“Plus, I don’t think you can really beat Alia. You may be loud, but Alia is worse,” Olsen said between mouthfuls. Alia elbowed him. As the night moved on, Maria’s body stopped getting overly excited at the sight of Derrick. She was thankful for it as she wanted her body back to normal.
Derrick talked with Olsen and Aiden while Maria relaxed next to him, enjoying their company. She noticed he relaxed more while he joked with his two friends. His whole body at ease in his seat and his eyes even lit up when he caught her staring at him.
After dinner, everyone left the house, leaving Derrick and Maria alone. Before Alia left with the baby and her mate, she made plans for teaching every day but Saturday. She would be able to relax then, her one and only day off from practice. Maria was so determined to learn, she agreed to the terms. Part of her still wanted her mother to call and apologize, then tell her she would teach her magic.
“Are you still wanting me to change you?” Derrick cupped her face. She leaned into his hand and took in his scent mixed with tacos.
“Yes.” Maria looked into his beautiful eyes.
“Can we do it tomorrow? I don’t want you to rush into this choice.” Concern crossed Derrick’s eyes.
“I can sleep on it, if it will make you feel better.” Maria studied his face, he relaxed a bit and lifted her into his arms for a hug and kiss. This time when the spark filled her body it wasn’t so intense as before.
“I think the heat is finally over.” Maria sighed with relief.
“You won’t be getting a break tonight though.” Derrick winked and carried her into bed. She was so happy, she didn’t think anything could spoil it. Soon she would be able to practice magic with ease and tomorrow she would become a werewolf like her mate. The only thing still troubling her was working as the mayor, yet in Derrick’s arms the problem faded to the back burner. Maybe the broken condoms might help push me in one direction. The thought left her wondering again about the possibility of having kids.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Maria
MONDAY WAS THE BANE of Maria’s existence as she settled behind her desk, her mind going over the last few days with her new mate. Every nerve in her body wanted to throw up her hands and run away from the office back into Derrick’s arms. Yes, he had his own work to do but she would rather be in bed with him for days. The heat no longer affected her body when she woke this morning and she was thankful for the reprieve. Images of little kids running around the house started playing in her mind as her fingers typed away on her computer. Her mind nowhere near focused on her task but she didn’t really give a crap. Her boss, the governor of Nevada, had better things to do than monitor her progress as mayor of the small town of Austin.
Around noon, Derrick walked into her office with lunch, but he had to leave soon after when he received a call from Aiden. He hoped for a lead on who was trying to kidnap her and she wished Aiden had good news.
“Bye.” Derrick kissed her head and walked out of her office. A short ding rang on her computer warning her that the chief was coming in a moment before he opened the door.
“We need to talk.” Chief Hugo closed the door behind him.
“What can I do for you?” Maria didn't like the way he treated almost everyone like he was above them. She adjusted herself so that she sat on the edge of her seat as he plopped down in the chair Derrick had occupied only moments ago.
“We have two dead humans killed by wolves. And my reports point toward their alpha.” Hugo tossed a folder onto her desk then pointed toward it. Maria wondered if the two dead were the ones who had attacked her.
“Who do you suspect he killed?” Maria asked half heartily. She had seen him kill one guy and the one in the barn had never walked out of it. Derrick had mentioned something at dinner to Aiden about cleaning up the barn. Hugo said the names but they didn’t register in her brain. “Were the humans attacking him?” Maria glanced down at the files of the two dead men. One volunteered with the police station often which made her stomach uneasy.
“Who cares if they were?” The police chief gritted his teeth together.
“The law cares.” Maria snapped back when her gaze met his.
“So, humans are less important than the mutt.” He snarled. Maria slammed her hand down.
“Enough. You will refrain from calling him mutt or half breed in front of me. He is either the alpha or Derrick. Is that clear? I will not repeat myself.” Maria glared at the guy being disrespectful to her mate. No one outside the pack knew they were together but it still rubbed her the wrong way to hear the derogatory names people came up with.
“Why would I do that?” Hugo adjusted in his seat so he was taller, shorter than Derrick but never the less he had a few inches on Maria.
“Because I'm your boss now. I’m the one who oversees your entire department and if you don’t want to be demoted you will treat me with respect which means listening to my fucking requests. Are we understood? Or do I need to find another Chief who isn’t prejudiced against the local alpha?” Part of Maria wanted to fire him on the spot but it took time she didn't have. He stood without uttering a word and stormed out the door.
Maria rolled her shoulder and clicked open a browser window with a newsfeed on it. The first article talked about the Blood Moon happening in a few hours. She remembered Alia talking about eclipses magnifying her magic and a part of her wondered what it might be like to practice magic tonight. The little buzz under her skin caught her attention and she realized the pen in front of her hovered off the desk.
“Shit.” She hissed and it dropped to the desk and rolled off onto the ground. After taking a few deep breaths, she managed to calm herself down. The stupid Chief had put her in a foul mood and with the Blood Moon coming, she didn’t want to hurt someone.
Maria tried to go back to work, but her focus had vanished completely. There was no more news on who was running surveillance on Alia and the vamps. And the uneasy sensation the police chief had left never went away. At 4:30 she gave up on trying and grabbed her bag. She pulled out her phone and texted Derrick. I’m not ready to give up being the mayor but I really want to see him. I wonder if it’s more than a crush on him? She pondered the idea of letting the mayor job go for a moment. As she hit send, something slid into her neck. A burning sensation spread down through her muscles and after a moment her body went limp. Her whole world turned black.
What the fuck?
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Derrick
“TO BE HONEST, I DON’T know who’d be stupid enough to come onto your property.” Aiden shrugged. Last night Aiden had tried to track down who had sent the bastard he caught on the edge of Derrick’s property. To their dismay, the trail had ended with a boat at a lake.
“Well this shit needs to end,” Derrick growled. Both Aiden and Olsen nodded. They stood next to Derrick’s truck outside of the new hotel that just opened.
“Oh, I heard something from the vamp-vine. Two vamps went missing the night before last. It’s a mated couple; I think you know them. Maggs and, um,” Olsen scratched the back of his head.
“Zeek, is Magg’s mate.”
“Correct.” Olsen pointed toward Derrick. “They were supposed to go over to meet some friends to feed from a local blood bank and never showed.” Maggs was a very punctual vamp and sometimes came over with reports from her local leader.
“Keep me up to date.” His phone vibrated with a short message from Maria saying she was getting off early.
“I better go get Maria. I don’t want her to be alone after today. We can get a beta to start working at her office starting tomorrow. You should find someone for it, Aiden.” An uneasy sensation filled the pit of Derrick’s stomach. Aiden nodded and Derrick climbed into his truck. Derrick wondered what the missing vampires meant and what the hell was going on. I don’t like the damn unknown. He was five minutes away from Maria’s office. The uneasy feeling spread through his body the closer he inched toward the building.
The woman up fron
t nodded to him with a small smile. Derrick opened the door to Maria’s office and realized something was wrong. His mate wasn’t at her desk. He searched the room. Quickly he turned to follow her scent. Two other male scents mixed with Maria’s making him clench his fist. Where the fuck was Maria?
He ground his teeth as he followed the trail down a hallway to a back door. He kicked the door open, ready to fight. To his horror, the small parking lot was empty and his mate’s scent was fading quickly. His mind went crazy with all the possibilities of what might have happened to her. The phone buzzed in his back pocket as he stormed back into the building.
Yanking out the phone, he hoped it would be Maria telling him she had left with friends he didn’t know. The outcome would be more favorable than the ones his mind was conjuring up. To his frustration, Olsen told him he and Alia would be over in a few hours for Maria to practice magic. Derrick shoved it back in his pocket as he reached Kate. He grabbed the woman’s chair and moved her to face him. She gasped and tried to lean away as much as the chair would allow.
“Where is the security office?” Derrick tried to keep his voice even, most humans didn’t do well when facing a regular wolf let alone an alpha.
“Why?” Her voice shook with fear.
“Someone just kidnapped the mayor.” Derrick ground his teeth.
“Shouldn’t I call the police then?”
“You can do that after you tell me where I can watch the security feed.” The woman nodded and pointed toward a door to the right. If he could catch a glimpse of who took his mate, it would get him one step closer to finding her. Derrick yanked the door open but the guy sitting in front of the monitors didn’t move. Even Derrick’s growl didn’t affect him. Derrick grabbed the bastard and shook him yet still nothing. A small red dot caught his attention. He’s drugged.
After a few attempts, Derrick managed to rewind the security feed Maria would have been on. One male carried her over his shoulder with her head swaying and her eyes closed. His phone buzzed again and to his shock, Maria’s photo appeared when he opened the message. Her eyes were shut and her arms above her head. ‘Come alone or she dies.’ There was an address in a separate message. The location was on the edge of town in an old trailer park known as Redneck Haven.
He shoved his hand through his hair trying to come up with a plan. He knew one thing for sure, if he went in there alone, without help, neither he nor Maria would leave there alive.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Maria
DAMN, I FUCKING HURT everywhere. Maria’s groggy mind took stock of her body. Her shoulders ached from the weight of her body pulling on them as she hung from the rope which also bit into her wrists. Her mouth was dry with an awful taste on the back of her tongue. Snarls and what sounded like someone snapping their jaw together rang out catching her attention, then a few males laughed but Maria kept her eyes closed.
“She should have woken up by now,” a guy said. His breath on her neck sending a shiver down her spine.
“Wake up, little Maria.” Another male’s voice called. This one she recognized as the Chief of Police, Hugo. The sick sound of flesh on flesh met her ears as pain surged across her face. Maria ground her teeth together while she opened her eyes to glare at the man in front of her. He wore a police uniform with Aaron on the name tag. He lurched forward, close enough that his nasty breath filled her nose. Rage rose in Maria and she pulled her knee up and hit the man in the balls.
Aaron slapped her again but Maria didn’t cry out. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of showing how much it hurt.
“Why am I here?” Maria asked through gritted teeth.
“The wolf lover speaks.” Aaron chuckled. Maria repeated her question when she turned to glare at the Chief.
“You’re here so we can finally start a war between the filthy creatures. They will kill each other off so we humans can take the world back.”
“What?” She blinked a few times trying to follow his stupid logic.
“Oh, little Maria, I know you’re the filthy alpha’s mate. Once he finds out a vampire killed you, he will wage war to avenge you,” Hugo said it like this was common knowledge.
“So, I’m your fucking sacrifice.” Maria spat toward Hugo.
“Such a waste. I thought you would be like your predecessor. You see, we were in search of the perfect sacrifice before I had to put him away.” The Chief shook his head. “Dumb ass couldn’t keep his addiction a secret.”
“You won’t get away with this. Your scent is all over this place. Derrick is smarter than you.”
“We already thought of that.” He waved toward barrels of fuel and the realization hit Maria. They were going to burn this place to the ground after she died. Wait, if they burn me will Derrick know who killed me or will he fall for their trick? She had no idea if Derrick’s wolf side would catch a scent through fire. Looks like it’s up to me. Fuck. Maria’s only hope was to pull on the limited knowledge of magic Alia had taught her the night before.
“I think we have talked enough.” The chief slid toward the back of the barn where two vampires were tied up. They were snapping at the men around them.
“You see how hungry they are? You will be irresistible to them,” Aaron whispered into Maria’s ear as he stood behind her. She slammed her head into his face, making the bastard cry out.
“Maybe you should have learned your lesson the first time you inbred hick.” Maria snarled as Aaron’s hand gripped her hair and pulled her to face him.
“I’ll enjoy watching them suck the life from you.” Aaron smirked, then shoved her head forward. Slowly they guided the vampire male on the right toward Maria. He snapped and thrashed while the cop pulled him by the silver chains wrapped around him.
The bonds made it possible for the vamp to be close, but not close enough to bite her. Yet! What the hell will I do? Maria closed her eyes and focused on her inner strength. The sound of the second vamp grew louder. A light tingling sensation filled her belly and her hands warmed up. The bonds burned away letting her fall to her knees. A commotion erupted as men everywhere yelled. Maria opened her eyes. Aaron struggled to handle the vamp which inched closer to Maria. She jumped to her feet then pushed the female vamp into Aaron. A scream rang out as the vamp latched onto Aaron’s neck. The chief grabbed Maria and yanked her back toward the male vamp still attached to the wall. Dread filled her. She grabbed onto the chief’s hands to pull him off. Her hands warmed again and Hugo let go as he cried out. Burn marks littered the fucker’s flesh.
“I will not be your sacrifice you son of a bitch!” Maria yelled as she swung her fist into his face. A howl sounded off in the distance and the men stood still. The only ones moving were the vamps. Aaron stopped screaming and lay motionless on the ground with the she-vamp still attached to him.
“Sounds like my mate is coming for me.” Maria smiled when horror crossed Hugo’s face. More howls rocked the barn along with screams of agony from outside. As the chief took a step toward Maria, a door banged open. Derrick stood tall in his human form, blood caked on his chest. His eyes scanned the scene. Someone grabbed Maria and yanked her toward the male vamp.
“Don't move mutt!” the man yelled next to her ears. The chief regained his composure and rushed over to stand next to her.
The she-vamp finally became more lucid and worked on releasing her bonds. Aaron lay dead at her feet as she struggled with the metal clasps around her body. No one seemed to realize she was almost free with the exception of Maria. The she-vamp met her gaze and Maria mouthed the words, please don’t kill me. She didn’t want to beg for her life, but at the same time she didn’t want to die. The memory of the last vamp biting her neck still stung.
The she-vamp shook her head and rose to her feet, standing just behind the chief in complete silence. Then she grabbed Hugo’s hair and yanked his head to the side to expose his neck. Her tongue flicked up his neck and he shook in the woman's grip.
“Derrick, I do owe you for the last time. Do you want th
e honors or may I have them?” The vamp’s musical voice caught Maria off guard as she tilted her head to the side while staring at the chief.
“You can have this one, Maggs,” Derrick growled. “Touch my mate though and all bets are off.”
“I’d never harm the strong little witch.” Maggs winked at Maria. “I can’t say the same for my mate though as he has been without blood for too long.” Maggs wrapped her hand around Hugo’s neck and lifted him off the ground. Maria watched in horror as she slowly brought the struggling chief toward her mate. With her free hand, she cut the chief’s wrist and handed it to the male vampire.
The chief cried out in pain and the male behind Maria let go of her and ran. She fumbled back away from the vampire pair and the bleeding human. Before he made it to the door, Derrick raced to get next to him.
“No one touches my mate without going unpunished,” Derrick growled in his ear before he ripped his head away from the body. Maria stood there in complete shock as Hugo shook and dropped to his knees, Maggs no longer holding him up as her mate bled him dry.
Derrick wrapped his arms around Maria and leaned down next to her ear. “Let’s get you home.” Maria nodded enthusiastically but the rest of her body didn’t want to freaking move. The only thing she prided herself on at the moment was not passing out from seeing all the blood.
Am I always going to be in danger because of Derrick? Is this really what I want for my life?
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Derrick
DERRICK REMINDED HIMSELF repeatedly that his mate was safe in his arms while he closed the distance to his truck. The image of Hugo, dead at Zeek’s feet was officially engrained in his memory. He hadn’t seen many vamps drink from humans before tonight, but the way Zeek drained every last drop didn’t sit well with his stomach.
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