The Vampire Prince’s Bride

by T. S. Ryder

Besides, it's different for non-shifters. They need time to decide who they want to be with for their whole lives. And even if they didn't, this is the second time in two days she nearly died. She isn't thinking clearly. And neither am I. Buck is dead. Or have you forgotten?

  His heart clenched. Joseph didn't make friends easily, especially outside of the shifter clans. Buck had given him unconditional friendship. To even consider sleeping with Ana only hours after Buck died would be as good as spitting on his grave.

  Thankfully, his Bear didn't argue anymore. Joseph scanned the trees, alert for danger. He hadn't been outside very long when he heard Ana staggering out to join him. He resisted the urge to turn and scoop her into his arms and take her back inside. He did, however, put a frown on his face and crossed his arms.

  "You're going to injure your leg even worse if you don't go back inside."

  "We don't have time to sit around. I've wasted enough time already." Ana shook her head, leaning against the cave wall for support. "We need to get back to the city so we can find Seth. Clearly, the assassin wasn't working alone and if we get to the office, I can give you the documents I collected on anti-shifter groups that have been threatening us."

  The senator. Joseph sighed. There was really only one reason he could think of why the intruders would take him alive, and it wasn't pretty. In the old days, shifters were often tortured into shifting and then killed; they were then skinned and their hides hung up as warning to others. While there wasn't any one particular group that was saying they should recreate that sort of thing, the fact was that Fischer had been taken to send a message of shifters. The only way it would end was with the senator dead and his corpse made a spectacle of.

  "Well?" Ana flinched every time she took a step, but she started to hobble into the forest. "Are you coming or not?"

  Mate her. His Bear's voice was louder than ever before and Joseph felt it clawing at him, trying to emerge.

  He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. The Beast never learned, it seemed. But he did go to her and pick her up. She felt so right in his arms. She yelped, her eyes widening. Then narrowing when he turned back into cave.

  "Hey! We can't just leave Seth in the hands of those killers!"

  "Miss Medina, I hate to tell you this, but he's probably already dead."

  Ana stilled. She turned her face away, shaking her head hard. "No. I heard them, they wanted him alive. Why would they want him alive just to kill him later?"

  "To make a spectacle of it."

  His heart clenched as a silver tear ran down her cheek. Her big beautiful lips–her devil-red lipstick had been wiped away, but they were just as pretty without it–trembled. She shook her head again. He hated seeing her so sad but didn't know what to do.

  His Bear, thankfully, kept its suggestions to itself.

  Joseph settled her back down on the cave floor, in the nest of blankets he had made for her earlier. His hand moved to smooth her silky honey-dyed hair from her face before he stopped himself and instead clenched his hand at his side. What was wrong with him? He needed to remain calm and professional, not go all gooey.

  "We have a bigger problem, Ana." There was no harm in calling her by her first name, especially when he was trying to keep her calm. And that was all he was doing.

  Yeah… sure it is.

  Joseph ground his teeth. It would be a miracle if he had any teeth left at the end of this.

  Ana narrowed her eyes at him, folding her arms across her chest. The shifter fought not to notice how it plumped her breasts, turning the hint of cleavage at her neckline to an all-out feast for the eyes. He wondered what her skin would taste like…

  Quickly he got to his feet and stalked away, furious at himself. Why couldn't he control his instincts?

  "What is it?" Ana snapped, clearly taking offense to his reaction.

  "The safe house was attacked, which means that somebody tipped them off to your location. There was a cop inside who turned against us." And killed Buck. Joseph swallowed hard. "But I knew him. He was not the kind of guy who had the guts to turn against his fellow cops without backup from within. That means there has to be at least one person, probably a superior, who is also part of the anti-shifter group. I have no idea who that might be. But if he's in a high enough position, he can easily blame you and me for that attack."

  Ana's jaw dropped. "What? How? We had nothing—"

  "We fled the scene. And some of the gunmen saw me shift. They'd love to blame this on another shifter. We can't go back, not until I find out more. We can't risk getting arrested."

  He expected Ana to be angry or afraid, but after a moment where a dozen emotions flitted over her face, she straightened. Her hand lightly tracing the bandage on her thigh, she nodded. She looked utterly calm, her gaze steady. This was a woman who could stay cool under pressure and Joseph once again had to resist the urge to kiss her.

  "So what do we do now? We can't just hang out here, as lovely as it is here. If Seth is dead, I can't let his legacy die with him. Shifters deserve the full protection of the law and the right to be able to be treated with the respect that everyone else—" she cut herself off, chewing on her lower lip. "I'm preaching to the choir, aren't I?"

  Joseph returned to her side. "It's refreshing to meet somebody this passionate about shifter rights," he admitted. "Someone who is willing to make the effort and do the work. Even my own parents prefer not to talk about it. They have a 'if we don't bother them, they won't bother us' philosophy. It didn't stop my mother from having her medical license revoked when one of her patients found out she could shift into a vampire bat. They accused her of drinking their blood, which is ridiculous. My mother is a strict vegan."

  Ana's eyes widened. "What about your father?"

  "Bear, like me." He shook his head. Talking about his parents right now wasn't the best thing to do. It made him miss home, when he needed to focus on the situation at hand. How will I tell them Buck is dead? "I need to get you to a safe place where you can keep a low profile while I continue to investigate. There are safe houses, but they're the first places a dirty cop would look."

  "I know of a place."

  Ana began chewing her lip again. It made Joseph want to lay her down and kiss every part of her body. He focused on her eyes instead. She looked hesitant like she wasn't sure it was the best idea.

  "Well?" he prompted.

  "Well… you're going to have to pretend to be my boyfriend."

  Chapter Five

  The minute the door opened, Ana was dragged into a hurricane of hugs and kisses. Her mother pinched her cheeks, declared her too thin and demanded to know how long it had been since she ate. Ana smiled, letting her mother fawn over her while answering the questions the best she could.

  Her mother was an excitable woman, who pretty much lived in her own dream world where nothing could go wrong, but when Ana embraced her father, she could tell by the tension in his shoulders that he had seen the news. She sighed. He was going to want to talk about it, but she wasn't sure what to say.

  "Where's Sophie?" Ana glanced around, looking for her sister. "I thought she had moved back home until work picked up."

  "Pfft!" Her mother threw her hands into the air. "That sister of yours. She's decided to move to Hollywood!"

  "She got a part on a TV show there," her father added.

  "When she comes back pregnant and homeless, you'll see I was right." Mrs. Medina glared at her husband for a moment before turning to Joseph, who was standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. Ana's mother looked him up and down for a long moment, a frown on her face. "Well, I can certainly see why my Ana finds you sexy."

  Ana felt blood rush to her face and she ducked her head. "Mama!"

  "When was the last time you ate? A big man like you needs proper food." Ana's mother shook her head and tutted. "You should have told me he was a giant, Ana. I'll have to cook twice as much food!"

  But the little woman still threw her arms around Joseph and kissed his cheek. Th
e detective's eyes widened. They bugged out a little more when Ana's father also embraced him. Ana couldn't help but think it was adorable, the way such a big strong man would look so awkward from getting hugs. But her family was very hands-on and not everybody was used to that.

  Ana intended to have a private word with her father about the shooting, to reassure him that she was fine, but her mother never left her alone long enough. Fortunately, she also insisted that Ana spend most of the time off her feet (because she looked like she was about to fall over due to hunger, apparently) and so her injured leg didn't give her any problems. The cut was stiff and painful, but she had adjusted to it quickly. Better than a gunshot.

  After a long day, Ana and Joseph were hustled off to bed while her mother continued puttering around the house. Given the events of the past few days, Ana was grateful. She was exhausted and wasn't sure how much more of her mother's energy she could take.

  "Why are we sharing a room?" Joseph asked stiffly when they were alone.

  Ana's heart sunk a little, though she tried to remind herself that she wasn't interested in Joseph and so had no reason to be upset because he didn't want to go to bed with her.

  "My family isn't prudish," she told him. "And we're supposed to be a couple, remember? It's a big bed, we'll be fine as long as you stay on your side."

  He shoved his hands into his pockets and scowled.

  "So what do we do now? Not even my father would be able to hide it from Mama if Seth was found dead, so there is a chance he's still alive."

  "There may be," Joseph admitted. "But we are doing nothing. You are staying here where you will be safe and I am going to find out who in the precinct wants the senator dead. A conspiracy isn't the place for a PA, no matter how smart she is."

  Ana's eyes narrowed. He was trying to get rid of her again? Well, that wasn't going to happen. At least he wasn't pretending she was too stupid for the job. "We can start with the threat groups, see if there are any connections to the police in your precinct."

  "There is no we," he snarled.

  She ignored his attitude and walked to the computer on the far side of the room. She didn't get home very often, but when she did, she always used the desktop PC. The keyboard fit her fingers better. She booted up the computer, glad that she had had the sense to keep it updated to the newest models on the market.

  "What are you doing?" Joseph asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. He pulled off his shoes, tossing them aside.

  "Pick those up," she ordered. "Mama will trip over them tomorrow."

  "Why would she be coming into the room before we're dressed again?"

  "Because she has boundary issues."

  Joseph groaned.

  Ana stared at the loading screen, trying not to notice how her pulse was beating or how dry her mouth was. Or the fact that she could hear the whisper of fabric against skin as Joseph took off his shirt. Maybe sharing a bed wasn't such a good idea after all… Clearing her throat, she pulled up the internet as soon as she could and began typing furiously.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I keep detailed records about all the threats the senator gets on my work computer. I'm just hacking into it so we can have an idea of who to look for."

  "How many times—"

  "Fine. So I have an idea of who to look for."

  A brief pause. "You aren't planning on going after them on your own."

  "You aren't going to help me," Ana replied coolly.

  "These people killed my partner. I'm not going to let them kill you, too."

  "I'm not going to give up on Seth, not when he might still be alive."

  Joseph made a strangled noise. He shook his head, but joined her at the computer, pulling over a stuffed chair so he could sit beside her. "Fine. We will go after them, but I will be the one to confront them and try to retrieve Seth. If–and I do mean if–we can find out who it is, I want you to stay out of this, understood? You're a PA, not a cop."

  Ana scowled but nodded, understanding that he had a point. She continued typing. "Seth asked for your captain personally," she mentioned, having just remembered. "After the shooting at the office. So if Seth trusted him, maybe we should as well."

  "Maybe."

  She had managed to hack into her work computer by that time and quickly brought up her files. She had them organized by most to least credible already, so they had a good starting point. There were several powerful groups out there that wanted to destroy shifters or, at the very least, didn't think they deserved to be treated as human.

  With Joseph sitting beside her, she closed the hack into her work computer and turned to the internet. She ran a few searches about the various members of the anti-shifter organizations. Eventually, they stumbled into a chat room that held gold. The cop that killed Buck had been there, plainly stating that he was part of the precinct investigating the attempted assassination of Senator Fischer. He disclosed enough personal information for Joseph to identify him.

  "If he wasn't already dead, I'd kill him," he muttered, eyes dark. "But there's nothing else to do about him, is there? At least not now."

  Ana put her hand on his arm, trying to comfort him.

  The detective took over the computer then. Ana read over his shoulder for a moment, but the sheer level of hatred and violence in the chatroom had her shivering and she retreated to the bed. Eventually, Joseph yawned and turned off the computer.

  He dropped his pants so he had only boxers on, and Ana’s mouth watered at the sight of his perfect abs and, when he turned to the window, his glutes. Her body urged her to drop her own pants. He retreated to the bed and laid down beside her, holding himself as stiffly as she was holding herself.

  "I have a starting point at least."

  Feeling his weight on the mattress had Ana's hands itching to reach over to him. There was a tightness between her legs and she clenched her thighs together to try to make it go away. Of course, that only made it worse… She rolled over, her back towards him.

  "Good," she whispered in a strangled voice. "Where do we go from here?"

  "I have some contacts I'll speak with tomorrow."

  Joseph reach across her–why did his sweat have to smell so good?–and turned off the light. Ana tensed. She felt the detective pull back a little further from her. It was ridiculous, after nearly dying, that the dark would still frighten her.

  "I can sleep on the floor," Joseph said as she shivered.

  "It's not that," she was quick to say, not wanting to lose his warmth beside her. Somehow feeling him near made her feel safer. "I'm just… I sleep better when there is a light on. But it's fine. I'll be fine."

  There was a brief moment of silence, then one of Joseph's huge hands began stroking her hair. His touch sent a tingling down her spine… with a sigh she moved closer, fitting herself right against his body. Safe in his arms, her eyes drifted closed.

  Chapter Six

  Leaving Ana's warmth and scent behind in the bed the next morning was pure torture, but Joseph knew he had to leave before she woke up. Not only did he need to get away from her parents' house quickly, before she could argue to come with him–or worse, actually convince him to take her along–but he didn't want her to wake up with his erection stabbing into her back. That would be too awkward to explain away.

  It had been a restless night for him, her body so near, his desire building with every second as her scent became more and more powerful in the darkness. It had taken all his strength to keep his Bear from taking over and tearing off Ana's clothes. Several times he startled from erotic dreams, fearing he had done just that, but she was sleeping peacefully in his arms every time.

  She needed her sleep. It was the only thing that kept him from waking her and trying his luck with a kiss… He thought she would be receptive, but…

  But it didn't bear thinking about. It was against police rules to sleep together plus it was overall bad taste. After everything she had been through, it would be wrong of him to take advantage of her.

&
nbsp; The night was over, anyway, and he needed to seek out a shifter support group that might have information on the anti-shifter group that mostly likely took Seth. He still thought the senator was dead, but he had to expose this group if he was going to expose the dirty cops in the precinct. If Buck was here—

  He's not.

  Joseph jumped when he opened the front door to find Ana standing right in front of him.

  "Did you really think you could sneak out without me knowing?"

  He stared at her. "How did you—"

  "I climbed out the window. Sophie used to try to sneak out all the time. I got quite adept at making it to her getaways before she did. I had to stop her from breaking Mama's heart by going to wild parties." Ana lifted her chin, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "And if you think you are going to leave without me, you have another thing coming. Either I come with you or I go to your precinct and tell them everything I know."

  Was she threatening to expose him?

  I like her, his Bear chuckled. She'll make a good mate.

  Yes, she will.

  Joseph jumped. Where had that thought come from? Not our mate.

  "Well? Which is it?" Ana put her hands on her hips.

  The detective hesitated a moment but nodded. "You can come with me. I'm not going anywhere dangerous right away."

  "Good," Ana smiled. "Now we have to say goodbye to my parents before we leave, or they'll never let me forget it."

  ***

  Apparently 'saying goodbye' meant 'staying for breakfast', but Joseph had to admit he had never had a more delicious meal in his life. He had been too nervous the previous night to eat, afraid that they would be tracked, but with the hearty pancakes and sausages that Ana's mother made for them before they left, he felt much better prepared to face the day.

  He found Tracey, the wolf shifter in charge of a shifter support group he attended, at the café she ran. It was a well-known place where shifters went for a safe haven against the prejudices in the city. The entrance also went to several other boutiques, so people on the street couldn’t see who was going into the café. It made shifters feel safer inside the quaint, cozy place.