Saving His Mate (A vampire-werewolf romance) (2 page)

“Hmm,” was all she said as she retrieved a keyfob from her small purse. She pressed one of the buttons and a nearby Jeep beeped. “You don’t need to escort us any further, vampire.”

“My name is Rex and I’m going with you.” He gritted his teeth at her tone and her use of the word vampire instead of his name. “Is it all vampires or just me in particular you have a problem with?”

At his question guilt flickered in her dark, mesmerizing gaze. “I’m…sorry. I’m not normally such a bitch,” she muttered.

“It’s true, Margery’s so sweet. She’s like the mom of our pack,” Sarah murmured, snuggling closer to her packmate. “She just needs to get laid.”

Rex’s eyes widened and Margery’s bronze face flamed crimson as she continued. “I’ve had a stressful day and it’s not personal, I swear. I’m sorry for being rude, but I really don’t need you to follow us back to the compound.”

“I’m not going to follow you.” She relaxed until he continued. “I’m riding with you.” And he wasn’t letting the female out of his sight until she was safely back at the compound. Something about her had all his possessive, protective instincts flaring to life. There was no way in hell he’d fight this feeling. Not when he knew what it could mean.

Chapter 2

Margery resisted the urge to fidget or show any signs that she was uncomfortable having a vampire sitting in the backseat of her Jeep. Sarah was sitting in the front next to her, lightly snoring. She’d passed out before they’d left the parking garage.

She hated that she felt the oddest attraction to Rex. It was making her wolf claw at her insides, wanting to strut around and preen for the male. And that was not like her. Especially not for a vampire. After what had happened to her as a cub she’d never gotten over her distrust of his kind. Something Grant very well knew. Which just infuriated her. It also told her that her alpha must trust this vampire a lot to send him with her.

Because he knew that she didn’t need an escort. She was a strong, capable shifter. Not that weak, defenseless cub.

“I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around over the last year,” Rex said from the backseat.

She resisted the urge to look at him in the rearview mirror as she pulled up to a stoplight. The man was too sexy for his own good. Even disheveled and dirty, it would be impossible to hide all that masculine appeal. Tall, muscular with dark blond hair cut close to his head. She didn’t even normally go for blonds. Of course she never went for vampires either. Hell, maybe Sarah was right and she did need to get laid. It was the only explanation for the weird restless sensation humming through her with Rex near. Her wolf was urging her to do all sorts of naughty things to the male, taking her by surprise. She’d been in control of her wolf since she was a cub, but now she felt jittery and edgy.

Realizing she needed to respond, she shrugged. “We’ve got a big pack. I’m sure you haven’t met a lot of us.”

“How long have you been with Grant’s pack?”

That was a safe enough question. “A long time. His father was my alpha.”

Rex snorted at that, taking her by surprise. She glanced at him in the mirror to find him watching her with those dark hazel eyes. They were almost a chocolate color, but not quite. There was the slightest hint of green in them and the effect was startling in the dim interior of her Jeep. The soft glow of his vampire eyes let her know he was feeling
something
for her right now too. She didn’t know from personal experience but she’d heard that vampires’ eyes glowed when they were turned on.

“You didn’t like his father?”

“The male was an archaic monster. It’s amazing Grant is the way he is,” Rex said.

Agreeing with his assessment, Margery settled back against her seat, relaxing more, and belatedly realized she’d been hunched over and gripping the steering wheel for dear life. She had to get a hold of herself. She wasn’t an inexperienced young cub unable to protect herself. Her human and wolf side were warring with each other and it was beyond stressful. Her human side was fighting fear while her wolf side wanted to punch her fear in the face and rub her body all over Rex. Seriously, what the heck? She wasn’t a feline in heat.

She lightly cleared her throat as she continued driving. “I agree. His father wasn’t exactly a monster, but was very mistrustful of outsiders. Anyone who wasn’t part of the pack.” And Grant definitely wasn’t like that. The world was changing and he was taking big strides in the shifter community. He’d mated with a human and now had jaguar shifters living with them.

“What do you do for the pack?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, slowing as she reached the turn-off for the condo entrance located right off Beach Boulevard. She typed in the access code, not bothering to check if Rex watched her. He was a vampire and if he wanted inside their complex, he could just scale the wall surrounding the private parking lot in one jump. Of course he’d be tackled by one of her many packmates, but the privacy gate was for humans, not supernatural beings.

“Your packmate insinuated that you were like a mother to the pack. Do you have…cubs?”

“No. And I’m just one of the oldest members, that’s probably why she said that.” Only it wasn’t. Margery was one of the caretaker figures of the pack, definitely a mother figure. But right now her wolf didn’t want Rex thinking of her in those terms. She wanted him thinking of her as a sensual, desirable female. Which just frustrated her even more. She should not want this male and she definitely shouldn’t care what he thought. It was a miracle she’d managed to suppress the scent of her need as long as she had. She had to get away from Rex before he realized the effect he was having on her body. Because she had no doubt he’d use it against her.

“I run a bakery near the casino,” she told him, surprising herself. She shouldn’t be giving him information and inviting conversation. Damn it, she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

“Margery’s Bakery? That’s
you
. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it from the supernatural community. I always thought the way you keep your hours was smart.”

It was silly, but she actually blushed at his words. At least the interior was dark enough that he wouldn’t be able to tell. She opened her bakery right after sunset and kept it open until ten in the morning. She got the supernatural community, the casino crowds leaving early in the morning and during spring break and summer months, she snagged tons of business. Considering most of the pack kept night hours it was perfect for her schedule. “Thanks.”

As she pulled into one of the empty parking spots Rex cleared his throat almost nervously. “Would you like to go on a date one evening this week?”

The sweet way he asked took her off guard as much as the question. “Ah, thank you but I’m going to pass.” She was damn well going to force her wolf into submission. Before he could respond she’d unstrapped her seatbelt and was out of the Jeep. By the time she’d rounded the vehicle to Sarah’s side, Rex was out and leaning against the passenger door—effectively blocking Margery from helping her sleeping packmate out.

There was a gleam in his eyes she couldn’t define as he watched her. Even though she was tall, she had to tip her head back to look at him. His crisp, earthy scent was driving her crazy. “Are you saying no because I’m a vampire? Because I can scent your desire. I didn’t at first, but I can now. Clearly.” There was a sexy edge to his words that sent a shiver down her spine. And his expression was so full of wicked promises it was all she could do not to melt into him.

She flushed at his words, not bothering to deny what she felt. But it didn’t matter what her wolf wanted. She wrapped her arms around herself, then realized it pushed her breasts up more. Quickly she dropped them when his gaze strayed to her cleavage, his eyes softly glowing. “Yes, it’s because you’re a vampire and before you push me…”

She took a deep breath, getting ready to tell him something she almost never talked about. But with the way he was clearly ready to pursue her, she knew she needed to give him a solid reason to back off. Dominant males in the supernatural world were like that. “When I was a cub, about sixteen, I was ambushed by four vampires. The world was different then.” 1814 had been utter chaos, with British soldiers having just burned down the White House. “I think you’re older than me so I’m sure you remember. Long story short, I was packless at the time and unprotected. They would have gang-raped me if I hadn’t shifted to my wolf. Since they couldn’t carry out what they intended, they decided to nearly beat me to death instead. So, I don’t date vampires.”

He didn’t respond, just sucked in a sharp breath as she nudged him out of the way. With shaking hands she managed to rouse Sarah enough to help her out of the vehicle. Margery didn’t bother looking back at Rex as she walked Sarah up to the complex. She knew her words would have made everything clear to him and that he wouldn’t bother pursuing her.

Margery knew it was stupid to let something from her youth affect her so many years later, but some things were imprinted on your psyche, especially things that happened when you were young. It didn’t matter that her wolf wanted him, her human side felt too vulnerable around vampires and that was never going to change. She’d never really cared about that. Until now. Rex brought up the strangest sensation in her that her wolf didn’t want to deny. And if she was being honest, the most feminine part of her didn’t want to deny either.

* * *

Rex watched Margery walk away, using all his willpower to restrain himself from going after her. Her words had been like silver knives clawing over his bare skin. Trying to talk to her now wouldn’t do any good. What could he say?
Don’t blame me for something four monsters did.
No. He needed to
show
her that he was different.

The thought of her vulnerable, injured…fuck. It sliced him up, the need to destroy whoever had hurt her building up inside him with a surprising vengeance. This type of protectiveness was new, but he embraced it. Even if he didn’t quite understand it. Once she was safely within the confines of the complex, he turned and headed for the gate. He scented a couple shifters nearby but didn’t bother asking anyone to open the gate for him.

He jumped it, then glanced around. Whereas the casino was perpetually busy, there weren’t any humans out near the complex around this time of night. And he had just a few hours left before sunrise to find that rogue youth he’d been hunting. He already had a lead on the male and would have gone after him directly after speaking to Grant, but the need to be near Margery had been overwhelming.

And still was.

Using his gift of speed, he raced back to the casino where he’d left his SUV. Normally he preferred his bike, but when bounty hunting, he always took his SUV. The back section was soundproofed and he’d made it into a virtual prison for transporting vampires. If anyone opened the hatch they’d see a silver-lined, impenetrable box. The headrest was a cotton pillow. He might be bringing them back for sentencing but he wasn’t cruel. He had his prisoners dress in clothing that covered their entire bodies to protect them from the silver and the box was big enough that they had space to be semi-comfortable. But the silver interior guaranteed they wouldn’t be able to escape.

The drive to his destination near the main highway was quicker than he’d expected, but it was late and most people in Gulf Shores stayed near the beach. The place he was heading to was strictly a paranormal hangout. Just a bed and breakfast owned by a vampire—that Grant knew about since it was technically in his territory—that supernatural beings stayed at when they were passing through. It wasn’t as if they advertised, but the supernatural community talked and Rex had tailed more than one rogue vamp from this place. As he turned down a quiet, dusty makeshift-road lined with a cow pasture on one side and a pecan tree orchard on the other, he rolled down his window a fraction and listened intently.

Once he reached the end of the road, he pulled off onto a grassy patch near the fence on the cow pasture side and slipped out. He’d disabled his dome light, but he was still preternaturally quiet.

Moving with a burst of supernatural speed, he raced down the rest of the dusty road until he reached a small, white gate and fence surrounding a two-story brick home. Without pause he jumped the small, three-foot gate and only stopped once he was on the front of the wraparound porch.

Pressing his back against the brick wall near the front door, he listened and could hear four distinct voices inside. One female—Charmaine, the owner—and three males. Rex instantly recognized Stanley’s arrogant voice from a video he’d watched. The vampire who Stanley had stolen from had taken the youth in and given him a place to live, tried to teach him a work ethic, but the foolish male had stolen from his new leader instead and run. Soon he would pay for his crimes.

After circling the home and checking the outlying areas for any more supernatural beings, Rex returned to the front door. It would be sunrise soon enough and he was tired of this hunt so he decided to go for the direct approach. Instead of storming in and destroying Charmaine’s home, he knocked on the front door.

Everything went silent so he called out, “Charmaine, make yourself scarce. Stanley, come outside and make this easy on yourself. You can’t run forever.”

For one long moment silence reigned but then there was a flurry of movement inside. Rex heard Charmaine mutter
dumbass
before there was a crash and breaking of glass from the back of the house.