Forgetting where she was and who might be watching, Gypsy stood and let the blanket fall to the bench. Holding her arms up high toward the moon, she chanted softly,
Fill me with your power,
Bathe me in your light and energy,
Help heal me, make me stronger.
I accept you for all eternity.
When she turned sixteen, her mother gave her a book that had belonged to her father. It contained information regarding her heritage, told her about some of the powers she would receive, and explained how to harness those gifts. Gypsy had studied the book daily, soaking in information about her father’s craft. She had always had a knack for entering minds and extracting information, as well as communicating telepathically with others. She was sometimes able to move things with her mind, but it took a lot of concentration and it caused migraines afterwards, so she chose not to experiment with that gift very often. Another thing she excelled at was bringing people back from the brink of death. She had only used that particular gift four times before Xavier, but it worked on all but one child. To this day, it broke her heart that she had been unable to save the little boy.
One thing she had never been able to do, though, was harm someone. However, she would have killed in a heartbeat when she was in that prison called The Dungeon if she would have had the strength. Unfortunately, they had kept her weak and vulnerable, and there was nothing she could do to save herself, her sister, or her friend.
Gypsy hummed quietly as she felt the moon’s energy flowing through her, claiming her, and giving her strength. She had missed this so much. She belonged to the night, to the moon and the stars, and they to her.
Chapter 7
Slade had been awake for forty-eight hours straight. Not only that, but he was already running on slim to no hours of sleep since Gypsy had been brought to the compound, and he was exhausted both mentally and physically. He was no closer to finding the bastard who shot Xavier than he had been the day before, but he wasn’t going to be of any use to anyone right now. His head was pounding and he could not concentrate on the smallest task. His mind kept wandering to a certain dark haired beauty and the miracle she’d performed just hours ago. He would never have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, but there was no doubt in his mind that she was the reason Xavier was alive today.
Rubbing his face tiredly, he sighed deeply. He needed to go home to get some rest, but first he wanted to check on his mate. When he left her early this morning, she was sleeping peacefully. He did not want to leave, but it was his duty to find Xavier’s shooter and bring him to justice. He could not do that sitting in the hospital watching Gypsy sleep.
Slade’s head was bowed as he walked toward the hospital steps, his hands shoved in the front pockets of his jeans. Just as he placed a foot on the first step, he noticed a slight glow out of the corner of his eye. Glancing in the direction of the garden area, he froze. What the hell?
There, in the middle of the garden, stood Gypsy. Her head was flung back, her arms wide open and reaching toward the stars and moon above. Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted. She was wearing nothing except for a hospital nightgown, and he could clearly see the outline of her hardened nipples through the thin material. He felt a sudden tightness in his groin as his cock hardened instantly.
For a moment his wolf took over and all he could think was that his mate was standing just feet from him, in nothing but her nightgown, and he wanted to feel her against him. He wanted to claim her now, body and soul, for himself. The only thing that stopped him was the bright yellow glow surrounding her. It confused his wolf, and Slade was able to gain control of himself again just in time.
Removing his hands from his pockets, he rearranged his aching cock, groaning lowly. As he watched, Gypsy turned fully in his direction, her dark brown eyes glowing brightly. She was so fucking beautiful, and he was hard as a rock. When her eyes drifted down his body, Slade realized he still held his cock in his hand through his jeans. Unable to stop himself, he stroked the length of it once, then twice. He had no idea what was going on. He knew the mate pull was strong, but this was all together something different. He had been around Gypsy several times in the past week and a half, and while the urge to claim her was hard to ignore, it was nothing like what he was feeling at this moment.
Gypsy lowered her arms and took a step in his direction, the tip of her tongue sneaking out to wet her lips as she whimpered softly. She took another step, reaching an arm out to him. Oh hell, it was obvious she wanted him too. How was he going to resist?
When she moaned his name on a whispered plea, Slade could not hold still any longer. He crossed the distance between them in an instant, covering her trembling lips with his own. Slipping his hand in her long tresses, he held her still as he outlined her mouth with his tongue, before pushing past her lips to find the sweetness within.
Gypsy returned his kiss, tangling her tongue with his and grasping his hips tightly to pull his hard cock into her soft belly. Sliding his arm around her, he pulled her flush against him, wishing they weren’t separated by their clothes. The feel of her breasts against his chest tore another groan from deep within him, but then Gypsy slid her hand inside his coat and under his shirt. The touch of her ice-cold fingers against his skin penetrated through his lust-filled haze, and he stiffened as he pulled back, struggling to get a hold of his emotions. “Gypsy,” he rasped as he held her from him. “What the hell is going on? What’s happening to us?”
Moaning, she tried to fight Slade’s hold to get closer to him again, but he held her still. He wanted nothing more than to take her right then and there, but it just did not feel right. Something was off. “Gypsy,” he ground out forcefully, “look at me!”
Gypsy froze, going still in his arms as she slowly raised her gaze to his. Her eyes glowed bright and her body shook, with need or the cold, he wasn’t sure. Her small hands clenched tightly into fists and she suddenly fought to get free of him. “Let me go,” she whispered, “please, you have to let me go.”
Refusing to release her, Slade demanded, “Tell me what this is, Gypsy. Talk to me!”
“The moon,” she finally admitted as she stopped struggling and hung her head in shame. Her shoulders slumped and her body shuddered. “It makes me feel things. It makes me...”
Slipping a finger under her chin, Slade tilted Gypsy’s head up until her eyes met his. “It makes you more sexual?” he guessed, a shudder running through him.
Gypsy nodded, closing her eyes and refusing to meet his gaze. “Yes. And anyone near me, it would seem.”
“Have you done something like that with anyone before?” he demanded. “Have you had sex out under the stars and moon with someone else?” He had no idea why he was asking her something like that. Even though she was his mate, they had just met. He had no control over what she had done or who she had slept with before now. Hell, if he was honest with himself, he had no control over any of it now. Just because they were mates did not mean she had to accept him. She wasn’t a shifter. She would not feel the pull as strongly as he did. Gypsy could choose to leave him at any time and there was not a damn thing he could do about it. At that thought, a low growl slipped past Slade’s lips and he felt his fangs punch through his gums. He wanted to claim her now. He did not want her to have the chance to leave. If he sunk his teeth deep into her shoulder, she would start feeling exactly what Slade was feeling, and then she would not want to leave.
Before he knew what he was doing, Slade had pulled aside Gypsy’s gown and clamped his teeth on her shoulder. He stopped just before he broke the skin, and stood there breathing heavily, fighting himself to pull back. What was he doing? He could not force that kind of decision on her. She would never forgive him. But, as hard as he tried to make himself let her go, he couldn’t. She was his, dammit. His. She could not leave him.
“Slade?” Jade’s voice floated across the garden. “Slade, you don’t want to do that.” When he growled lowly but did not move,
Jade went on, “Slade, your mate is cold. She is shivering. We need to get her back inside where she will be warm and safe.”
His eyes narrowed as Jade’s words sank in. Safe. Gypsy was not safe out in the open like this. He had to protect his mate. It was his job to ensure her safety. Pulling back slightly, he gently kissed Gypsy’s shoulder, and then nuzzled her neck with his cheek. Through it all, Gypsy stayed absolutely still. “We need to get you back to your room,” he whispered, slipping his arm beneath her knees and lifting her up. Cradling her against his chest, he stalked toward the hospital and up the front steps. The doors opened and he walked through, swiftly taking Gypsy down the hall to her room. Laying her on the bed, he stepped back as Jade rushed in with some warm blankets. She quickly wrapped them around Gypsy’s shivering body, before sitting beside her, enclosing one of Gypsy’s hands in hers.
Slade watched as Gypsy’s eyes drifted shut. “Gypsy,” he said, shoving his hands into his front pockets, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
Gypsy turned away from him, facing the far wall. Slade swallowed hard as he met Jade’s concerned gaze, before turning to leave. He had royally fucked that up, and he had no idea what to say or do to fix it.
That son of a bitch thought he could touch his woman and get away with it? Nobody touched what belonged to him! Nobody! Slade Dawson would die for that alone. Yes, he knew who the man was. He had done his homework. He knew who they all were; the alpha, the beta, the head enforcer. He even knew who worked in the fucking hospital, every last one of them. It had taken him days to track down all of the information he needed to come up with a plan to infiltrate the White River Wolves compound, but he had it now. He had even managed to find out the wolf’s name he almost killed. Almost...somehow the little prick had survived. He didn’t know how, but the next time he pulled the trigger, he would make sure the person, or animal, on the other end was dead. A head shot was best. No one would come back from that.
As he watched, the head enforcer exited the front doors of the hospital and made his way to the apartment buildings on the edge of the small town. He supposed it was like a town, with the large business building, apartments, and hospital. He knew a lot of the people worked in the city, commuting daily, but some worked out of that large building. He knew the alpha had a small, but very profitable business. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not figure out exactly what it was that Chase Montgomery did. That was the one thing at which he had failed to garnish information on, and it pissed him off. Not that he really gave a shit, but it could be crucial to his extraction mission.
He waited for Slade to enter the apartment building before he started packing up his gear. Soon, he promised himself, soon his Gypsy would be with him again.
Chapter 8
Slade grunted as a fist glanced off his jaw and was immediately followed by an uppercut in the ribs. Shit, that hurt. He was distracted and was getting his ass handed to him by a pup. Snarling, Slade jumped back out of the way of the next fist that flew toward his face. Zane laughed, dancing lightly on his heels in a circle around Slade. “Is that all you got, ole man?” he joked with a cocky grin. “I thought you were supposed to be the one training us, not the other...”
Before Zane could finish his sentence, Slade kicked out quickly, connecting with Zane’s lower left leg. One powerful punch from Slade’s right fist was all it took and the enforcer was sprawled out on the ground staring up at the sky. Groaning loudly, he complained, “What the hell? Give a man a little warning next time.”
“You think your enemies are going to give you any warning?” Slade demanded roughly. “No, they will kill first, not bothering to ask questions later.” Stepping back and shaking out his hands, Slade ordered, “Now get off your ass and fight.”
Zane looked at him in confusion, but slowly got to his feet. Slade knew he was being unreasonable. He never yelled at his enforcers. They were all good people who took an oath to protect the pack and worked hard to keep their fellow packmates safe. But he was angry and frustrated, both emotionally and sexually. He needed to let out his aggression somehow, and right now, sparring with one of his enforcers was the only way to do it. After fifteen more minutes of beating the shit out of the young wolf, Slade stepped back breathing heavily. Walking over to his duffle bag, he grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat out of his eyes before motioning to Sable, “You and Sable spar now. Let me see what you can do.”
Grabbing a bottle of water, Slade leaned up against the wall to watch the show. It didn’t take long for the enforcers to get down to business. They were training in the gym at the White River Wolves compound. Slade required his enforcers to work out and spar with each other at least four days a week. With everything that had happened in the past few months, he wanted them ready for anything. He was still pissed at the way they had allowed the alpha’s niece to be taken. He refused to let something like that happen again on his watch.
Slade grunted in approval when Sable inserted a foot between Zane’s legs and pushed hard on his shoulders, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Unfortunately, she didn’t move quickly enough afterwards and Zane was able to grab her ankles, sweeping her off her feet and knocking her on her ass. Sable was instantly back on her feet and retaliating with a quick jab to Zane’s chest, and a roundhouse kick to his gut. Zane may have strength on his side, but Sable was faster, and before long she had the enforcer back on the ground again.
Taking a long drink of his water, Slade let his thoughts stray to Gypsy. It had been two days since he had seen her last. He’d been busy with work. Trying to track down who had shot Xavier was taking up a lot of his time, but if he was honest with himself, he was avoiding his woman.
Shaking his head, Slade crumpled the now empty bottle of water and walked over to the trashcan in the corner to throw it away. His woman. He never thought he would ever have those words associated with himself again. After Sarah died, he figured he would live the rest of his life alone, but now there was Gypsy. Strong, beautiful, magical Gypsy. The mate bond was working fast, and he was already starting to feel things towards her besides lust and desire. Yes, he wanted to slide deep inside her, but he also wanted other things he never thought he would want again. He wanted to hold her close, dry her tears when she cried, be a part of the joy she felt when she laughed. He wanted to share bits and pieces of himself with her, and listen while she talked about her life. He wanted to know what it was like to love again, but he was afraid to let himself find out. He didn’t want to fall in love, just to have Gypsy stolen from him like Sarah and his baby had been. He knew he would not survive it this time.
Hearing a loud crack, Slade swung around, looking to where his enforcers were battling it out on the mat. Sable had Zane face down on the ground, her knee pressed into the center of his back. His arm was twisted at an odd angle behind him, and he was screaming in pain, but Sable was not letting up. “You ever make the mistake of touching me like that again, and I will break more than your fucking arm,” she growled.
Sauntering over to them, Slade squatted down by Zane. His face was dark red, his lips peeled back revealing his fangs. “Looks like you may have bitten off a bit more than you can chew this time, Zane.”
Zane cursed as he struggled to break Sable’s hold on him, but no matter how much he moved and bucked, she refused to let him go. “It was an accident, Sable. Get the fuck off me! That hurts!”
“An accident?” Sable snarled, leaning in close to look in his face. “You reached around and grabbed both of my tits in your hands. Not only did you grab them, you squeezed them. Copping a feel like that was no accident.” Finally releasing the other enforcer, Sable stood and glared down at him, “I hope you liked it, because not only did it cause you a broken arm, but it cost you my trust and friendship.”
“Dammit,” Zane spat as he sat up cradling his arm. “Sable...” but she was already gone.
“So,” Slade asked, raising his eyebrows, “was it worth it?”
Zane gulped as he brou
ght his eyes slowly back to Slade. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
“Yep,” Slade agreed, standing to his full height, glaring down at the young wolf. “Get your ass up, Loctner.”
“Where are we going?” Zane stammered, rising first to his knees, then struggling to his feet while still clutching his useless arm. “I need to get this fixed, man. It fucking hurts.”
“Oh, you’ll get it fixed,” Slade agreed, grabbing the kid’s uninjured arm and propelling him roughly towards the door. “And then you are going in solitude until the alpha is ready for you.”
“The alpha,” Zane squeaked. “But, all I did was touch her boobs. Why do we have to bring the alpha into this?”
“You either get him or me, pup, and trust me, you don’t want to mess with me today.” Not that talking to Chase was going to be a picnic either. Behavior like that was not tolerated in the pack. You did not touch another pack member unless it was consensual. Zane was going to be in a lot of trouble. It might even cost him his chance at becoming a full-fledged enforcer since he was only a few months into his training. Slade would hate to have to sideline him. He was good at his job, but did not appear to be mature enough to handle it yet.
Walking out of the building, Slade squinted as he waited for his eyes to become accustomed to the bright glare of the sun. It was early in the day, and the way the light shone off the ice packed snow nearly blinded him. Shit, he’d forgotten his sunglasses. Deciding he better run back and grab them and his coat so he could do a full sweep of the perimeter after dropping Zane off to the cell where he would wait for the alpha, Slade turned to run back in the building. “I have to...” suddenly, he heard a loud noise in the distance and a bullet imbedded itself in the wall just to the right of Zane’s head. What the fuck?
Slade's Desire (White River Wolves Series, #2) Page 5
