AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Laying my hands over his, I shake my head. “You’re not cruel. You’re a protector. For me. For Muncie. But who protects you?” I wait a beat to see if he’ll answer before I add, “Me. I will.”
Aleks kisses me, then lowers his hands. Mine fall to my side.
He grins. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go.”
* * *
If I was tryingto make a move against an Alpha way more powerful than me, I’d at least be stealthy. The dark-haired, narrow-eyed vampire stalking the walkway behind our apartment isn’t. He has that eerie vampire glide, so he’s quick, but he’s glaring up at the twelfth floor as though working up the nerve to fly up the fire escape and attack Aleks at home.
That’s the part that gets me. Later, I realize I might’ve taken his ill-intentions a little bit purposely when I think about how he came to our home. It was one thing for them to go down to the Cadre building to confront Aleks, butour home?
Barely tempered rage comes off of Aleks in an icy blast. Seems like he’s not too happy about that, either.
His back was to us when we moved around the corner to meet him. As if Aleks’s aura knocked him off his stride, he stumbles, then whirls around on us.
“You,” he says, his voice lyrical though his beautiful face is twisted in an ugly look. “It’s about time you show up, Filan. You think you’re so untouchable. You think you deserve to fuck up our city. I’m here to prove you wrong.”
He has red eyes. That’s not too unusual. Just like how my eyes go black with emotion, the same can be said of vampires. True, it’s also a sign of bloodlust, but maybe he really isn’t here to try and hurt my mate.
And that’s when I see the silver knife he’s clutching in his hand.
Tapping into the rage I feel at the thought of anything happening to my mate, my eyes go black as I jump in front of Aleks and bare my teeth at the other vampire. It would probably be a lot more impressive if I was in my fur, but I don’t shift just yet. I want them to understand me.
“If you want to get to Aleks,” I snarl, “you have to go through me first.”
“You might be a dog, but that just means I can’t put you down without any trouble.”
Aleks stays behind me. Not because he needs me to stand in front of him against any threat, but because I think he thinks it’s adorable that I am. Either way, we’re a bonded couple. We’re just beginning to learn that we have to face the world as a team.
This is our chance to prove it. So, in that conversational tone of his that is anything but, Aleks tuts, then says, “Don’t call my beloved a dog, if you please.”
The red-eye vamp scoffs. “Poor Filan. Can’t run a Cadre and has to settle for mating a dog. And we thought it was bad under Zakharov. At least he didn’t embarrass the rest of us by sticking his cock in one of her kind. I knew you were desperate with the Alpha’s bitch, but really? You couldn’t find someone to make the Cadre stronger?” He spits on the ground. “Pitiful.”
“Again,” says Aleks, “I’d ask you to stop insulting my beloved.”
Reaching behind me, I pat my mate on his chest. He might’ve said that I could handle this latest threat, but if this idiot keeps running his mouth, Aleks is going to go for his throat before I get a chance to make my position clear.
“It’s fine, baby,” I tell him. “He doesn’t know that I’m stronger than I look.”
“Right.” The mocking tone is a little grating, but I expected it. “Because all wolves think they’re stronger than vampires, is that it?”
“No.” Unlike the rebel vamp, my tone isn’t mocking. It’s actually quite pleasant as I tap my temple, drawing attention to my black eyes. “Because I’m not like regular wolves. How’s your beloved, by the way? It was a fated match. I get the sense you love her very much, which is a shame.”
He looks a little rattled at that. “I guess that’s because you think Filan is going to kill me? Well, surprise.” He shows off his silver knife. “Only one of us is armed. I think the odds are in my favor even if there are two of you.”
As the Luna flashes against the blade, I’m reminded of that day at brunch when Gretchen made fun of the three vampires who went after Aleks with a knife. She’s said something about how they should’ve brought a sword, but even that wouldn’t be enough to take down my mate.
I know that. Does that mean I like the idea that every bravado-filled vamp is going to try?
Nope. And that’s why I’m still holding Aleks back, standing between him and the knife-wielding vamp who is the latest to challenge him.
Good thing my mate is a vampire. If this was a shifter challenge, I’d have to stand back and not interfere. But as a vampire, all bets are off. If this idiot thinks I’m going to stand here and let him try to hack of Aleks’s head without stopping him, he has another think coming.
But I also meant it when I said that he loves his mate. I can sense it, and though he’ll have to pay for betraying Aleks, I’m going to give him a choice. He might be willing to lose his life by going after my mate. Is he willing to lose his?
“Funny that you mention being armed.” I hold up mine, twisting my hand on my wrist like a princess wave. “All I have is this hand. You know what it does, though?” Before he can spit out some answer that I probably won’t care for, I tell him. “One touch of my hand and I’ll snap your bond in two. Don’t believe me? Ask Dominic and Felicity. I broke theirs. I’ll break yours, too.”
I’m bluffing. His bond seems strong enough that I might not actually be able to—but he doesn’t know that.
