“I run a bakery near the casino,” she told him, surprising herself. She shouldn’t be giving him information and inviting conversation. Damn it, she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“Margery’s Bakery? That’s you. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it from the supernatural community. I always thought the way you keep your hours was smart.”
It was silly, but she actually blushed at his words. At least the interior was dark enough that he wouldn’t be able to tell. She opened her bakery right after sunset and kept it open until ten in the morning. She got the supernatural community, the casino crowds leaving early in the morning and during spring break and summer months, she snagged tons of business. Considering most of the pack kept night hours it was perfect for her schedule. “Thanks.”
As she pulled into one of the empty parking spots Rex cleared his throat almost nervously. “Would you like to go on a date one evening this week?”
The sweet way he asked took her off guard as much as the question. “Ah, thank you but I’m going to pass.” She was damn well going to force her wolf into submission. Before he could respond she’d unstrapped her seatbelt and was out of the Jeep. By the time she’d rounded the vehicle to Sarah’s side, Rex was out and leaning against the passenger door—effectively blocking Margery from helping her sleeping packmate out.
There was a gleam in his eyes she couldn’t define as he watched her. Even though she was tall, she had to tip her head back to look at him. His crisp, earthy scent was driving her crazy. “Are you saying no because I’m a vampire? Because I can scent your desire. I didn’t at first, but I can now. Clearly.” There was a sexy edge to his words that sent a shiver down her spine. And his expression was so full of wicked promises it was all she could do not to melt into him.
She flushed at his words, not bothering to deny what she felt. But it didn’t matter what her wolf wanted. She wrapped her arms around herself, then realized it pushed her breasts up more. Quickly she dropped them when his gaze strayed to her cleavage, his eyes softly glowing. “Yes, it’s because you’re a vampire and before you push me…”
She took a deep breath, getting ready to tell him something she almost never talked about. But with the way he was clearly ready to pursue her, she knew she needed to give him a solid reason to back off. Dominant males in the supernatural world were like that. “When I was a cub, about sixteen, I was ambushed by four vampires. The world was different then.” 1814 had been utter chaos, with British soldiers having just burned down the White House. “I think you’re older than me so I’m sure you remember. Long story short, I was packless at the time and unprotected. They would have gang-raped me if I hadn’t shifted to my wolf. Since they couldn’t carry out what they intended, they decided to nearly beat me to death instead. So, I don’t date vampires.”
He didn’t respond, just sucked in a sharp breath as she nudged him out of the way. With shaking hands she managed to rouse Sarah enough to help her out of the vehicle. Margery didn’t bother looking back at Rex as she walked Sarah up to the complex. She knew her words would have made everything clear to him and that he wouldn’t bother pursuing her.
Margery knew it was stupid to let something from her youth affect her so many years later, but some things were imprinted on your psyche, especially things that happened when you were young. It didn’t matter that her wolf wanted him, her human side felt too vulnerable around vampires and that was never going to change. She’d never really cared about that. Until now. Rex brought up the strangest sensation in her that her wolf didn’t want to deny. And if she was being honest, the most feminine part of her didn’t want to deny either.
* * *
Rex watched Margery walk away, using all his willpower to restrain himself from going after her. Her words had been like silver knives clawing over his bare skin. Trying to talk to her now wouldn’t do any good. What could he say? Don’t blame me for something four monsters did. No. He needed to show her that he was different.
The thought of her vulnerable, injured…fuck. It sliced him up, the need to destroy whoever had hurt her building up inside him with a surprising vengeance. This type of protectiveness was new, but he embraced it. Even if he didn’t quite understand it. Once she was safely within the confines of the complex, he turned and headed for the gate. He scented a couple shifters nearby but didn’t bother asking anyone to open the gate for him.
He jumped it, then glanced around. Whereas the casino was perpetually busy, there weren’t any humans out near the complex around this time of night. And he had just a few hours left before sunrise to find that rogue youth he’d been hunting. He already had a lead on the male and would have gone after him directly after speaking to Grant, but the need to be near Margery had been overwhelming.
And still was.
Using his gift of speed, he raced back to the casino where he’d left his SUV. Normally he preferred his bike, but when bounty hunting, he always took his SUV. The back section was soundproofed and he’d made it into a virtual prison for transporting vampires. If anyone opened the hatch they’d see a silver-lined, impenetrable box. The headrest was a cotton pillow. He might be bringing them back for sentencing but he wasn’t cruel. He had his prisoners dress in clothing that covered their entire bodies to protect them from the silver and the box was big enough that they had space to be semi-comfortable. But the silver interior guaranteed they wouldn’t be able to escape.
The drive to his destination near the main highway was quicker than he’d expected, but it was late and most people in Gulf Shores stayed near the beach. The place he was heading to was strictly a paranormal hangout. Just a bed and breakfast owned by a vampire—that Grant knew about since it was technically in his territory—that supernatural beings stayed at when they were passing through. It wasn’t as if they advertised, but the supernatural community talked and Rex had tailed more than one rogue vamp from this place. As he turned down a quiet, dusty makeshift-road lined with a cow pasture on one side and a pecan tree orchard on the other, he rolled down his window a fraction and listened intently.
Once he reached the end of the road, he pulled off onto a grassy patch near the fence on the cow pasture side and slipped out. He’d disabled his dome light, but he was still preternaturally quiet.
Moving with a burst of supernatural speed, he raced down the rest of the dusty road until he reached a small, white gate and fence surrounding a two-story brick home. Without pause he jumped the small, three-foot gate and only stopped once he was on the front of the wraparound porch.
Pressing his back against the brick wall near the front door, he listened and could hear four distinct voices inside. One female—Charmaine, the owner—and three males. Rex instantly recognized Stanley’s arrogant voice from a video he’d watched. The vampire who Stanley had stolen from had taken the youth in and given him a place to live, tried to teach him a work ethic, but the foolish male had stolen from his new leader instead and run. Soon he would pay for his crimes.
After circling the home and checking the outlying areas for any more supernatural beings, Rex returned to the front door. It would be sunrise soon enough and he was tired of this hunt so he decided to go for the direct approach. Instead of storming in and destroying Charmaine’s home, he knocked on the front door.
Everything went silent so he called out, “Charmaine, make yourself scarce. Stanley, come outside and make this easy on yourself. You can’t run forever.”
For one long moment silence reigned but then there was a flurry of movement inside. Rex heard Charmaine mutter dumbass before there was a crash and breaking of glass from the back of the house.
On another burst of speed, Rex rounded the house and raced after the vampire dashing across the land behind the house. The nearly full moon and stars above gave him plenty of guidance, though he didn’t need it with his night vision. Charmaine owned this pecan orchard but it wouldn’t give enough cover for the rogue vamp to hide for long.
As Stanley neared a big pecan tree he look
ed over his shoulder and brought something up in his hand.
A gun.
The sight of it enraged Rex, his vision going red. How pathetic, using a modern weapon. He dodged to the right as a bullet whizzed past his head. It made a soft sound as it embedded in a tree trunk. Using the trees as cover, he followed the obnoxiously loud—clearly untrained vamp—by sound alone.
“I don’t want to hurt you, man!” Stanley shouted.
Rex measured the distance using his senses. Maybe fifty yards to his right. He flew past three giant trees spread out evenly in the orchard, closing in. Only twenty five yards to go now.
“Listen, I’m sorry. We can work this out. I’ll cut you in on what I took.” Stanley’s voice was whiny and shaky now.
Even more pathetic. First he actually shoots at me, then tries to bribe me. Whoever had turned Stanley should be staked. Vampires used to be more discerning when they turned a human.
Rex headed in the direction Stanley had called out from, slowing when he neared a huge pecan tree on the very edge of the orchard. He knew Stanley thought he had the upper hand, but Rex could scent him.
Feigning that he was looking around, he used all the strength in his legs and jumped high into the air in a fluid movement. Stanley’s eyes widened as Rex landed on the branch next to him. The rogue started to raise his weapon-wielding hand but Rex grabbed his wrist and squeezed, breaking Stanley’s bones. The gun fell from his fingers as he screamed, tumbling to the grassy earth below.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you that stealing was wrong?” Rex asked as he wrapped his fingers around Stanley’s neck. He squeezed tight, making his point clear; try to run and I’ll rip your head off. He didn’t need to say the words for the dumbass to understand. “We’re going to jump down then head back to my SUV. Then you’re going to come with me and pay back all the money you stole.” And likely be tortured for a while, but that wasn’t Rex’s business.
Stanley’s eyes glowed a bright amber as he shook his head. Taking Rex by surprise, he punched out at the branch with his non-broken arm.
Rex went for one of his blades as the branch cracked and broke. Stanley slashed out with his claws, slicing into Rex’s forearm as the branch gave way beneath him. So amped up on adrenaline, Rex barely felt the dig into his flesh, but he let the guy go and jumped down as Stanley fell. The vamp’s arms flailed as he fell backward.
Rex’s feet hit the ground a second before Stanley did, his boots thudding softly. Stanley landed on his back and started to roll over when his eyes suddenly widened, going bright amber before he turned to ash.
What the hell?
Spine tingling, Rex crouched low, backing up toward the tree as he scanned the area for more threats. Using all his senses it took less than ten seconds for him to realize he was alone. A couple cows made groaning sounds about a hundred yards away but there were no people—human or supernatural—in the direct vicinity.
He waited another thirty seconds before moving from the tree and crouching next to the pile of ash. Three sharp branches stuck straight up in the air like blades. One of them must have punctured Stanley’s heart.
Talk about an unlucky fall. Shaking his head at the irony of Stanley basically killing himself by trying to escape, he gathered the male’s clothes and weapons. He’d send them back to the vamp who’d hired him and receive eighty percent of his payment. Normally he’d be pissed when one of his hunted died because he didn’t receive the full payment. Now…he didn’t need to leave anytime soon. Which meant he could spend all his time courting Margery.
Chapter 3
Rex tried to appear casual as he sat on Grant’s couch, waiting for the alpha to get off the phone with whatever packmate he was talking to. All he wanted to do was go see Margery, but knew he needed to speak with Grant first. There always seemed to be a crisis, which was pretty normal for shifter packs or vampire covens. If he agreed to join Grant’s pack—and he couldn’t believe that he was actually contemplating it—he figured that was something he’d have to get used to.
As he leaned back against the leather couch, Talia walked into the room smelling like sand and salt. Her hair was damp and her black bathing suit straps were visible. “Hey, Rex. How long have you been here?”
“Just a few minutes.”
“He shouldn’t be too long.” She stood there watching him curiously but didn’t say anything.
He shifted against the seat. “Are you working tonight?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m not at the bar anymore anyway.”
“Right.” He knew that. She’d been in school for marine sciences or something before. She must have finished her Master’s degree by now. “What do you do now?”
“Aquarium curator,” she said almost absently before continuing. “So, what’s up with you and Margery?”
He wasn’t taking the bait. “An aquarium curator? That sounds interesting.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and flopped down on the couch across from him. “Come on. Sarah said you two were hot for each other. I want details. We haven’t had anything exciting happen around here for almost three months.”
“I’m surprised Sarah can remember any of last night.”
“Oh, she does and she said you two stunk with an overdose of hormones. She also—”
“Talia.” Grant sounded mildly annoyed as he strode into the room, phone-free. “I need to talk to Rex. You can stay, but no pack gossip talk.”
She let out an over-exaggerated sigh as she stood and brushed her lips over Grant’s. “See ya later, Rex,” she tossed over her shoulder as she left the room.
Once she was upstairs and Rex could hear the shower running, Grant finally sat across from him. The room was definitely masculine, with furniture made of leather and sturdy wood. Some of it Rex recognized as being antique and worth a fortune. He could also see Talia’s feminine touches. And not just in the décor. He could see it in his friend. The alpha was still tough as hell but he didn’t seem as edgy. Or lonely.
“She’s good for you,” Rex murmured, glad for his friend.
Grant’s eyebrows rose a fraction in clear surprise. He nodded, but didn’t comment. “Have you given my offer any thought?”
Rex liked that he didn’t have to bullshit with the alpha. The male always got straight to the point. “What exactly are you offering, because I’m not a beta.” And he never would be. It just wasn’t his personality.
Grant snorted. “You think Max and Asher have beta personalities?”
The corners of Rex’s mouth lifted. Grant’s second-in-command and cousin were definitely not beta males. “No, but…yeah, okay. I get what you’re saying.” He’d never say it, but Rex believed Asher was strong enough to have his own pack. But from what he knew of the male, he didn’t think Asher wanted the responsibility. “So why me? Why a vampire? And…why now?”
Grant leaned forward a fraction, his expression unreadable. “First, I trust you. And the fact that you’re a vampire is a plus. As far as the timing…” He paused and Rex could tell he was searching for the right words. The alpha wasn’t known for being delicate so he wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Finally he let out a small sigh. “Times are changing. Over the last year we’ve seen more rogue vampires entering our territory. Their stay is short-lived.” He gave a dark smile, his wolf clear in his gaze for a moment. “But sooner or later the shit will hit the fan and the wrong vamp will end up getting killed in my territory. Whether it’s a justified kill or not, you know as well as I do that if a coven leader is looking for a war, anything could set it off. But if you’re part of my pack and either mete out the kill or support us…” He trailed off, shrugging, letting Rex fill in the rest.
The male’s foresight was what made him a good alpha. Rex had never wanted to settle down until recently. About a year ago to be exact. He felt as if he’d been roaming around aimlessly for so damn long, never fitting in anywhere. Certainly not with his own kind. When he’d run into Grant a year ago, it’d been good t
o see the alpha—even when the male had punched him in the face for taking Talia out. “The thought is surprisingly appealing.”
Grant’s mouth quirked up in that obnoxious alpha way of his.
“I will not be submissive.”
Grant snorted. “I don’t want that. You’re powerful and a good ally and you’ll never be a threat to take over the pack since you’re not a shifter. We’ll never have a power struggle in the sense that matters to my wolf.”
Rex nodded, understanding. He could literally never be alpha of a shifter pack because he was a vampire. No wolves would ever follow him—and it wasn’t in his temperament to be a leader of a group anyway. “Would I live within the compound?” He was still trying to wrap his head around the possibility.
“I would prefer you did. There’s an empty place right next to Margery’s.” Grant’s voice was deadpan, but Rex knew the mention of the beautiful wolf was intentional. “Wherever you reside, we can make changes so it’s suitable for your sleeping needs.”
Grant’s pack lived and worked vampire hours so it wouldn’t be that difficult to fit in with their pack life. “Why did you send me with the females last night?”
The alpha frowned, possibly picking up on the edginess in Rex. “I saw the way you looked at Margery.”
Rex gritted his teeth, not liking that he’d been that transparent. But more than that, his presence had distressed Margery and that made him more than edgy. “She was hurt by my kind. You should have told me. If I’d known I’d have never ridden in the backseat. My presence had to have made her feel vulnerable.”
Saving His Mate (A vampire-werewolf romance) Page 2
