Mandy M. Roth

by The Zodiac Gatekeeper Collection One (BOX SET)

  Ah, une zeena?

  “Yes. That one. You didn’t start calling me that until I turned eighteen. What language is it? I’ve ruled out French, German, Italian and Spanish.”

  I’ve told you before, it’s my native tongue. That of the Constellaziogēns. You just chose to ignore me and keep trying to guess. He sighed and wrapped his power around her, making her feel safe. Ease an old man’s mind, Slatkiska. Tell me you’re unharmed and somewhere safe.

  Phoebe glanced around the studio and shrugged. “I’m safe and unharmed unless you count a slight cramp in my lower back which isn’t life-threatening. Just annoying. And stop calling yourself an old man. I told you that I get the sense your magik is old but you’re not.”

  I get the sense you’re lying about being somewhere safe. You’re close. I can always feel it when you are. That means you ignored my warning and came to me anyway. It’s not safe right now. In truth, it may never be.

  She huffed as she pushed the exterior door open and walked out into the cool spring night air. The door shut and locked behind her. “Listen, buster, I didn’t come this way for you, so get over yourself. I came because I wanted to be here not because I was hoping to meet the voice in my head.”

  He laughed and the sound did what it always did, it wrapped around her. I love how you don’t fear me.

  “Why would I? You’d never hurt me.”

  Something moved in the shadows in the dimly lit alley. Phoebe stilled, not wanting to be scared but unable to help it. “Of course they’d tag this as part of the Zodiac Zone,” she whispered, doing her best to joke off her fears.

  Zodiac Zone? Une Slatkiska, tell me you’re just trying to get a rise out of me. You can’t be that close. I’d have sensed it if you were in this city with me. Hell, I’d know if you were even in the state.

  She didn’t answer. Phoebe wasn’t like normal women. Even without taking the voice in her head into consideration, she was different, powerful, and at times she scared even herself. Normally, her extraordinary gifts were limited to sleeping hours or times when her emotions ran to the extremes. Since the visits from the man in her head had increased, so had her abilities. It was as if he somehow intensified them. Amped them to the point they were noticeable in waking hours.

  Something’s wrong. You’re scared.

  Phoebe turned and visually scanned the alley. “Who’s there?”

  Slatkiska?

  She mentally stayed the voice in her head as she tried to focus on her surroundings. “Someone’s here. I can…umm… I know you’re here.” It was on the tip on her tongue to say she could sense them there but she’d managed to hold back. Her sister had been overt about the gifts she possessed and the state had tucked her safely away from mankind, deeming her a threat to herself and others. Mentally unstable. The desire to follow that path wasn’t in Phoebe.

  “Aren’t you a talented little human,” a deep voice said from the shadows.

  She tried and failed to locate the direction it came from.

  An eerie laugh sounded. “You will not see me until I am ready to be seen, une zeena.”

  Phoebe stifled a scream as she heard the stranger utter the name she’d grown accustomed to hearing from another. “No. How do you know that name?”

  “What, une zeena? It simply means mate, wife.” Something brushed past her shoulder and she shuddered. “For that is what you are, Phoebe. You are my mate. I selected you because you are a Pisces and tied to our race. As a mate should be. You may not have been selected by the Fates to be mine but they have been wrong before, as they are now. The others who agree with me have selected the mates they wish to have. Some have collected their une zeenas already.”

  What is happening? You’re terrified.

  Then stop messing with me and I wouldn’t be scared. Why in the hell would you be calling me your mate all these years? Your wife? And why pretend to not know my name? You just said it plain as day.

  The familiar, safe power she’d come to know as the man in her head enveloped her. I’m not there. I can’t come to you unless you call for me. You know this. I’ve explained it before. You have to come to me or invite me to you. How do you know what une zeena means?

  Before Phoebe could answer, a man stepped forth from the darkness. At five ten she wasn’t short by any means, but his height unnerved her. Six feet five inches of well-oiled man stood about ten feet from her. Auburn hair went to his broad shoulders and his light gray eyes seemed to see through her, leaving her feeling naked before him. The dark navy robe he wore hung open in front, showing off a set of abs that rivaled those of the man from her dream. The matching pants weren’t like anything she’d ever seen a man wearing. The style was unique to say the least. Made of leather and open on the sides but tied with laces, the pants made the man look like a stripper. The robe took that straight to the crazed stripper category. Never good.

  “Fear me not, une zeena. I have simply come to collect what is owed to me.” He smiled and it made her skin crawl. “I have come for you. The Gatekeeper was foolish to think he could keep you a secret for all eternity.”

  “The Gatekeeper?” she asked, backing up slowly.

  Gatekeeper? Who the hell is talking about a Gatekeeper? Run! Get to a place with a lot of people! Better yet, tell me your name and give me permission to come to you! Do that and I can track you. I can help.

  Fight or flight kicked in. The man was huge and taking him on wasn’t something Phoebe wanted to do if she could help it. Turning, she ran towards the main street. The man was suddenly in front of her, blocking her path. She stopped so fast she slipped and landed on her backside. “Who are you?”

  “I will be your husband soon enough but you may call me Xipil.” His gray eyes locked on her and she immediately began to crab-walk backwards. “Such spirit in one so young. I will enjoy bedding you.”

  “Enjoy bedding me? What the hell?”

  Tell me your name! Give me permission to come to you!

  Every instinct Phoebe had told her Xipil was deadly. Her instincts didn’t feel the same way for the mysterious man in her head. She trusted him. Exhaling, she nodded. “And you can call me Phoebe, not une zeena,” she said to Xipil in hopes the other would be able to use the information to help. “That name is reserved for someone else. He’s welcome to me, you’re not.”

  The tug of her invisible lover’s power increased, coating her while she pushed to her feet and made another attempt at running. Xipil reappeared in front of her. This time, Phoebe didn’t fall backwards out of fear. Taking a fighting stance, she brought her fists up to protect herself, bent her knee and kicked him in the chest. Dancing professionally left her legs strong and her ability to kick off the charts. Being raised by parents who were convinced the skies could open up and allow supernatural warriors to walk through them at any given moment meant she was taught to defend herself, so she did.

  His gray eyes widened as he staggered backwards. Phoebe didn’t stop. She rushed at him out of a need to get past him more than anything. Punching out, she caught him in the cheek and hissed as pain shot through her hand.

  Xipil wore a look of pure shock as he brought his hand to his lip. When he came away with blood, a sick smile moved over his face. “Oh, you are a wild one, une zeena.”

  The sound of car tires screeching and shouts drew Xipil’s attention. Tipping his head slightly, he licked his lower lip. “Until we meet again.” In a flash, he was gone.

  “Miss?”

  Turning, Phoebe struck out before looking. She came into contact with something hard and realized it was a chin. The blond man she’d hit blinked once and moved his jaw around. “Ouch.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. The minute he flashed a badge Phoebe cringed. There was no way she could tell him about a man appearing out of thin air and then disappearing just as quickly or she’d end up in a straitjacket. One Fisher family girl wearing one was too many already.

  “I’m Detective Aland Werner.” He put his wallet back and reached
for her. “You okay? You look a little shaken.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Aland, I can’t find…”

  She spun around and found herself staring at the man from her dream. Shock didn’t even begin to cover what she felt. His piercing blue eyes locked on her and she took a giant step back. The second Phoebe bumped into someone else, she turned and kicked out. As her foot came into contact with the side of Aland’s head, she cringed.

  “Ohmygod, I’m sorry.” Phoebe went to him and reached out tentatively. “I didn’t mean to—”

  “Punch me and then kick me?” He chuckled as he looked past her at the man from her dream. “Detective Baron, so good of you to join us.” The end note in his voice made it sound as if a finally had been on the verge of escaping. “I found this young woman looking a bit shaken but otherwise unharmed. She’s not wanting to tell me what spooked her but its clear to see something did.”

  “Is it her?” Detective Baron asked. His voice sounded so much like the one in her head that Phoebe couldn’t help but sneak another peek at him.

  The snug-fitting black T-shirt he was wearing drew attention to his equally black hair. Her urge to touch him was great. She wanted to run her hands over every plane on his body and know if he was as wonderful in real life as he was in her dreams. She also wanted to know how it was he came to be in her dream. Since she didn’t feel like being hauled down to the station and labeled insane, she resisted voicing the questions in her mind.

  Aland moved up next to her. “You got a name, sugar?”

  Glaring at him, she nodded. “Yes and no part of it contains the word sugar.”

  Phoebe?

  She didn’t respond. The idea of letting the detectives bear witness to her talking to thin air did not appeal to her.

  Phoebe, talk to me. Give me a verbal sign. Anything. Please. I need to know if you’re safe. You’ve not fortified our bond on your end so I can’t just read you. Please. Anything will work. Look around and tell me what you see, who you’re with. I’ll know it’s you then, Phoebe.

  Ignoring the voice, she glanced around the alley for her bag and spotted it behind Detective Baron. Of course the sexy one who intimidated her on levels she didn’t want to think about would be the one closest to the bag. Nothing could ever be easy. “Excuse me, Detective, but I need my bag.”

  His blue gaze raked over her, heating her body as it went. “Call me Sirius.”

  Sirius? Of course he’d have a sexy name to go with his sexy self. The man oozed alpha maleness and it took all Phoebe had not to offer submission. Somehow, she not only managed to hold back but she did so with dignity. He was so close and the scent of oak, cedar and musk filled her head and visions of licking her way down his body consumed her. She dug her nails into the palm of her hand in hopes the action would bring her back to her senses. While it did provide a small distraction, it did little in the way of diminishing the hunger she felt for Sirius.

  “Excuse me,” she murmured again, her voice as mousy as her will to refrain from touching the man.

  “Miss,” Aland said. “We’ve had a lot of problems in the area and I’m sure you’ve seen on the news that we’re asking women to avoid being out after dark by themselves. Now, I see you rushing out of this alley, looking scared to death. I’m going to assume the worst. Could you set my mind at ease?”

  As much as she wanted to keep up a hard façade, Detective Werner was making it hard to do. Something about him was soothing. Phoebe couldn’t remember meeting a man who radiated that particular feeling, though she had recognized it in her cousin Heather. It tended to help calm Phoebe’s irrational moments which, as of late, were becoming all too common.

  She smiled. “I’m fine, Detective. Really. It was dark and my mind was playing tricks on me. That’s all. I appreciate your concern. Thank you.”

  “It would make us both feel better if we got you home safely.” Aland’s gaze went to Sirius.

  “I’m actually headed to my other job. Thanks though.” Phoebe walked around Sirius, keeping her distance from him as she snatched her bag off the ground. Her ballet shoes fell out and he grabbed them before she could.

  “You dropped these.” He held them out to her. “You dance?”

  Since he was holding her ballet shoes, she didn’t feel the need to answer. Apparently, though, he wasn’t accepting anything other than a direct response. “I bet you’re very good.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Modest, too.” A thread of amusement hung on his voice. “Just ballet or other forms as well? Or is this just a hobby?”

  “More like a passion. I’ve been studying dance since I was little. I’ve had my hand in every form from ballet to zoppetto.”

  “Zoppetto?” Aland asked.

  Sirius’ lip twitched slightly before a smile broke over his face. “It’s an Italian style of dance.”

  Impressed by his knowledge, Phoebe found herself returning his smile. It bordered on infectious. He held her shoes out towards her and lifted a brow, almost as if in a dare. Part of Phoebe wanted to tell Sirius to keep the shoes just to avoid touching him. Something about him left her with the knowledge that one touch could drop her defenses and leave her begging him to do things to her body that she’d never allowed another to do.

  The idea of her dream man being real was too much. It was both overwhelming and terrifying. Dreams in her past about people she didn’t know never meant good things. They ended up hurt or dead. The idea of something happening to the raven-haired detective made her stomach clench.

  “Miss…?” His smoky voice rolled over her leaving her fighting a full-body shudder. The fact he had that much power over her body stunned her. The attraction she felt for Sirius couldn’t possibly be natural.

  “Fisher,” she whispered, unsure why she was whispering. The urge to touch him was great and she had to force her hands to remain where they were.

  “Phoebe!” another male voice called out breaking the spell that had seemed to settle over her.

  “Phoebe?” Sirius echoed, relief evident in his voice.

  She jolted and turned to see Forest, Heather’s long-time friend and hella hunk extraordinaire, standing at the opening of the alley. His light blue gaze drifted over her before settling on Sirius. It hardened. “Phoebe, what the hell are you doing? And who is he?”

  “I-I’m, umm,” she snatched her ballet shoes from Sirius’ grasp, careful to avoid skin-to-skin contact, “gathering up my things. I’m fine.”

  Sirius shot Forest a vicious scowl. “I think the better question is, who the hell is he?”

  Aland was suddenly next to them with his hand on Sirius’ shoulder. “Easy there, I’m sure there is a perfectly logical explanation for all of this. Relax.”

  Phoebe wanted to comment but Forest picked that moment to do what he did best, beat things up. He charged at Sirius and tackled him to the ground. Aland went at Forest and yanked him off Sirius.

  The fiery look in Forest’s eyes shocked her. “If you harm one hair on that little girl’s head, I’ll—”

  She let out a loud laugh. “Little girl? Oh, Forest, cute. You’re what? Maybe thirty? Please, you’re hardly an old man.” Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “Do all the men in my life view themselves as ancient?”

  “Exactly how many men do you have in your life, Ms. Fisher?” Sirius asked, his voice hard. He pushed to his feet and looked like he was about to go at Forest.

  As much as Phoebe wanted to wring the sexy, obviously jealous, detective’s neck, she held back, deciding instead to head off any more problems. She rushed forward and put her body between Forest and Sirius. “Detective Baron, Forest and I need to be going. Thanks for your concern.”

  “Call me Sirius. I’ve already told you that,” he bit out. She wanted to kiss away his harsh tone and hold him close. It was illogical so she resisted.

  Forest let out a disgusted grunt. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Sirius Baron? I should have known. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize
you.”

  “You know him?” She spun around and stared at Forest with wide eyes. Phoebe didn’t wait for answer. In an instant she was on Forest, hugging him tight. “Thank the gods, I thought I had a dream about a random person and you know how those end for me. I was terrified he was going to end up dead or something.”

  “You dreamt about him?”

  Deciding it was best to ignore the question, Phoebe hugged Forest closer.

  Forest peeled her off him and shook his head. “Enough with the hugging. Whenever you do it, I realize you have breasts and I sort of like thinking of you as permanently six years old.”

  Covering her face with her hands, Phoebe did a rather dramatic sigh. “Not this again. I’m begging you. My nerves can’t handle the ‘even though you didn’t see me, I was there when you were growing up’ speech right now. The creepy guy already freaked me out enough tonight. Gatekeepers my ass. Freak. Or excuse me, Xipil the Freak.”

  All men present drew in sharp breaths. Forest grabbed her to him holding her so tightly she thought she might burst. “Phoebe, what did you just say?”

  “I said freak.” She glanced at his hand on her arm and smiled. “So, it’s okay for you to touch me but I can’t touch you. Got it. Does that go for Heather, too?” She batted her eyes playfully and puckered her lips. It was almost too easy to tease Forest. “I bet you’d let her touch you.”

  Forest’s face fell. “Heather! She’s close! They’ll go after her, too. Sirius, watch Phoebe for me. I need to check on my…umm…my friend.”

  “I’m not staying with him. I’ve got a strict no-cops policy. You know that. I don’t really care if you know the guy or not. Besides, I’m late for work. But I’m guessing you know that already too since it’s your bar I work at.”

  “You work at a bar?” Sirius asked, still sounding pissed.

  Phoebe ignored him and stared at Forest. Her power surfaced just enough to tell her that her cousin was extremely close. She could sense Heather’s concern as if it were her own. “Heather’s fine.”