MoonlightBundleSet

by Moonlight Protector, Hero, Guardian, Champion (mobi)

  Before the women could open the door, there was a brilliant flash of light behind them. They turned as one to behold a stunning woman with long ebony hair and violet eyes. However, her most startling feature was her wings. Yes, wings! She had large wings that looked almost like stained glass and she wore a dark purple gown. The woman stepped toward them and held her arms out to Kiera.

  “Daughter, you look lovely tonight.”

  Kiera stared at the woman with large eyes. Looking at her, there was no doubt they were related, but her mother? Could it really be? Her father had told her there was something special about her mother, but she had thought he was just saying that because of how much he had loved her. She knew her mother hadn’t been a shapeshifter, but her father had never mentioned anything about her being a fairy; he’d also neglected to mention the fact that she was still alive.

  “Mother?”

  The woman smiled. “Yes, dear heart. I am your mother.”

  Kiera hesitantly stepped into her mother’s embrace. She hugged her mother tight and breathed in her floral fragrance. She smelled of lavender and jasmine, two of Kiera’s favorite scents. Having never hugged her mother before, she didn’t want to let go.

  Taking a step back, Kiera looked into her mother’s eyes. “Why are you here? Why did you leave after I was born? And why didn’t father say anything about you being a fairy?”

  Her mother laughed. “One at a time my dear! I’m here to see you on your wedding day. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you found your life mate.”

  Kiera smiled at her. “I’m happy mother. I truly am.” Her brow puckered. “But there’s a vampire on his way here. He can’t find you here!”

  “I know. I’m the reason he was chasing you to begin with. If not for me, your blood would be pure werefox, but instead you’re only half werefox and half fairy.”

  Kiera shook her head. She wasn’t sure what to say to all of this. There was a knock on the door behind them and Marin turned to answer it. Michael was on the other side.

  “I think Gabriel is starting to get a little worried that his bride has changed her mind. The bloodsucker is outside, too.”

  Marin glanced over her shoulder. “Kiera sort of had a surprise visitor, but I think she’s about to leave. We’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  Michael gave her a questioning look and moved her aside. Nothing could have prepared him for the shock of seeing a fairy standing in their home.

  “Is she what I think she is?” Michael asked in a near whisper.

  Marin grinned at him. “That depends. Do you think she’s a fairy or Kiera’s mother?”

  Michael’s eyes grew huge. “Kiera’s mother is a fairy? Does Gabriel know about this?”

  Kiera turned to Michael. “Please don’t say anything right now Michael. The vampire doesn’t know my mother is here. It would be deadly for her if he did. And no, Gabriel doesn’t know I’m half fairy. Until a few minutes ago, I didn’t even know I was half fairy!”

  Michael nodded and closed the door. He went to give his brother, the antsy groom, the news that his bride was ready to marry him but just needed another minute. The tension visibly left Gabriel’s shoulders after being reassured that Kiera hadn’t changed her mind.

  Back in the house, Kiera and her mother said their goodbyes to one another.

  “When will I see you again, Mother?”

  “I’m not sure. This was the first time I was allowed to visit the mortal realm since having you. My punishment for falling in love with your father was to not set foot in the human world again for at least a hundred years. I was able to talk your grandfather into a short visit for your special day.”

  It was all a bit much for Kiera to take in. Her mother kissed her and in a flash of light vanished. Marin and Cassie both had stunned expressions on their faces. Kiera was fairly certain she had a deer in the headlights expression herself. It wasn’t everyday you discovered the mother you had thought was dead was really a fairy; a fairy who had been banished from the human world. Only in her life could weird things like this happen on a regular basis. First a vampire and now fairies… was Bigfoot going to show up next?

  Clearing her throat Kiera told Marin, “Well, I guess I should get outside to my groom.”

  The women lined up at the door, with Cassie and Marin in front. Cassie’s daughter had been unable to be a flower girl because she had woken up with chicken pox that morning. All in all, everything else was perfect. The florist had done a terrific job; the caterer had created a fabulous buffet out in the yard complete with round tables and chairs; and her best friend had been flown in that morning. And did she mention that her groom was the most perfect man on the planet? Weirdness aside, it was a perfect evening.

  As Cassie and Marin started down the back stairs to the yard, a quartet started playing the wedding march. Cassie and Matt had truly thought of every little detail. Their thoughtfulness touched Kiera. She made her way to Gabriel’s side. When she was finally by his side, she gave him a watery smile. She was fighting tears of happiness, but she could tell by Gabriel’s expression that he thought she was upset. Grabbing his hand, she squeezed his fingers in reassurance.

  The minister started the service. Everything passed in a bit of a blur. Kiera was happy to be joining her life to Gabriel’s, but the vampire in the crowd made her a little nervous. Just because he had said he would leave her alone if she married the alpha, didn’t mean that he would keep his word. She wasn’t sure how honorable vampires were. Anyone who lived off the death of others probably shouldn’t be trusted.

  At the end of the service, the minister declared them husband and wife.

  “You may kiss the bride,” he told Gabriel with a smile.

  Gabriel bent his head to Kiera’s and kissed her softly on the lips. “You look beautiful tonight.”

  She smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

  As they turned to face their guests, the minister said, “I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Andrews.”

  Half way down the aisle, the vampire walked over to them. He nodded his head to each of them. “You have both kept your word and so shall I keep mine. But know this, I will be watching. If you should separate or divorce for any reason, I will come back to claim her.”

  Gabriel tightened his grip on his new bride. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll never leave her side.”

  “And I’ll never leave his,” Kiera told the vampire, meeting his gaze boldly.

  The vampire quirked his lips in what might have been a smile. The fangs made it look more threatening than amusing. He didn’t plan on keeping his word, but let them think they had won. When their guard was down, he would strike. Not only would her blood make him invincible, but he would be taking the mate of an alpha wolf. Oh the possibilities! Things were getting better and better.

  With another nod to each of them, the vampire turned and disappeared. Kiera wasn’t sure whether he was able to vanish into thin air or if he just moved so fast that it appeared he could do so.

  Kiera relaxed into Gabriel. “I’m so glad he’s gone.”

  “Me, too. I was more than prepared to fight him, but he moves so fast I’m not sure I would have won.”

  Looking up at her new husband she said, “I have faith in you. You would have won.”

  He smiled at her. “I’m glad that you have so much faith in me. We should probably finish greeting our guests and start moving through the buffet. No one will start eating before us.”

  They made their way through the small crowd, side by side. After they had greeted everyone and thanked them for coming, they started fixing their plates. Kiera was so nervous about her wedding night that she wasn’t sure she would be able to eat anything. She hadn’t told Gabriel something very important about herself. Tonight was going to be her first time to be with a man. Since none of the shapeshifters at home had wanted her, she had remained a virgin. She knew it was going to come as a shock to him. Who had heard of a twenty-eight year old virgin?

  The rest
of the evening seemed to fly by. Before Kiera knew it, the guests were leaving. Michael, Cole and Marin were the last to go. Michael walked over to them and hugged Kiera.

  “Welcome to the family little sister.”

  Hugging him back, she said, “Thank you.”

  “So … since this is your wedding night, I’m going to catch a ride with Cole and Marin and crash at their place tonight. I figured you would want your privacy. I already stashed a bag in their car.”

  Kiera blushed, but Gabriel just grinned at his brother. As Michael turned to leave, Gabriel tugged Kiera toward the house. When they got to the top of the stairs, he lifted her into his arms and carried her across the threshold and up the stairs to their room on the third floor. Gabriel put her down after he closed the bedroom door.

  Looking around, Kiera was surprised. Someone had come in and set up the room to make it as romantic as possible. The lights were off, but the room had the soft glow of candle light from the ten or so candles spread around the room. Rose petals dusted the floor and were strewn across the bed. The dark bedding from that morning had been replaced with light blue satin sheets and a silver satin comforter. Noticing that candle light was spilling out of the partially open bathroom door, she peeked inside and saw that the large tub had been filled with hot water; rose petals were floating on top of the water.

  She felt Gabriel’s presence behind her. It was still hard to believe he was her husband. Even more incredible was the fact that the vampire had kept his word and had left once the ceremony was over. It was all a little strange. Something told Kiera they hadn’t seen the last of the vampire, regardless of what he’d told them, but those were thoughts best left for another day. Tonight was her wedding night.

  She turned and smiled up at her new husband. “It seems that we have the house all to ourselves for the night.”

  Gabriel wrapped his arms around her. “Yes, we do. I still stand by what I told you yesterday. We really don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

  “I know. But I want us to have a real marriage. It had a rather unconventional start, but what we do with it is up to us. We can either embrace what destiny has brought us, or we can try to ignore it. I’d rather embrace it personally.”

  He smiled at her. “The fates chose well when they picked you as my mate. I think we’re going to do quite well together.”

  It wasn’t the words of undying love she had always imagined her groom saying to her on her wedding night, but all things considered it would do. It was hardly fair for her to expect him to love her after only twenty-four hours. Married or not, life just didn’t work that way. There was a difference in being a mate and being in love. If you were destined to be someone’s mate, then you had a closeness that most people couldn’t fathom. But it wasn’t love… it was something more primitive, more like animal instinct.

  Kiera hoped that one day Gabriel would come to love her. Until then, she would have to satisfy herself with the knowledge that as her mate he would never cheat on her or abuse her. To do so would go against everything they believed in as shapeshifters. She sometimes envied the humans who married for love, but in some ways, being someone’s mate was better. People could fall out of love and get divorced, leaving both parties hurt and angry. When you were mated to a shapeshifter, it was forever.

  Smiling at him, she replied, “It would be a shame to let that hot bath go to waste.”

  “Why don’t you climb in first? Neither of us got a chance to eat much tonight. I’ll see if there’s some leftover champagne and maybe some crackers and cheese in the fridge. I’ll be right back.”

  He brushed a quick kiss across her lips and headed out the door. Kiera looked around. Her wedding night! She was excited, but also nervous. She wasn’t naïve enough to not know what happened between a man and a woman. After all, what woman didn’t enjoy a good romance novel every now and then? But there was a vast difference in reading about it and actually being part of it.

  Sighing, she unzipped her dress. Letting it pool at her feet, she slipped out of her undergarments and headed into the bathroom. Her hair was going to get soaked if she didn’t pull it up. She piled it on top of her head with lots of bobby pins before climbing into the tub. A few minutes later, she heard Gabriel return to the bedroom.

  The first thing Gabriel noticed was the pile of clothes in the floor. It seemed that his new bride had already stripped and gotten into the tub. Grinning, he sat the bottle of champagne, glasses and snacks down on a nearby chair. He removed his clothes in record time. He figured the food could wait, but grabbed the champagne bottle and glasses before heading into the bathroom.

  Having seen her in the tub last night, he should have been prepared. He wasn’t. Knowing that the beautiful woman before him was his wife changed everything. When she saw him, Kiera smiled. Her eyes traveled down his body, a becoming blush staining her cheeks. The animal side of him was screaming for him to mate with her. The human side, which was thankfully winning, was telling him to make this as slow and romantic as possible. After all, you didn’t get to have a wedding night every night.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  It didn’t seem possible, but Kiera’s blush grew even brighter. “I was hoping you would.”

  Kiera had no idea how to act. She had never seen a naked man before, much less been in the same room with one. She only hoped that her inexperience didn’t ruin the evening for him. He seemed to want her as much as she wanted him. Hopefully, that wouldn’t change when he found out she was still a virgin.

  The tub was so large that with Kiera sitting in the middle there was plenty of room for Gabriel on either side of her. He stepped into the tub and pulled Kiera into his arms. It amazed him that this tiny, beautiful woman was his.

  “You’re so small I’m afraid I’m going to hurt you.”

  Kiera giggled. “I’m not that small, Gabriel. I’m just short.”

  He shook his head. “Trust me, you’re small.”

  Kiera was happy that he saw her that way. In reality, she was just an average size for a woman. She wore a size twelve, but had been blessed with enough bust and hip to give her a nice hourglass shaped figure. Far be it for her to discourage him against calling her small!

  She scooted over closer to him and kissed him. His lips were smooth and yet firm. Kiera ran her hands over the hard muscles of his chest. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed herself closer to him. She may be inexperienced, but her body knew what it wanted… and it wanted Gabriel.

  Gabriel grabbed her hips and readjusted her so that she was straddling him. Kiera gasped and pulled back a little. She could feel the hard length of him pushing against her, trying to gain entry. While she wanted him, she knew that the first time could hurt, especially if she didn’t tell him that she’d never been with another man.

  Concerned over her retreat, he gently ran his fingers down her cheek. “If you want to stop, we can.”

  “It isn’t that.”

  “Then what is it sweetheart? You can tell me anything.”

  “I’m still a virgin,” she blurted out.

  Beneath her, she felt Gabriel go very still. She wasn’t even sure he was breathing. She searched his face trying to judge his reaction. It was like looking at a blank slate; no emotions showed at all. In hindsight, she probably should have told him before now. The moment just never really presented itself. Besides, she had told him that none of the shapeshifters in her town had wanted anything to do with her. Surely he could have guessed.

  Thinking he didn’t want her anymore, she started to back away. Gabriel wrapped his arms around her to keep her from leaving.

  He looked into her beautiful green eyes and gently rubbed his hands down her back. “I’m honored that I’m your first.”

  Kiera relaxed when she realized he wasn’t mad at her. “I’m glad that you’re my first, too.”

  “I should probably warn you that it’s going to hurt your first time.”

  “I know, but I also know the pain
won’t last long,” she said.

  He smiled at her. She was so trusting. “We should probably move to the bed for your first time.”

  Kiera shook her head. “No. I want to stay right here. Everything was perfect until I told you I hadn’t done this before.”

  “Are you sure?”

  In response, she pressed her body closer to his and kissed him. She could still feel him pressing against her and she slowly pressed her hips forward. The tip of his erection had just barely rubbed against her hot folds when his hands clamped down on her hips to keep her from moving.

  “Maybe you should let me be in charge the first time.”

  She smiled at him and pried his hands loose. She backed away until she wasn’t straddling him anymore. “Okay. Now what?”

  Gabriel shifted to his knees and turned her around. “Why don’t you hold on to the side of the tub?” he whispered in her ear.

  Kiera felt his hands gently touch her waist. His touch was light and very erotic. Every nerve in her body was at attention. He slid his hands around to her stomach and massaged his way up to her breasts. The moment his hands touched her nipples, they hardened against his palms.

  Kiera had never felt anything like this before. Not even in her wildest dreams had she imagined it would feel this incredible. She felt the tip of him gently pressing into her, felt herself stretch to accommodate him. She hadn’t really felt any pain.

  Once he was all the way inside of her, he stopped, allowing her time to adjust. She had barely made a sound as he had torn through her hymen.

  “I don’t want to hurt you Kiera.”

  “I’m fine Gabriel. I promise; I barely even felt it.”

  He started moving again, but very slowly. He stroked her nipples with his thumbs and gently nipped her on the neck. Kiera gasped and thrust her hips back. She wanted all of him, wanted him to stop holding back.