Mated to War (8 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Charli had no idea how he had
done it, but Judge had convinced her to move both herself and Emily into his
quarters until his house on the pride lands was ready for a six-year-old girl.
The previous night, after visiting Emily, they’d driven to the apartment she shared
with her little sister and packed up the measly possessions. It had come fully
furnished, so the only things that were taken from the apartment were four
suitcases and a box of Emily’s toys. Everything had been transferred to Judge’s
quarters for the interim, Charli and Emily included.

“Is this where we’re going to
live from now on?” Emily asked as she settled into the large double bed in
Judge’s spare room. It was her first night out of the hospital.

“No, princess,” Judge said,
walking into the room carrying the only item Emily had left of her former
life—the stuffed rabbit her mother had given her. “Do you remember me telling
you about all those kids in my pride?”

“The ones who play outside and
go exploring?” Emily’s tired-looking blue eyes brightened with excitement.

“Yes, that’s the ones,” Judge
replied, sitting down on the opposite side of the bed from Charli. “Well how
would you feel about living on the pride lands with them?”

Looking up at Charli, she asked,
“Will you be coming too, Charli?”

Charli grabbed her little
sister’s hand. “Yes, honey. Judge has a house there, and we thought we all
might live there together. Would you like that?”

“And that means no more doctors
or hospitals, right?” she asked. “You said last night that I won’t have to go
back to the hospital.”

“Princess, can I tell you
something? But it has to be a secret, okay?” Judge asked. Emily sat up
straight, nodding. “Well just like you’re a little different from the other
kids, so are the children on the pride lands. They can turn into mountain
lions.”

“Really? How?”

“Shall I show you?” Judge asked,
standing. Emily edged closer to Charli as her little head bobbed up and down.
“Now I want you to remember that no matter what happens in this room, I want
you to understand that you are safe.”

“Okay, but what you gonna do?”
Emily asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Just watch,” Judge replied as
he stepped back from the bed.

Charli had seen Judge shift
before but only partly. Like her sister’s, her gaze was transfixed on Judge,
who was visibly vibrating. Something seemed to be moving under his skin,
crawling throughout his entire body. Golden fur, the same color as his hair,
sprouted from his pores. His nose began to lengthen as claws pierced his
fingertips.

So absorbed in the changes in Judge,
Charli screamed in surprise when the large mountain lion pounced on the bed. He
sat on his hind legs, staring expectantly at her, his eyes begging her for
something.

Beside her, Emily was bouncing
in excitement. “Can we keep him?” she squealed before throwing her arms around
Judge.

Charli didn’t have time to
question whether her sister was in danger being so close to such an animal.
Judge’s mountain lion began to purr in response to her nonsensical cooing. In
her six-year-old eyes, her primary desire to have a pet had been fulfilled.

“Honey, you have to remember
that Judge and his pride family are humans too. They aren’t pets,” Charli
gently reminded.

“But, Charli, you know I always
wanted a cat and this way we get a big one who’s scarier than any dog and can
protect us from the bad guys.”

Charli’s heart broke at Emily’s
words. She had tried to shield her from the worries of the danger that
constantly stalked them. But it would seem she had failed her little sister.
Judge once again came to her rescue. He changed back to his human form in a
blink of an eye, fully clothed with Emily still clinging to him.

“Princess, I will protect both
you and Charli with my life. I won’t allow the bad guys anywhere near either
one of you.” While he had addressed Emily, Judge’s gaze held Charli’s. The
promise his words held was mirrored in his eyes. His focus then returned to
Emily as he added, “And you can ask anyone on the pride lands, I’m stronger and
scarier than any dog.”

“You won’t let them take Charli
from me too?”

“I won’t let anyone take you or
Charli from me. The three of us are a team, a family, and we can’t be
separated, okay?” Judge vowed, gently pulling on Emily’s hair.

Emily appeared to consider his
words before replying. But when she did, Charli couldn’t have been more proud
of the maturity her sister showed. It was far beyond her six years.

“Okay, Judge. But if you’re part
of this family, you have to follow Charli’s rules,” Emily replied, yawning.

Charli’s heart melted at Judge’s
response. This alpha of a mountain lion pride and head of security of the hotel
and casino was a man who made the rules rather than followed them. But still,
to appease a little girl, he bowed down and agreed to abide by the rules that
had kept both Emily and Charli safe for the last two years.

“If it keeps my girls safe, then
I will do as you wish,” he agreed, lying down beside Emily. “But you must tell
me the rules so I don’t get them wrong.”

“They’re easy,” Emily stated
before another yawn escaped her. “Number one: Don’t talk to strangers. Number
two: Don’t talk about family. If someone asks, I have to tell them that we have
none. Number three: Around strangers, Charli is my mom. Number four: Don’t tell
anyone about our magic eye. And number five: My name is Emily, not Emma.”

Judge nodded. “You’re right,
they are easy. But now that you’re six, do you think you could remember a
couple more rules?”

“Uh-huh,” came the sleepy reply.

“Good girl, because I have a
couple that will help keep both you and Charli safe too.”

“Okay,” Emily replied with heavy
eyes.

Then, as if Charli’s heart
hadn’t been given enough of a workout this evening, Judge went and backed up
his sweet promises by tucking Emily into bed as if he had been doing it for her
all her short life.

“Okay, now I want you to get
some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us if we’re going to visit the pride
lands tomorrow and talk about those other rules.” Judge pulled the blankets up
over Emily. “How about we start off with Chaos’s famous pancakes for
breakfast?”

“With ice cream and chocolate
sauce?” Emily mumbled.

“You can have them any way you
please, as long as you eat them all up,” Judge promised. “Now what are you
going to be dreaming about tonight? Fairies, castles, or princes?”

“No, silly,” Emily chastised
gently, trying to open her eyes. “I’m going to be dreaming about magical
animals.”

“Okay, princess. Magical animals
it is. Sweet dreams, Charli and I will see you in the morning.” Judge kissed
Emily’s forehead and stood to allow Charli room to say her goodnights.

Pulling the door partway closed,
Charli and Judge moved toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Charli
suddenly felt exhausted. While it might not have felt like they had a very
productive day, there wasn’t a moment in which Charli could honestly say that
she had relaxed.

Picking Emily up from the
hospital had been an ordeal. By ten o’clock she had been ready to be
discharged, but the doctor hadn’t left the required prescriptions. Not that
Emily would be taking the medicine, but Charli still needed to appear to be
following the doctor’s instructions. Then the forms to have Emily’s care
transferred to the pride doctor had to be completed, and like most people, the
doctor and nurses at the hospital weren’t immune to Emily’s charm. She had
worked her way into their hearts and they were reluctant to let her go.

And it would seem not even
vampires were immune to her. By the time they had arrived back at Judge’s
quarters, the lounge room was filled with people desperate to welcome Emily
home. Not surprising, Nikki was front and center offering Emily a hug. This was
followed by Gabby. Both Charli and Emily were introduced to Jewel at the same
time, while the men hung back watching the estrogen levels rising in the room.

Before long, Judge’s brothers
had been charmed into Emily’s web. She had them eating out of her hands by
lunch. She had even incited laughter from Devil. A mission Charli had
previously thought impossible.

Even though it was a new
experience for Emily, she was in her element. She had everyone hanging on her
every word, and she was loving every minute of it. Charli didn’t have the power
to deny her sister this. The only other family she’d known had been ripped from
her life in an act of greed.

“How are you holding up,
kitten?” Judge asked, coming up behind her and encircling her in his arms.

“I’m tired,” she replied with a
sigh. “I’ve barely done anything today, but I feel like I have run a marathon.”

“You’ve been on an emotional
roller coaster for most of your life. Add to that needing to remain constantly on
your guard so you can protect the one you love. I’m surprised you’re still
standing.”

“I can’t let my guard down yet,
Judge,” Charli said, turning in his arms and lifting her gaze to meet his.
“Delgado is still roaming the streets. We’re still not safe.”

“You will be once we move to
pride lands.”

“We’ll never be safe while
Delgado is free. I have to help Iris and Jonah take him down,” she countered,
hoping Judge didn’t fight her on this. “I have to discover the drop off point
so he’s no longer a danger to Emily and me.”

“I have no problem with you
doing that, kitten. The only thing I ask is for you not to shut me out.” Judge
pulled her into his body and rested his chin on her head. “You’re not alone in
this anymore. You have people in your life willing to fight for you and Emily,
please remember that.”

“I will, Judge,” she promised.
“Thank you.” Though she hoped the plan played out as Iris had suggested it
would and she wouldn’t have to place herself or anyone else in danger.

“Good. Okay are you ready for bed?”

The bed Judge spoke of was the
only other available one in his quarters. The one she had unknowingly shared
with Judge the previous night. After arriving home from their hospital visit
with Emily, Judge had set about making them a quick dinner. The last thing she
remembered was sitting down on the sofa. This morning she woke up in Judge’s
bed and his arms. And surprisingly, she found nothing but comfort in this man.

“More than ready,” she replied
before heading toward the door that led to his room and a good night sleep.

Chapter Fourteen

Judge bolted upright in his bed,
ready to take on his attacker. Turning toward the sound of heavy breathing
beside him, he waited for his shifter vision to adjust to the darkened room.
More punishment was inflicted on his body, but this time he could see the
culprit. His mate was thrashing around beside him on the bed, her whole being
caught in what he could only presume to be a nightmare.

Her flailing arms connected once
again to his skin and she kicked at an invisible monster at the bottom of the
bed. He gently shook her upper body in an attempt to wake her but the nightmare
had its hold on her. Fearing she would end up hurting herself, he conceded that
there was only one thing to do and his balls weren’t going to like it.

A strike to his groin was what
had woken him, and he was about to place his most vulnerable region back in the
line of fire. But his pain mattered little to him when his mate needed him.
Climbing over her, he grabbed her hands while his legs tried to tame her
kicking limbs. This didn’t have the desired effect. In fact it made his mate
struggle more.

“Kitten, I need you to wake up.
You’re having a bad dream,” he said softly in an attempt not to scare her more.
Still she tried to throw him off her body. “Charli, you’re going to hurt
yourself!”

He placed every ounce of alpha
power he could in his voice while still maintaining a lowered tone. He was
conscious of Emily in the room next to theirs. Thankfully his mate stilled and
her eyes fluttered open. They held nothing but fear and confusion.

“Morning, kitten.” Judge slowly
moved off of her, his balls reminding him of the pain they were feeling.

“Judge, why were you on top of
me?” she demanded, her voice harsher from lack of use overnight.

“You were thrashing around on
the bed, fighting something in your dream. I didn’t want you hurting yourself,”
he replied, his hand automatically going to his throbbing groin.

Her hand landed on his arm. “I’m
sorry for scaring you. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Judge didn’t know how to respond
to that simple question. For all of his years on this earth, and they had
exceeded many millennia, his experience in the finer arts of being a gentleman
were lacking. Usually his rule of no lies, unless it was for the protection of
his family, would have him speaking the truth of his discomfort, while still
maintaining his dominant personality. That rule didn’t seem to apply here.

He didn’t want to upset Charli.
But he also had no plan on lying to her, ever. Lies destroyed relationships, and
he intended on holding on tight to his beautiful mate for the rest of his long
existence.

Looking down into her worried
eyes, he found the answer. “Kitten, the only hurt you could inflict on me is by
rejecting me.”

That seemed to be the right
response, if her reaction was anything to go by. She sat up and immediately
crawled into his lap. While he relished her closeness, his bruised balls
protested at the pressure they were now being subjected to, compliments of his
mate. Allowing his upper body to fall backward, he returned to his previous
position on the mattress, taking Charli with him.

“Somehow, Judge, I don’t think I
have the strength to reject you, even if it were for the best,” Charli finally
said, her lips moving against his neck as she spoke.

“I see no situation that could
possibly support you rejecting me as the best course of action.” He held her
closer to his body.

Silence followed his edict.
Charli’s breathing evened out, leaving him to believe she had fallen back
asleep. He was proven wrong several minutes later.

“What time is it?”

Reluctantly releasing his hold
on her with one hand, Judge reached for his phone that sat on his bedside
table. The soft glow from the screen highlighted what he already suspected. It
was too early to get up but too late for him to fall back asleep.

“Half past four.” He returned
his phone to its usual spot. “What time does Emily usually wake up?”

“Around six,” Charli replied
before trying to pull away from him. He refused to let her go. “Judge, let me
up. I won’t be able to go back to sleep but that doesn’t mean you can’t.”

“Kitten, I’m awake now. I don’t
require a lot of sleep.” He pulled her back into his body. “But why don’t you
try to get a little more sleep?”

“I can’t.” Fear permeated her
voice.

“Why? Is it the nightmare?” He
felt her nodding against his chin. “Can you tell me about it? It will help.”

“It was about the same thing all
my nightmares are—Delgado.” No matter how pissed he was at this man’s constant
hold over his mate’s life, he remained quiet in the hope she would continue to
share herself with him. And she didn’t let him down. “That last vision of him
was the scariest. He actually punched a pregnant woman in the stomach because
he wanted her to abort. I knew he was evil, but to strike at a helpless baby
like that is beyond anything I can imagine.”

Soft, muffled sobs sounded as
tears rolled off his shoulder. He could understand his mate’s distress. He
couldn’t fathom harming a child or woman. They were to be protected and
treasured, not abused.

“Kitten, I wish I could tell you
that everything is okay. But I swear I will do everything within my power to
make sure he can no longer hurt anyone else.”

 
Not liking his mate’s trembling form, he
suggested, “Hey why don’t we talk about something else. The likes of Delgado
doesn’t belong in our bed. I don’t like seeing you upset.”

“Do you promise to help in
whatever way necessary to stop him?” Charli asked, her determined gaze holding
his.

Though he suspected he was going
to regret his next words, he would have agreed to just about anything to draw
his mate out of her melancholy. “Yes, mate, I swear.”

Hugging him tight, Charli
responded a little more enthusiastically, “Thank you, Judge. You have no idea
how much that means to me.” A smile lit up her face for the first time that
morning. “So, new subject? What about how old you are.”

Latching on to the change of
topic and his mate’s brighter demeanor, he asked, “And what makes you think I’m
old?”

“The girls keep explaining yours
and Devil’s action with suggestions that you belong in a different time. And
Chaos said something about me being a fitting mate for one of the Four
Horsemen.”

“Ahh, I see,” Judge replied,
pausing. It was time for him to tell his story. He just hoped she didn’t push
him away after hearing some of the things he had done in his past. “To explain
my age I would have to share my story. I was born in a time when Gods ruled the
earth. I was the illegitimate son of a king, and rightful heir to the throne.
It was not a position I coveted. I was more a warrior than ruler. I had worked
my way up, proving my worth to the army and crown. The truth behind my father’s
identity came out on his deathbed. While I was aware of who he was, no other
had such knowledge. My younger brother, who had trained to become the next
king, was not enthusiastic about having a sibling. As a result the land given
to my mother was reprocessed and I was sold into slavery. My previous
experience as a fighter made me a perfect candidate to become a gladiator. And
while my success satisfied my owner, it displeased the new king. He had me
placed into the ring with not just one ferocious lion but six. I had no chance
of walking out of that stadium alive, especially when I was denied a weapon.”

“That’s awful,” Charli gasped,
interrupting his train of thought. She pulled him out of his past and back into
her arms, where warmth and comfort were offered.

“Kitten, the promise of you had
me surviving.”

“But how, against so many
lions?”

“I died in the ring that day,
but that’s not where my story ends,” he explained. “In the eyes of the Gods my
death was an unacceptable result of greed. They offered me a chance to do their
work and fight the very thing that brought on my death. I died a human warrior
in that stadium and was reborn a shifter warrior. The very animal that took my
life would protect me in the future. The Gods gave me the ability to change
into any large cat that roamed the earth, as well as three brothers to aid in
our mutual quest. We walked the earth, punishing greed and protecting the
innocent. It was our main goal for so long, until humans became obsessed with
the idea of profit. Their fear of our punishments was overridden by their need
for more money. That was when Devil, Viper, Chaos, and I came up with the idea
of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. We created the rumors and allowed the
humans’ ability to dramatize to take over. Soon the legend was born, fighting
alongside us to combat the disastrous effects of greed.”

“Wait a minute.” Charli leaned
up on her elbows. “Are you talking about Death, Conquest, War, and Famine?”

“Yes. They are names given to
those very things that greed could bring about.”

“You’re that old?” Judge could
almost see Charli’s brain working overtime. He waited for the many other
questions racing through her mind before addressing them. “Which one are you?
Did you really ride horses? What about your weapons?”

Judge couldn’t help but laugh at
the excitement swimming through Charli’s eyes. “Kitten, I’m not sure I can put
a number to my age, but you make me feel like a schoolboy experiencing life and
love for the first time. As for riding horses, it was once the only mode of
transport, aside from our legs, that is. And my weapon is the very creature I
become.”

“So are you Death, Conquest,
War, or Famine?”

“You have met all four of us.
Who do you think would associate best to each name?” he challenged, not
doubting his mate’s analytical mind would come up with the answer.

She took her time thinking on
his question, but he wasn’t disappointed once the answer came. “Devil is
definitely Death. He scares the crap out of me. I’m thinking considering
Chaos’s chosen profession that he’s Famine. You’re War for the same reason. As
a previous warrior, current alpha of a pride and head of security, I can’t
imagine you as anyone else. Which leaves Viper as Conquest. Am I right?”

“You’re spot on the money,
kitten,” he said proudly.

“So why a casino rather than
jobs within law enforcement where you can fight greed?” she asked, her chin
resting on her crossed arms that lay over his chest.

“Because too many questions
about our lack of aging would be asked. As owners of this hotel and casino we
remain hidden most of the time, out of the public eye. And don’t you think the
casino is a perfect way to highlight the demons of greed? The casino floor is
full of people desperate to beat the house. They come in here with ideas of
winning. When they do win they continue to play, wanting more. When they lose,
they often return in the hope of gaining back their money, but that’s never enough.”

“So that’s why Devil doesn’t
like me? I’m the very thing you guys punish.”

“Devil’s morals are very black
and white. You cheated to gain money, so therefore you’re in the wrong. Even
though he has the same knowledge as I do as to where the money you win goes, he
can’t seem to move past the negative aspect of your actions. Something else you
need to understand about Devil is that he cannot allow himself weaknesses. It’s
the reason he originally treated Gabby so abysmally. She represented a weakness
in his life. Just as your actions have proven that our system has a chink in
it. It is possible to cheat in our casino.”

Charli pulled away from him. She
moved to the bottom of the bed and stared at her hands. “I’m sorry, Judge, for
causing you so much hassle. I won’t cheat your casino again.”

Judge sat up, frowning. He
considered what Chaos had said about her possibly having a gambling problem. He
couldn’t have her venturing into any other casino. He wouldn’t be able to
protect her there.

“Charli, I would rather you
cheat in our casino than any other. I would never deny you the money anyway,”
he said, his hand seeking her feet, which lay beside his leg.

“Yes, but Devil does.” Sadness
filled her eyes as she glanced up at him. “Anyway, I don’t think I’ll need to gamble
anymore.”

“Why?”

“I started going to casinos the
first time Emily was admitted to the hospital. She had a seizure one day in
school and they did what they thought was right.” Her gaze fell back onto her
intertwined hands. “I didn’t like the sense of no control. I couldn’t protect
Emily from the seizures or the hospital visits. I felt helpless. That first
time, I just wandered around aimlessly while the unnecessary tests were being
run. I ended up in a casino, at the blackjack table. I used my gift to win
money I didn’t need, but found my center again. I had regained control. Each
time Emily has to stay in the hospital, I find myself drawn to the casinos.”

“So with no more hospital visits
in her future, you think that need will disappear?” he asked, finally being
given the missing pieces to the puzzle of his mate.

“Yes, but I feel bad for Sister
Mary and the orphanage.”