Read A Mate for Gideon Online

Authors: Charlene Hartnady

A Mate for Gideon (3 page)

BOOK: A Mate for Gideon
3.4Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

The
threat could be nothing and it could be very real. It would be Gideon’s job to
treat it as the latter.

York
nodded. “Thanks for seeing Cassidy off the other day and for the advice.”

“For
the record, I know you didn’t use her like Brant thinks you did. You need to
know that it doesn’t help to go against the system though. Our rules are in
place for a reason.” He sighed heavily. “We may not like them, but we have to
obey them.” Gideon smiled, wanting to inspire confidence in the other male.
“Now…go inside and find your future mate.”

York
nodded back. “I’ll see you later.” He didn’t look excited at the prospect. It
wasn’t his problem though.

“Sure
thing.” Gideon turned and walked away, he pulled out his phone and ordered an
extra ten guards. He shoved the phone back into his pocket while taking in his
surroundings. This place was becoming more of a circus by the second. If it got
too much worse, he was calling it quits on the whole meet-and-greet and escorting
the females to the castle, as a matter of urgency. A hotel-style building had
been erected to house the females during the duration of the program. There
were many activities and excursions planned over the next week. The idea was to
set up a dating atmosphere so that the females would be able to relax, thus
allowing all parties to be able to get to know one another.

Although
he understood the need for such a program, it was also a fucking nightmare. There
were major risks involved. Humans were so weak and soft, liable to break so
easily.

A
suspicious looking male caught his attention. He was standing to the side of a
group of females and was alone. He looked nervous. There was too much going on
to be able to scent him or to hear his heart rate. The male’s eyes moved from
side to side. Assessing, calculating. His hands were shoved in his pockets and
he wore dark cargo type pants and a dark jacket. What the fuck was he up to? He
wasn’t accompanying a female and he didn’t seem interested in the vampire
guards. Just as he was about to go over and check it out, the male turned and
walked down the street. He had probably just been drawn in by the noise. Must
have realized that there really wasn’t anything to see.

Gideon
noticed that the guards at the entrance were having a huge discussion. They
looked more like a group of gossiping house-fucking-wives than the hardened
warriors they were. As he drew closer, he could hear what it was that they were
talking about.

“The
mammary glands on the one female could drive a male to insanity.” The male
groaned, sounding like he was in pain. “Fucking bigger than my hands.” He held
them up, pretending to cup a female’s chest in a crude fashion.

“Just
the one. They were all so lush…curves that just didn’t quit.” Another groaned,
shaking his head as if in disbelief.

“Did
you see that one blonde?” One of the younger males was speaking, he had his
back to Gideon.

“Which
one?” A more senior male asked.

“The
one in the low-cut white dress...” The younger male went on.

By
now, some of the males had seen Gideon’s approach. They visibly paled. One of
the males even took a step back, turning his eyes back to the crowd. Pretending
he wasn’t a part of the conversation.

Normally
he wouldn’t mind this type of banter. Human females excited most vampires. Both
their scent and taste were so alluring that it could drive a male to
distraction. Vampire females were exotic and highly attractive, yet they didn’t
have the type of curves or appeal a human had. It was normal that they would
react in this way. However, they were his team and they were on duty. On high
alert, dammit.

Rules
were fucking rules.

“…I’ve
never seen tits and ass like that on a female in my whole entire life.” He
spoke in an animated voice.

The
others had gone silent. All of the males that were facing York had their eyes
fixed either on the ground or locked with his.

“I’m
going to get myself into the elite…” He spoke more slowly, starting to sound
unsure of himself. By the way his head moved, Gideon could see that he was
looking at each of the males in the circle in turn. “…umm…He’s behind me, isn’t
he?”

The
older male from before swallowed thickly, nodding once.

“Oh
fuck.” The youngster said as he slowly turned his head to glance over his
shoulder at Gideon. His face took on a pained expression.

“Head
on the fucking game,” Gideon growled. It was enough to have them scattering
back to their respective posts.

Hate
mail had been pouring in ever since the program had been announced. They needed
to be on their guard. He had a feeling in his gut that something bad was going
to happen. If not today, then maybe tomorrow and if not tomorrow then some time
soon. There was no way in hell that, that fascist group responsible for
shooting down one of his kings’ chopper was just going to give up their quest
to see the royal family dead and an end to the program. No fucking way in hell.
He would call an urgent meeting in the morning to address this with his team.
They obviously didn’t feel the same way as he did. They needed to be reminded
of the stakes.

Gideon
scanned the crowd for the hundredth time, looking for anything out of place.
That earlier straggler male was nowhere to be seen. All other parties in
attendance fit in. It was time to check the perimeter and to ensure that the
males securing the rear of the club weren’t distracted by talk of the humans as
well. Aside from their alluring scents and lush bodies, human females held one
more even greater temptation, they were forbidden. There was something about
something you couldn’t have that just made you want it more.

His
rebellious days were long behind him and so were his interests in humans. He
wasn’t so much as looking at any of the females. It was important that he set
an example.

Gideon
shook his head as he made his way around the side of the building. Guards were
spread out at regular intervals, their eyes on the surroundings. Although there
was the odd straggler, most of the crowds were focused on the front of Aorta.

There
was a screeching of tires and then the smell of burning rubber filled the air.
The acrid scent permeated the area along with another even thicker scent.

Blood.

Congealed.
Cold. Animal
. He breathed out as the sound of
screaming punctured the air. There were at first just a couple of shrieks followed
by many in chorus. Loud and terrified.

“Hold
your positions.” Gideon screamed both at the surrounding guards who had turned towards
the scents and into his handheld radio. Every member of the guard had such a
device.

Beneath
the sound of footfalls and screams, he could hear another screech of tires,
this time as the vehicle retreated. In less than three seconds he was at the front
of the club and he just managed to catch the tail end of an unmarked,
nondescript van as it sped away. He gestured for Scott and Tyler to take one of
the SUVs and to follow the vehicle.

It
was fucking mayhem. An animal carcass lay at the door of the club. Humans were
running in all directions, they gave the piece of butchered meat a wide girth,
allowing him a clear view. It was spiked with stakes that looked to be silver
tipped.

Fucking
hate groups.

“Team
two, I need you inside that club. Cover all exits and ensure that the occupants
are well guarded. Team one, hold your positions. Stay alert.”

Several
humans were screaming and shrieking wildly. One female stood with her arms
spread wide. She was drenched, from head to toe, in sticky blood. Even her face
was completely covered. She was sobbing noisily. There were others that had
been splashed or that were all out covered in the sticky, congealing substance
as well.

“Eyes
fucking peeled,” he said over the radio. “This could be a diversion. Heads up
and report any sightings.”

Next,
he pulled out his phone and dialed Brant. “I hope you have a good reason…”
Brant stopped midsentence. He would be able to hear what was going on. His king
sighed. “What the fuck happened?”

There
was a noise of a baby crying in the back followed by cooing sounds as the queen
tried to quieten him.

Gideon
quickly relayed the events of the last few minutes.

“Motherfuck
it!” Brant growled.

“I’m
sure it was just an act of vandalism but I don’t want to take any risks.”
Gideon watched as one of his males tried to help the sobbing female, but she
only screamed louder at his approach. It looked like she was having some sort
of panic attack. Thankfully, one of the humans came to her rescue.

“Are
you saying that you want to pull the plug on the meet and greet? They’ve only
been in there for an hour. Not fucking much of a meet and greet is it?” Brant
growled.

“No,
my lord. Everyone has been reassured inside, but this has to have put a damper
on the whole thing. Might I suggest a continuation tomorrow? On vampire
territory? The females are all packed and ready to move into their new
accommodations for the next few weeks.”

Another
heavy sigh. “Fine.” He made an irritated noise. “We knew this wouldn’t be
without compli-fucking-cations…I’ll have Allison schedule a breakfast in the
morning. Get them out of there…” he paused and Gideon could hear that he was
thinking. “The males arrived on their own steam?” Before Gideon could reply, Brant
continued. “They should leave separately. The females can travel together as
planned. They will be less of a target that way.”

Gideon
felt like rolling his eyes. “I will stick to the original plan. It’s well
thought out and will definitely go a long way in lowering risks.” Since
vampires were believed to be the main target, the plan was to keep the vampires
and humans separate while traveling outside their territory. “I will oversee
the evacuation and will follow the convoy myself.”

“Good,”
Brant growled. “And Gideon?”

“Yes,
my lord.”

“I
don’t want any fuck ups. Am I clear?” Brant barked.

“Crystal.”

“I’m
counting on you big fucking time.” The line went dead and Gideon shoved the
phone back into his vest. He put the two-way radio to his mouth and barked a
few orders of his own, deciding to use the back of the club to evacuate the
females. Within minutes, the vehicles would be lined up and ready to enter and
exit. There were two ways in and two out to avoid getting trapped. He placed
guards at strategic points to ensure sufficient cover if all hell broke loose.
There were no tall buildings in the vicinity, so there was limited chance of a
sniper attack. Just to be sure, he had males lined up to flank the females.
They would take the bullets instead of the vulnerable humans. He doubted it
would come to that though. The whole meat throwing incident had been a
cowardice act, designed to scare. Humans could be such yellowbellies.

Once
everything was set up and ready, he signaled the guard at the door to have the
first female come out. This needed to happen quickly and quietly. The vehicles
would move in a convoy, with vampire guards at the front and rear of the
procession. He would oversee the operation and watch the tail end of the
convoy…just in case. If anything went wrong, it could spell disaster for the
covens. Hell, if even a single human got hurt, let alone killed, the entire vampire
race might just end up on silver spikes looking much the same as the pig
carcass on the pavement.

The
nine remaining elite males had been instructed to stay inside until all of the
females were clear before leaving intermittently. Apparently, York had already
fucking left. He would need to have a serious word with the male. Leaving
without authorization was not permitted. It was about fucking time he started
obeying the rules. The male wouldn’t be in the shit he was in if he had done so
in the first place.

The
first female came out. He couldn’t see her because of the guards that flanked
her on all sides. One by one the females continued to arrive. Once a vehicle
was full, it would leave and the next one would arrive. He had counted sixteen females
as the next vehicle pulled up.

Another
tight formation left the building when her scent hit him. Deep in the nostrils,
deep in the gut. He was motherfucked if his dick didn’t spring to attention.
Right here. Right now. A low growl escaped him.

Cinnamon
and spice and all things nice.

A
scent that was branded into his memory.

Fuck
.

It
couldn’t be. No fucking way. His mind went back to a time in his life, all
those months ago. To how he’d buried his nose into her hair. The strands were a
mousy brown sprinkled with pure spun fucking gold. With the texture of the
softest silk.

Gideon
swallowed thickly as his heart rate picked up. Everything in him tightened as
he took in another nose full. More memories rose up in him. Buried but not
forgotten. Scenting her now made him realize how close to the surface they had
been. His heart clenched painfully in his chest. He had to suppress another
growl.

BOOK: A Mate for Gideon
3.4Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Plague Zone by Jeff Carlson
Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson
Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede
Mass Effect. Revelación by Drew Karpyshyn