A Mate for Gideon (19 page)

Gideon
watched as the male’s knuckles turned white as he prepared to pull the trigger
a second time. This time Gideon was prepared. He sidestepped the bullet and was
on the male in a split second. Using every ounce of self-control he possessed,
he hit Liam’s hand with enough force to dislodge the weapon but not so hard as to
shatter bones. Something he wished like fuck he could do.

It
was good that the bullet had passed right through Gideon. Lucky that the
projectile had been made from copper or steel. Already, he could feel his flesh
knit. The bastard in front of him cried out as his weapon flew across the room.
His eyes were wide with shock.

Within
the next few minutes, he was going to wish that he had loaded with silver but
then again, how was he to know that a vampire was after him.

“What
the fuck!” Liam growled. His hands had clenched into fists, one of which he was
aiming directly for Gideon’s face.

Gideon
had to suppress a yawn. Humans were so damned slow. He grabbed the fist and
squeezed. Hard enough to hurt like a bitch but not so hard that anything
actually broke. He kneed the fucker in the nuts. Wishing he could castrate the
bastard. A male like this did not deserve to breed or to even to have a female
at his side for that matter.

Liam
yelled out. His face a contorted mask of pain. The other male’s knees buckled
out from underneath him.

Gideon
released him. The moment he did so, Liam fell to his side. He rolled on the
ground clutching his dick. “Shit. Did you have to fucking do that?” He finally
managed to whimper. “Do you know who you’re messing with?”

“A
coward and a bully,” Gideon snarled.

“Who
the fuck are you?” He was panting hard, his hand still tightly clasped to his
dick. “Your face is covered dammit, yet you have the gall to call me a coward?
Fuck you!” He growled, sounding stronger.

“It
doesn’t matter who I am. It only matters why I am here. Stay away from Jenna.
You go anywhere near her and I will kill you. Do you understand me?”

Liam
choked out a strangled laugh, finally taking his hands off of his dick. His
face was white and dripping with sweat. Somehow he managed to pull himself
semi-upright. “Is that what this whole thing is about? You’re here because of
that bitch?”

Gideon
kicked the male, aiming for his chest rather than his face. Human necks were
too easy to snap, their skulls too easy to crush. As it stood, he kicked him as
softly as he could, given the male’s badmouthing of Jenna. It was fucking
unacceptable. This low life wasn’t worthy of wiping a female like Jenna’s ass
let alone being with her.

It
irritated him to see the male flying back. Winded and dazed but still
breathing. He hadn’t heard the telltale sound of a rib cracking. Fuck, but he
wanted to tear into the dickhead. Make him fucking pay. He deserved it. No one
would tie him to the crime. Not in a million fucking years. He had made a
promise to Jenna though, so he held back. It fucking killed him to do so, but
he did it.

The
male made a loud grunting sound. He cussed loudly. “So it’s serious then?” Liam
laughed while shaking his head. “She’s the most frigid chick I’ve ever been
with. Just lies there. I honestly don’t know what you see in her. Good fucking
riddance. I’m glad to be shot of her. Clumsy fucking bitch. Always falling and
apologizing. She couldn’t do a damned thing right. Not a damned fucking thing.”
The male’s eyes blazed.

Gideon
felt several muscles tick in his jaw. A low rumble sounded from deep inside his
chest. He never wanted to kill something so much in his whole damn life. Yet he
continued to hold back. His hands shook as he grabbed Liam by the throat. His
fingers dug into flesh. Enough to cut off the male’s oxygen supply but not
enough to snap his neck. “Listen to me,” he growled. “You stay far away from
her. Touch her. Speak to her. If you so much as fucking look in her direction,
I will kill you. Your death will be slow and agonizing.”

The
male’s eyes started to look panicked. Overly large in his skull. His hands
clutched at Gideon’s, trying and failing to pry them away. Liam’s legs kicked
out.

“There
is a part of me that hopes you try. I long to remove your intestines. I would
use them to strangle you. Stay away or die. It’s simple.”

The
stench of the other male’s urine hit his nostrils. It helped to soothe his
anger knowing that the bastard was scared enough to piss himself. Gideon had to
force himself to release the male who gasped and spluttered. Sucking in gulps
of air.

“I’ll
come for you. Don’t fucking think for a second that I won’t because you would
be dead fucking wrong.” In less than two seconds he was out the window. Moving
quickly and quietly, he made his way back to his SUV. He couldn’t shake the
feeling that leaving the motherfucker breathing was a mistake.

He
only hoped he didn’t live to regret it.

Gideon
tried not to fidget. It was difficult considering he’d been sitting in this
chair for half an hour. Fuck! The urge to go and tear down Brant’s door hit him
hard. Such an act would not serve him in any way. In fact, it would be
detrimental so he held back while clasping his hands in his lap instead.

Brant’s
PA continued to type on her laptop. Oblivious to the knots that coiled in his
gut. She’d noticed him dripping with sweat earlier and had turned up the air
conditioner. Good try. Thing was, she could have the setting on arctic and it
wouldn’t help one little bit.

York
strode in, he gave Gideon a curt nod. The big male walked over to Allison’s
desk.
Good fucking luck with that!

The
female continued to type at her computer. York shifted on his feet and his jaw
clenched for a few beats. The male put both hands on her desk and leaned in. His
eyes were firmly on her.

Allison
stuck the tip of her manicured nail between her lips and lifted her eyes to
York. “Anything I can help you with?”

“I
need to see Brant right now”—York paused—“please.” He added the last as an
afterthought when her eyes widened and her brows lifted.

Gideon
had to suppress a humorless laugh.

She
removed the finger and gave York a regretful smile. The same smile she had used
on him earlier. “He is busy at the moment. His schedule is fully booked for the
day.”

A
snorting noise escaped him. York looked over his shoulder at him. Gideon shook
his head, feeling more frustrated than ever before in his life.

“If
you’re going to insist…like others I know.” Allison looked pointedly at Gideon.
“You’ll need to get in line.” She gestured to the seat next to him.

“All
I need is five minutes.” Gideon couldn’t help but to growl, he felt his muscles
bunch, and his hands fist on his lap. York gave him the once over and raised
his brows.

Allison
shook her head. “No can do. That goes for the both of you…” Her gaze moved back
to York. “Come back in”—she typed on the keyboard, her face illuminated by the
computer screen—“three days. He has a half hour slot at—”

“Forget
it,” Gideon growled. “I’ll sit right here until he sees me…in fact…” He rose to
his feet. He was fucking done with waiting. “I’ll go and talk with Zane.” The
male was his direct superior and much more reasonable. He should’ve saved
himself the hassle and talked to him a long time ago.

York’s
nostrils flared nosily as they passed one another. His face took on a quizzical
look. Gideon clenched his teeth. It was none of York’s business. “Don’t even go
there. It’s not what you think.”

York
put his hands up. “I didn’t say a thing. It’s none of my business.”

“Damn
straight it’s not…” Gideon took a step towards the door.

“What
the fuck are the two of you doing here? You…” Brant half snarled the word as
his eyes narrowed on him. “Fuck, Gideon…I gave you my answer yesterday. It’s
not going it happen. Rules are rules. My answer is still no, so unless you are
here for something else I suggest you leave.”

His
king was a mind reader. Then again, they did have carefully planned out
meetings to discuss security surrounding the program. The only time they met
outside of these meetings was in the case of an incident. It made sense that
Brant would guess the reason he was there.

Gideon’s
jaw tensed, along with every other muscle in his body. “I was just going.” His
voice was low and only just shy of a growl. Taking long, fast strides, he left
the room before he said or did something that he would regret.

He
had never felt more out of control or more helpless in his whole life.

Zane
was exactly where he expected him to be at this time of the day. On the
training grounds, carrying out inspections of the various practices.

His
king stood, arms folded, watching two males battle it out with swords. Both
males were covered in blood. One of the two had a slice across his forehead. As
Gideon watched, the wound seemed to become less deep, less wide.

They
used steel swords for such sparring sessions to avoid major injury or death.
Gideon put his hand on his chest. His skin still pulled a little over the
bullet wound but other than a small pink scar, there was nothing left to see.
Within the next few hours, even that would be gone.

He
moved in next to Zane, who glanced across at him. The big male’s nostrils
flared, then he turned back to the fight. The only male that had actually assumed
the worst, was York and only because he too had been fooling around with a
human female. Everyone else assumed that he reeked of human female because he
spent so much time with them…protecting them.

Gideon
had seen the reports showing how York signed himself in and out of vampire
territory, sometimes more than once a day. He would disappear for hours on end.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess exactly where he was going.

Funny
how guilty minds always assumed the worst. York was as guilty as fuck. He was
also a male on a mission. Hopefully he would have more luck than what he had,
had. Although he couldn’t keep facts away from Brant, he told the male as
little as possible, not wanting to get York into trouble. Not when he could
completely relate.

“I
need to have a word, my lord.” Gideon glanced at Zane, his eyes were still
fixed on the fight. Things were heating up. One of the males had practically
hacked the other one’s arm off. It hung from a piece of flesh. He commended the
wounded male’s bravery. The youngster had yet to scream, run or forfeit the
bout. His arm useless at his side, he soldiered on. His jaw was set in
determination.

“I
thought you were here to select a few new recruits. We have a couple of males
that would work perfectly in your division.” He nodded towards the brave
fighter. The youngster grunted as his bigger opponent stabbed him in the
stomach. He fell to one knee, but still refuse to give up.

“I’m
not here on business. I need to speak with you about a private matter. I would
greatly appreciate a few minutes of your time.”

Zane
turned his full attention on him. Dark, penetrating eyes bore into him.
“Private? This would be a first.” Zane gave a jerk of the head to indicate
affirmation. He turned and strolled away, expecting Gideon to follow.

On
one knee, bleeding profusely, arm still hanging, the youngster lunged up with
his sword slashing the femoral artery of his opponent. Blood sprayed. The other
male shrieked trying to staunch the flow. It was an immediate victory to the
brave youngster who fell on his side, exhaustion clearly setting in.

“Come
and see me tomorrow.” Gideon said as he looked down at the youngster who managed
a bloody grin.

The
male nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

Gideon
turned and followed Zane who was already exiting the training grounds, headed
for a walkway that led to the lake. This way they would have some much needed
privacy.

Gideon
broke into a jog, quickly catching up with his king. They walked in silence for
a few minutes.

“Right,
what’s going on? Does this have something to do with the human females?” Zane’s
eyes narrowed. “Brant and I do talk. He told me that you spoke with him
yesterday. I can only guess that this has something to do with a female.” The
male sighed.

“Yes,
my lord.” Gideon was sure to maintain eye contact while he spoke. “That would
be correct.”

Zane’s
eyes seemed to darken. He looked to the lake for a few seconds before turning
back to Gideon. “My hands are tied. There is nothing I can do to help you. You
need to take Brant’s advice and stay the fuck away from her.”

Gideon
sucked in a deep breath. “It’s more complicated than that. I love her.”

Zane
frowned, his nostrils flared again. “You are willing to risk everything for a
female without first testing compatibility? That’s fucking insane and you know
it. I realize that there is a good chance that if you are sufficiently
attracted to one another, that you will be compatible. There is a risk though.”

He
needed to come clean. It might buy him time in the dungeon or a hundred fucking
lashings, but it was worth it. “We are compatible,” Gideon growled. “Very
fucking compatible.”

Zane
smiled. “Even if you used human coverings, I would still be able to scent if
you rutted her. You did not.” His frown deepened. “Why are you lying to me
about this?”

“Before
I can answer the question, I need to understand what it is that you are asking?
What is a human covering?” He felt himself frown.

“Humans
are strange.” A low rumble emerged from deep in his chest. “They use a rubber covering
over their dicks to prevent seed from entering the female and to prevent the spreading
of disease. I am very glad that we are able to scent when a female goes into
heat, making these coverings unnecessary. I would hate for my dick to be
covered during sex.”

Gideon
shook his head. “Oh, you mean condoms. No…it would be terrible. To not be able
to feel my female’s warm…” He cleared his throat. “I have tested compatibility
and have rutted with this female on many occasions but not since she’s been on
our soil.”

“What
the fuck are you talking about? How is that possible?” Zane growled. “And it
better not mean what I think it does.” Then he took a deep breath and
unclenched his fists, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“About
a year and half ago…”

Zane
cursed and shook his head. With a stoney expression on his face, he gestured
for Gideon to continue. “Brant and I had a big fall out. I was the best trainee
at the time and had applied to be accepted into the elite team. A lesser male
was awarded the position. Brant said that I was too rigid, that I failed to
think outside the box and for that reason my application was declined. He told
me to try again in a few months” Gideon could still remember the bitter
disappointment. The anger that burned holes in him. He couldn’t go on training
day by day, taking orders from Brant and his superiors without feeling cheated.
The male that was awarded the position immediately became one of his
commanders. It sucked big time. He got into fights all the time.

“I
was angry.” He finally said, downplaying his emotional state by a mile. “I
ended up packing my bags and leaving. I went to reside in Sweetwater. I stayed
at the local hotel. I wasn’t really sure what to do. There was a part of me
that wanted to leave and never come back and a bigger part that loved my
species too damn much to turn my back on them.” He huffed out a breath. “The
problem was, I couldn’t go back. I didn’t want to at that stage. So, I hung out
in Sweetwater. I met Jenna within a week of my being there. She drew me in like
no female ever had or has since.”

“Fuck,”
Zane declared, in an even tone. Thankfully he didn’t look nearly as angry as
Gideon had expected. Brant would’ve had his nuts by now. He didn’t say anything
further, just kept his eyes on Gideon waiting for him to continue.

“We
were together for seven weeks. It was serious, Zane. I saw her as my mate. I
loved her…I never stopped loving her.”

“This
is fucking serious,” Zane growled. “I take it you left because a relationship
would’ve been forbidden…still fucking is.”

Gideon
shook his head. “No, I had planned to meet with Brant. To make him somehow
understand. Failing that, I would’ve left our species for good. Lived out the
rest of my days with my female…with Jenna. We would’ve been happy.” Gideon
thought back on all the time they had spent together. All the special moments
they had shared.

Zane
sighed loudly. “What happened?” He finally prompted, bringing Gideon back from
his thoughts.

“I
found out that she was already mated…or had been mated. It’s complicated.” He
sucked in a deep breath. “She was still mated when we first started seeing each
other.”

“Are
you fucking serious?” Zane ground out. “And you still want this female…why?”

“She
and the male had gone their separate ways prior to our meeting. I did not
understand at the time that this was normal for humans. They were in the
process of cutting ties. The legal paperwork was being processed. I thought
that she was cheating on him with me. I felt that she must be highly deceptive,
a female with no honor. She tried to explain to me the normality of the
situation…I did not understand human terms back then. I was too hurt to hear
her out.”

Zane
nodded. “Yes, they are different to us in this regard. We have several females
within the program that were previously mated.” He shrugged. “Tanya has
explained this in great detail…I am starting to gain some understanding. It is
strange to me as well.”

“I
should’ve listened to her when she tried to explain. I was just too hurt. Too
angry. It was months before I finally realized that I had made a grave mistake.
Nine long months without the female that I loved. Without my mate. I was unable
to move on or to even look at another female. I decided to go back, to try and
see if we could make it work. To try and understand this concept of broken
matings amongst the humans. Being without her was just too difficult. I was
sure that she felt the same way.”