MoonlightBundleSet

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

  “I think I’d prefer death,” she said. “Either way, whether I’m a vampire or you kill me outright I’ll lose my baby and my husband. Without them, I have no reason to live.”

  The vampire snarled and pushed away from her. She was making this more difficult than he had expected. Sure, he could drain her and just be done with it, but that would take away the fun. The vampire could picture the alpha’s face when he realized that his beloved mate had turned into a vampire, a child of the night.

  Pacing, he thought about what she’d said. He knew that she wasn’t going to willingly become a vampire. Whether he wanted to do it or not, he would have to kill her.

  ***

  From the bushes, Gabriel watched the vampire pacing in front of his wife. He had heard their exchange and was proud of her. Even knowing that it would mean her death, she had stood her ground.

  Now it was just a waiting game. He knew that Kiera’s life, and that of their child, hung in the balance. He wanted to rip the vampire to shreds, but he had to wait for just the right opportunity. If he moved too soon, it could cost them all.

  When the vampire approached Kiera and hauled her to her feet, Gabriel tensed. As he watched, the leech bent his head to Kiera’s neck, clearly intent on biting her.

  With a nod of his head, the werewolves converged on the clearing. Their mission was to keep Kiera safe, while Gabriel took care of the vampire once and for all.

  Gabriel reached them first and pried the vampire off of Kiera.

  Snarling, the vampire turned to face him, “You weren’t supposed to find us so soon.”

  Gabriel gave him a menacing grin, “Sorry to spoil your fun. Guess our tracking ability was better than you thought.”

  The vampire lunged for him. Gabriel leapt toward him, shifting mid-air. His furry body landed solidly against the vampire’s chest, knocking him backwards, but not completely off his feet.

  Coiling to strike, the vampire lunged at him once more, fangs bared. Grabbing the wolf by his shoulder, he flung the beast to the ground.

  Gabriel whimpered when he hit the ground. He felt a rib crack, but got right back up, reading to fight. Circling the vampire, he lunged and managed to bite down on the leech’s leg.

  With a savage growl, the vampire shook the wolf loose. Spinning, he tackled the wolf to the ground. Leaning in, he bit down on the wolf’s neck. The blood of the alpha was intoxicating.

  Gabriel scrabbled against the vampire, digging in with his hind claws, trying to break free. Writhing, he fought against the jaws clamped down on him, but to no avail. Just when he thought he would die, the vampire let go, a look of shock and surprise on his face.

  Gabriel was too weak to stand, but lifted his head. The sight before him was truly amazing. His beautiful wife stood behind the vampire, a broken tree limb in her hand.

  The vampire looked down at his chest and the gaping wound Kiera had inflicted. He opened his mouth, but before words could come forth, he burst into ash, his remains carried away in the breeze.

  Gabriel shifted back to his human form. Weak, he held his hand out to Kiera.

  “My warrior princess,” he whispered.

  Tears streamed down her face. “I couldn’t stand to watch him hurt you another moment.”

  Gabriel gave her a weak smile and winced. “Kiera, there’s something I should have told you…”

  She placed her fingers over her lips. “Shh. Don’t you dare say goodbye to me. You’re fine! You’re going to be just fine.”

  Kiera stepped back, allowing the werewolves to gather Gabriel and carry him back to the house. She was shaking and her heart was racing. All she knew was the he had to be fine… she wouldn’t let herself think otherwise.

  Chapter Eighteen

  When they arrived at the Victorian, Kiera asked the werewolves to take Gabriel upstairs. She knew he would be more comfortable in his own bed. It wasn’t like they could take him to a hospital. How would they explain two puncture wounds to the neck and loss of blood?

  “Get Connor, Colin, Cole, and Michael; one of them will know what to do,” she told Hunter.

  Ramsey remained with her. “Is there anything you need, Kiera?”

  She looked at him and smiled. “Thank you, but I’m fine Ramsey. Right now, I’m just worried about Gabriel.”

  Ramsey nodded. “He’ll be fine, Kiera. He’s a strong alpha, and he has a lot to live for.”

  She opened her mouth to respond, but Gabriel’s family trooped into the room.

  Connor walked over to the bed and looked down at his cousin. It was hard, seeing an alpha laid low. “He’s going to need foods high in iron and protein if he’s going to recover. And a little magick wouldn’t hurt…”

  “Magick?” Kiera asked.

  Connor looked at her, “Aren’t you half fairy?”

  “Well, yes, I suppose, but…”

  He shook his head. “No buts… Crawl onto the bed beside him and see if you can heal him.”

  “But I don’t know what to do!”

  He gave her an encouraging smile. “You’ll figure it out.”

  Kiera climbed onto the bed beside Gabriel. She took his hand in hers and leaned over him, brushing a kiss against his cheek. “If I could heal you, I would,” she said, as a tear slid down her cheek.

  Leaning her forehead against his, Kiera wished she had told him that she loved him… why hadn’t she told him weeks ago? Now it might be too late. She could feel his heart beating; it was weaker than usual and slower. She knew he was dying and felt helpless to stop it.

  “Kiera, has there ever been anything you wanted and it suddenly happened, as if by magick?” Connor asked.

  “Well, one time… but I have no idea how I did it,” she answered.

  “Just think about how much you want him to wake up, to be healed… wish with all of your heart. If you have to, visualize the bite marks closing,” Connor said.

  Kiera sighed and closed her eyes. She focused all of her energy on Gabriel. She did as Connor suggested and imagined the wounds closing up, imagined his neck smooth and whole again. She felt warmth radiating from her hands and opened her eyes. Shocked, she realized that her hands were glowing… even more shocking, the puncture marks on Gabriel’s neck were closing!

  She gasped and watched as her husband was healed. Maybe being half-fairy wasn’t so terrible after all. It felt amazing! Knowing that she had the power to heal, the power over life and death… it was a heady experience.

  Gabriel coughed and opened his eyes, to see his beautiful, glowing wife. “Kiera, what happened?” he rasped, feeling like his mouth was full of cotton.

  “Gabriel!” Kiera threw herself down across his chest, soaking him with tears of happiness. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  He rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. What the hell had happened? He remembered fighting the vampire, but then nothing… his mind was blank after that.

  “You were bit,” Connor stated.

  Gabriel reached for his neck, but didn’t feel punctures on either side. “If I was bit, wouldn’t I have marks?”

  Connor grinned and nodded his head toward Kiera. “You’re wife healed you.”

  “Healed me? What are you talking about?”

  “It seems her fairy side is stronger than we thought. She was able to use fairy magick to heal your wounds,” Connor answered.

  “Kiera, is that true?” Gabriel asked, a little stunned.

  Kiera lifted her head. “Yes, I was able to heal you, but I don’t know if I could do it again.”

  Gabriel chuckled. “Honey, I’m hoping you don’t ever have to heal me, or anyone else in the pack, ever again. Between Marin’s exciting entrance into our lives and then yours, I think we’re due for some down time.”

  “There’s something I should have told you long before now, but the timing just never seemed right. But when I thought I’d lost you today… Gabriel, I love you.”

  He caressed her cheek. “I love you, too.”

  Kiera’s smile lit up
the room. “Really? I had hoped you would come to love me, but I never dared hope that you already did.”

  “Yes, honey, I already love you. I think I fell in love with you the moment you walked into my garage.”

  “So what happens now?” she asked.

  “Now, I take a day or two off to get one hundred percent back on my feet, figure out what to do with all of the guards we have running around here, and then life goes back to normal.”

  She grinned. “What’s normal around here? Ever since I met you I’ve been running from a vampire.”

  He laughed. “I guess that does put a different slant on things.”

  Ramsey cleared his throat. “I can’t speak for everyone, but Hunter and I have decided to stick around, if that’s okay with you.”

  “We would be honored to have you stay,” Gabriel told him. “You’ll just have to decide which pack to join.”

  “Um, I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about that,” Connor said.

  “About what?” Gabriel asked.

  “About two packs in the same area not even ten minutes apart. It’s a bit ridiculous.”

  “So what do you suggest?” Gabriel asked.

  Connor rubbed his jaw. “Well, think we could handle dual leadership? Small things could be business as usual, but major things, like this vampire attack, could be a joint effort.”

  “Sounds like what we’ve been doing anyways,” Gabriel answered.

  Connor grinned. “That’s what gave me the idea. Anyway, you don’t have to decide right away, but I thought I’d throw that out there.”

  Gabriel nodded. “I don’t really need to think about it. I’d love to merge the two packs together.”

  “I guess I’ll go share the news then,” Connor said. “Unless you want me to wait on you and we can tell them together?”

  Gabriel shook his head. “You go right ahead. I think I just want to lay here and relax for the rest of the night.”

  Ramsey, Connor, and the others all left the couple alone. When they reached the first floor, they assured everyone the alpha was fine and just wanted to be left in peace for the duration of the evening.

  ***

  Upstairs, Kiera snuggled close to Gabriel. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. I don’t think I could handle it.”

  Gabriel hugged her to him. “I don’t plan on it.”

  Kiera kissed his cheek. “Want to go wash up?”

  He chuckled. “Is that a kind way of telling me I stink?”

  “Well, I don’t know about stink, but you still have dried blood on you. I thought you might want to wash it off,” she answered.

  He nodded. “Let’s go then.”

  “As in together? Are you sure you’re up for that?”

  He drew her down and kissed her hard, delving his tongue between her lips. When Kiera whimpered, he broke the kiss. “I think I’m up for it,” he said, dragging her hand down to the covers and across the hard length of him.

  “Then I guess I’ll go start the shower,” she said, sliding off the bed.

  Kiera was grinning when she entered the bathroom and turned on the water. While the shower warmed up, she brushed her teeth and her hair. Looking in the mirror, she could still see a faint glow around her. Her fairy heritage had definitely been a blessing tonight. If not for her ability to heal Gabriel, she had no doubt that he would have died.

  “You look beautiful,” Gabriel said from the doorway.

  Kiera turned to face him. “I think you’d say that even if I were wearing burlap.”

  “I’d prefer to say it with you naked,” he replied.

  Kiera gave him a saucy smile and slowly drew her top over her head, dropping it onto the floor. Reaching behind her back, she unclasped her bra, letting it slowly slide down her arms to join her top at her feet.

  Gabriel gulped. Kiera hadn’t been shy in telling him what she wanted when they made love, but this was a first. Her little striptease was driving him crazy.

  She unfastened her shorts and let them fall down her legs to pool around her ankles. Kicking free of them, she turned her back to Gabriel. Looking over her should, she made sure he was watching the show as she dipped her fingers under the string that ran along the top of her hip. Dragging her bikini panties down her hips, she bent over to slide them all the way down her legs.

  Gabriel growled and stalked across the bathroom. Lifting Kiera into his arms, he stepped into the shower. Setting her down on her feet, he pressed her against the wall.

  With her back pressed against the tiled shower wall, Kiera was faced with her husband in all his naked glory. She pressed her hands against his chest and went up on tiptoe to kiss him. Slipping her tongue into his mouth, she pressed her body close to his.

  Gabriel knew he wouldn’t last long. His brush with death had him on edge. Lifting Kiera’s legs around his waist, he thrust into her. She was so wet and so tight that he groaned in pleasure.

  Kiera hadn’t expected Gabriel to take her so quickly, but her body was more than ready. As she felt him plunge into her over and over, she got closer and closer to her release.

  “I love you, Gabriel.”

  Taking her mouth in a savage kiss, he thrust into her hard and deep; withdrawing, he thrust into her again, and again. Sliding into Kiera’s tight, wet, heat was going to drive him mad. He’d never felt anything so amazing before. No woman could ever compare to her.

  Driving into her over and over, he pushed both of them to the edge. As Kiera cried out her release, he gently bit her shoulder, growling as he climaxed, thrusting into her, shooting his seed deep inside of her.

  Kissing her neck, Gabriel eased from her body and set her back down on her feet. “I love you, Kiera.”

  “I kind of figured that out,” she said with a smile on her face.

  His hand brushed against her belly, “I’m still amazed there’s a tiny life growing in there.”

  Kiera covered his hand with hers, “I know. I never got a chance to show you the baby things I bought when Ramsey and Hunter took me to the mall.”

  “Have you thought about where you’d like the baby to sleep?”

  She nodded. “I thought we could turn Michael’s old room into a nursery, if that’s okay.”

  He smiled down at her. “That sounds great. Why don’t we finish up in here and then we can go to the Baby Depot and pick out the décor. Maybe even buy a bed?”

  Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him. “I’d really like that.”

  ***

  Kiera and Gabriel had shopped for several hours. They’d called Cole and Connor to bring their trucks over to the Baby Depot. Kiera had fallen in love with a bedroom set for the nursery that consisted of a bed, changing table, and dresser. The store had sold out of that particular model, but had allowed them to purchase the display as it was being discontinued. On the plus side, Gabriel was happy he didn’t have to put anything together when they got home.

  Kiera had been torn between a Winnie the Pooh theme or a Celestial theme. In the end, they had selected the moon and stars, thinking it would be more fitting.

  Once the furniture was loaded into the trucks and the bedding and matching rug stored in the back of the SUV, they headed back to the Victorian. The three werewolves made short time in getting the furniture into the nursery. Since it still had to be painted, they set the furniture away from the wall.

  Ramsey and Hunter had offered to paint since Kiera couldn’t. They had even assured her they would finish off the downstairs bedrooms she had started before finding out she was pregnant. Once Kiera had the colors she wanted, she would definitely be giving them a call.

  Connor and Cole headed back to their homes, leaving Kiera and Gabriel alone in the house for the first time in a long while. The visiting werewolves had headed home with Connor and were all staying in duplexes until they could get back home. All but a few… a select few had chosen to remain behind, joining the Ashton Grove pack.

  Kiera leaned against Gabriel and looked around the
room. If she closed her eyes, she could see the finished product. Blue walls with yellow stars and crescent moons, a darker blue on the ceiling with glow in the dark stars, the furniture in just the right spot, the rug in the middle of the room… a sweet baby snuggled up in the bed with toys scattered around the room. She smiled to herself.

  “So, now that we have the house to ourselves, what would you like to do?” Gabriel asked.

  Kiera turned to face him, smiling. “I’m sure I can think of something.”

  With a grin, he lowered his head to hers. “I’m sure you can,” he said, right before claiming her lips in a kiss.

  Epilogue

  It had been a few months since Kiera had first found out she was pregnant. So much had happened during that time, the most important of which was discovering that Gabriel loved her as much as she loved him. Their marriage had blossomed once the vampire was out of the picture; now they good times ahead – a baby on the way and a long, happy life together.

  Kiera was in the kitchen when she heard the doorbell ring. Scurrying to answer the door, she saw a petite redhead on the doorstep.

  “May I help you?” she asked the stranger.

  Chloe, in a hesitant voice, asked, “Is Michael here?”

  “Oh, I’m afraid he doesn’t live here anymore,” Kiera answered, wondering who the young woman was and why she was searching for Michael.

  Gabriel came up behind Kiera and wrapped his arms around her. “Everything okay, sweetheart?”

  Kiera smiled up at him. “Just fine; this young woman is looking for Michael.”

  “I’m sorry to have bothered you, I should go,” Chloe said.

  “Why don’t you come in for a minute?” Kiera asked.

  Chloe shook head and lifted a hand. “Thank you, but I couldn’t impose.”

  The movement had shifted her cardigan, showing her pregnant belly. Gabriel noticed the bump and realized why she was looking for Michael.

  “I think you need to come in,” he said in an authoritative voice.

  Chloe sighed. “Alright, but just for a minute; I really do hate to impose.”

  Kiera and Gabriel stepped back, allowing the woman into their home. Kiera led her into the living room and made sure she was comfortable.