Destiny of Blood (Love of a Shifter Book 4) Page 3

  When she opened her eyes, his gaze scared her for a minute as she watched his eyes turn from green to red. “Wow!” She pulled away, studying the way they turned.

  “Your eyes just turned red,” she informed him.

  “You’re driving me wild with want, and I’m trying to control it.” Sindrid explained as he swallowed hard and then closed his eyes. “You bring out the beast in me, love.” He nuzzled her neck, trying to get as close as he could to her, and wanting desperately to sink his teeth into her delicate neck.

  “Really. I’ve never been told that,” Lilly answered, smiling. She watched as Sindrid’s eyes popped open.

  “What? You’re beautiful, and I’d want you even if you weren’t my mate. Don’t you see that about yourself?” Sindrid asked.

  “No. Do you see yourself as god-like and expect everyone to just drop down on their knees at your feet?” Lilly asked jokingly, though she really wasn’t. Surely he isn’t serious, she thought as she studied his face. Sure, she was being a smart-ass, but his expression told her everything she needed to know.

  “You do.” Lilly pulled away from him. “Oh my. I knew Alphas were all conceited—hell, even my brothers are, to an extent—but this is something else.”

  “Does it bother you that I’m a confident man?” Sindrid asked.

  “Well, let’s be honest; you’re not just a man. And yes, it does, if it means that you think I’ll do exactly what you say, when you say it. I’m not that kind of wolf, and I’m not going to be with a man who expects his woman to be submissive.”

  Sindrid smiled. “I like that about you, Lilly.” Before she could pull away, he pulled her closer and kissed her again, and she let him. Lord have mercy, the man knows how to kiss. She figured after centuries of kissing women he’d perfected it. Her wolf growled as she thought about those countless other women. She nipped his tongue with her canines and pulled away.

  “How many women have you had over the years?” Lilly asked.

  “Really? You’re asking me about the other women I’ve been with?” Sindrid said, incredulous. His eyes widened and he glanced over at Joseph, who only smirked and turned his head the other way. Damn traitor. “I’m so not going there with you, love.”

  “Why?” she countered.

  How could she really want to know this? Was it a trick of some kind?

  “All right, you tell me first how many people you’ve been with.” Sindrid threw her own question back at her and found out quickly that he’d hit a nerve.

  “Look, I don’t have to explain myself to you,” she snapped, trying to squirm off his lap.

  “Lilly!” His voice was stern, and she turned back around to face him. “Nobody has ever made me feel the way you do. My whole body hums when I look at you. My past, and yours, are of no importance to us now. You are my mate, and I will never touch another woman. And you, my dear…” Sindrid lightly touched the end of her nose. “Will never be with another man but me.”

  Lilly narrowed her eyes at him. “Listen, don’t start giving me ultimatums now. I had—I have—a life apart from you.” Lilly eased herself off his lap and pulled her top down.

  “You remember this.” Sindrid locked eyes with her. “I will kill anyone who touches you, Lilly. That’s a promise. I won’t be able to control that, and you shouldn’t expect it. The same goes for me.”

  Lilly snorted. “You can be with whoever you want. I haven’t made any commitment to you, Sindrid Abner.” Lilly wanted to throw up as she listened to herself lie, but until he proved himself she’d never completely give herself to him, no matter how strong the mating pull was.

  Sindrid chuckled. “Joseph, you’re now my mate’s personal bodyguard.” Lilly’s eyes jerked back toward him. “Protect her with your life. She’s the most precious gift I’ve ever had.”

  “That won’t be necessary, Joseph. I can take care of myself, and I don’t need a bodyguard,” Lilly announced. Take that, you self-centered jerk.

  “He’s your guard, Lilly, no matter what you say. I think you should just accept that part. There are a lot of bad people out there who would love to get their hands on my mate. You’re my kryptonite, love.”

  “Nobody knows that yet. We haven’t done anything.”

  “Yet. But everyone who was at the convention center could see that I’d found my mate. Word will spread fast,” Sindrid replied.

  Lilly turned her head to look out the window as they pulled up to the lodge. She needed some space, away from this man. When the vehicle stopped she opened the door and tried to get out, but Sindrid grabbed hold of her hand.

  “Stop doing that. I need some space from you.” Anger sparked in her eyes as her body shook. She wasn’t going to allow him to dictate her life.

  “Lilly, calm down and stop acting like a child,” Sindrid said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. Even the guards exchanged glances with each other.

  Without fear, Lilly pointed her finger at Sindrid. “I don’t accept you as my mate. No one, and I mean no one, will talk to me like that. I’m no child, you jerk.” Sindrid released her hand, and Lilly jumped out of the car and ran inside the lodge.

  “Did you see her, men? She’s everything I will ever need, and she’ll fit right in,” Sindrid told his men.

  Joseph just chuckled. “Yeah, I can see she’s a breath of fresh air. But she doesn’t even like you right now, and she sure as hell doesn’t want me following her around.”

  “Then I guess you’d better brush up your communication skills and that personality you’re known for, because she has to be protected, even from herself. Are we clear on that, gentlemen? My mate will be protected.” Sindrid watched as all his guards put their fists to their chest, signifying that they would protect her with their lives.

  Chapter 3

  As soon as she walked through the front door of the lodge, Lilly was assaulted by the strong odor of bleach, layered over the faint scent of death. Ash had a cleaning cloth in her hand as Lilly walked through the door in a rush. Immediately Ash ran over to her. “What’s wrong?” Ash asked.

  “Nothing, it’s just the smell. I’m so sorry you had to fight and I wasn’t here to help. Larken said it would probably happen tomorrow and that they were going outside. I would’ve been here if I knew. Why would he lie to me like that?”

  Ash put her arm around Lilly’s shoulder. “He didn’t want you involved. We thought we had enough people to fight Yulson, and with the Powerful Three we thought it would be a piece of cake. We didn’t know he was going to be that powerful. We almost lost, Lilly. If it hadn’t been for Sindrid, we’d be under a madman’s control right now. Your mate saved us.”

  Lilly looked up as Sindrid came through the door. Their eyes met, but she didn’t look away. He didn’t waste any time walking over to her. “You forgot your pocketbook in the car.”

  Lilly looked down, shocked that he hadn’t made it an excuse for her to come to his room. Damn, she thought. This man kept surprising her. If he kept this up she wouldn’t know be able to turn him away.

  Gently he raised his hand and closed her mouth. “I plan on wooing you, love, so get ready.” Sindrid lightly touched the side of her cheek, then walked off with his entourage of guards—minus one. Joseph stood there watching, waiting for her to say something.

  She looked over at him and rolled her eyes. He smiled back but didn’t say anything. “Ash, have you met my shadow?”

  Ash grinned, and then her hand went to her mouth as she started giggling. “Lilly has a mate. Lilly has a mate, and now she has her own personal bodyguard.”

  Lilly loved her sister-in-law, but right now she didn’t want to laugh. Joseph smiled and turned his head, obviously holding in his own amusement.

  “Stop it, Ash, I’m having a hard enough time as it is with him.” Lilly watched as Ash’s face fell.

  “Did he hurt you?” she demanded. She could already see Ash’s tiger start to emerge. She hadn’t shifted yet into her tiger form; Larken said that she wasn’t ready, and Lord
help the ones who pissed her off when she was.

  Patting Ash’s clenched hands, Lilly tried to put her at ease. “No, no, he wouldn’t do that. It’s just that he’s the…” Lilly looked over at Joseph, who was still standing beside her, and pulled Ash toward the dining room and sat down with her at the nearest table. “He’s the king, and I’m just Lilly. He’ll eventually get tired of me, don’t you think?”

  Ash sighed, putting her arm around her. “No, honey, I don’t think that. He’s your mate, and everyone has seen that firsthand. I think if you’re honest with yourself, you saw it and felt it too. You can’t miss the freight train that runs you over the first time you meet your mate. I ran like hell from your brother, don’t you remember? But then I couldn’t run anymore. I needed them like I needed my next breath of air.

  “And what’s this crap about him being a king and you’re just Lilly? No, Lilly Wilder, you’re not ‘just’ Lilly. You’re wonderful, caring, smart, and when the time comes you can be just as vicious as any of us. There isn’t a man or woman out there who’s better then you and he’s not going to leave you for another woman. He’ll only want you. When we met with him he told us that he was moving here and would be staying at the lodge until he could have a home built.

  “You’re scared, and before you come unglued, let me tell you I understand that. You should be, honey—it’s the start of a new life for you. You’ll be his queen, and I’ll be the queen’s badass shifter sister-in-law who can turn into a tiger and kick some serious ass when my men allow me to. So take a deep breath.”

  Ash arched her eyebrow at her until she obeyed. “Okay now. I wonder if you’ll have to wear a tiara on your head? And hey, since I’m going to be kin to the royal party, can I have one too? All your entourage should have one.” Ash waited for Lilly to smile.

  “Ah, come on, you big goof. Look at what he’s already done. He assigned Joseph to be my full-time bodyguard,” Lilly said, and they looked over at Joseph, who was standing by the door and scanning the area.

  “Hey woman, who was it that said that I needed a guard? Who was the one who convinced me of that? That wasn’t you, was it?” Ash reminded her sarcastically. “No, it couldn’t have been my mate’s sister who wouldn’t give me a moment’s peace until I agreed. I think her exact words to me were, ‘you stupid bitch, don’t argue about this.’”

  Lilly sighed and bowed her head. “I’m so tired that I think I could sleep for days. Yes, it was me; but by then you were fully mated with my brothers.”

  “Honey, that was because they never left my side. One of them was with me all the time. So I didn’t need a guard until I told them that I was going to be part of the Unit. Look, you’re exhausted right now and not thinking straight. Go to your room and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be another day.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But what do I do with him?” Lilly nodded toward Joseph.

  “Well, you have two bedrooms in your suite, so give him one,” Ash suggested. Lilly’s eyes widened, thinking about Joseph sleeping in her spare bedroom. “Lilly, you have a lock on the door, and trust me when I say that Joseph isn’t going to mess with his king’s mate.”

  She nodded. Maybe Ash was right; she needed to relax and rest, and then think about all of this. Was she being ridiculous, or was she right to think that this could turn out terrible for her and her family. Pack came first: that had been drilled into her head all her life, and she believed it to be true. But now that she had kissed the man, could she so easily give him up even if he told her that they couldn’t be together? Would she be one of those women who chased after him until he embarrassed her in front of her pack and family, or was she just scared?

  “I love you. Thank you.” Lilly hugged her sister-in-law. She got up with her shoulders dragging and motioned for Joseph.

  “Do we need to stop at the king’s room to get your luggage?” Lilly asked.

  “If you don’t mind, that would be great,” he said gratefully. “Lilly, I promise this will all work out. I won’t let anyone hurt you, including him.”

  Joseph’s commitment to Lilly surprised her. She felt better for some reason as they rode up the elevator to the penthouse. “I received word that the meeting will be held tomorrow after lunch, so everyone has time to get some rest,” he told her

  “Oh no, I forgot about the meeting about Gabriel and his parents. I…damn, I’m not usually this forgetful. Thank you, Joseph.” Lilly pushed the hair out of her eyes. The meeting—that’s why she’d left the party early. She felt bad forgetting about it.

  “It’s okay, Lilly. You’ve had a tough week with getting ready for the dance and everything else that happened tonight. Give yourself a break. We all have days like this from time to time,” Joseph commented.

  “Thank you, Joseph,” Lilly said quietly.

  “I love this lodge. This is my first trip here. I’ve been all over the world, and I think this is going to be my favorite place so far. It’s quaint, and it seems to have everything while still making you feel like you’re at home.”

  “Thanks. My brother Larken did a great job with it.” Yes, her brother had done a great job making the lodge a luxurious place to stay, and the penthouse, where Sindrid was staying, was the best part. It had every amenity you could want. He’d spent a fortune on it, but her brothers had a lot of money—living long lives like they did didn’t hurt when it came to saving.

  Joseph put the key in when they got to the end of the numbered floors, and the elevator rose a bit more before opening onto a luxury penthouse.

  Sindrid was sitting in front of his computer when her scent hit him. His eyes immediately turned red, and he stood up. At first she looked frightened, until he shook his head and smiled. Joseph must have heard her intake of breath as her mate’s eyes turned back to dark green.

  “Is everything okay?” Sindrid asked, walking toward her.

  “Yes. We came to get Joseph’s suitcases,” Lilly answered, glancing over at Gabriel, who was playing video games on the giant TV. She smiled and walked over to him.

  “Hey Lilly. Can you believe this TV? I thought the Alpha’s was big, but this one is huge. Come watch me play!” Gabriel waited until she sat down on the couch before he turned back around to play. “You want to play with me?”

  Sindrid thought Lilly looked more likely to fall asleep just sitting there. “Why don’t you let me? I’ve never played, and it looks like fun.” Lilly looked grateful at the suggestion.

  “Sit and watch us, Lilly,” Gabriel commanded, and she did exactly that.

  “Okay.” Lilly sat back, and within minutes she was dead asleep, her upper body slumped over. He could see the black circles surrounding her eyes.

  Sindrid put his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, letting him know that Lilly was asleep.

  “She looks tired.” Gabriel smiled at her.

  “Yes, she’s obviously exhausted. I think I’ll carry her into the bedroom so she can get comfortable,” Sindrid suggested.

  “Maybe you need to just wake her up so she doesn’t go crazy when she finds herself in your bed.” Gabriel was already up and hovering protectively.

  Sindrid couldn’t help but smile. “You’re so much like your father. He was always looking out for the ones who needed it most. He was a Protector. I promise I won’t do anything to her but let her sleep, Gabriel. She’s my mate, and I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her, including myself.”

  Gabriel nodded and backed off, but he watched like a hawk as Sindrid picked up his mate and carried her to his bedroom. He would sleep in the recliner beside the bed. No matter how much he wanted to crawl in with her, he wouldn’t do that to her—or to Gabriel.

  Sindrid walked to the side closest to his chair. Knowing that Gabriel was right behind her, he asked, “Can you pull the covers back for me?”

  Gabriel pulled them back, then fluffed her pillow before backing away so Sindrid could lay her softly down on the bed. She still had her high-heeled shoes on, so he quickly took them off and placed the
m on the night table beside the bed. He pulled the covers back up and around her. She sighed as her body settled into the comfort of the bed. He would make sure she took better care of herself and not work so hard. He knew she was a hard worker, and he wouldn’t dare ask her to stop. She loved it; that was obvious in every detail.

  “She’s beautiful,” Gabriel whispered as they both stared down at her.

  “Yes, she is. I think we all can use some sleep. You know where your bedroom is?”

  “Uhm, where are you going to sleep?” Gabriel asked.

  “Right there in that chair. She’s my mate, Gabriel. Your father told you that you could trust me, right?” Sindrid asked, and Gabriel nodded, then looked back at Lilly.

  “I will watch over my mate as all mates should do. They’re the most precious person to us beside our children. Your father taught you well, and I know he’s proud of you now.” Sindrid watched as Gabriel walked over and kissed Lilly on her forehead. Gabriel was a Protector; that was obvious. It seemed he’d already formed a bond with her.

  “I don’t know if I said thank you for all of your help,” Gabriel said suddenly.

  “Oh, Gabriel, it’s my honor to help you. Your father was my best friend, and now you will be my family as he once was. Is that alright with you?” Sindrid asked, watching Gabriel as he looked up at him with the biggest green eyes, just like his father’s.

  “He said you would be like this. That once you knew he had a son you would take him in as your own.” Gabriel’s eyes had huge tears in them, and they dripped down his face.