Chapter 2: My Protector: Chapter 1

‘Left? There is no left. Where?’ She looked around there was nothing but trees in any direction.

‘There is no left here you daffy contraption!’

‘Ugh!’ Elizabeth Monroe rolled to a stop and put her car in park. Climbing out of her car she stretched and rubbed her lower back. She had been driving for eight hours and all she wanted was a warm bed. She looked around. She was in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

Elizabeth reached in and ripped the GPS off of the dash and threw it into the woods. She looked left down the long dirt road she had come down. Frowning, she turned right. The dirt road seemed to go on forever. She knew that she had guesstimated where Lycaonia’s city gate would be since the city wasn’t on any known map, but she didn’t think she would be this off.

She was about to get back in her car when she heard a low hiss. She froze and looked around her feet for any snake that had yet to go into hibernation. She traced the sound to her back right tire, which was becoming flatter by the second.

‘Sugar!’ She eyed the mud under her car and sighed. Cussing every step of the way she stomped back to the trunk to get the jack and spare tire. She opened the trunk and was about to wrestle the spare out when she looked down. She was wearing her new London Fog wool trench. She was not about to get grease on it. She removed her coat and folded it carefully laying it to one side. She removed the tire and the jack and started the process of changing her flat. She was almost finished when she heard a familiar sound.

‘You have got to be kidding me!’ She dropped the tire iron in defeat. Her back left tire was going flat faster than the right had. This just served as her daily reminder that she had the worst luck in the world.

Wet and cold she grumbled as she threw the flat tire and the tire iron in the trunk and slammed it shut. She reached to her side for her keys when it dawned on her where they were. Turning slowly she looked at her locked trunk that held not only her coat but also her car keys and phone.

‘Just freaking great!’ She tried to open her trunk she but wasn’t strong enough and didn’t have the leverage to pry it up.

‘What else could go wrong?’ she demanded shaking her fist at the sky. A crack of thunder was her answer as rain began to fall, creating rivulets of water running down her body. Whimpering she prayed that someone would come by soon.

*****

Two hours later Elizabeth was thoroughly drenched and shivering. She had already dismissed the idea of shifting since her animal would be just as cold and wet as her human form. If help did come, she didn’t want to experience that awkward moment where she shifted back and was naked. She was about to give in to the urge to cry when she heard a car approaching. It slowed down and stopped. She got to her feet and heard a car door open and close.

‘Hello there,’ a male voice greeted.

‘Hello,’ she said.

‘How are you?’

‘I’m fine and you?’ she asked keeping her voice even.

‘I can’t complain. What are you doing out here? Don’t you have a coat?’ he asked.

‘Yes. Yes, I do, but it’s in the trunk along with my car keys and phone. I have been stuck out here for the past couple hours.’

‘Sorry, honey! I didn’t realize you had been out here so long; I wouldn’t have just chitchatted if I had known. Hold on.’ Elizabeth smiled at the distress in his voice. He was cute.

A minute later, he easily popped the trunk open with the pry bar he had grabbed from his car. She watched him as he walked back toward her with her coat. He was tall and had warm blond hair and bright green eyes. His smile was rueful but kind.

He held her coat. She dug into the pocket and pulled out her keys and phone.

‘Thanks. I was about to lose it there,’ she admitted.

‘I can imagine. My name’s Colton. Where are you heading?’

‘I’m Elizabeth, Elizabeth Monroe. I’m heading to Lycaonia.’ She stretched and cracked her back.

‘We’ve been on the lookout for you. Let me finish this up and you can follow me in. I can swap out your other tire with my spare, which should last you until we can get it fixed. If you don’t mind a slight delay, we can go to the Alpha estate, and I can drop off my car and ride into the city with you, to show you around.’ His smile turned devilish.

She thought about it for a second before nodding.

‘That might actually be a good idea. In my current state I don’t know where I would end up.’ Grimacing, she saw that her new coat was covered in mud from her tire, making her sacrifice seem pointless. Not wanting to get her seats dirty she made sure she had her keys and phone in hand before she threw the coat back into the trunk.

‘Great, it won’t take me a second. Go warm up in my car.’ Colton pointed to the car behind them.

‘Thanks.’ She handed him the keys and walked to his car. She climbed in and jacked up the heat. Why did crazy things always happen to her? The only thing she could count on was her bad luck.

True to his word, Colton finished ten minutes later and walked over to the car.

‘We’re not far from the city gate, from there it’s about twenty minutes to the Alpha estate.’

Elizabeth got out rubbing her arms briskly. ‘I’ll be right behind you.’

Colton grinned and winked. She laughed. He was such a flirt. She walked back to her car. He had left it running with the heat on. What a sweetie. She followed his car down the dirt road. When he turned down an almost undetectable path, she sent up a prayer of thanks that he had found her. She would have never found the city entrance without him.

Twenty minutes later they were pulling up to a large estate house. She parked behind him and got out. They walked towards the porch.

‘I’m just going to let them know that I found you and I’m heading to the city so they can put someone else on perimeter watch.’ Colton held open the front door for her.

‘Sounds good. I still need to find a place in the city to stay and a garage to get these tires replaced, so we’ll have to take care of that,’ she said.

Colton nodded. ‘No problem. I know a few retired warriors that rent apartments, we’ll check with them first.’

‘That would be a life saver,’ she smiled up at him.

Colton shut the door behind them. She took two steps forward and tripped over the ornate rug in the foyer. Unfortunately, she landed face first.

‘Shit! Are you okay?’ Colton gently helped her up and winced when he looked at her face.

She gingerly touched her nose and her fingers came away with blood. ‘At least it’s not broken. I know how that feels.’

‘Do you break it often enough to know?’ Colton’s eyes widened.

‘Yup. I’m kind of a klutz.’

‘That sounds familiar.’ Colton was now frowning.

‘You.’ A deep male voice said from above them. Elizabeth turned and looked up. At the top of the stairs was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. He was tall, but lean with broad shoulders that tapered off to a narrow waist. Dark hair fell carelessly around his shoulders in waves. But it was his grey eyes that captivated her, the intensity in his gaze mesmerized her. It was as if she could see the weight of ages in his eyes. When they shifted from eternal grey to red she swallowed hard.

His movements were a blur as he flew down the stairs. He backed her up against the door caging her in with his arms on either side.

‘Gavriel! Man! What the hell?’ Colton yelled.

‘Leave us!’ the dark haired man demanded.

‘No way. Get your shit together.’ Colton said as he tried to wedge himself between them. Her body reacted to Colton’s interference. She didn’t want to move away from this dark stranger. When she inhaled, it dawned on her that this man was a vampire and he was her mate.

Gavriel swiped at Colton dragging his claws across his forearm.

Colton cursed and grabbed his arm. ‘Man! What the fuck?’

‘Colton back off. She must be his mate,’ a third man said edging close to them from behind Gavriel.

‘Ryuu, are you sure?’ Colton asked and started to back away.

‘I’m sure. He is my mate,’ Elizabeth spoke up. Gavriel moved her towards the open door to their left.

‘Elizabeth, you don’t understand,’ Colton began.

‘He’s my mate. He won’t hurt me,’ Elizabeth let herself get herded towards the door. She stepped backwards into the empty room and her mate kicked the door shut behind him, never taking his eyes from her.

‘You’re Gavriel, right?’

He circled her, getting closer with every step. His eyes burned a deep red. Growing up in Noctem Falls, she had only ever seen this once before, when one of the men had been in the midst of his vampiric transition and his more aggressive tendencies had risen to the surface.

‘My name is Elizabeth Monroe. I’m your mate.’ He stopped circling.

‘I know. I dreamt of you.’ His voice sounded deep and raspy.

‘What did you see?’ she asked.

‘You. You falling all of the time.’ He leaned in and inhaled. He closed his eyes a blissful expression on his face. She realized he could smell her blood.

‘Are you in transition?’ She watched his face carefully.

He nodded and opened his eyes. ‘How did you know?’

‘I was raised in Noctem Falls.’

‘Then you know that you need to stay away.’ He turned his scarlet eyes to her. She flinched. There was barely anything human in that gaze. She looked towards the door but her animal began to protest. This was her mate, it was her responsibility to take care of him.

He gave an anguished cry and doubled up, wrapping his arms around his torso. He shook his head and when he turned to look at her, his eyes flicked from red back to grey.

‘Please go! I don’t want to hurt you!’ he gasped as she watched the muscles under his skin shift and tremble. It was then that she realized how much pain he was in. He was experiencing blood depravation on top of transition. There was no way she could walk away and leave him writhing in pain. She stepped closer.

‘Let me help.’

He shook his head. ‘Please!’ he begged.

‘No. You’re my mate, it is my right and my duty to feed you. I offer all of myself to you,’ she recited the words that she had heard so many times amongst the couples growing up. To be able to feed your mate was a gift.

‘You won’t hurt me and I can’t stand to see you in so much agony. Please feed.’ She placed a hand on his back. His head turned and he stared at her his eyes shifting from grey back to red.

‘I’ll try to be gentle,’ he whispered. He rose up, slowly unwinding his arms. When he stood to his full height he was trembling and near exhaustion. She could see that he was literally fighting to remain lucid.

He took her in his arms and for a moment simply stood there with her cheek against his chest. She inhaled taking his scent deep in her lungs. She would never get enough of him. With every breath his scent was getting ingrained on her soul. He lowered their bodies slowly to the rug and tilted her head to one side. He ran his tongue down the column of her neck and she shivered. She had expected him to strike like a starved animal, yet even at his most desperate, he was taking time to ensure that she felt as little pain as possible.

When he began to nip and nibble behind her ear she sighed as her body coiled in expectation. His arms tightened before he sank his fangs deep in her neck.

She had expected pain, but there was very little, just a quick pinch then a flood of pleasure. He held her as if she were the most precious thing in the world as he drank deeply. She could feel his restraint as he took slow, measured sips. Each pull of his lips sent jolts through her body, it felt as if he were licking and caressing her nipples and clit from the inside. Panting, she thrust her hips against him trying to find relief. She felt his lips curve against her neck and he brought his thigh up between her legs. The second his firm muscles hit her throbbing flesh she cried out and ground against him chasing the pleasure that stayed just out of reach. When his hand reached down to brush against her tightened nipples, she exploded crying out. Wave after wave of pleasure cascaded through her. She felt the swirling darkness begin to take her. Smiling she let go. The last thing she remembered was his gentle kiss against her neck.

*****

‘Are you certain she is well?’

‘She’s fine.’

‘I could have killed her.’

‘She’s a shifter. It would take more than a blood donation to kill her.’ The male voice sounded amused.

‘Listen to Adam, my friend. He doesn’t know much, but he does know about healing,’ another male voice spoke.

Elizabeth blinked and focused on the voices. Of the three, her mate’s voice was the sexiest. She froze. Her mate? That’s right she had found her mate.

‘Ha ha. Very funny, Aiden. Be nice or I’ll figure out a way to put Meryn on a caffeine IV drip.’

‘Gods no!’

Elizabeth smiled. ‘That actually sounds good right about now.’ She sat up to face the men. Two of them towered over her mate and looked enough alike she assumed they were related. Instantly her mate was at her side running a gentle hand over her hair.

‘How do you feel, he asked.

‘What’s ?’

He leaned in and whispered against her neck. ‘My sunshine or rabbit. I thought it fitting.’

His warm breath against her neck sent renewed shivers through her body.

The two men behind Gavriel cleared their throats. Gavriel stood and kissed her forehead.

‘Elizabeth, I know it may be belated but I am Gavriel Ambrosios. May I introduce to the Unit Commander Aiden McKenzie and his brother Adam McKenzie. Adam runs the clinic for the unit warriors. Gentleman, I finally have the pleasure of introducing my mate. Elizabeth Monroe.’ Gavriel brought her hand up and kissed it.

‘I’m glad she made it to Lycaonia in one piece. Thrice welcome Elizabeth, you couldn’t ask for a better mate.’ Aiden gave a courtly bow. Adam smiled and waved.

She looked at Adam. ‘You’re the doctor?’

‘Yes, I am,’ he replied.

‘You and I will be great friends. I am constantly tripping or falling, or tripping then falling over things.’ She turned to Gavriel when he groaned and covered his face with his other hand. He looked at her, a pained expression on his face.

‘So what I saw in my dreams was your everyday life, not just the terrifying moments?’ he asked.

‘I’m not sure what you saw, but I do get hurt on a fairly regular basis.’

‘Did you fall out of an office window?’

‘Yes.’

‘Did you fall down the sewer ladder?’

‘Yes, that was equal parts painful, humiliating and disgusting.’ She shuddered.

‘How did you manage to live to adulthood?’

‘That’s a question for my father. I’m sure he could give you an entire dissertation about my childhood.’ She grinned up at him.

‘I may just have to ask him,’ he murmured.

‘Elizabeth are you well enough to leave? My mate was curious about you.’ Aiden said.

She nodded and gently pulled her hand from Gavriel’s. Reluctantly he let go. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and went to hop off but her right leg became tangled in the blankets. If it weren’t for Gavriel’s reflexes, she would have spilled onto the floor. Aiden and Adam stared at her open mouthed, Gavriel paled.

‘I’m okay, really.’ She stood and smoothed out her clothes.

‘Okay then. I’ll drive.’ Aiden held up his keys.

Gavriel kept a hand on her lower back as they said goodbye to Adam and walked out to the parking lot.

‘Do you all live together?’ Elizabeth asked once they were on the road.

‘Yes, all of the Alpha Unit members live together,’ Aiden confirmed.

‘Even your mate?’

‘Meryn has made some changes recently.’ Gavriel had yet to let her hand go. It was as if he had to be touching her.

‘She just couldn’t stand to be away from me,’ Aiden said puffing his chest out. Elizabeth looked over to her mate who just shrugged.

‘What is Meryn like?’

Gavriel shook his head. ‘Meryn cannot be described, only experienced.’

‘Now I’m really curious.’

‘She’s one of kind,’ Aiden said proudly.

‘She sure is. I can’t wait for the two of you to meet,’ Gavriel said.

Aiden laughed.

Elizabeth smiled but felt a sense of foreboding, she couldn’t be that bad. Could she?

*****

‘Meryn, this is my mate, Elizabeth Monroe. Elizabeth, this is Meryn, Aiden’s mate.’

‘Is she the unbalanced one?’ a voice asked.

Elizabeth watched as spiky brown hair slowly began to pop up from behind the back of the chair, inch by inch until a pair of bright green eyes watched them unblinkingly.

‘What does she mean ‘the unbalanced one’ and is she alright?’ Elizabeth asked, edging behind her mate. Gavriel raised an eyebrow at Meryn. She popped back down disappearing behind the back of the chair, only to reemerge standing at its side. She stared down at the floor.

A handsome man in Japanese style dress stepped forward. ‘Perhaps some tea?’

Meryn nodded. ‘Thank you Ryuu, that’d be great.’ Ryuu bowed and left towards what Elizabeth assumed was their kitchen.

‘I hate to leave the two of you and the guaranteed entertainment that is sure to take place as you get to know one another, but Aiden and I need to discuss some things. I’d also like to give you some space to take everything in. Things have been moving quickly.’ Gavriel’s eyes were filled with concern when he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. ‘I’ll be down the hall in Aiden’s office, okay?’

Elizabeth nodded, he was already being considerate of her. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Everything felt surreal right now. Maybe some girl talk was exactly what she needed.

‘Okay.’

‘Meryn, be good,’ Aiden said walking away with Gavriel.

Meryn rolled her eyes. ‘I’m always good.’ She turned to Elizabeth ‘So. Do you know anything about dead bodies?’

Elizabeth blinked and glared at Gavriel’s back as he walked away with a chuckling Aiden. Darn that man, he knew this woman was crazy when he left her here. She turned back to the tiny human.

‘No, not really. Why?’

‘I’m trying to compare the damage done to the women killed by that psycho stalker to famous human serial killers to see if I can determine why they were killed, you know, establish a pattern.’

‘Ahh.’ Elizabeth couldn’t make sense of this human at all.

‘So. What kind of paranormal are you?’ Meryn sat down on the couch cross-legged pulling a laptop in front of her.

Elizabeth walked over and sat down in one of the room’s chairs.

‘I’m a .’

Meryn nodded. ‘So you’re a bunny.’

‘I’m a ‘A bunny. That’s cool.’ Meryn turned back to her laptop.

‘What did you mean when you said ‘unbalanced one’?’ Elizabeth asked, giving up on the bunny comment. She had a feeling it wouldn’t do any good to argue with this woman.

Meryn looked up and winced. ‘Gavriel dreamt about you before you got here. He said you were either mentally retarded or had a severe inner ear imbalance. He broke two of the stress balls I gave him worrying about you.’

‘I see.’

‘He’s really nice, so don’t hold it against him. He’s had a rough couple weeks. He’s been trapped inside with me for a month and not once did he make me feel awkward or like I was a nuisance. He was patient and has been explaining paranormal society to me and telling me stories.’ Meryn rambled.

Elizabeth smiled. If her mate had been trapped inside during his transition with this woman for a month and hadn’t lost his temper, he might be a saint.

‘How long has he been in transition?’ Elizabeth asked.

Meryn eyed her carefully. ‘He doesn’t want people knowing.’

‘Meryn, I figured it out on my own, I was raised around vampires. Besides, I’m his mate, normal rules don’t apply to me.’

Meryn sighed. ‘I think he’s going on two months.’

Elizabeth gasped.

Meryn’s eyes widened. ‘What?’

‘What do you know about vampiric transitions?’ Elizabeth asked as her stomach churned.

‘Not much, just that he needs more blood than normal and that at the end he ‘levels up’ like in a video game.’

Elizabeth nodded. ‘Vampires don’t age, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t change. Everything in this world changes. Vampires go through two different types of transition. One based on their age, usually at the five hundred year mark and then every thousand years or so. Within the age transitions the one thousand and five thousand year changes are the hardest.’

‘The second type of transition is one based on need. Those are the most brutal, since it’s dire circumstances dictating the changes and not the natural course of events. My Uncle Magnus went through a need-based transition before I was born. They still talk about it in Noctem Falls, he became unstable as his body gained the strength and power he would need to become an Elder.’

‘Both of these transitions are influenced by age; the older the vampire, the longer the transition, the longer the transition, the stronger they become. Unfortunately, the longer the transition, the more dangerous they become, not only for the vampire, but also for those around him.’

Meryn opened her mouth then closed it. She stayed quiet a moment then looked up at her. ‘So if Gavriel has been in transition for nearly two months, he is probably going through that five thousand year transition and a need-based transition since ferals are going bat shit crazy, then what?’

Elizabeth swallowed hard and leaned back in her chair. ‘Then we could possibly be living with the most dangerous creature on earth, at least until his transition is over.’

Meryn grinned. ‘That is so cool. Gavriel was badass before, but now, he’s like Chernobyl badass.’

Elizabeth looked at her and blinked. ‘You’re not scared at all are you?’

Meryn shook her head. ‘He’s surly and grumpy now, but when I first met him when his transition was just starting he was charming. He’s always been nice to me.’

‘I kind of like him grumpy,’ Elizabeth admitted.

‘Aiden is like that, I know what you mean,’ Meryn said running a finger along her laptop skin.

Elizabeth stared at the blue Tardis and smiled. ‘I like your laptop skin.’

Meryn’s eyes narrowed. ‘Do you know the Doctor?’

‘Of course.’

‘Who was the first Doctor?’ Meryn asked eyeing her with suspicion.

‘William Hartnell. Why?’ Elizabeth asked confused.

Meryn let out a breath of relief. ‘Some people ‘say’ they love the Doctor, but then when I ask them, ‘Who was the first Doctor?’ they say Eccleston and I want to scream. You pass.’ Meryn beamed at her.

‘You’re adorable. I’ll let you in on a secret. I’m old enough honey, that I watched Doctor Who when it originally aired. My family was visiting London at the time and I became instantly hooked.’ Elizabeth almost laughed out loud at the reverent expression on Meryn’s face.

‘That is so fucking cool!’ Meryn exclaimed.

Elizabeth laughed. She had never met anyone quite as open and guileless as Meryn. She was childlike and refreshing. ‘I’ve been a sci-fi fanatic as long as it’s been around.’

‘I tried to talk Aiden into going to DragonCon but he said no, that it would be a ‘logistical nightmare’.’ Meryn made air quotes.

‘I’ll take you next year. I have a standing reservation at a hotel downtown for DragonCon. I can show you the secrets of the Con that most tourists never see.’ Elizabeth offered.

‘No fucking way! I love you!’ Meryn bounced in her seat.

Elizabeth had never before met anyone who liked the things she did. In Noctem Falls, science fiction was considered immature or ridiculous. She found herself sharing Meryn’s enthusiasm.

‘So what do you all do around here to keep from losing your minds? Colton was going to take me into the city, but somehow I don’t think that is going to happen now.’ Elizabeth propped her feet up on the ottoman.

‘I’m an internet security expert…’

‘Hacker,’ Elizabeth interrupted.

Meryn nodded, grinning. ‘I’ve been working with Adair, that’s Aiden’s brother who runs the training academy in the city. I’m trying to convince him and the council that it would be more beneficial to assign the trainees to units for more hands-on training than to leave them languishing at the academy until an opening pops up. If my proposal goes through, all thirty of the current trainees will be assigned out to the units here in Lycaonia and Adair and his trainers can start on the next batch. If it’s successful here, they will adopt it in the other three cities effectively tripling the defense force. They’re supposed to be making a decision either today or tomorrow,’ Meryn explained.

‘That’s actually a very good idea.’ Elizabeth frowned and wondered why they hadn’t done this earlier.

‘Don’t sound so shocked,’ Meryn mumbled.

Elizabeth chuckled. ‘Sorry I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t intelligent, it’s just that it makes so much sense I was wondering why we haven’t adopted this practice before now.’

‘Oh. That’s easy. That’s because nobody around here likes change. I swear they wouldn’t change their underwear if they didn’t have to. Everything is tradition, tradition, tradition. Most of them have forgotten they originally decided to do things a certain way. A lot of practices need to be hauled into the twenty-first century,’ Meryn said sounding thoroughly disgusted.

‘Tell me about it. I was raised in Noctem Falls, they practically worship the Victorian era there. I still get stares when I wear jeans around the city when I visit my dad.’

Meryn’s eyes widened. ‘You were raised in Noctem Falls? I so want to go there. I heard that the vampires carved their city into the cliff face of a deep canyon.’

Elizabeth nodded. ‘I distinctly remember the first time my father took me outside to play. Noctem Falls is actually an underground city. It’s a network of caves and caverns deep in the earth.’

‘Like the dwarves in ?’ Meryn whispered.

‘Actually, that’s a very close representation of Noctem Falls. But instead of dwarves, there are vampires.’

‘Now I don’t know which city I want to visit first. I thought for sure that I wanted to go to Éire Danu first, but now Noctem Falls sounds magical.’ Meryn chewed on her lower lip.

‘Not just anyone can visit Éire Danu. The fae are very protective of their city,’ Elizabeth warned.

Meryn waved a hand in front of her. ‘I was invited by their queen. Elder Vi’Ailean is the younger brother of her consort. The Elder likes me.’ She grinned at her.

Elizabeth blinked. Meryn had already secured an invitation to Éire Danu and by the queen herself? She shook her head. She thought moving to Lycaonia would be boring, just a place to lay low until she could return to the human world without someone figuring out that she could survive a nose dive out of an office building window. She eyed the peculiar little human with renewed interest.

‘

your tea.’ The man that Meryn had called Ryuu carried a tray into the room. Immediately Elizabeth’s nose picked up on the faint smell of jasmine.

‘Thank you. Ryuu, have you met Elizabeth yet? She’s the one that Gavriel has been dreaming about. She’ll be moving in,’ Meryn said introducing them.

Elizabeth paused. ‘I’ll be moving in?’ She thought that Meryn was the exception to the rule about mates living in unit estates.

Meryn blinked. ‘Yeah, why wouldn’t you?’

‘It just isn’t done, Meryn.’

Ryuu chuckled. ‘You’ll soon discover that Meryn often does things that ‘just aren’t done’.’ Ryuu poured their tea carefully before stepping back to stand against the wall.

‘I do, don’t I?’ Meryn picked up a small plain cookie and popped it in her mouth before placing one on a napkin on the table. Elizabeth watched in fascination as the cookie lifted all on its own and tiny bite marks appeared.

Meryn caught her staring. ‘That’s Felix. He’s a sprite that decided to adopt me. He’s super sweet, but not everyone can see him,’ she explained.

Feeling as if she had stepped into an episode of the , Elizabeth nibbled on a cookie. What had she gotten herself into now?