her promises you can’t keep.”

  The voice sliced through her like a knife. Gabriel released her and pushed her halfway behind his large frame. She’d never seen him move this fast. Ricky emerged from the shadow of a large fern. She hadn’t heard any sound of him entering the glasshouse. Nor smelled him. Even now that she focused on him, all she could smell were the exotic flowers around her.

  Gabriel’s stance instantly changed, and she could see how he readied himself for a fight. His hand suddenly held a stake. She hadn’t even seen when he’d pulled it from his coat where he must have hidden it.

  “I always keep my promises,” Gabriel replied, his voice tight. “The one I made last night was to kill you.”

  Before she could stop Gabriel, he launched himself at Ricky. His large frame crashed into the slightly shorter vampire, knocking Ricky off balance. But before Gabriel could land his stake, Ricky had rolled to the side and jumped up. She hadn’t figured him to be this agile.

  Gabriel swiveled in the blink of an eye and growled low and dark. In his fury, his fangs had erupted through his gums, and Maya could clearly see them almost as if glowing in the dark. His scar seemed to throb.

  With one step, Gabriel was again lunging for his opponent, his powerful arms landing a blow against his side. But it wasn’t enough. Ricky’s leg kicked out a secon
d later, powering into Gabriel’s left thigh, unbalancing him. For an instant, Gabriel tumbled sideways, but the branch of a bush next to him provided him with enough support to right himself again.

  But the strike had cost him. Ricky’s next kick landed in Gabriel’s stomach, knocking him into the dirt behind him. Gabriel rolled and jumped up the second he hit the earthen flowerbed. For a large man, he was surprisingly flexible.

  “Shit!” Gabriel cursed, and a second later she realized that he’d lost his stake. Maya gasped when she saw Ricky lunge for him.

  Ricky’s head snapped in her direction, and within a split-second he changed tracks and jumped onto a railing surrounding the flowerbed.

  That’s when she saw the rope. It hung from one of the beams above the plant bed. Ricky had seen it too and now grabbed it. As he held onto the rope, Ricky kicked against the stem of a small palm behind him and catapulted himself into her direction. Maya tried to sidestep him, but she wasn’t fast enough. Ricky’s arm swung out as he closed in on her. He knocked her off her feet in one clean swoop.

  She fell face forward into the soil. Knowing he was right behind her, she rolled to the side, avoiding him by a hairsbreadth. From the corner of her eye, she saw Gabriel run toward them. Maya pulled herself up, trying to steady her feet, but slipped in the muddy soil.

  A hand grabbed for her, and the shiver running over her skin alerted her that it was Ricky. He twisted her arm back and pulled her toward him.

  An instant later, she saw Gabriel stop short, his face horrified. She didn’t understand why he wasn’t approaching. Only when she took a deep breath and expanded her lungs did she realize why: Ricky was pressing a wooden stake against her chest.

  “One step further, and she’s dust.”

  Maya swallowed. Gabriel’s eyes flooded with agony. She could see his mind clicking, going through every possible scenario of how to get her out of this situation, but she realized that Ricky held all the cards, and Gabriel would never risk her life.

  “You’re so predictable, Gabriel. I guess that comes from thinking with your dick,” Ricky spat.

  “Let her go.”

  “She should have been mine. I saw her first. If you hadn’t interfered, she would have been mine.”

  Maya felt bile rise in her gut. “Never.”

  Ricky pulled her tighter, twisting her arm higher. She ignored the pain and concentrated on her disgust for him instead. “Don’t kid yourself, my sweet. You’ll still be mine. Once we’re gone from here and it’s just you and me, you’ll have no choice.”

  “I’ll hunt you down,” Gabriel warned.

  Ricky laughed as he walked backwards, taking her with him. Like a shield, she was plastered against him, and there was no way Gabriel would be able to attack him without risking hurting her. She knew instinctively that it would be up to her to free herself. But Ricky was strong. She knew exactly how strong from their encounter at Samson’s house. At least there she had been able to use her skill to defeat him. She could do so again.

  Maya’s eyes darted around the dark hall, trying to find something she could use to free herself. She came up empty. Except for some water buckets, nothing was in her vicinity that would make an adequate weapon.

  They reached the back of the hall, and she felt Ricky opend the door behind him to advance into the next part of the structure. She gave Gabriel a last look, locking eyes with him, telling him she loved him, before the door shut and she was alone with Ricky.

  He didn’t remove the stake from her heart. Clearly, he’d learned from their earlier encounter. “What are you trying to gain by this? You know he’ll kill you when he catches up with you.”

  “Yes, but by that time, I will have had you, and you’ll be damaged goods. I’ll have used your body so often and so violently that even he won’t want you back.”

  Maya’s blood froze at the venom in his voice. She tried to shake off the feeling of despair that hit her. No, even if Ricky managed to do to her what he threatened, Gabriel would still love her.

  Her ears perked up. In the distance, glass shattered. Was it Gabriel?

  Ricky had heard it too. “Time to go.”

  He pushed her ahead of him, the wooden stake now pointing at her back. Which probably meant that he could kill her from that angle too—he wouldn’t have to plunge it into her chest, because the back would do, too.

  Maya took in her surroundings and noticed a shovel lying on the ground near one of the plant beds. Somebody had forgotten to put away their tools after their work was done. She honed in on the item as they passed the spot. She concentrated and visualized the shovel rising from the ground, hovering in the air.

  A clang against a metal surface broke her concentration. She felt Ricky swivel, then pull hard on her arms. “Bitch!”

  She twisted her head and saw that the shovel had hit a railing she hadn’t seen.

  “You try that again, I’ll stake you right here.”

  She somehow doubted his claim. He’d wanted her for so long, that she didn’t believe that he would kill her now when he hadn’t even forced himself on her yet. She figured he’d at least try to rape her. The sick bastard would surely not forgo that perverted pleasure.

  Ricky shoved her through the next door. A movement to her left caught her eye and stopped her in her tracks. Ricky bumped into her, and the wooden stake bounced against her back. Instantly she pulled forward, the contact with the wooden implement having sent her heart rate spiking.

  She used the momentum to pull against Ricky’s restraining arms. One of her wrists came free, and she twisted herself in a half circle.

  Another silent shadow entered her peripheral vision, the figure too small to be Gabriel. Maybe it was just a hallucination.

  Her feet suddenly lost tracking, and she fell to her side. A shadow leaped over her in the same instant. Somebody had grabbed her feet and made her lose her balance. And it hadn’t been Ricky.

  As she found herself once again face down, she rolled quickly. Grunts behind her alerted her to a fight. She focused her eyes on the two figures. Yvette’s lithe body stood out against Ricky’s muscled one, but what she didn’t match in body mass, she made up for in agility. She dodged every one of his blows and twisted like a snake, her movements nearly faster than even Maya’s enhanced eyesight could follow.

  “Gabriel!” she shouted, trying to alert him to her location.

  Hasty footsteps came her way. First, she recognized Zane. She’d never been so relieved in her life to see the bald vampire run toward her. Behind him another figure emerged: Amaury, and finally Gabriel ran toward her from a path to her left.

  As Zane and Amaury launched themselves into the fight with Ricky, Maya jumped up and threw herself into Gabriel’s arms.

  “Oh, God, baby, I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.” His arms tightened around her.

  “You’re here now.”

  Turning her head, she saw Amaury and Zane restraining Ricky. In front of him stood Yvette, her feet planted wide, her arms by her side. In one hand she held a stake.

  “I should do to you what you tried to have me suffer.” Yvette spat into his face, and Ricky tried to shake her spit off him, to no avail. Unimpeded, it ran down his chin.

  Then Yvette turned her head toward her and Gabriel. “He tied me to the fireplace at that dead nurse’s house and had me wait for the sun.”

  Maya felt a shudder go through her at the thought of Ricky’s cruelty.

  “Do I have your permission?” Yvette lifted her hand that held the stake so Gabriel could see it.

  “Make it quick,” Gabriel answered and turned away, taking Maya with him so she couldn’t see what was happening.

  “You’ll be safe now,” he whispered and kissed her.

  Thirty-five

  The cemetery lay in the dark. Only torches illuminated the area around the grave that had been dug. The coffin that held no body was suspended over it, covered with white calla lilies.

  Maya looked at the small assembly. The night
before, Samson and Delilah had returned, and she had met them for the first time. She’d taken an instant liking to Delilah, the sweet wife of the most powerful vampire in San Francisco. She and Samson had extended their hospitality and asked her and Gabriel to stay until they had decided where to live. She couldn’t have imagined a warmer welcome.

  Oliver, Samson’s daytime assistant, a human, stood next to them, his eyes on the ground. He’d lost a good friend in Carl.

  Maya glanced at Amaury and the beautiful blonde woman by his side. They made a striking couple, and it seemed in Nina’s presence, Amaury was more relaxed and docile than when alone. Despite the fact that Nina was a tall woman, her blood-bonded mate dwarfed her, and she appeared fragile, even though Nina was anything but. The stories the other vampires had told her suggested that she was quite a handful to deal with—and that Amaury enjoyed every second of it.

  Maya now also understood the connection between Nina and Eddie. She was surprised to find out that Eddie was her brother. The family resemblance was certainly evident, but she hadn’t expected one sibling to be a vampire and the other to be human. But when Thomas told her the story of Eddie’s turning, she understood.

  Even Dr. Drake and the witch, Francine, were among the mourners. There had been a commotion at first when word had reached them that Francine wanted to attend Carl’s funeral, but after Gabriel had explained how instrumental she’d been in Maya’s own survival, the vampires had voted to allow a witch among their midst. It was a first, to be sure.

  Zane and Yvette stood with a group of vampires Maya didn’t recognize. Colleagues from Scanguards, she assumed. When she caught Yvette’s eye, she was surprised to see her smile at her and Gabriel, who held Maya’s hand. Maya smiled back and felt her heart swell. These people were her family now. They had all accepted her and fought for her so she could live. Carl had given his life protecting her.

  Maya turned her attention back to Samson, whose speech came to an end.

  “My friend, wherever you are now, I’ll never forget the years we had together.”