Chapter 5 #5
“I’m sorry,” I murmured again, not knowing what else to say.
“I forgave you the moment you pulled that trigger, sweet mate,” he reassured me.
“But the war,” I began anxiously, and he shook his head.
“Whatever comes our way now, we will deal with together. Do you understand, mate?” he pressed, and I nodded. “I will protect you. You have my word.”
I took a deep breath and he pulled me into a sweet kiss that left me reeling and breathlessly needy for the man who had just punished me.
“We’re going to talk now, Ava. I want you to tell me everything,” he coaxed, and I stared into his eyes for a long time.
All my life, I’d trained to fight against monsters like him.
I prepared for them to try to kill me for the things I knew.
My father had warned me of them, of all of them, but maybe he’d never met one like Lawson.
I’d never imagined that I would consider working with one of them, let alone spreading my legs for one.
But here I was considering doing both.
My pussy clenched tight.
“You’ll protect me?” I asked softly.
“You’re mine now, Ava. I protect what’s mine,” he snarled. “I promise you that. You already know I’m a man of my word, my pretty mate,” he added as he stared into my eyes, not breaking for even a moment.
“What does it mean to be your mate?” I asked.
“It means you’re my everything, Ava. That I’m never going to have eyes for another. It means that if you run from me, I will find you. If you disobey me, I will punish you, but above all else, I will love you with all that I have to give,” he vowed.
“Do you really mean that?” I asked.
I’d never heard any man talk like that before, except in the movies and romance novels. If it hadn’t been him who said it, I wouldn’t have believed it.
“I mean every single word, sweet girl. Now tell me everything, before I decide to take you over my knee for another lesson in obeying your alpha,” he warned gently.
I knew I’d pushed him far enough. Anyone else would have probably killed me for what I’d done today, but not him.
I licked my lips and nodded, adjusting my knees to either side of his waist so I was facing him. I wanted to see him for what I was about to say.
“I’ve never told anyone what I’m about to tell you,” I whispered softly, glancing at his beta at the door. I blushed softly, knowing he’d seen everything that my alpha had just done to me as punishment. All of my shame. Everything. I swallowed hard, chewing at my lip.
“I trust Toboe with my life. You can speak freely when he’s here at my side,” he said, likely sensing my hesitation.
“Have you heard of the name Ethan Winters?” I asked tentatively.
He nodded.
“So, you know of what happened here in the quarter?” My voice shook a bit more. I closed my eyes as the footage flashed in my head once more and I looked away from him.
The gunfire popped in my ear, as if it were real and not just a fragmented memory.
“I do. As one of the reigning leaders that rule this city, it is my job to know, especially when it happens in my own territory,” he answered firmly.
I took a deep breath and licked my lips.
“You see, that wasn’t like him. He used to be a respected professor in his industry before he left the public sector to begin pursuing consulting work instead.
He worked for some of the most powerful shifters and vampires in the world.
I never knew their names or the details of the contracts that he took, but he did teach me enough so that I could protect myself.
Since I was a young girl, I’ve trained hard to be able to stand against your kind.
I’ve learned how to make weapons like the silver-tipped bullets or even the sunfire ones, or something as simple as carving a wooden stake,” I began.
“It’s rare for a human to know we exist,” he said softly, studying my face as he did so.
“I know,” I murmured, and I chewed my lip.
“What else, pretty mate?” he coaxed.
With a heavy sigh, everything else fell out of me.
I told him what I found on the head of security’s computer, that my father had only just mentioned the Venuti family name once in passing and that I was sure that they had something to do with the circumstances surrounding his death.
Lawson listened quietly and attentively.
He just let me talk while his fingers traced up and down my thighs.
When I finished, I gazed at him, feeling almost anxious to hear what he had to say.
He brushed a stray lock of hair behind my head and smiled.
“I understand why you fought me so hard, Ava,” he told me. “You want to protect your family name. Loyalty is an honorable thing and that is something I can respect. I’m proud of you, little mate.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Tomorrow, I will introduce you to the members of my pack. I can’t replace the family you lost, but as my mate you will come to understand that you will be welcomed with open arms into another,” he added.
“Yes, alpha,” I whispered, at a loss to say anything else.
“Now, let us find the evidence you were looking for. Together.”