Phoenix's Fate (RARE Series, #2)

by Dawn Sullivan

  As the pain pounded through her temples, Serenity slowly started to remember. The General had drugged her and taken her to a building out in the middle of the desert. Rikki, a woman who had been a part of the group that had tried to rescue her originally, had been shot. Serenity had used her special abilities to take Rikki’s pain and heal her. That was how she had ended up in the same situation last time that she was in now. She’d had Rikki to protect her then, but who was going to protect her now?

  Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Serenity tried to remember what had happened after that. Her mind was sluggish and her head was pounding, making it difficult to remember anything. What the hell had happened to her to make her feel like this?

  She remembered running through the halls of the building where she and Rikki were held, shooting a guard, then she was outside. Jade was held in a deep hole at the back of the building. Serenity remembered a huge black panther prowling around the opening of the hole and then it jumped in after Jade. Why in the hell was a black panther in a desert in the middle of nowhere? There had been other people around, people Rikki had known and trusted. Then Jade was out of the hole and there was the sound of a helicopter heading toward them. Everyone was running, and a building blew apart. Phoenix! Screaming his name, Serenity’s eyes flew open and she sat up in the bed quickly, falling back down as waves of pain slammed through her. She felt hands on her, gently stroking her hair. A face was down by hers, nuzzling her neck. A deep voice whispered, “I’m here, Beauty. I am right here. You are safe.” Inhaling deeply, she breathed in her mate’s scent as she lost consciousness again.

  The next time Serenity woke, she recognized Phoenix’s scent right away. She was not afraid to open her eyes. Her mate was there and he would protect her. Looking around the room, she spotted him asleep in the corner. Phoenix was lounging back with one leg thrown up over the arm of the chair, his head tilted to the side. Serenity could just barely see the tempting tattoo that ran up the back of his neck. Licking her lips, she thought about how she wanted to trace that tattoo, along with all of the other ones on his body, with her tongue. She knew he had a tattoo on his chest that normally showed just above his tee shirt, but with the way he was positioned in the chair, she could not see it. However, she loved the beautiful intricate design running down his left arm.

  Phoenix held a notebook in one hand and what looked like a charcoal pencil in the other. He had obviously fallen asleep while sketching something, but she could not see what. Eagerly, Serenity drank him in with her eyes. He was the sexiest thing she had ever seen, and he was all hers. She wondered how long she had been out. He looked exhausted.

  Slowly, Serenity closed her eyes again and concentrated on her injuries. She was still in pain, but it was not as bad as the last time she had woken. She needed to shift. She would be as good as new if she became her wolf for a few hours. As far as Serenity could tell by the scents in the air and background noise, she was in a hospital. If she concentrated, she could hear voices beyond her door. Definitely doctors, not scientists. Was it a hospital for humans or a hospital for shifters?

  Serenity decided she was beyond giving a shit at this point. Slowly she got out of bed and made her way to use the restroom. When she was done, she painfully made her way back to the bed. A quick glance at Phoenix proved he was still asleep, so she removed her clothes and within moments a small black wolf stood where she had been. Much better. The pain was almost gone now.

  Glancing at the bed, Serenity decided there was another place she would much rather be. Moving toward Phoenix she leaped into his lap, knocking the notebook and charcoal pencil to the floor. His eyes sprang open as his arms wrapped around her. A low rumbling noise similar to a purr came out of her throat as she snuggled up into him. As Phoenix gently stroked her fur, Serenity fell into a deep healing sleep.

  Chapter 18

  Phoenix picked Serenity up and moved to the bed. Laying her down, he settled in beside her. He pulled her over until most of her body was lying across his chest. Serenity had shifted into her wolf, and he knew that meant she would heal faster than normal. Stroking her fur, Phoenix thought about the amount of trust that she was placing in him, and it shocked the hell out of him. The only thing Phoenix knew about Serenity’s past was the General had held her for who knew how long. He did not know what road she had travelled that had brought her to the General’s attention. Just the fact that she had been with the General at all would make one think that was enough to kill the trust any woman would have in anyone ever again. Here she was, though, fast asleep in her wolf form on his chest, trusting him to protect her. It was enough to bring tears to his eyes. Wiping them away quickly, he sank his fingers into the fur on Serenity’s neck, his other hand going to the gun at his side. He would guard her with his life. No one was getting near his woman again.

  The door opened and Doc Josie walked in. Her face lit up at the sight of Serenity asleep in her wolf form. “Perfect!” she said. “She will be good as new when she wakes up.” She stopped moving when she saw Phoenix palming his Glock. Glancing once more at Serenity, she held her hands up in a calming manner. Smiling at Phoenix, she took a couple of steps back. “When she wakes up, you can take her home, Phoenix.” With another quick grin, the doctor turned and left.

  Phoenix knew he was being unreasonable. Doc Josie was just checking on Serenity because she was her patient. But it didn’t matter. He did not give a shit what anyone thought, no one was getting near his mate. No one. Tightening the hand in her fur, he kept his other hand on his Glock.

  A couple of hours later, Phoenix heard Serenity let out a sigh as she stretched against him. He glanced down into her beautiful eyes, and in the next instant he had his arms full of hot, beautiful woman. Oh fuck, he thought as his cock instantly grew rock hard in his jeans. There was no way she could miss it. One of his arms was in her long dark hair, cupping the back of her head. The other was holding onto her nice, soft ass.

  Unable to stop himself, he pushed his hips up into her, groaning loudly. Her nostrils flared and her eyes turned wolf, a low growl vibrating in her throat. Serenity moved up and straddled him, her hot core on his pulsing cock. Grinding against him, she leaned in and nuzzled his neck, flicking her tongue out and slowly dragging it up towards his ear. Phoenix felt her hand moving down his chest and then lower until it stroked over his dick. Holy shit, if she didn’t stop he was going to come in his pants. He wanted to take Serenity right there. To shove himself deep inside of her and make her scream his name loudly as she flew apart. But he refused to take her for the first time in a hospital room with staff right outside the door. He was not above the whole making her fly apart a couple of times thing, though. This was going to be all about her.

  Groaning, Phoenix tried to move her hand away and was surprised to hear the warning growl from her throat as she clamped her teeth down on his shoulder. Not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough to let him know that she was beyond control right now. “Wait, baby,” he ground out. She growled louder, biting down harder.

  Phoenix wanted nothing more than to be fully mated with Serenity, but now was not the time. Phoenix wanted to get to know her first. Find out what she liked and disliked. This was his mate, not some random fuck. He wanted to share everything about himself with her before they took that final step-from his time in foster care, to being in the military, and finally finding RARE. The good, the bad and the ugly, as they say. Hell, she should get a chance to back out of she wanted.

  Acting quickly, Phoenix wrapped one of his legs around one of hers, tightened his arms around her and flipped her underneath him. Serenity’s head flung back and her eyes widened in surprise. “I have ya, my Beauty,” he whispered.

  Bending his head, Phoenix closed the distance between them and claimed her mouth in a demanding kiss. He tried to slow down because this was for Serenity, not him, but he couldn’t. He had to taste her, had to touch her. Slipping past Serenity’s lips as she gasped in pleasure, he tangled his tongue with hers. Slowly h
e slid a hand down to cup one of her full breasts, gently flicking the nipple. Serenity cried out as she yanked her lips away. She tried to reach down and grab him again, but he stopped her. “This is for you, Beauty,” he growled.

  Taking both of her arms, he pulled them above her head and grasped them in his hand. “Now, where was I?” he growled, leaning over and nibbling down her neck to her breast. Cupping it again in his other hand, he flicked his tongue out and licked her nipple. Serenity arched into his mouth, moaning loudly.

  Phoenix continued licking and sucking on her nipple as he moved his hand across her hip and over until he was stroking her. “Oh God,” she cried out as he slowly slipped one finger inside of her. Using his thumb, he rubbed her clit, while slowly adding another finger, moving both in and out of her moist heat. As Phoenix bit down lightly on her nipple, Serenity came while screaming his name. They definitely were not hiding what just happened from anyone in the hospital. Good, he thought. Everyone would know Serenity was his.

  Phoenix leaned over and lightly kissed Serenity on the lips, but moved back when she tried to deepen it. “Not here,” he told her, leaning his forehead on hers. “As much as I love that the entire hospital knows you are mine, I don’t want our first time to be here.”

  Breathing heavily, Serenity wrapped her arms around Phoenix and held on, digging her nails into his back. “I need more, Phoenix,” she moaned. “Please, give me more.”

  Raising his eyebrows, he kissed her and then slowly slipped down her body, trailing kisses on the way. When he reached his destination, he glanced up with a wicked grin. “Is this what you need?” he asked. Serenity moaned and lifted her hips up to his mouth again. “Please,” she gasped.

  Grasping Serenity’s hips and holding her down, Phoenix leaned in and licked her clit. “Yes,” she cried out as she tried to move her hips up towards him again. He just chuckled, and tightening his hold on her, he flicked his tongue out again. Panting loudly, Serenity grabbed hold of his head and pushed him down. Phoenix laughed and then got busy. In no time, Serenity was coming again and Phoenix was on his way to having blue balls. Pulling back with one last lick, Phoenix moved back up until he was face to face with Serenity. “Better?” he smirked.

  “For now,” she purred leaning back into the pillow with a fully satisfied smile on her face. Laughing, Phoenix got up and entered the bathroom. He debated on taking care of himself, but Serenity would know, and he did not want to upset her. When Serenity had tried to touch him, he had told her what they were doing was for her. So instead Phoenix chose to walk around in pain, praying his hard on would go away, but knowing that it would not anytime soon.

  Exiting the bathroom, he walked over to the closet, where he pulled out his bag and set it on the foot of the bed. “You wanna get out of here?” he asked, praying she would be okay leaving with him. It was just going to be the two of them right now, he did not care about anyone else. He wanted to be alone with Serenity. “Nico’s mate, Jenna, dropped off some clothes for you to wear. They should work until we can go shopping.”

  “Really? Just like that?” Serenity asked with a hopeful look on her face. He pulled some clothes out of his bag and tossed them to her. Excitedly jumping out of bed, Serenity turned away from Phoenix to put the clothes on. That’s when Phoenix got the first glimpse of her tattoo. “Wait,” he told her as he stared at her back in stunned silence. She looked over her shoulder at him, but did not say a word when she saw where he was looking. She pulled her hair up over her shoulder and bowed her head. Covering most of Serenity’s back was the most beautiful tattoo Phoenix had ever seen. It was a tattoo of a brightly colored phoenix in orange, red, yellow and blue. The artist that had put it on her was a rock star. Phoenix was a bit jealous. He didn’t think he could have drawn a better one if he tried. Reaching out, he traced the tattoo from the top of its head down to the last feather that flowed right above her tailbone. Absolutely magnificent.

  Turning her to face him, Phoenix reached up and removed the phoenix necklace from around his neck and put it on Serenity. “So beautiful,” he whispered. “Mine.”

  Serenity smiled up at him and pulled him in for a quick kiss. Not bothering to turn around for privacy, she started dressing. The jeans were a bit big around the waist and the hot pink tee shirt was snug in the chest, but Phoenix thought she was sexy as hell. He didn’t know how long he was going to be able to keep his no-sex-until-he-got-to-know-her-better rule. Hopefully, at least until he got her home. Then two thoughts entered his lust-filled mind. First, he probably should not take her back to the condo. It might not be safe. The second was Hunter. He hated to disappoint Serenity when she looked so excited, but he could not just leave the compound without checking on Hunter.

  A few weeks ago RARE raided a facility in Mexico that was holding two women and three children. Hunter, a young bear shifter, had attached to Phoenix right away and had become his little sidekick until Phoenix found out about Serenity. At that moment, he had basically forgotten about Hunter. He needed to check on him before he would be able to concentrate on his mate.

  Slipping his arms around Serenity, he quietly explained Hunter to her. “I have to go see him, Beauty. I’m sorry, but I feel like I have neglected him. He trusted me and I let him down.”

  Reaching up, Serenity trailed a hand from the top of his head down to cup his cheek. “You are the sweetest badass I have ever met, Phoenix...what is your last name?”

  He burst out laughing. “Madison,” he told her. “Phoenix Madison.”

  She blushed and smacked him lightly on the arm. “Well, when have I had a chance to ask that question?”

  “What’s yours?” Phoenix asked still laughing. Serenity grew quiet and stepped back. Turning away, she grabbed Phoenix’s bag and turned to leave. “We better go check on Hunter before you lose hero status,” she said over her shoulder as she walked out. Phoenix stood watching her walk away, but decided to just go with it for now. He would talk to her later when they were alone, and she would tell him what was going on. He would prove to her that she could trust him. No one was ever going to harm her again. Phoenix would protect her from anyone and anything; he would always be there for her.

  Chapter 19

  Serenity wanted to kick herself. She had no idea why she had acted like that with Phoenix. She had no reason not to trust him; but old habits die hard. Serenity had been running for so long, that she did not know how to stop. She almost gave him the last name she had been using when the General kidnapped her, but she could not lie to Phoenix. She would not have a relationship based on lies.

  Stopping at the hospital exit, Serenity waited for Phoenix to catch up with her. “Campbell,” she whispered to him as he stood beside her. “My last name is Campbell.”

  Phoenix grasped her hand, kissing her knuckles. “Now it’s Madison,” was all he said. Smiling shyly, Serenity peered up at him between the hair that had fallen forward to cover her face. “Serenity Madison. It has a nice ring to it.” He placed a kiss on the top of her head, hugging her closely. Smiling, they turned as one and walked out into the sunshine.

  Serenity loved to be outside, but the General had never allowed it. Not only were the women required to stay inside the building; they were rarely allowed to leave their room. Feeling the sun on her face was heaven. To walk out, feel the sun shining down on her, and know that she was free was one of the best feelings in the world. Serenity was oblivious to the slight chill in the air. To her, the day, the weather, it was perfect.

  “I’ve been staying with my friend Nico and his mate Jenna,” Phoenix said, “But I have a condo in town where we can stay for privacy. I’m going to be honest with you, though, I don’t feel comfortable taking you out of the compound. As much as I want to take you home with me, I have a feeling this is not over. The General is going to come after you and Jade.”

  “You want to leave me here?” whispered Serenity, the distress obvious in her voice. Phoenix looked at her in confusion. “Why would I leave you here? I’m sta
ying with you, Serenity. Where you are, I am with you. We just need to figure out where that is going to be.”

  Serenity took a deep breath. What was wrong with her? Of course he wasn’t going to leave her. She was his mate and he took that seriously. She knew that, but for a second her insecurities surfaced and she worried Phoenix was going to leave her at the compound. Leave her alone to fend for herself and that scared her. Wait, Phoenix kept mentioning the compound. What was the compound anyway? Serenity had quite a few questions, but those would have to wait. They had a little boy to see first.

  Phoenix reached out and took his bag from her grasp, throwing it over one of his wide shoulders. Reaching down he grabbed her hand and tugged her down the stairs and through the hospital gardens. Serenity breathed in deeply as they walked. There were so many different smells in the air, but her favorite one was the scent of her mate.

  Taking another deep breath, she held his scent inside her as long as she could. Finally she had to exhale. She saw the looks Phoenix was getting and it was pissing her off. Her wolf wanted her to grab him and mark him. To show all the bitches walking around the compound that he was hers and they should back off. However, Serenity knew all of his attention was on her. His gaze had not strayed. That soothed her wolf somewhat, and put a smile on Serenity’s face.

  Soon, she would claim Phoenix, and everyone would know he was hers. There was just a little biting and a lot of sex that needed to happen first, then it would become official. She was claiming her mate tonight, and they were not going to be quiet about it. There was no way they could stay at Nico’s and Jenna’s with Hunter there.

  Walking up the sidewalk to the small cottage style house, Serenity tried to think of a plan. They could not stay here, but they could not go to Phoenix’s condo. She had no idea where they were now. And seriously, what the hell was the compound? Why did they call it that? It sounded like one of those cult places where people went and drank the red Kool Aid to die. Maybe she should get answers to some of her questions sooner rather than later.