Race to Destiny

  Eric entered first and cleared the long table with a sweep of his arm. "Place her here so we can get a clear reading of her injuries. Gods, I can't believe I didn't check her thoroughly."

  Striker set Mia gently on the table as Eric grabbed some supplies. They both noted that she hadn't woke up yet or even made a move to do so. Eric gently turned her head to one side and then the other. They saw she had a gash in her head above her right ear. Eric poured some water on it and cleaned it off as best as he could with what they had.

  "I will go find the first aid kit. They should have an extensive one around here somewhere,” Striker told Eric and headed out to scour the hanger. He searched the offices first and didn't find it, then he went out to the hanger and saw a large one hanging on the wall by the big bay doors that were closed. He grabbed it off and hurried back to Eric and Mia.

  Eric had cleaned out all of the blood from Mia's head and looked at Striker with stricken eyes. "I don't know that I can heal her all the way. I haven't regenerated yet. I know I can heal the cut but what if it goes deeper than that? Why did I heal myself without checking her out first?"

  Striker reached out and laid a hand on Eric's shoulder. "Eric, you didn't know. Even I thought she was safe on the floor with the blanket over her. Let's just do what we can for now. The plane will be here first thing in the morning."

  "I will be recharged by then,” Eric said firmly. "I need to drink more water but first I will do what I can,” Eric said as he held his hand over Mia's head. It began to glow brightly but then quickly went out. "I can't hold it any longer, Striker."

  Striker was silent for a moment and then caught Eric's eyes. "I can try giving her my blood. It has healing qualities."

  "Why don't you? Do it!” Eric said.

  "Eric, it's not that easy. It goes against all that I am to do this without her permission,” Striker explained.

  Eric nodded in understanding and said, "I know what you are saying, Striker, and I say we wake her to get her consent."

  Striker looked surprised for a moment and then said, "Agreed."

  It was Eric's turn to put his hand on Striker's shoulder. "We had to tell her sooner or later. Now is as good a time as any."

  Striker nodded and they both turned to Mia. Eric ran his hand over her cheek. "Mia, we need you to wake up now."

  "Mia, time to get up,” Striker said forcefully. He gently shook her shoulder.

  Mia moaned and began to blink her eyes. Eric checked her pupils. "Her eyes are clear. That's a good sign."

  "Mia, wake up. We need to talk to you,” Eric said to her.

  "What's wrong? Why aren't we moving?” Mia asked.

  "How do you feel?” Striker asked.

  Mia made a move to sit up and the men each took her side to help her. Eric offered her a little water, which she sipped slowly. "What's going on? Where are we?"

  "We are in the hanger at the airport,” Eric explained to her.

  "Love, you were hurt earlier. You had a serious gash on your head,” Striker said to her.

  "I was? I did? What happened to it?” Mia asked confused.

  Striker looked to Eric and Eric said, "I healed your gash as much as I could. Just like I healed myself, remember?"

  Mia nodded slowly. "I remember. There was a light."

  "Yes, there was, but I couldn't heal you all the way. Striker can finish healing you,” Eric said.

  "Okay.” Mia looked at Striker.

  Striker sat down on a chair by the table and looked at her. "Mia, I would need to give you some of my blood."

  Mia frowned. "Do werewolves have healing blood? I hadn't heard that."

  Striker shook his head. "No, sweet, they don't. I am not a werewolf."

  Mia took a deep breath. "Okay. What are you?" She had had just about as much as she could take, and sitting here trying to figure out what the fuck they were was too much. She knew about the other magical kind, she had just not met any, she thought, at least she didn’t think so.

  "First I want you to remember that I care for you deeply, we both do. We would never do anything to hurt you, ever. You understand?” Striker said and Mia nodded. "Mia, I am a vampire."

  "And I am Fae,” Eric said.

  Mia didn't say anything for a moment and then she said, "Okay. I see.” She tried to scoot a little further away from them and then slowly stood up by the table. When both men went to reach out to help her, she growled, she actually growled at them. They both immediately pulled their hands away and put them up in a gesture to show her they meant no harm.

  She stumbled back and the back of her legs hit the couch, where she sat down hard. "I honestly don't know what to say,” she said as she reached up to rub her temples. "I have such a headache I can't think straight. But I am going to say one thing. NO MORE OF THIS FUCKING HIDING SHIT FROM ME!! I AM A GROWN UP, AND WEAR BIG GIRL PANTIES."

  Striker approached her slowly, his hands out, saying, "Okay? Uh well, that is, I am sorry. We won't hurt you, Mia. We only want what is best for you. You are our mate."

  Eric smiled at her as she looked at them both. "You are and we would lay down our own lives to keep you safe, honey.” He knelt down in front of her. "You know that, don't you? And I like it when you wear your big girl panties."

  Mia snorted. "Okay then, as long as we are on the same page, I would hate to gut you.” She said softly, "Mates? Like Cami, Quin, and Jaden?"

  Striker knelt down too so as not to scare her further. "Yes, like them."

  "So you two, um, like, want to be together?” Mia asked. While that would be kinda hot, she didn’t think that was their intensions, but hey, she had to ask.

  "No, love, we don't want to be together like Quin and Jaden are per se. But we are mates, and we both want to be with you,” Striker explained.

  "What Striker is skirting around is that we don't find each other sexually attractive as we do you, but feel the pull to care for each other through you,” Eric said with a smile.

  "Oh, okay. And you want to give me blood? To heal me or what?” Mia asked. From what Cami had told her, the exchange of blood with a magical being was more than just healing.

  "It is part of the mating to have a blood exchange. I know my blood can heal you,” Striker said.

  "Mia, we don't know how injured you are inside and that worries me. I want Striker to heal you,” Eric told her. "We cannot go on without you, Mia. If it starts the mating then so be it."

  Striker looked serious. “Mia, you don’t have to, we can get a doctor here, we will just have to use our powers on him to make him forget. I am willing to do anything you want.”

  Mia nodded and smiled another conversation they would be having about their powers. After seeing the driver, and then the glowing bit, she was more than curious. First, they had to get out of here and on a plane.

  “Will we be bound for life?” she asked, hoping the answer was yes but not daring to say it.

  “Yes, but if you have any doubts we stop now, but there is a bit more to the whole mating thing.” Eric smiled. “I will be heartbroken and go and sit in the corner and lick my wounds, but I respect your decision.”

  Mia looked at both of them for a moment and nodded. "Okay. Let's do it. Do you have a knife?"

  Striker smiled. "Actually, I will bite your neck, as in the movies. Then you can drink from mine or my wrist."

  "Ah, I see. Um, okay,” Mia said. She felt the excitement build, not quite the romantic way she expected it to go, if she was marrying a human she always dreamed of an extravagant proposal, but with the these two, she imagined so much more, later, she thought, she would insist on at least a romantic dinner later. “Just saying, later I expect something more romantic, like a horse drawn carriage and stuff like that.”

  Striker rose slowly so as not to frighten her more than she already was, he could hear her heart pounding and was worried for her health. He took a seat beside her on the couch. He looked to Eric and nodded to Mia's other side. Eric took it and he turned her to face Striker, wrappi
ng his arms around her waist. She immediately leaned back against him and he kissed the side of her neck that had been injured, knowing Striker would prefer to bite her uninjured side.

  Striker looked into Mia's eyes and said, "This will not hurt you, Mia, it will actually be enjoyable. We will make sure it is so. As for later, you can damn well expect something a bit more private and personal."

  Mia nodded and held out her arms to Striker in an appeal for him to go to her. He took her offering and moved into the circle of her arms. He kissed her lips, softly at first, and then he became more demanding. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, requesting entry and when she opened to him, he felt elated at her surrender. Eric had moved his hands around to her front and was caressing her breasts through her t-shirt as they kissed. Striker moved his hands south, caressing her through her jeans, pressing his finger to her clit as he continued to kiss her.

  When he could hear her heartbeat had slowed and her breathing had sped up, he knew she was becoming aroused instead of being frightened. He slowly released her lips and kissed along her cheek, making eye contact with Eric. Then he moved to the other cheek and slowly down to her neck. There he let his incisors out to slowly and gently pierce her skin. He heard her gasp right before she began to moan and writhe in his arms. He and Eric both kept up their ministrations as she climaxed in their arms while he took a bit of her blood.

  He only took enough for a proper exchange and then slowly slid his fangs from her, licking the wounds to seal them shut. Then he pulled back and sank his teeth into his wrist, thinking this was the best way for her to feed and offered it to her. Mia took his wrist in her dainty hands and brought it to her mouth. When her lips closed over the wound and began to suck lightly, Striker almost came in his pants. The feeling was euphoric and he sent it along the connection he had with Eric, hearing him gasp when it hit him.

  He snapped back to himself when he heard Mia moan as she continued to suck on his wrist. He knew she had had enough and gently pulled his wrist from her. She murmured a protest but let it go. He licked the wound to seal it and then kissed her on her lips. They all sat back on the couch in a cuddle of sorts, saying nothing as they felt everything when the connection began to blossom.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mia must have fallen asleep at some point on the couch as she felt a rumble under her cheek. Then she heard Eric and Striker talking about the plane due soon. She slowly sat up and realized she was a bit dizzy. She put her hand to her head to try to stop the swimming. Had the blood exchange done this to her? she wondered.

  'No, love, you are probably dizzy from hunger. It's been since lunch yesterday that you ate,’ Striker said.

  'Yes, it's now four in the morning,’ Eric said.

  Mia's mouth dropped open in shock as she was looking at both men sitting at the table in front of her and neither had moved their mouths. How was that possible? she thought in shock. What was happening to her?

  "Stay calm, Mia,” Striker said aloud as he stood and moved to sit beside her. "It is part of the exchange. We can now talk telepathically."

  Mia thought about what he said. "Wow, it’s like having another personality in my head. Then that means that you two have exchanged blood too. Right?"

  "Yes, we have. We did it back at the hotel. Mostly so we could communicate from a distance with each other if it was needed to keep you safe,” Eric explained.

  'Now we can speak to each other no matter where we are.’ Striker's voice came into her head.

  'That is so cool.’ She thought then smiled when she saw they had both heard her. 'Can others hear us?'

  'No, only my mates are on this path. I have access to another path that leads to my people,’ Striker explained.

  "I see,” she said aloud.

  "Now come, let's get you something to eat. I bought a bit of everything I thought you would like,” Striker said as he stood and led her to the table.

  Eric got up and began to pull things from the fridge. Mia sat down at the table and began to look over the food. Her stomach growled loudly and she giggled. She grabbed a ham and cheese sandwich and began to eat. Eric opened a bottle water for her and set it in front of her. She ate slowly, chewing thoroughly even though she wanted to scarf it down. She was aware of her audience and didn’t want to act like an animal. She almost choked on her food at her thoughts.

  Once she had her fill, she said, "Eric, you are Fae. Do we have to do something like the blood exchange? How will we mate?"

  "Mia, make no mistake, we are not mated yet,” Striker inserted. "We must all join for us to be mated."

  Mia blushed. "Oh. I thought the blood exchange was a vampire's way of mating."

  Striker smiled at her and ran a hand over her cheek. "No, but I thank you for your trust and wish to be mated to me."

  Eric grinned at her. "And I take it that you also want to mate with me if you are asking."

  "Well, yes, I care for you both deeply,” Mia said to them.

  "We will do a light exchange. Similar to the blood,” Eric told her.

  "Okay, do we all do that?” she asked.

  "Yes, when we all join as one,” Eric answered.

  "Okay.” Mia sat there thinking about what they had told her and sipping her water.

  "How are you feeling?” Striker asked her.

  Mia nodded. "Good. The headache is gone, I guess it was the lack of food."

  "That's good. You scared us both,” Eric added.

  "I'm sorry. I didn't mean too,” Mia said. "I do have a question."

  "Ask anything, anytime,” Striker said.

  "Now that we have exchanged blood, can you read my thoughts?” Mia asked.

  Striker shook his head. "No, but we both can tell what you are feeling now. You should be able to feel our emotion too."

  "How do I do that?” Mia asked, interested in trying.

  Eric smiled. "It will take some time but if our emotions are strong enough then you will know who is feeling what. For now, try to concentrate on one of us and see what you find."

  Mia nodded and scrunched up her face as she tried to concentrate. Striker laughed and said, "It shouldn't be so hard, Mia. Just close your eyes and let it come to you."

  "Okay.” Mia closed her eyes and concentrated on Eric to see what he was feeling. Just when she didn’t think anything would come through, she saw a thread of light and then felt happiness. She opened her eyes and said to Eric, "You feel happy."

  Both men grinned at her and Eric said, "Yes, älskling, I do."

  "You have called me that several times, what does it mean?” Mia asked.

  "It means sweetheart,” Eric said with a smile.

  Mia smiled. "That is so sweet."

  Striker checked his watch and said, "We need to get ready to go."

  "I am going to pack up the food. I saw some empty boxes out in the hanger,” Eric said as he left the room.

  "What should I do?” Mia asked Striker.

  Striker shook his head. "No, no. You are going to sit in here. There is a television over there, see if there is something on. I want to know where you are. Stay put."

  "Okay. I will stay here,” Mia promised.

  Striker stood as she did and pulled her into his arms. "Good. I do not want to worry about you. We will get everything together and join you soon.” He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.

  Mia sighed. "Alright. Hurry back."

  Striker smiled at her as he headed out to the hanger to talk to Eric. He wanted to scan the area and do a perimeter check. He went out and found Eric, who had found a box and was heading back into the break room to pack the food.

  "How are you feeling?” Striker asked.

  "I'm good, still a little tired but back to normal,” Eric told him. Eric looked toward the break room and said, "She took that better than I thought."

  Striker nodded in agreement. "I think she will freak out soon but with her being injured, I think that helped her decide to accept what we are."

 
"Yeah, we could be on the verge of a meltdown. I will keep an eye on her while I pack the food,” Eric said.

  "I want to go outside and do a perimeter check. It's been too quiet,” Striker said grimly.

  "You think they are out there waiting?” Eric asked.

  Striker shrugged. "I don't know but I won't sit in here and wait for them to come in. Besides, the plane will be here soon so we could hold them off if we had to."

  Eric nodded. "Okay. Be careful. Call to me if you need me."

  Striker clapped Eric on the shoulder. "I will, thanks.” He headed out to the main door. Eric's words rang in his head. He had always been a loner, never relying on anyone but himself and now he had two people to protect. He knew they were there for him too and that threw him. He didn't know how to deal with that and told himself he didn’t need to right now. He would get through this crisis and then they could all three learn how to live together as mates. Maybe one day they would have a family. That thought surprised him as he stepped outside quietly and made his way around the building.

  He closed his eyes and concentrated on the surrounding area, scanning for any signs of another out there. He didn't feel anything, but he thought they had a blocker on their team, as he hadn't detected the threat of the other car before it was too late. He had been scanning then the whole time. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he knew without a doubt that someone was watching. He always relied on what his gut said to him and it was screaming.

  Just then he heard a plane's engine and released a breath, as he turned to go around the building and head back inside, he was jumped from behind. He let out a roar and flipped the man over his back on to the ground. Striker was ready for a fight.

  'Eric, we are under attack. Lock the main door. The plane is here. Help will be with you soon.’ Striker sent as the man rolled to his feet, flashing a knife. Striker crouched and heard more noise behind him. He was trapped.