Chapter 19 #2
“No, we’re going to tell her tonight, regardless,” he says. “She has two mates now, and since she does… you’ve got as much right to punish her as I do.”
“She might not agree with that,” I chuckle.
“We’ll find out tonight,” he growls. “Can you handle things here?”
“Yes, brother. Go.” I nod. “Take care of our mate. I’ll meet up with you later.”
Hayden lets out a low rumble of anger, then leaves The Den. Not long after he leaves, I feel the others approaching, so I quickly update the plans for the day. Since we don’t have Hayden, we’ll need to stick together to be safe.
I’m still not sure what to make of Ansley, or Hayden’s revelation about her being meant for both of us. Inside, it feels right, even if it defies what I’ve always believed. One wolf. One mate. Sometimes it’s love. Sometimes it’s fate. This… I’m not sure what this is.
My brothers and I spend the day searching Chicago.
We find a couple of nests, but they’re deserted.
There’s been recent activity, so it seems that word is spreading.
Vampires know they’re being hunted. That makes them more dangerous.
They’ll likely stick together, as more of their kind meet their end.
In the late afternoon, as much as I want to continue the hunt, I can’t get Ansley out of my head.
I can’t get what Hayden told me out of my head.
My brothers want to continue the hunt, so I head to York Financial.
I find Hayden watching from the roof of the building across the street, so I climb up the fire escape.
“Anything?” I ask, knowing he’s already sensed my arrival.
“It’s been quiet today,” his words are his only acknowledgement of my presence, his eyes remaining glued to the building across the street.
“What’s the plan? Are you just going to let her drive back to the safehouse?” I ask.
“Yes, I think so. She’ll be able to sense that she’s being watched, so she’ll already know she’s in trouble,” Hayden says. “I’ll let her worry about how much trouble she’s in on the drive back. Then she’ll be punished.”
Hayden points out the parking garage where Ansley left the sedan she took from the safehouse. He parked nearby, so that he can tail her back to the safehouse. He moves to the edge of the rooftop and I follow him. Once we’re on the ground, we cross over to the parking garage.
“We’ll wait in the car now,” he says, walking over to it.
“We would be faster on four paws,” I complain. “We’d make it back to the safehouse before she does.”
“Then we’d have to pick up the car later. Not worth the trouble,” he says.
We get in the car and wait. It isn’t long until we see Ansley turning the corner. The sight of her immediately takes my breath away. I struggle with the pull. The need. The overwhelming desire to jump out of the car and take what my instincts crave. Keeping them under control is difficult.
“That feeling won’t completely pass, but it won’t be as overwhelming after you claim her,” Hayden says softly, noticing my discomfort. “It was a struggle for me, too.”
“This is almost like madness,” I sigh, trying to shake it off.
“Feels like it,” he says, then his eyes widen. “Trouble!”
Hayden is out of the car in a flash, shifting into his Natural Form before I even realize what is happening. Being this close to Ansley seems to dull everything else, even my natural perceptiveness.
I open the door and step out, just in time to see Hayden racing towards three vampires. They were lying in wait for her. Waiting for her, mere feet away, and we didn’t even fucking notice. One of them is holding Ansley, fangs bared, and she looks terrified.
“No!” I yell, shifting into my Natural Form as I ran and landing on four paws.
I’m fast, but not fast enough. Two vampires meet Hayden head on.
The one holding Ansley sinks his fangs into her neck.
Rage explodes through me unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, and I leap over the two vampires fighting Hayden.
The vampire holding Ansley pulls away from her neck, a look of confusion on his face. That’s the opening I need.
I feel a mental link open with Ansley, which is unusual, but I don’t question it. “Run, Ansley!” I roar, landing behind the vampire and biting into the middle of his back.
I pray the vampire’s bite didn’t last long enough for the venom to paralyze her.
My teeth sink into flesh. He lets go of Ansley and she sprints towards her car as fast as her high heels will allow.
I let out a fierce snarl, thankful she seems to be okay, then clamp down on the vampire’s spine and shake as hard as I can, trying to yank it out through his back.
The two vampires Hayden is fighting are young. This one is an older maker. Normally, it would be difficult for me to fight one of these on my own, but I caught him off guard. Biting Ansley distracted him. Usually, a taste of fresh blood makes them fiercer. This one… he never got the chance.
I literally tear his spine out, toss it to the side, and go for the heart. My fangs crush it and blood fills my mouth. One vampire down. Two to go. No, one. Hayden has already killed one of the younger ones.
“I got him brother!” I transmit, then I shift into my true Human Form.
I rush the vampire from behind. He’s focused on Hayden, but he swipes at me.
I dodge the swipe, grab him around the waist, and pin his arms. That’s all Hayden needs.
He goes for the throat first and once enough blood gushes out to weaken the vampire, he tears out his heart.
I drop the body, watching it go limp as it hits the ground.
“Ansley!” I yell, turning towards her.
Hayden shifts into his true Human Form. We both rush to our mate’s side. Ansley is sitting on the ground beside her car, a hand clamped over her neck.
“Let me see!” I demand, pulling her hand away.
To our surprise, there’s no bite mark. The vampire didn’t even break skin. I check the other side of her neck to be sure.
“Wait, you weren’t bitten?” Hayden questions.
“I saw the fangs. He definitely bit her,” I argue.
“He bit me! It freaking hurt!” Ansley shrieks, rubbing her neck and looking at her hand with panic in her eyes. The panic gives way to confusion. “I’m not bleeding…”
“We need to move before someone sees what happened here,” Hayden says. “Help me get the bodies in the SUV.”
We clean up the scene as best we can. There’s still blood but it’s better than dead vampires. They look human enough, but three dead bodies are still three dead bodies. We don’t need an autopsy on one of them to cause alarm.
“More people are coming. Move!” Hayden orders. “Drive the car Ansley brought.”
Ansley is still confused or shell shocked. I run to the car, help her into the passenger seat, and we peel out. Once we are on the way to the safehouse, I text Storm and ask him to make sure the security footage in the area is wiped, just to be safe.
Fighting vampires in a parking garage in broad daylight is more exposure than we are normally comfortable with, but we had to protect Ansley. She’s our mate. There was zero choice involved in the matter, just the innate imperative to protect her no matter what.
“I’m in a lot of trouble, aren’t I?” she whimpers.
“You were supposed to stay at the safehouse,” I work hard not to yell at her, once again feeling the pull. The need. Her scent, especially so close, is overwhelming. “But I’m glad you’re okay.”
I notice Ansley squirming in her seat once the adrenaline fades. Her scent gets stronger until I can smell her arousal. She’s reacting to me, just like I’m reacting to her.
“You feel it, don’t you?” I ask.
“I don’t know what I feel,” she whispers. “What is happening to me?”
“Your body is responding to your mate,” I say.
“He’s… not even close,” she says, glancing ahead at the SUV.
“You felt something the first night we met. I did too,” I explain. “Hayden and I talked earlier. You have more than one mate, Ansley.”
Her eyes widen. “You mean… What do you mean? I thought Hayden was my mate.”
“He is, but so am I. Your scent has been driving me mad since we met. Even when I smell you on Hayden. It’s the only explanation that makes sense,” I’m trying to keep my voice calm and even.
“I had a vision. Hallucination. I’m not even sure. But there were children, and I knew they didn’t all belong to Hayden. Do you think…” she trails off.
“You are meant to carry both our offspring,” I confirm. “Tell me more about these visions.”
Ansley looks unsure for a moment, then she tells me about the first one.
How it helped her find Daisy. In another, she saw herself naked in Hayden’s bed.
Then she had what sounds like a glimpse of the future.
A future that seems a lot better than the wretched one we expected.
Growing old without ever having a mate or children.
“I’ve never heard of a Scion that could have premonitions,” I admit. “But I’m learning that we don’t know everything about how the world works. Even how it works for our kind.”
“Because of me?” she questions.
“Yes,” I sigh. “All because of you.”
I see the safehouse ahead. I want to believe this is as simple as Hayden suggests, but I still have concerns. This is new territory for us. New territory for our kind.
Can Ansley handle being claimed by two wolves?