Authors: Lucy Kelly
“How could you let that happen? Why would she ever need to be exposed to the work we do? Damn, this changes everything. What if she didn’t leave voluntarily, did you think of that? This entire situation could be a cover job. You really should have told us from the first, Dad,” said Aaron.
“Told us what?” said a voice from the doorway.
*****
Roland Gantry had driven for a hundred miles when he pulled over. He figured he was far enough away to be safe. He got out and got some clothes. All the way to the front door of that bitch’s house he’d tried to pass off his error as a joke his pack mates had been playing on him. The lie was the reason the alpha had let him get a few minutes ahead of him.
A few minutes was all Roland needed to get away without a beating. Luckily he had spare keys in his car and he’d left his wallet in his glove box. As a shifter, who used his animal shape to get out of trouble—a lot, like being chased by the authorities—he’d learned not to carry ID on him and wear cheap clothes.
Pulling on his last clean pair of jeans, he sniffed at a t-shirt and decided to go ahead and wear it. The downside to being a shifter, he had to do laundry more often as his sensitive nose could only take a three or four days of accumulated body odor.
As he dressed, he considered how he was going to get even with that bitch for turning him down. She had insulted him and he wasn’t going to put up with that shit from some human chick. She had magic though, it was one of the things he remembered they said she had. That gave him an idea; he had to find a phone.
He decided to call John. John was okay for a Shayatin sorcerer. At least he was okay in Roland’s book because he let Roland go. He had told Roland his aura was too muddy to be any good for his use. For some reason you needed bright clean auras to be any good for a Shayatin sorcerer to sacrifice you and steal your magic.
The bitch looked like a goody two-shoes to him. John would probably love to get his hands on her. As he got back into his truck, he wondered if John would enslave her and slowly drain her magic or sacrifice her outright. He didn’t really care, he would have his revenge, and make some money to go along with it. He also intended for his own aura to stay muddy. He preferred it that way, it kept him safe.
*****
Laura slept in late and didn’t awaken until eight. She usually only needed four or five hours of sleep a night and was surprised when she saw the clock.
“Maggie? Is everyone awake?” she asked.
“Yes, dear. I told them you were still sleeping and not to disturb you. Shall I inform them you are now awake?” said Maggie house.
“Okay. I’m going to need about an hour to wash and dress. Would you let Lola know? I’m really hungry, I’d like a big breakfast,” she said.
“Righto, my dear,” Maggie answered.
She’s sounding very British today.
Laura got herself out of bed and hurried into the bathroom. As she went through her morning routine, she wondered what this new day would bring. Hopefully no more weirdoes like the loser from yesterday. She also needed to work in a therapy appointment. Now that she didn’t need to worry about the sun exposure anymore, it would be easier to get around. Before she was trying to work out a way for the therapist to come to her, now Laura was looking forward to getting out of the house.
It was a little before nine when she rolled down the hallway to the kitchen. She was going to ask Lola if she could have breakfast upstairs, in the sunroom. After the events of yesterday, she was surprised to see Marshall with another stranger. She gave him the once over. At least this one didn’t look like a total loser; he was actually kind of hunky. She might not mind being mated to this guy. When she noticed they were about to turn she looked over at Lola.
“Lola, I wanted to ask about having breakfast in the sunroom. And I see we have guests. Perhaps they’d like coffee?” she asked before turning to Marshall.
“Laura, I’d like you to meet Alexander Marasov. He’s our National Alpha,” as he introduced Marshall.
“Hello, it’s nice to meet you. Mara said you were expected,” she said, holding out her hand.
Alex Marasov turned to look at the reason so many of his people were up in arms. He caught an elusive sent. It tickled his nose and went straight to his groin. He was hard in seconds. Before he realized what he was doing, he leaned over her, and put his face in her neck. He took a deep breath, filling his sense with the sweet aroma. Not even realizing, he licked her neck as he held on to the arms of her wheelchair to hold her in place, then started kissing his way to her mouth and dove in.
She tasted like a cool breeze on a spring day. She was sweet like a strawberry along with the decadence of dark chocolate with a touch of honey. He was drowning in her essence and didn’t want to come up for air.
When she turned her head away and pushed at his shoulders he felt a flash of hurt and disappointment. His mate had pulled away from him! Then he saw the blush on her face and remembered Marshall had informed him how innocent she was. She
had
been kissing him back; he wanted to get her alone. However, he would have to take things slowly, which was really unfortunate for his swollen cock.
*****
Laura watched as the big man leaned over her. She was taken aback when he put his face against her neck.
Is he actually sniffing me?
Before she had time to respond, he was holding her, and she was even more surprised to feel her nipples tightening and her skin heating. In the next instant, he was kissing her—her first kiss! She thought she should stop him and raised her hands to his shoulders. Intending to push him away, it took her brain a moment to realize she was actually pulling him closer. Shocked, she pushed him away and turned her head.
Marshall and Lola both wore big smiles. “Well… I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I guess we don’t need to look any further for her mate,” Marshall said with a laugh.
“Frieda was right, a strong alpha for my Laura. Now you two go on up to the sunroom and get acquainted. I’ll bring up your breakfast and a pot of coffee,” Lola said. Marshall looked down at the diminutive Kobold.
“I look forward to meeting your Frieda. It was an early morning for me, I’m fond of honey buns if you have them,” Alex said with a smile, knowing how Kobolds liked to make a happy home.
“Coming right up, now get out of my kitchen so I can finish breakfast,” she said, shooing them out of the room.
As a blushing Laura turned her chair, she heard Marshall ask where Mara and Frieda were. She wanted to know too so she looked back through the doorway. “They took the truck to retrieve Frieda’s things. She sent them to Mara’s house,” Lola said.
Laura turned back and rolled to the elevator. She didn’t know what to say. This was not at all what she expected. After what Mara had told her about mates, she expected to be attracted to the person who would be her true-mate. She wasn’t prepared for the feelings overwhelming her now. Every cell in her body felt alive. It was as if she had been sleepwalking through life and had just woken up. She rolled into the elevator and made room for Alex to squeeze in next to her.
“Sorry, the elevator’s not very big,” she said.
“That’s okay. We’re not going to be in it for very long,” he answered. “At least we won’t be if you push a button and get us going.”
Laura blushed, she was staring again. Turning, she pressed the button for the top floor of her house. “Maggie, open the sunroom shutters please,” she said.
“I’ve already prepared the room for you. It’s a nice day today, the temperature is a mild seventy-four with a light breeze,” Maggie informed them.
“Thank you, Maggie,” Laura said as the elevator doors opened. Alex stepped out first and held the door open with his hand. It was a nice gesture so Laura didn’t bother saying Maggie would never let a door close on her.
She rolled through the plants to a round wicker table with a glass top. All of the tables in the house had a section the right height for her with no chair. Alex walking behind, saw her wheel up to the table, there was so much he wanted to know about her.
He could see she was a little nervous so he decided to help her out by starting. “My name is Alexander Marasov. My grandfather and his family emigrated here from Russia. My parents and siblings live mostly in the Pacific Northwest and Canada now. Which brings me to one of the many decisions we’ll have to make as mates, where will we live?” he said.
“You live in West Virginia now, don’t you?” Laura wanted to know.
“Yes, in a small town called Marlinton, entirely made up of shifters. It’s surrounded on three sides by national forest lands, which make it perfect for shifting. My office is about forty miles away in Lewisburg. I need to be able to travel. And as National Alpha I often have to deal with humans,” he said. “How did you know? Oh, I suppose you came across it in one of those reams of data you’ve uncovered. Why did you approach Marshall instead of me directly?”
“Yes, I know where many of the main shifter communities are here in the U.S. and a few European ones as well as Canada. I considered West Virginia as being too close to my family in Maryland. They would have found me by now, or at least be fairly close. You see, when I discovered shifters, I knew I had to keep your secret. Even from my family. Now I know why. I was undecided about where to live, and I had plenty of time to look. Then this property came available, which is perfect for my needs. Perfect really for the needs of all shifters. I think it was fate, really. Did Marshall give you the tour?” she asked.
“No, we’d only just arrived when you came in. I’ve heard about it though, received some reports when it was being built. It’s one of the reasons you were believed. You went through a great deal of trouble and expense here. You were hardly likely to do that, right in the middle of shifter country, if you were an enemy,” he said.
“That’s not quite right though is it? I would expect an enemy would be happy to be here if they could remain unnoticed. It’s more likely the fact of my not keeping my plans secret. Plus, as much as possible, I hired shifters to do the work. I could have brought in humans, put up security, and caused all sorts of problems for Marshall’s people. As it was, the main architect and engineer used for all my initial planning had to be human. Marshall was trying so hard to stop me. If I used shifters they would have told me my plans weren’t feasible to discourage me.”
Alex took a long look at the too slender woman with her white-blonde hair and pale skin. No freckles, no blemishes, and skin so translucent he could see the blue of her veins. “Something tells me you don’t discourage too easily,” he said with a smile.
He would have said more but the elevator dinged. Looking over he saw Lola coming toward them pushing a cart. He could see she’d gone all out for them. The cart held enough food for an army, or a bear shifter who was suddenly very hungry.
They both were quiet for a few minutes as they dug into the food while it was hot. Alex got his honey buns in addition to steak and eggs. Laura got French toast, chicken apple sausage, and eggs. Once again, Laura was surprised at her appetite. Still, she finished well before Alex.
“There’s one thing I didn’t tell Marshall and Mara. It’s another reason why I’m waiting before letting my family find me. My dad is with the NSA, Marshall knows that. What not even my brothers know, is my dad had me doing some analysis for the NSA. He knows what I’m capable of and he gave me what he called tests. I saw right through that, I was actually analyzing real time sensitive data. I was able to pinpoint several terrorist cells for them. They consider me a valuable asset and they wouldn’t want to lose me. But I’ve never felt my destiny was in that sphere. All the members of my family work for the government in one way or another. I like the feeling of serving a cause. However, I found out a few things certain powerful people would like to keep secret. If they ever discovered their secrets weren’t as safe as they thought, well, let’s say it was time for me to stop working in intelligence and leave town,” she said.
“Hmm, does your father know the things you know?” he asked.
“No. When two people know the same secret, it’s not a secret anymore. I didn’t want to burden him. Right up until I left home, I’d been doing some data mining, investigating the secret keepers. I want to make sure I have enough information to keep them away from my family and also from you guys,” she said.
“If you keep digging, you may alert them. Is it worth the risk?” he asked.
“According to you, we’re mates. Is there anything you wouldn’t do to keep me safe?” she asked him.
“No there isn’t. Which is why I’m concerned about this. I don’t want you on the radar of anyone who could want to harm you,” he said.
“You can’t keep me in cotton wool and bubble wrap. Especially if all the data I collected is true. There is a war going on and I want to win it. That reminds me of another thing. As you can see, I can be in the sun now. Frieda says it’s because Marshall and I shared a drop of blood and there’s this other thing…” she stopped talking and just stared down at her lap.
Alexander reached over and tilted her face up with his hand. “Never be afraid to tell me anything. I’ll always be on your side,” he said.
“Even when we fight?” she asked with a smile.
“Probably, especially if you smile like that, now tell me what other thing.”
“Frieda says I’ll heal. She thinks I’m going to get out of this chair and walk again,” she said in a whisper. “I’m afraid to believe her.”
Alex knew this was important. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing. “I want to go on record as having kissed you before I knew that,” he said and got the small gurgle of laughter he wanted. “I’m happy for you. I would hate to put limits on you. And I would hate to see you going through medical problems or a shortened life because of your paralysis. Did she happen to say how this healing would come about?” he asked.
Now Laura went bright red and Alex had a clue, but he needed to hear her say it.
“She says when we complete our mate bond it will help me to heal faster. Though even without it, I will eventually heal. My being able to go in the sun is the first sign of my magic welling up and my becoming a changeling,” she said quietly. She looked carefully at his face to see how he was taking this new revelation.