They pulled up to a questionable looking apartment building. When Meryn got out of the car and walked past a drug dealer to check her mail he started having heart palpitations. She lived here?
He quickly got out and growled lowly at the man eyeing his mate. The man glanced up startled and kept moving down the street. The storm door was nothing but a sheet of cracked glass and rusted metal. When he stepped into the foyer, he noticed that the entryway light bulb had been removed. How convenient for a mugger. He was grateful that he wasn’t able to see the state of the floor, but was concerned about the security risk the dim foyer presented. He followed her up a set of dark stairs, careful not to touch the railing. Meryn fished out her keys and went to unlock her door. The second her hand touched the knob the door moved, swinging inward slightly. She jumped back as if she had been electrocuted. Her eyes were huge when she turned to him. Pushing her behind him, he violently kicked open the door making it crash loudly into the wall. Meryn thumped his back.
‘Shush, they may hear you.’ She whispered.
‘Baby, if they’re robbing the place, I want them to hear me so they leave.’ He explained.
‘Oh. Good idea.’ She nodded.
‘Stay here.’
‘Yeah, fuck that. I’m sticking to you like glue. I’ve seen this horror movie, the person waiting in the hallway dies.’ Meryn shook her head.
Aiden turned to stare at her.
‘Later we’re going to talk about your movie choices.’ He edged through the open doorway and looked around the room.
‘How many rooms?’ He asked.
‘Main room, kitchen and bedroom with attached bath. That’s it.’ Meryn grabbed his belt and he felt her small hand at his back.
He walked into the main room, there were no closets for anyone to be hiding in. He popped his head into the tiny, galley style kitchen. It was empty.
‘Baby, stay here while I check the bedroom, okay?’ She nodded. She closed the apartment door and her eyes darted around the room. He could tell she was trying to see if anything had been taken.
When he opened the bedroom door, he was immediately overwhelmed with the scent of another male. Someone had marked this room with urine and seed as his territory. Feeling sick, he pulled back the covers of the bed to find that the mattress had been slashed and semen decorated the pillows. His bear rose to the surface roaring. He barely managed to keep from shifting. Breathing through his mouth to stay calm he checked the bathroom and the closet. Both were also marked and empty.
‘What’s taking so long?’ Meryn asked about to walk in.
‘Stay out!’ He barked. She looked at him with a hurt expression, but then noticed his barely contained rage. She stared past him, her eyes noticing every small detail.
‘Is that … is that semen?’ She asked. He didn’t answer, he didn’t have to.
‘I’m going to be sick.’ Meryn bolted down the hallway and he was right on her heels. She leaned over the kitchen sink and lost her latte. He rubbed her back. She rinsed her mouth out with tap water then stumbled to the fridge. She threw the door open and grabbed a container of orange juice. She swished the juice around her mouth before spitting that out in the sink. She took another drink and swallowed. Her hands were shaking when she put the juice back.
Aiden reached for his phone.
‘What’s up?’ Colton asked.
‘Have the Beta Unit fill in for you guys and bring Alpha to Meryn’s apartment. I want the guys here five minutes ago.’ Aiden growled into the phone.
‘Are you injured?’ Colton demanded, in the background Aiden could hear Gavriel barking orders.
‘I’m fine, so is Meryn. We’re at the old apartment building on ninth street, apartment 3B. Just get here quick.’
‘On our way.’ Colton hung up.
‘What if you hadn’t found me yesterday and kidnapped me? What if I had come home to find this guy waiting for me?’ Her body looked like it was trying to shake itself apart. Aiden scooped her up and sat down on the couch with her in his lap. He cuddled her close and kissed her hair.
‘You were meant to be with me. It’s why Fate had you climb that fence. He will never come near you, I promise you Meryn. This guy is a walking dead man.’ He didn’t have the heart to tell her that the semen was fresh. They had missed this creep by minutes.
‘Let’s get you packed up. The guys will be here soon.’ He stood and placed her on her feet.
‘How will I know what he touched? I don’t want anything he … touched.’ She made a face.
‘I’ll bring anything that carries just your scent out here for you to pack up. When that is done, you can walk through the bedroom to see if the things left are things you’re willing to part with. If you want to keep those items, I will clean them for you.’ He lifted her chin and kissed her softly. ‘How’s that?’ He asked gently.
Her eyes filled. ‘You’re amazing. I might be sorry I hit you with your toilet after all.’ Though her eyes were filled with tears she grinned.
‘You’re never going to let that go are you?’
‘Nope.’
‘My little warrior.’ He ruffled her hair.
‘I’m going to get started, let the guys in or they’ll break down the door when they get here.
*****
Aiden had most of her things out in the family room for her to pack before the guys got there. When she walked through the bedroom to see what had been ‘contaminated’ he noticed that her bottom lip trembled, but she took a deep breath and went over everything. He was so proud of her.
In the end everything left over were things she could part with. Aiden was furious to see that nearly all of her underthings, lingerie, and nightgowns made up the pile on the bed. He would get her brand new things and make sure she had fun picking them out.
Gavriel hissed when he walked through the bedroom door.
‘We need to find this guy, he needs to die.’ Aiden clenched and unclenched his fists.
‘It will be done brother. We won’t let a threat to your mate exist.’ Gavriel laid a hand on his shoulder. Aiden was grateful for the unit’s support, he knew, had they not been able to get there when they did, he may have lost control and went after this guy alone. But knowing that his brothers were on their way helped him keep his bear under wraps until they arrived.
‘Aiden, can you smell it?’ Gavriel took another deep breath.
‘The fact that this asshole jerked off all over the place, yeah, I smell that.’
‘Then you missed the fact that it’s a shifter.’ Gavriel took a step closer to the bed.
‘It’s faint, so faint.’ He surprised Aiden by walking over to the closet and pulling out a hanger before returning to the bed. Using the plastic hanger he shifted the bras and panties around.
‘Found it.’ Gavriel lifted up a bra with the hanger.
Aiden shook his head, whatever it was, even being a shifter he couldn’t smell it.
Gavriel laid the bra on the comforter and used the hanger to point to the bra clasp.
‘Someone forgot about small metal hooks when they were using this to jerk off. There are faint traces of blood around each hook.’
Aiden stepped closer and looked again. He could see smudges of red, but he would have missed it since the bra was a floral print.
‘Good work. Bag it up and take it with us.’
They walked out of her bedroom to the family room. Aiden snarled when he saw Darian packing the few pairs of panties that the psycho had missed into a small suitcase. Meryn laughed and walked over to him. She patted him on the chest and he quieted down.
‘You’re so cute.’ She smiled up at him. Aiden was glad to see that the traces of fear were gone. He frowned down at her.
‘I am not cute. I am a ferocious killing machine. Paranormals everywhere tremble before me.’
‘My teddy bear.’ She pulled on his shirt until he was bent down enough to reach her lips and kissed him. He looked over to see Colton about to say something.
‘Not a motherfucking word.’ He warned.
‘Yes, Commander.’ Colton gave a salute, but his eyes danced with suppressed mirth. Aiden sighed. It was going to be a long day.
*****
While they finished packing Aiden called his mother and let her know what had happened. She promised to make dinner extra special for both Byron and Meryn.
‘What’s next Commander?’ Colton asked.
‘Call Lorcan, tell him I’m pulling Alpha out of rotation. Until we catch this fucker you guys are assigned guard duty at my parents’ house. I’m not letting Meryn out of my sight.’
Meryn tried to hide her sigh of relief. It wasn’t that she didn’t think she’d be safe with Adelaide and Byron, she just felt better knowing that Aiden would be there too.
‘Roger that, be right back.’ Colton was pulling out his cell phone as he walked out the door.
Aiden turned to Meryn.
‘Everything packed?’
‘Yup, Darian and Keelan took the last of the boxes down and Gavriel volunteered to speak to my landlord about my lease.’
Aiden smirked. ‘I bet he did. Come on, let’s go make sure the guys aren’t causing trouble.’
Meryn didn’t wait for him to take her hand, she latched on to his arm instead. She wasn’t sorry to see the last of the apartment. She knew it wasn’t in a good part of town but it was the only place that didn’t have a waiting list. When they passed the rental office Meryn peeked inside and saw that Gavriel had the slimy-looking landlord up against the wall.
‘And you will replace the front door and make sure that the foyer is well lit, won’t you?’ Gavriel’s tone was pleasant but the man in front of him was sweating bullets. Keelan watched, amused. Every time the landlord looked in his direction Keelan would wave his hand and the trio of rats at his feet would hiss at the slumlord.
‘Enough fun guys, time to move out.’ Aiden barked. Gavriel and Keelan turned in unison and joined them. Outside Colton and Darian had two men pinned against their SUV. Aiden sighed.
‘I swear I can’t take them anywhere.’
‘When we got here they had taken the tires off your car Aiden, I think Darian and Colton were just making sure that everything was good to go.’ Keelan said. Aiden’s dark gaze turned to the two men. He stalked over and stood behind Colton.
‘See, you didn’t move quickly enough, our boss here has noticed what you’ve done. We tried to warn you buddy.’ Colton spread his hands as if giving up.
‘No, please! We’re sorry! We put them back! We put them back!’ The larger of the two men babbled.
‘Run.’ Aiden’s harsh tone made both men flinch. They stared at him in terror.
‘I said run! If you look back, I’ll be the one right behind you!’ Aiden growled. Both men screamed and took off.
Meryn walked over to stand beside the men.
‘You’re all little boys. Every single one of you.’ She nudged the back of Aiden’s knee with her foot laughing when his leg collapsed causing him to wobble.
‘Those men deserved worse. Maybe they’ll think twice before doing such wicked things again.’ Gavriel’s tone was cordial.
‘Move out!’ Aiden barked and the men moved to their car. Aiden held the door open for her and she got in. Two days. Her life had been completely changed in just two short days. She shook her head and tried not to think about it. She was having more fun now than she had in years. She glanced over at Aiden. She had never been in love before, but so far it was a wonderful feeling. Growing up, she and learned to rely on herself. Having people take care of her was something new. Grudgingly, she was being forced to open her tiny bubble and let others in. That was more terrifying than falling in love.
‘Whatever it is, quit thinking about it so hard. What will happen, will happen.’ Aiden’s voice startled her out of her anxiety spiral.
‘What if I’m scared about what will happen?’ She whispered.
‘Tell me what scares you and I’ll kill it.’ Aiden shrugged. Meryn shook her head; of course the arrogant bastard wouldn’t dream that she was scared about her future with him.
‘Why are you so confident about us? Do mates ever get divorced?’ She watched his face carefully. She was beginning to like his frowny face. If that wasn’t love, what was?
‘No. Once we find our destined mates, we are with them for life.’
‘How do you know that we’re destined mates? Maybe you just like my perfume.’ Meryn didn’t know why she was fighting this so hard. Given what she had been told about paranormals she knew Aiden was her mate. But, it was difficult to believe that he blindly accepted her because of Fate and not because he desired her.
‘You don’t wear perfume.’ Aiden’s simple reply made her want to beat her head against the dash. She turned and stared out the window, silent.
After a few minutes she watched as the car Colton was driving turned to head towards Aiden’s parent’s house. Their car veered off to the right. Aiden pulled over to the side of the road. The tree branches overhead extended out over the road creating a fall-colored canopy in reds, oranges and yellows.
‘Why did you stop here?’
‘You don’t wear perfume.’ Aiden repeated. She went to turn away, but his hand cupped the back of her head so that she had to look at him.
‘You don’t wear perfume so what I smell is the very essence of you. Every slight nuance, every chemical change your body makes, I can smell it. Every time you’re angry, every time you’re sad, every time you’re aroused, there is a distinct smell. Today I smelled your fear, true terror for the first time, and I nearly lost control. I know you’re my mate because even though your scent is a physical manifestation it’s a true reflection of your soul and that bright soul belongs to me.’ His blue eyes seemed to radiate their own inner light. It was as if she could truly see into the depths of his being and what she saw brought tears to her eyes.
Deep in his heart, she saw herself.
‘I’m weird and awkward! I don’t like most people and I don’t have one of those social mouth filters!’ Meryn exclaimed wiping her eyes. Aiden’s smile was kind.
‘I know.’
‘I eat junk food and I don’t know how, but I always find a way to get into trouble.’ Meryn sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Aiden’s mouth twitched.
‘I know.’
‘I can be violent, short tempered and vindictive and I don’t know the first thing about being a lady.’ Meryn looked into his face saddened that she might not live up to expectations. He nodded.
‘I know. I know all of that already Meryn. You scaled a fence to trespass on private property because you were curious. You accused me of wanting to wear your skin and you knocked me unconscious with the back of my toilet. You called one of the oldest and most revered members of our society a douche bag and threatened to castrate my best friend. That was roughly in the first twenty four hours I’ve known you.’ Meryn closed her eyes and dropped her head. Warm fingers under her chin guided her to look back up at him.
‘Do you know what I thought about all of that?’ Aiden asked softly. She shook her head, afraid to answer.
‘I thought: ‘this woman is completely unhinged. I don’t know what the hell she’s going to say or do next’.’ He paused. Meryn let her tears fall. She knew that there was no way he would want her! She twisted her face trying to escape his hand, but he refused to let go. Seconds later his lips were on hers. He nipped her lower lip until she opened her mouth. Then he began his assault. His tongue was relentless, twining and dominating hers. When he pulled away, she whimpered at the loss.
‘I also thought: ‘this woman is the most beautiful, brilliant and captivating person I have ever met. She will keep me on my toes for the rest of our lives’.’ Aiden’s lips returned this time to kiss her gently. When she looked up at him there was no doubt left in her heart. She was meant to be his, for the rest of her life.
‘I will drive you out of your mind.’ She smiled through her tears. Aiden used his thumbs to wipe her cheeks.
‘Gods I hope so!’ With a final quick kiss, he started the car and drove them back to her new home.
*****
‘I’m sorry someone broke into your place Meryn, but can’t help but appreciate the consequences. We get to crash here and eat Marius’s food!’ Colton shoveled in another huge lobster tail in his mouth.
After returning to the house Aiden had called the other unit leader Lorcan and arranged for him to interview the parents of the missing couples. He was serious about staying at her side.
‘I can’t imagine what a trying day it has been for you my dear.’ Byron reached across the table and patted her hand.
‘It wasn’t so bad. I’m more sorry about any trouble I may have caused with that vampire Elder.’ Meryn grimaced at the memory. Gavriel’s head turned in her direction.
‘What is this about Elder Evreux?’ He raised an eyebrow. Meryn felt her cheeks flush. Ben chortled at his mother’s side. Now all of the men were looking at her including Aiden’s two older brothers who happened to be home for dinner.
‘It seems Meryn still has to learn that paranormals have exceptional hearing. She was trying to whisper something to Aiden and of course everyone in the room heard.’ Byron’s face was stern.
‘What’d she say?’ Colton was on the edge of his seat.
‘She asked if all vampires were douche bags, because Gavriel wasn’t.’ Byron’s cool composure collapsed and he began to laugh. He laughed so hard he had tears streaming down his cheeks. The men around the table seemed to be in shock. Meryn couldn’t tell if it was from her social gaffe or Byron’s reaction to it.
‘She called Elder Evreux a douche bag?’ Gavriel whispered. Shoot me now! Meryn wanted to sink through the floor. Around the table male laughter boomed. First Colton, then Darian, then Keelan followed by Aiden’s brothers. The one that shocked her the most was Gavriel’s silent laughter. He simply covered his face with his hand and shook. She watched him closely.
‘Is he breathing?’ She asked Aiden concerned. Aiden looked at his second in command and then raised a hand and slapped him on the back. Gavriel inhaled deeply and a contagious chuckle emerged, this of course set off the entire table again.
‘I don’t see how that’s funny. I was so embarrassed.’ Meryn frowned down at her lobster tail, determined to crack her own instead of having Aiden do hers again.
‘We’re not laughing at you dear, it’s just that so many of us have wanted to call him that and worse over the decades, it feels good to finally see it happen.’ Byron kissed her cheek.
‘And it was my daughter who put that ass in his place. What an amazing day!’ Byron easily snapped another lobster shell, handed Meryn the meat and wordlessly took the one she had been struggling with. Accepting that she was officially the weakest person, no matter where she went she decided to just enjoy the lobster.
‘My mate is brutal in her honesty.’ Aiden winked down at her.
‘Only because I know my mate will keep me safe.’ She said back to him flippantly. The laughter and chatter around the table quieted. Meryn glanced around to see what had happened. Aiden was staring down at her in wonder.
‘What?’ She frowned up at him.
‘Say it again.’
‘Say what?’
‘What you just said.’ Aiden’s smile couldn’t be wider.
‘Because my mate will keep me safe?’ Meryn looked up at him confused.
Aiden let out a loud shout before he stood and scooped her up in his arms. Laughing, he swung her around in the air.
‘Oh, that’s just beautiful.’ Adelaide sniffed and dabbed her eyes with her napkin.
‘Aiden I’m gonna puke on you.’ Meryn’s head was spinning. He immediately stopped and sat down this time with her in his lap. She swayed, trying to get the room to stop spinning as he nuzzled the back of her neck.
‘What in the hell has gotten into you?’ She demanded.
‘It’s the first time you’ve called me your mate.’ He beamed at his parents.
‘Oh. I kinda accepted that I’m stuck with you.’ Meryn picked up a breadstick to munch on until her stomach calmed down.
‘Because I’m your destined mate?’ Aiden teased.
‘No, because I love you and I am horribly possessive. I’m never letting you go. So even if Fate made a mistake she can kiss my ass.’ Meryn waved her breadstick around like a sword. Aiden stood, picking her up in his arms.
‘Mother, Father, if you’ll excuse us.’
‘Of course son.’ Byron sounded choked up. All of the men at the table were grinning like idiots.
‘I’m still hungry!’ Meryn squirmed. Aiden ignored her and sprinted from the room, heading upstairs.
Once in his room, he set her down and closed the door.
‘You must say these things on purpose.’ He stalked forward. She backed up.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You must know what they do to me.’ She backed up until the back of her legs hit the bed.
‘Aiden …’ He went to kiss her and she pushed him away.
‘We can’t yet.’ Meryn felt lightheaded all the blood in her body was boiling in her cheeks. He froze.
‘What do you mean we can’t? We’re mated. You just claimed me as your mate in front of my entire family. Give me one good reason why we can’t!’ He bellowed.
‘Because I started my cycle this evening.’ She blurted out the words and sat down on the bed. When he didn’t respond, she looked up. He blinked. Then blinked again.
‘What does that mean?’
‘What do you mean, what does that mean?’
‘It means I have no idea what you’re saying. Again!’ Aiden threw his arms up in the air.
Meryn thought about it. He had been raised by a warrior father and had three brothers. When he left the house he moved in with other men in a military type barracks. She didn’t really see Adelaide as the type of woman who would explain these things to her sons, those things were probably never discussed back then. It hit her like a ton of bricks, he really had no clue what she was talking about.
‘Right. Do you remember when you told me that paranormals can only conceive one time during the year?’
Aiden nodded.
‘Okay, for humans, we can conceive every month of the year. For a human woman if we don’t conceive our wombs shed their lining in preparation for pregnancy for the upcoming month.’ She looked at him and he was staring at her, waiting for her to continue.
‘So basically every month my womb contracts, ripping the lining away from my uterus and I bleed and discharge that lining for about three to four days all while in excruciating pain.’ In fact, all the bouncing around had kicked her cramps up in high gear, she could tell this month was going to be a bad one for cramps, it figured.
‘You mean to tell me that you are bleeding internally, right now?’ Aiden’s face drained of color. She nodded. He picked her up and put her in the center of the bed.
‘What do I do? Should I get a doctor, my mother?’ Meryn almost felt bad at his level of panic, but her cramps were making her more evil than usual.
‘I’m okay for now. But I noticed when we were packing that I only had one tampon left and I used that this evening, can you run to the store and pick up some more?’
Meryn you are going to hell!
Aiden nodded quickly, a shell shocked expression on his face.
‘Will they help? Should I leave you alone? Maybe I should have my brother examine you.’ Aiden paced beside the bed nervously.
‘You want your brother to examine up inside me?’ Meryn asked amused. His head snapped to her and he growled.
‘No! Of course not!’
‘Aiden, this is a natural part of being a human woman. The pain should subside in a day or two, then I’ll be just fine. Until then I’ll be very, very cranky.’ At least he couldn’t say he hadn’t been warned.
‘Okay. Right. Okay. You stay right there in bed. I’ll have Marius bring you up a snack. Do you need an extra blanket?’ Aiden’s concerned face hovered over her. She shook her head.
‘No Aiden, I’m fine.’ She smiled up at him.
‘Okay. Be right back. Don’t move!’ Aiden was almost to the door, he paused and ran back to the bed. He kissed her gently as if she would break and then raced from the room. When the door shut Meryn smiled to herself and curled up into a small ball as another wave of cramps started. Somehow, knowing that her badass mate was going tampon shopping made enduring her cramps a little easier than normal.
