Shifters of Grrr 2 (71 page)

"I almost felt sorry for her."

"Yes, a woman scorned and taken advantage of, she plays the part so well. Yes, she was hurt but it's been over a hundred years and she's been married and with scores of other men since then. She only uses it to make others think less of me and feel for her."

"How do you know so much about her?"

"She's trying to kill us. I hired someone to get her background for me. She married a rich man for his money. The fool loved her, even though she used him and had a hoard of lovers while they were man and wife. Don't let her fool you. She's to be feared not pitied. She eats them up and spits them out like they're nothing. She's also helped Chief cause terrible harm to others. She's using the magic of multiple witches to enhance her own and I'll guarantee you none of them are willing."

"It hurts you to see her like this?"

"She was so different once. I thought we were friends even before we were more. She always had big dreams but she never had that darkness in her soul. She was once so happy and bright."

"People change, views shift, and emotions heal or they fester. She chose to be bitter and allowed herself to search out the dark. She took the easy way instead of the better way. You have no reason to be guilty, you did the best you could. You tried to take care of her in the only way you felt comfortable doing."

"Thank you for saying that, but I'll always feel like I let her down. I should have known better than to get involved with her. I should have sense she was emotionally fragile."

"As all knowing and powerful as you seem to think you are, you're not. We all have to take some responsibility for ourselves."

He knew she was right but it was hard not to feel a sense of loss for that wide eyed girl Serena had once been. The last time he'd looked at Serena that girl of the past was nowhere to be seen. All he saw now was a selfish, self-centered woman who was happy to use anyone even to their detriment. She wanted power and she was willing to crush anyone in her way. The girl he had once known would never have tried to kill someone she didn't know just to hurt someone she'd once claimed to love. He had to consider the possibility that he'd never known her at all. Either way, he would probably have to destroy her or she would kill him or his mate. That was simply unacceptable.

"Come sit by me. I'd like you closer." He saw her shiver, well he'd known she wasn't completely immune to him. She wanted him but she was fighting it. Was it the woman fearing intimacy with the man? Was it the human afraid of the supernatural?

She shook her head but he got up and captured her hand pulling her back to the couch with him. He sat and pulled her onto his lap. He was tired of the distance between them. Someone was trying to kill them and he didn't have the time to play around. He was serious about her and he needed to know if he had any hope of her agreeing to be his mate. She sat with her back against his chest and wriggled trying to get him to let her go.

"If you don't stop that, you may get more than you bargained for." She stilled instantly and he was sure she felt his growing arousal.

"What do you want from me?"

"Besides the obvious?" he asked and she nodded. "You're the one the universe in all its wisdom made for me. You're my one and only chance at true happiness and love. I want that chance, I want us to be bound together as mates forever."

"You don't expect much do you?"

His mate seemed to have a sarcastic sense of humor. That was alright, at least she hadn't run from him screaming. He had to look for the positive where he could since this whole situation had been decidedly negative from the start. He turned her on his lap to where she straddled him. She felt good sitting on him that way and he had the added benefit of looking in her eyes. Heat filled him and need pulsed consuming him from the inside out. Just the touch of his mate drove him crazy making him want to pick her up and carry her to bed.

"Not usually," he muttered and he kissed her.

He had intended to wait and show her he could be a gentleman but apparently where she was concerned he had no manners and no control. He was practiced at seduction and normally knew just what to do and how to do it, but not this time. An undercurrent of excitement ran through him and he felt like a clumsy adolescent except that his main concern was to give his female the most pleasure possible. That in return would give him pleasure. He felt energy swelling inside him and the mantle of exhaustion he'd barely held back since he'd found her gone was defeated.

He felt like superman, capable of anything and everything all at once. His hands roamed over the soft silky skin he'd dreamed about. He felt her melt into him and now she was kissing him back with enthusiasm. Gods don't let this be a dream! He put his hands under her t-shirt and was thrilled to find she wasn't wearing anything under it. He cupped her full breasts and pinched her nipples lightly and she pulled her mouth from his to moan her pleasure. He took advantage of her distraction to pull the shirt over her head and lowered his to suck in one lovely pink nipple. It was so sweet he had to taste the other one too.

He was completely lost in his mate and touching and tasting her when there was a knock on the door. He wanted to ignore it, but of course Arabella started pulling away from him. He was really annoyed at whoever had once again interfered with his plans to claim his mate. It was either meetings being called, crazy homicidal maniac witches or now unexpected visitors because his mate had seemed surprised by the knock too. She started pulling her t-shirt back on and he went to the door to see who it was.

He waved his hand casting a seeing spell that allowed him to see through the door but the person on the other side couldn't see in. Magic was such a handy skill because it might be a talent to a born witch, but he had learned it and that made it a skill. Born witches learned some of their magic but most of it was instinctual. He looked outside and saw Serena standing there impatiently tapping her toes. He would have regrets but he sensed this time one of them would die and he had too much to live for.

"Who is it?" Arabella called from where she stood near the couch. Zorth shook his head sure she would understand what he meant. She didn't. "What the hell does that mean?"

He stepped back sure that Serena had heard Arabella and that she would be forcing the door open. A simple spell would blow it off its hinges. He moved just in time as the door flew back and hit the wall. Had he not moved it would have slammed into him instead. Serena stepped forward.

"Zorth, this is getting tiresome. Can't I go anywhere and not find you there first?"

"You could if you would leave me and mine alone."

"You leave me no choice but to kill you. I don't appreciate having bounty hunters set on me, by the way."

"I'll do what I have to. You'll not get my mate and continuing to try will cost you your life."

"Always so dramatic," she said as she sent a ball of purple energy hurtling toward him.

He caught it in his hand and threw it back. Serena tried to catch it but it bounced off her throwing her against the wall and went back to Zorth like a boomerang. Arabella had made her way to the entryway where she peered around the edge of the wall with eyes big as saucers. Serena saw her and attempted to shoot a spell her way but Zorth sent a spell toward her that blocked it. Arabella jumped back finally aware of the danger.

Serena sent a blue ball of energy at him and almost immediately a black ball which was a different kind of energy. If combined, they would be explosive. Zorth simply caught them in different hands absorbing the blue and shooting the black right back at her. She had to be aware that she couldn't defeat him but she just glared at him and kept trying. Did she think he wouldn't destroy her if it came to that? If the choice had to be made to stop her or let her kill another he would have no choice but to finish her.

Maybe she was just nuts? He had to consider the possibility based on her recent actions. It was possible it was a consequence of stealing the magic from others. It only seemed fair that there would be consequences since balance was important in magic. Stealing from others upset the balance. Serena had been too selfish to consider that. It was even possible one of the witches being drained of power had tainted her own magic to punish whoever took it. That would only be fair and if true, that was a witch he'd like to meet.

He pulled his attention back to Serena. She was thinking and that wouldn't be good for him. He didn't know why he looked down but he did and he saw instead of throwing energy balls she had changed her tactic to sending out energy snakes. Several crawled on the ground toward him and a couple headed to Arabella. He zapped those first then turned to the ones head to him. He also sent a surprise Serena's way. He knew it had made it when she screamed out in shock. He'd sent her a snake that had gone under the floor. It had shocked her but it hadn't been a strong charge.

"Give up Serena before you force me to end you," he said.

"I'll never give up to you, Zorth. Do your worst."

He was getting tired of this and the guilt he felt over her was no longer enough to stop him from taking a harsh action. He wanted to capture her, but so far that had only helped her to escape. It was time to deal with her and if that meant her destruction, he'd live with it. He looked at her and let her see the decision in his eyes. She started to back toward the door.

"Really Zorth? After all we were to each other?" she asked her face pale and fear finally showing in her eyes.

"Were is the operative word here. Give up or you won't live to see tomorrow," he said. Sure he'd feel bad but this was not just about him anymore.

He kept his eyes on Serena because she was slippery as an eel and it turned out to be a good thing. It seemed Serena didn't intend to go down without a fight. Why wouldn't the stubborn witch just give in? She had no chance of winning and he would truly feel bad about destroying her. She moved like greased lightning throwing out an energy ball toward him and dropping a snake to crawl towards Arabella. Enough was enough and this would end now. He effortlessly zapped the snake and sent out a black energy ball towards Serena with one hand and absorbed the nearly white one she'd sent his way with the other.

The white energy ball was strong and helped reenergize him even as it had drained her to an all-time low. She didn't have the energy to move away from the black ball speeding toward her, although she tried. It wasn't black because it was dark magic, it was black because it was a mix of a rainbows assortment of magic and energy amped up to carry all the magic it could. She screamed when she realized she wouldn't be able to evade it and she jerked as it hit her but held her in place. The smell of burning hair and flesh filled the air as her pitiful screams of pain rang out but were quickly quieted when there was a flash of bright light and then she was gone.

He'd had no choice but it still didn't sit well with him. He knew she was evil, but long ago she'd been good. He walked on shaky legs to the spot where she'd been, nothing remained but a burned spot on the wood floor. He quickly cast a spell putting everything back to the way it had been before Serena had entered. Everything but Serena who was now only a memory. He walked to the living room where he found Arabella behind the couch. It looked like it would protect her but it wouldn't have held off an energy ball. It would have torn through the couch first and then her.

He felt relief wash over him when he saw that she was unharmed. She threw herself into his arms and he held her close enjoying his mate needing him. Would she still need him when she found out he'd destroyed a living being so completely there was nothing left at all? How did you explain something like that to your mate?

"Is she gone?" Arabella asked her voice steady even though her body shook.

"Yes, Sweet one. She's gone."

"Is she gone for good?"

"She'll never bother you again."

"She was evil. I could see she'd never stop. Are we safe now?" she asked looking up at him.

"I wish I could tell you that we were, but while Serena is gone, Chief remains. It's been his habit to continue on regardless if the setbacks he has. It may slow him down, or he may already have a backup plan. As long as I'm with you, I will protect you with my life."

She let out a breath that whispered across his neck. She probably hadn't realized she'd been holding it. He wished he'd been able to give her better news, but if he'd withheld the truth she'd not have used the caution that would keep her alive. The time was coming to take Chief down, he could sense it. He just had to make sure that until that day came, Chief took no more from them. They had him on the run but he was like a cornered animal, even more dangerous than usual.

"We need to be careful and you must stick with me. I'd die if anything happened to you, Arabella."

"I don't know if I'm ready to accept that we're mates."

"Then just accept that I want to keep you alive for now. We can be friends if that's all you have to give, but I can't risk losing you." He waited for her answer hoping she would give him something. He needed a little hope to keep him going right now and she was the only one that could give it to him.

"I can accept your offer of friendship. I just need time to decide if there can be more than that or not. When we discovered that your world, the world of the supernatural, truly existed, it was a shock. Some of my family, like Cherry and Marissa, had been a part of it all along but most of us didn't believe in it. I never wanted to become a wolf, I've thought it might change me too much. I know a little about wolves, but I know nothing about witches and I don't even know what you are."