Chapter Two

Dustin and I exited the truck. I was furious. My gun aimed at Mr. Swagger’s head. “Freddy, I need an explanation like now.” I demanded my eyes never leave the smug looking wolf.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked us he jumped out of the back of the truck. I felt him getting closer and closer. I wasn’t about to let my guard down this time.

“Why would I care who you are? You will be dead shortly. Just make one wrong move,” I dared him my voice getting eerily calm.

“Oh, Darlin’ I can’t let you kill me you would miss me too much. Your pain is my pain, and I would never want to see you hurting.” He taunted me.

“Yeah, not in this lifetime buddy.”

“Darlin’ you will be begging for my touch before the week is out.” It was probably the blood loss but every time he spoke my heart would do a little flip.

“You won’t live that long.” I stepped closer to him cocking the barrel back. I was getting ready to squeeze the trigger when Freddy stepped between us putting his hand on the barrel of my gun.

What was he standing up for this monster for? “Raven, hear me out.” He raised his hands in surrender but not moving from between us. He was blocking my clean shot.

I wanted to punch Freddy in the face, but I took a step back. He spent too much of his life protecting me, I couldn’t do that to him now.

“Mr. Swagger here has no right being here-,”

“He has come here at my request, Raven, to save our people.” He cut me off.

“I am here to help you just as much as my people need your help,” He spoke up his calmness growing. “I was not expecting to find my mate when I arrived.”

“Help with what?” Dustin barked at him. He apparently sensed what I did, this was too much of a coincidence for there to be nothing behind it.

The mention of him having found his mate sent a pang of hurt through my chest. He was a werewolf, why should I care.

“The demons in the area have found a way to bring about an infection that turns humans and wolves alike into demonic slaves. I need your help to find what is cause it.” He glanced at me, “Raven is the only one who can stop it, she has come into contact with the substance a few years ago and it did not affect her at all.”

Dustin’s and my mouth fell open. I had been trying to find the source of this plague that was striking our people down, but I had no leads.

“How do you know this?” Dustin asked him.

“I have been watching her for a while now. I also have an insider among the demon troops.”

“Alister,” I whispered under my breath so no one could hear me. A lump formed in my throat. I had been fighting these monsters for years and still wasn’t anywhere close to figuring anything out. Now he says that he has witnessed me coming into contact with the thing that is causing our people to turn, and it didn’t affect me.

“Why wouldn’t it have turned me?”

“I don’t know the answer to that Darlin’.” He looked me dead in the eyes, “The only thing we do know is that the only ones that seem to be immune to the turning are select breeds of shifters, witches, and the Fae.” I was none of those things.

“You get one chance.” I finally said, with a steel determination in my voice, “I will work with you to save our people from this, whatever it is.”

Freddy smiled, “That’s the spirit,” and then he quickly added, “but for now let’s get our new guest settled and meet in the battle room first thing in the morning.” With those words everyone jumped back to their assigned workload.

Everyone left and it was just me and the wolf left standing next to the truck. Dustin was following Freddy out of the garage talking about letting a stranger stay among us. Looking up at the wolf I couldn’t stop my heart from racing. He was hot I would give him that much, but he was a wolf and I a human. His kind hated my kind and mine hated his. I could feel the tension between us so thick it was almost like a living and breathing thing. What we were feeling was anything but comfortable, and I was the first one to break the silence.

“Who is she?” I couldn’t look at him when I asked. When he didn’t answer right away, I asked again, “Who is your mate?”

I was sure it wasn’t going to be the answer I wanted from him. Some deep-rooted sick part of me wanted it to be me.

“Does it matter,” he said as he moved closer to me.

“No.”

“Then it doesn’t matter.” He smirked and my hand fisted together at my sides.

“Yes,” I huffed out, “It does matter.” I was scrambling for a reason. I am sure he saw right through me. “If it is someone from my group then it is my responsibility to look out for them.” I held my head high feeling proud of my answer for a brief moment before he spoke again.

“So, you can prevent our union? Isn’t that what you really mean.” He began circling me and I could feel he was upset by my statement. Honestly, he had every right to be. “Because my kind is undeserving of love? We are nothing but monsters and killers, right? Blood thirsty demons?” he stood directly behind me, and it took every ounce of will power I had not to turn around and face him.

“Of course not!” I stammered out breathless for no reason. “I didn’t say that.”

His hand wrapped firmly in my hair, and I started panting. Twirling my long hair around his fist a couple of times he lightly pulled to reveal my bare neck to him. An embarrassing moan escaped my lips. Heat spread up my neck to my cheeks. 

“When I felt your touch, I vowed then and there that I was going to protect you,” He put his fingertips under my chin and gently lifted it so that I had to look at him. His eyes were richer, brighter, more seductive. I couldn’t help it we were connected in that moment and the pain that was hidden within his eyes made me want to just run away and never look back.

He was giving me a way out by not declaring who she was. His eyes seemed to call to beg me, not to take it. He didn’t really want me to go.

“What is your name?”

“Marcus,” he said with pride.

“Marcus as in The Alpha King Marcus Vanguard?” Surely it couldn’t be the same. Marcus was a popular name, it had to be someone else.

“Yes, I am The Alpha King. My pack will be here shortly, and I think it will be best if we can get to an understanding before they get here it will benefit us both.” He stepped closer to me.

“Understanding about what?”

“You are my mate. Whether you want to accept me or not there will be no co-mingling with any of my warriors when they get here. I cannot afford to be killing off our people before we go to battle because they touched you. My wolf will not be able to stop himself from ripping them to pieces.”

By the time he was done my mouth was dry. I felt scared and heated in all the right places at the same time. This man was so primal and protective it had my hormones in overdrive.

His eyes were drinking me in, and I could see the desire in them that made my heart speed up. Mate? To this man? I could think of worse things.

In seconds I was seeing spots and my vision went dark. My body became light, and I slammed against the side of the truck.

“Raven!” His arms wrapped around me lifting my feet off the ground he carried me into the compound. I could hear muffled voices and see blurred silhouettes of people swarming us like bees flying around annoyingly.

I just wanted them to go away. I lifted my arm to push them away, but nothing happened. Why couldn’t I move? Then I remembered. I was shot! During the attack I was hit by gunfire.

As my mind tried to process what had happened, Marcus continued to carry me, rushing towards the infirmary. I could feel the warmth of his body against mine as he ran, my head resting on his shoulder. I knew my sensitivity to his touch was due to the mate bond. It was a powerful energy that flowed between us, connecting us on a deeper level than anything else ever could. The longer we are together the stronger the connection.

The infirmary was a blur of white and sterile smells. Doctors and nurses were hurrying around me, their faces tense with concern. I could hear snippets of conversation. “She’s lost a lot of blood.”

“We need to stabilize her fast.”

“Why didn’t anyone bring her in here sooner!”

“Get the blood transfusion ready.”

I felt myself being transferred onto a bed, the sheets cold against my skin. A nurse came over and started to put pressure on my wound causing a sharp pain to radiate through my body. I cried out in agony, my hand clutching at my chest.

It was then that I noticed the monitors were hooked up to me. My heart rate was erratic, and I could hear the beeps of the machines getting faster and faster. Panic started to set in as I wondered if I was going to die. Memories of losing Mike came flooding back to me. At least now I could see him again.

But then there was a familiar voice beside me, soothing and reassuring. It was him, Marcus, telling me that everything was going to be okay. He held my hand tightly as tears fell down his face. No matter how many nurses tried to remove him he would not budge.