An agonizing howl broke the still of the night, and she didn’t stop there. Louis staggered, shaking his head. Before he could recover, she struck him several more times until he’d fallen to the ground, high-pitched yelps ringing in her ears.
“I hate you, I hate you, I hate, you!” She continued beating the beast, never seeing that Nicholas had shifted into his human form until a strong arm captured her wrist. Spinning her around and disarming her, he tossed the bat aside.
“You’re no murderer Pearl.” He placed a hot palm on the side of her cheek as her anger turned to relief. Sobbing, she doubled over, slowly falling to the floor. Nicholas captured her in his arms, falling to the floor with her shaking in his arms. “I’ve got you now, darling.” He whispered. “Fuck, you’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine. Are you alright?” She asked while clutching Nicholas in her grasp and checking for other wounds. They’d come so far, and she couldn’t afford to lose him, not to some senseless one-night stand she’d forgotten about.
“It’ll heal, darling. But you—need medical attention. That adrenaline will wear off soon.”
He went out into the kitchen, returned with a dishtowel and wrapped it around her arm.
“I don’t feel anything. I’m fine.”
“You’re so damned stubborn, woman,” he chastised softly.
Still angry, she picked up the bat and threw it at the barely breathing wolf who’d slowly shifted into his human form.
“Let Raven’s Falls police force do their job,” Nicholas, hugged her tight, stroking her hair. “Oh God, I came so close to losing you.” He whispered, burying his nose in her mussed up hair. “Pearl?” He released her, looking deep into her eyes with a serious gaze.
She thought for sure he’d dump her after placing him in harm’s way. “Yes Nicholas?”
“Did you know you have shitty taste in men?”
“Oh, you ass.” She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, but all she could do was nudge him. “Your sense of humor, priceless.” She sputtered against his chest. She felt the deep rumble of his chest as he laughed uncontrollably, until he grimaced from his
wounds.
* * *
Minutes later, Officers Matriano and Shapiro and two others had taken Louis into
custody.
“Cover him up and get him to the hospital,” Officer Shapiro instructed. “No one wants to see that.” Shaking his head, he turned to Pearl. “Ms Gordon, is this the perp who broke into your house a few months ago?”
She nodded as a medic bandaged her arm. “Yes. He admitted he broke in.”
“How do you know him?” Officer Shapiro asked.
“I met Louis while vacationing in Cancun,” she admitted.
Officer Shapiro stroked his chin. “Any particular reason why he’d want to harass you the way he has?”
Exhaling slowly, Pearl glanced at Nicholas. Reassuringly, he rubbed her back and
nodded. “We dated for one night and I called it off the next morning.” Clearing her
throat, she stiffened beneath both officers’ gazes. “Don’t judge me.” She leaned against Nicholas.
Clearing his throat, Officer Shapiro continued writing. “Ms. Gordon, I wish you’d told us this the first time he broke into your house. We would have been able to run a check on him then. Your one-night stand could have very well cost you your life. You had no clue he’s wanted in two different states outside of Raven’s Falls for rape and murder, did you?
A chill slithered up her spine. “No, I didn’t and I’d forgotten all about him.” She closed her eyes, sending up a prayer of thanks that she was still breathing. She relaxed when Nicholas tightened an arm around her and gently stroked her hair.
“Do I need to come down to the station?” Pearl asked.
“Hospital first,” Nicholas intervened.
“Yes. You’ll have to press charges after you go to the hospital. You really should have that bite looked at. Between the charges here and his outstanding warrants, he’ll be put away for a long time.”
“How’d he get into Raven’s Falls?” Nicholas asked. “This town is protected by spells and charms.”
“Dunno.” Officer Matriano shrugged. “Perhaps you should take that up with Gypsy Rose and her uncle Corey. The witch council is holding a meeting downtown next week. In all honesty, she’s been getting pretty sloppy lately and I’m starting to worry. Between the rash of break in’s we’ve been having and now this. It’s hard to tell what will happen next.”
“Gypsy Rose has dedicated her life to providing a safe habitat for shifters and other beings tired of hiding their true nature in the human world. Her ancestor, Clara Rose founded this town. She’d never let anything like that happen,” Pearl told them.
“Oh?” Officer Shapiro grunted. “Perhaps you should read your local paper. I don’t know how safe this town will be in a few years. Well folks, we’ve got to go. Remember what I said. Come down to the station, file the papers and we’ll do the rest.” He extended a hand.
“Thank you,” Pearl shook his hand.
Nicholas escorted the officers out. “Look at that, we’ve managed to attract a small crowd, honey.”
“Well, nothing like that usually happens around here.” She frowned. “The sudden rash of robberies, people slipping into the town. I don’t know what to make of it.” She admitted.
“I’m just glad we caught Louis, now come on woman. Let’s go to the hospital, you’re
going to need some painkillers.”
Epilogue
Several months later, Nicholas and Pearl packed up the last of her belongings before packing the boxes neatly into her car. Pearl folded her arms as she looked at the empty living room. The movers had handled hauling out the larger furniture a few days ago. She decided to put her plan of renting the house out to a newlywed couple who’d contacted her via her website.
Nicholas slipped beside her, pulling her close. “Time to move on,” he whispered into her ear before tugging at the lobe with his teeth.
“Yes,” she smiled and hugged him. “I’m just saying goodbye to some old ghosts.”
“Change is good and you’ve been here for twenty or more years, woman. I’ll meet you
outside, okay?” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before turning on his heel to
leave.
“Sure.”
Pearl sighed as she looked around her living room. Peace radiated throughout her body.
She smiled as she walked from the living room to the dining room and through the
kitchen. She paused to look out at the back yard. After building a relationship with Nicholas for the past couple of months, she’d felt confident enough about their decision to live together in the single-family home on Ravenshire Blvd.
When he’d asked, she didn’t give it a second thought. She and Nicholas had established a strong bond. For the first time in her life, she had no fears or worry of what the future would bring.
She glided her fingers over the marble counters before strolling down the hallway
towards the front door. Standing where the gold plated mirror once hung, she turned and gave the house one final look.
“Goodbye,” she whispered with a smile as she opened the door. She glanced out to see Nicholas leaning against his truck. When he spotted her, he smiled and blew her a kiss.
Excitement rushed through her as she closed the door and locked it.
The End
I hope you’ve enjoyed Pearl’s Protector. I plan to bring these characters back in later series. The next book in this series is called Raven & the Rose, Gypsy Rose and Storm Raventhorn’s story.
About Charisma
Charisma Knight lives in the Maryland area with her youngest daughter and her soul
mate. You'll discover her stories are a mixture of erotica and erotic romance that contain a wild edge with a little fantasy sprinkled throughout. If you're an avid reader of
Charisma's stories, don't be shy—she loves to
receive e-mails from readers. You may
contact her at [email protected]
Websites: www.charismaknight.com
www.charismaknight.yolasite.com
Blog: http://charismaknight.blogspot.com/
Charisma’s stories can be found at
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Charisma Knight&search-alias=digital-text
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Charisma+Knig ht
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/charisma-knight?dref=53
Document Outline
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. This is a work of fiction. All references to real places, people, or events are coincidental, and if not coincidental, are used fictitiously. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only.
Dedication
Table of Contents
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print witho
Dedication
o 90a29c48d0ad7f81 Page 6
