Chapter 10
Adrian
I expected to wake up to my mate sleeping beside me, freshly punished and well used.
I didn’t wake up that way.
Instead, I woke up to the familiar feeling of a sharp blade pressed up against my throat. It wasn’t just any regular old knife either. It burned like it was silver.
Slowly, I opened my eyes to see the pretty face of my mate. The subdued expression that I had originally expected was replaced with reluctant fury.
Where the fuck had she gotten a silver knife?
“Mr. Black,” she began.
She was kneeling on top of me, her small body poised for action. I could unseat her and overpower her with ease, but that was risky. She could still slit my throat in the process.
I growled softly in warning, and she pressed the knife more closely against my throat.
Her expression was serious enough to give me pause. I didn’t think she would actually kill me, but there was a glimmer in her eyes that made me question that.
“Tell me what you want, Natalia,” I began gently.
Her face twisted into the cutest little grimace of anger. I wanted to reach out and kiss her to let her know everything was okay. I knew the bond between us was in place. She may not realize it yet, but the two of us were intricately tied together now.
It was the shifter way.
I’d taken her as my mate. I would want for no other woman ever again. She was my fated mate, my one true love. I understood that, but it was clear that she needed more time.
If she needed that, I would give it to her.
“I want safe passage back to my home for me and my sister. She’s currently with my father’s allies, but I’d prefer if she traveled with me rather than with them,” she demanded.
I studied her more closely. Along with the determination I expected from her, there was something else behind it. I saw regret, as if she was telling herself that she needed to leave when she didn’t really want to.
“If that’s what you really want, Natalia, I’ll give you that,” I answered quietly. I wouldn’t force her to remain. Our bond was true. We were meant for each other. She could fight it as much as she liked, but in the end, I knew she’d come back to me.
“That’s not all,” she continued, but her voice was shaking just enough to reveal just how unsettled she felt.
“Tell me,” I coaxed, careful to keep my natural dominance out of my voice. This wasn’t something I would spank her for. I wanted her to realize she needed me on her own.
“I want you to leave me alone forever,” she said firmly, but I could tell that she didn’t mean a single word. Her voice trembled just the slightest bit, and her eyes watered. She blinked several times and forced her tears back.
She was so strong. I was so proud to be able to call her mine.
“I will give you the first of those things, but I cannot give you the second. If you want to be left alone forever, you’re going to have to kill me,” I declared.
There was no way to undo the bond between me and her. Fate had called us together and it simply wasn’t possible to tear us apart.
She needed time to accept it.
“I’ll do it,” she snarled, and I smiled up at her.
“I don’t doubt that you will, little mate,” I answered, and her thighs tensed just enough around my torso to tell me that she probably wouldn’t. I cleared my throat.
“I will make you a deal. I will ensure that you and your sister make it safely to Belarus. I will not promise you that I will leave you alone forever. Instead, I will promise to look in on you from time to time to make sure that you are safe. You will accept my protection. That is unnegotiable,” I answered.
She chewed her lip rather adorably. “If you come after me again, I will kill you,” she vowed.
“I have no doubt,” I replied, allowing my aroused amusement to play out over my features.
She studied me intently for several minutes before she pulled the knife away a little bit. She knew I was a man of my word. If she took the deal, I’d make sure that the two of them would make it safely together.
“I don’t need your protection,” she said. Her lower lip protruded in the slightest bit of a pout, and I made a mental note of how adorable it looked.
“You do. Your identity isn’t a secret anymore.
The vampires that saw you have had more than enough time to figure you out by now, especially Isabella Lasombre.
You’re the one that pulled the trigger and killed her partner.
She is going to come for you one day and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you ended up on the business end of her pearly white canines,” I replied.
Her little pout only grew bigger as she measured the truth in my words. My cock hardened at the sight.
I was going to look forward to the first time I punished that naughty little mouth.
My grin widened at the mental image, and she stiffened on top of me.
After she’d fallen asleep last night and my knot had relaxed, I’d slipped on a pair of sweatpants, but there was no doubt in my mind that she would feel all of me beneath the fabric right now.
I studied her proud expression, noting that her cheeks had pinkened and her eyes were just the slightest bit dilated.
She’d noticed alright.
“There’s one more thing,” she continued.
“Tell me,” I replied gently.
“What are you going to do with the human women?” she asked pointedly.
“My pack is working with them to find their families. They are safe, fed, and staying in my hotel right now. I promise that I will get as many of them back home as I can,” I answered. It had always been my intention to rescue as many of them as I could.
Her eyes searched mine. She knew I was speaking the truth.
“Fine. I accept your deal,” she answered, her tone dripping with venom. She hadn’t gotten everything she’d wanted, but I’d given her enough.
She climbed off of me, likely wanting to put as much space between her and my cock as possible. I caught her nervous glance downward but didn’t say anything to indicate to her that I’d noticed.
I pushed myself up to a seated position and unplugged my phone. I handed it to her.
“Contact your people and get your sister here. I’ll have you both on a plane by sunset,” I said. She didn’t reply, but she took the phone from me carefully. Her fingers brushed mine and she drew in a shaky, nervous breath. She tried to cover it up quickly, but it was far too late.
She turned around, using her body to shield the phone as she dialed. I watched her carefully as she raised it to her ear. I could hear it ring three times. A gruff male voice answered. I allowed her privacy when she walked out of the room into the hallway.
It didn’t matter. I could hear every word they exchanged anyway.
Her father’s people had shuttled her sister safely to a motel a few miles up the interstate in a rather poor part of town. The vampire clans had never shown any interest in that particular territory, so she was out of their reach by just a little distance.
I listened as she instructed them to bring her sister here. She was confident and assertive, which only made my cock stiffen further.
I closed my eyes.
I’d built my pack from the ground up. We’d had to work for our place here in the city.
We’d killed people and lost several of my fellow brethren along the way, but I knew that putting my mate on a plane and sending her halfway around the world would undoubtedly be the hardest thing I’ve ever have to do in my life.
I wasn’t looking forward to it at all.