"Well, Gerald, Rachelle here says that she belongs to Peter and not you. You know as well as I do that it is against our laws to interfere with matings. You will have to step aside."
Gerald's nostrils flared, and he turned to Peter. Declan had only a second to react. He jumped in front of the wolf shifter as Gerald raked his claws downward, catching Declan across the abdomen. He felt each hard nail rip his flesh open. Rachelle screamed as a crowd quickly gathered around them. Three wolves, including the Wolftown beta, Jorge, tackled Gerald to the floor. Declan blinked, staring up at the ceiling.
I don't get paid enough for this. Wait, do I get paid for this? Damn, I must be hurt worse than I thought. All I had to do was patrol. He reached down to touch his belly. His hand came away covered in blood.
"Well, that's gonna leave a mark," he said before darkness swept him away.
*****
"Look Kari! They have meat kebobs! And are those funnel cakes?" Avery asked. Kari had a new appreciation for his enthusiasm. She had dreaded coming back to the city, but his childlike excitement actually made this somewhat enjoyable. Their escort, a flirtatious witch by the name of Micah Sageson, was pointing out all of the vendors. Micah told her that their luggage had been carried to their new quarters and the only thing she should worry about was learning her new home.
"Everything smells so good!" Avery exclaimed, hopping from one foot to the other. He turned to her. "Where do we start?"
Kari waved her hand pointing to the entire cavern. "Help yourself; just do not come crying to me if you stuff yourself silly and have to be rolled to our new quarters."
Avery was just about to turn and head toward the food stalls when they heard screams. Micah was instantly on alert as wolves poured out of their homes. On the far side of the hall, a small group was forming next to the wall. Seconds later, the smell of blood reached her. She turned to Micah.
"Micah, there is blood, a lot of blood. Someone is close to dying."
His jaw clenched. "You two stay here. I need to see what's happening." He turned and ran toward the crowd.
Avery inched in closer to her and looked up. "I thought we would be safe here," he murmured. Kari felt just as confused; Noctem Falls was supposed to be a safe haven. She was about to walk Avery toward the guest quarters when the scent of the blood changed to her. The more she inhaled and exhaled, the more delicious it smelled. She felt her fangs extend. Avery's complexion turned chalky, his blue eyes were wide, and he trembled.
"Kari? Kari, what's wrong?"
Kari could only shake her head; she couldn't answer. The smell was overwhelming. It was rich and decadent. It smelled like everything that she had ever enjoyed in life combined into one aroma. There was the scents of chocolate, coffee, freshly cut grass, and the crisp smell of linens hanging in the sunshine. She just wanted to roll around in it. She clutched at her chest, breathing heavily.
"Kari, you're scaring me!" Avery exclaimed.
She turned to him and saw tears running down his face. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. The scent of the blood morphed again, this time tightening things in her lower body and causing her nipples to harden. She became more aroused than she had ever been in her life. Step-by-step she made her way over to the crowd and wedged herself between bodies, pushing them aside. She had to get to the source of that smell. She heard Micah yelling, other men's voices yelling, but her focus was now on the man on the ground. He had red hair. No, not red, strawberry blond, and he was huge. Every bit as big as Law, maybe bigger. He had a square, chiseled jaw and soft, luscious lips. She watched as his breathing became more labored. Something in her snapped; the man on the floor was her mate! She knelt down and brushed the hair out of his face. She looked at Micah.
"Where is the healer?" she demanded.
Micah kept his glowing hands over the man's stomach. "The healer is in Albuquerque. He doesn't live in the city. He stays at the Council Estate."
Micah looked up as two hulking men ran up behind her. "Excuse us," they shouted, pushing her aside. Gently, they lifted the man on to a stretcher. Micah stood and carefully moved with them.
"Let's get our boy down to Broderick's lab. Thanks to Meryn, we have these walkie-talkies, so they're expecting us." Moving as one, they headed toward the back. When she started to follow, one of the men stepped in front of her.
"I'm sorry, but you need to stay here." Kari looked up and up. What was it about these men that they were all so freaking huge?
"That man," she pointed to the stretcher being carried away.
The man nodded. "Declan?"
"Is that his name?" she asked. He nodded. "Declan is my mate."
The man's mouth dropped open. "No shit?"
Kari nodded, her insides shaking.
He grinned. "Then come with me; you're family."
Kari let out a relieved breath. "Thank you..."
"Grant, Grant Douglas." He steered her through the crowd. Looking behind her, she saw that Avery was keeping up with them.
"Family?" she asked as they stepped up to a huge hole in the floor.
Grant looked around frantically. She held out one hand to him and the other to Avery. "I am a vampire; I can take us down. Which level?"
He took her hand. "Level One, and, yes, family. I serve with Declan in the Eta Unit; he is like a brother to me."
Avery clasped her other hand tightly. Through their intertwined fingers, she could feel his body shaking. As one, they stepped into the tunnel, and she quickly lowered them all the way to Level One.
When their feet touched the ground, Grant continued to hold her hand and led her down a long corridor to what looked like a large lab.
"I'm not a surgeon! I don't know what to do!" a frantic male voice bellowed as he cut away her mate's clothing before covering him with a sheet.
"We know, Broderick. Magnus is calling the healer now," a tall, dark haired man explained, pointing to where the Prince of her people paced back and forth on the other side of the room, a scowl on his face.
"Cheryl, that number should be listed at the top of your important contacts. The only reason I do not have it is because we just got cell service; I usually call him from my desk!" he yelled. He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. "For gods' sakes, stop crying and call the healer!" He hung up the phone and walked over to the side of the bed to stand next to the dark haired man. "Adriel, are you sure you can not convince Bethy to stay? I am about to murder my secretary."
Adriel shook his head. "You will have to take that up with Gavriel."
Kari stepped forward to stand on the other side of the one the Prince called Adriel. She reached down and took Declan's hand.
Adriel blinked, then blinked again. "Hello. Who are you?"
"Kari Delaney. My brother--" she nodded her head over to where Avery bounced from foot to foot nervously-- "Avery Therian and I came in with the last set of refugees. Micah was showing us around when I smelled blood. Not exactly the way I wanted to meet my mate."
Adriel looked behind him to Avery and then back to her. "Mate?"
She nodded. "Yes, he is mine."
Declan groaned and opened his eyes. "Gods, what smells so good? Am I in heaven?"
Micah snorted. "No, and don't get any ideas about heading toward the light. I'm busting my balls to keep your wound open for the doc."
Startled, Kari looked at him. Micah had a fine sheen of sweat on his upper lip and dripping along his hairline. "Why on earth are you keeping it open?"
Micah started to answer and Adriel interrupted him. "Concentrate on our brother, I will answer." Micah nodded, looking relieved.
Adriel turned to her. "Micah is keeping his wound open so that we do not have to cut him open later. The doctor will need to make sure that his intestines are not twisted and nothing was punctured. As a shifter, his flesh is healing, which means wounds are closing, but we have learned the hard way that doesn't mean it will untwist itself."
Kari looked down at her mate. He was inching his face toward h
er belly. Smiling, she stepped closer to the bed, and he buried his nose against her body.
"Declan, quit moving," Micah chided. He looked down, his eyebrows rising. "Well, this is awkward."
Kari looked down the length of Declan's body to what had distracted Micah. To her utter shock, the sheet was tenting, a lot. "Oh my."
Avery giggled. "That's impressive."
Kari leaned over to look her mate in the eye. "How do you have enough blood in your system for an erection?"
His eyes were glazed in pain, but he gave her a boyish grin. "Having an erection for my mate will never be a problem. Gods, you're beautiful." He gave her a dopey smile.
Kari looked around and saw that as they had been talking, the man they called Broderick had run an IV, and painkillers were now relaxing her mate. Broderick caught her staring and nodded.
"Thank you," she whispered.
He growled low. "It's literally the least I could do. If I had known I would be called upon for so many medical emergencies I would have studied internal medicine more."
A stunning man walked up behind Broderick and wrapped his arms around his waist. "You have done beautifully, darling. No one here blames you."
"Thank you, Caspian my love, but it is still frustrating that I know just enough to realize I cannot help."
Her hand was squeezed, and she looked down.
Declan stuck his tongue out at her. "You can only think I'm pretty."
Kari fought back her laughter. Her drugged mate was adorable.
"He's blitzed," a female voice said behind her.
"Bethy! Thank goodness, can you please go help Cheryl..." Magnus started.
Bethy held up her hand. "I already handled her. As luck would have it, I was in your office waiting on you when you called. I found the number and sent Etain to the portal to escort Dr. St. John directly to Level One when he arrives. Which should be any moment..."--she looked down at her watch and muttered under her breath--"if he knows what's good for him."
"Bethy lurves me!" Declan declared.
"Is he high?" a male voice asked, a large impressive looking vampire pulled Bethy under his arm.
Kari stared. She had never seen another vampire that huge. She cocked her head and looked from Adriel to the newcomer. "Are the two of you brothers?"
The man looked at her, and a slow smile formed. "In a way, yes, he is my family. My name is Gavriel Ambrosios." He inclined his head regally.
Kari looked from Gavriel to Adriel. The unit leader was related to one of the oldest royal vampire families? When had this happened? She shook her head. "Nope, not trying to figure that out right now." She turned her attention back to her mate. "How are you doing?"
"I'd be better if we were having sex," he admitted, pouting.
Gavriel's eyes widened, then he saw the state her mate was in and winced. "Poor lad."
"We are not having sex! Your intestines are falling out!" Kari objected, her cheeks heated.
Declan smiled. "Take a picture?"
"No!" called nearly every voice in the room. Kari heard the sound of a click and saw that Grant had pulled down the sheet and used his phone to take a picture. She stared at him, and he shrugged. "I'd want one too, if it were me."
Declan tried leaning up to look, and she pushed him back down. "I do not feel the wound yet. I do, however, feel..." He leered up at her.
Kari placed her free hand over his mouth. She yelped when he licked it and wiped her hand on her pants. He licked his lips. "You even taste good."
She looked around the room. "Please tell me this is a side effect of the pain killers."
Adriel shrugged, and Micah wouldn't meet her eyes. Finally, Grant took pity on her. He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He is usually a perfect gentleman. I think the combination of the drugs and finally meeting his mate is what you are witnessing."
A low growl had them both looking down. Declan's eyes had shifted to a dark, honeyed brown. "Get your hand off my mate! I licked her. She's mine!"
Avery lost all semblance of control and began to giggle uncontrollably behind them. Grant's mouth twitched as he lifted his hand. "I would never poach on your mate, brother; we all know she is yours."
"Prince Magnus, how far out is that healer?" Micah asked in a weak voice.
All attention was now on the witch who began to sway. Instantly, Adriel was at his side, holding him up.
"You can stop, Micah," Adriel said, sounding concerned.
Micah shook his head. "I can't, not until the doc gets here."
"I'm here, I'm here," a tenor voice called out as a man rushed forward. Frowning, he looked around the room. "Everyone except for the witch and the vampire holding him up needs to leave. Clear the room! Gods only know what debris has found its way into this open wound."
Kari felt her heart stutter. She didn't want to let go; she felt like if she let go, she'd lose him.
"Young lady, did you hear me?" the doctor demanded.
"Yes, sorry." She let go of Declan's hand and patted it gently, placing it on his chest. "You better not die," she tried to joke, wincing when her voice cracked.
Declan looked past her to Grant, who immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Go with my brother; I'll see you later. We have unfinished business." He wagged his eyebrows, looking down at his groin.
She chuckled, leaned down, and kissed him on the forehead. "I will hold you to that."
He winked, then yawned. Seconds later, his eyes were closed, and he was breathing deeply.
Kari looked over in time to see the doctor drop the IV line. He met her eyes. "He should be fine. Shifters as strong as the Lionharts would never succumb to a small gash like this." Even his comfort sounded condescending.
"You need to work on your bedside manner, Doc." She stepped back with Grant.
He shrugged, turning his attention to Declan. "It's usually not an issue. Dealing with shifters and vampires, I don't get called on much." He shooed them away, turning to Micah. "Can you slowly pull your magic back? I'll let you know when to withdraw completely."
Grant steered her outside the lab, and the door closed behind them.
"I have to do something," she whispered.
"Uh oh," Avery said.
"What? What's wrong?" Grant asked, tucking her closer against him.
"She's about to go ballistic," Avery informed them.
"I am not, I just need..." Kari wracked her brain. They were in Noctem Falls, not her office; there weren't any projects for her to work on. Her gaze landed on Magnus. "You," she said, stepping forward. She was shocked when he took a half a step back, looking suspicious.
"Me, what?" he asked.
"Show me your office. I need your office."
"I see," Bethy said, nodding. "Good, he needs the help."
"What?" Grant and Magnus spoke at the same time.
Avery smiled. "You're about to get your entire office restructured by one of the most sought after corporate organizers in the world. Come on, Kari; I'll help. I can show that secretary how to set up her desk. You can do your thing and start training Prince Magnus."
"Training? Me?" Magnus' gaze bounced from her to Avery and back.
Kari took a deep breath, focusing on the task at hand to keep her grounded. "Yes, you. Show me to your office."
Magnus, looking out of his depth, turned to Bethy. She shook her head and turned his body to face the door. "You've been begging me to stay since you needed the help. Looks like Fate heard your plea." She giggled at his wide-eyed expression and gave him a gentle nudge.
Bethy turned to her, and Kari could see that Bethy knew exactly why she needed to take over her uncle's office. Bethy grinned wickedly. "Give him hell." Magnus whimpered.
Kari nodded as she and Avery walked behind the prince of the vampire race toward his office where she would systematically break everything down and rebuild it.
Despite meeting her mate with his guts hanging out, it was turning out to be a good day.
****
*
"What about this one? It is marked 'Urgent'." She held up a green piece of paper.
Magnus frowned. "Toss it. I only wrote that it was urgent because the person making the complaint was watching. Anything on a green Post-it note can go in the garbage, the truly important notes are always on cream paper."
Kari smiled. So it wasn't that he didn't have a system, he just had his own very unique, impossible-to-understand system that would be a mine field for anyone else coming in. "How would you feel about adopting a new coding system? Not everyone knows your color preferences," she asked, feeling him out.
Magnus thought about it for a moment. "If they align somewhat with what I have, I think I can adapt. If it is too different, I will forget and fall back to what I have always done."
Kari blinked. She had never gotten such an honest answer to that question before. Training Prince Magnus on how to utilize his office might be easier than she thought. His chuckle broke her out of her thoughts. When she looked at him, he winked at her.
"You have to remember, Bethy has been trying to keep me organized for decades. I know my system is a mess, but without someone like her around to keep the changes in place, I backslide," he admitted.
Kari ducked her head. "You are not what I imagined."
"Let me guess. You thought I was an overbearing, egotistical, demanding know-it-all, and who was I to issue such orders impacting so many people?" He raised an eyebrow at her, and she blushed. She had thought all those things.
He sat down in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "It is a very fine line to walk. The older generations expect me to act like a royal. If I do not, I lose their respect. On the flip side, if I do, I seem unapproachable to the younger generations." He looked up at her. "I am doing the best I can."