"No. Where Westwood and I peel his skin from his meat while he tells us everything we want to know. One where true death is actually a gift."
She shivered and she didn't know if it was with fear, lust, or delight. Maybe a combination of all three.
Parker was right. She did have a monster inside of her. Maybe that's what she'd been running from all these years. Not just Tirigan.
But herself.
"I'm going to put in a call to the security team. They should've seen something. I'm going to do some quick recon and I'll be back."
That panic she'd managed to quell surged. "No, let's just leave, okay? Let's go to Aphelion."
"Belle, I'm not fleeing a city because there are some vampires here. Trust me to protect you."
"I am. Take me home. Take me to Aphelion," she pleaded.
"I will. After I make sure it's safe."
"We both know it's not."
"Then come with me."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Deadly. You don't feel it's safe. You're my mate. Come protect me."
"No Alpha-growly bullshit about how my place is inside, where it’s safe?"
"It's obviously not. There was an intruder. Which you handled." He shrugged. "I guess it's a good thing I'm not an Alpha."
There was a tinge to his voice that echoed with... it wasn't bitterness, exactly. Maybe it was shame. She didn't know what he had to be ashamed of. It wasn't as if anyone could stand alone against a murder of Asakku.
"Let's put on some clothes, and I'll go with you."
"That might be on my list of reasons to kill the fucker. He made you put on clothes." He growled.
"You know, I liked that roar earlier. Total fear boner."
And to her absolute delight, Parker blushed.
Chapter 11
Parker had no problem with Belle coming with him on his little recon mission.
She was a powerful supe in her own right, and he certainly wasn't going to tell her what she could or couldn't do.
It didn't make him feel like less of a wolf, either. Mates were supposed to care for each other.
However, what did make him feel like less of a wolf was that she didn't believe he could help her. She wanted him to cower and hide. Parker wasn't stupid, he had no problem with retreat to live and fight another day.
But there were times when the only option was to fight.
They were coming for her, and he knew they were going to come hard. It was his responsibility to get whatever information he could to Blake so he could best defend the pack and the company.
While he waited for Belle to dress, he called Ondrej Tatsu, Alpha and club president of the Drago Knights MC. They were heading up the mobile security team who'd be escorting the Woolven limos.
"What's happened?" Ondrej didn't pull any punches.
"Asakku blood slaves infiltrated the spa."
"Motherfucker. I had guys on the rooftops and inside. I don't know how he got in."
"Magic. He turned himself to smoke."
"Is your mate okay?"
"Belle fried his ass, but there are bound to be more in the area. I'm sure it was a plot to draw us out."
"If you have your witch with you, and she can hide us from mortal eyes, my dragons can do aerial."
"I think our best bet is to capture one or two of them and take them somewhere private for questioning."
"Ah, meaning you'll be on the ground and you want us to snatch whatever comes at you?"
"Basically. I'll be out the back entrance toward the alley in five. I'll have Belle with me."
"I don't suppose it would do any good to ask if we could escort Mrs. Woolven to the car?"
"Not a single bit."
"Figured. I'll get my men in place."
Parker hung up.
"Were those the dragons you were telling me about?" Belle asked.
"Yeah. They'll be waiting."
"I still haven't gotten to see one all dragon-y with scales and fire."
"You might today." He pulled her against him. "But that would be very bad. I know that you understand hiding the truth from mortals, but the supe world is very different than from when you were young. In your youth, you didn't hide what you were. But now, we all do. And we all must. Humans who've seen us must either be made to forget, eliminated, or Turned. It's the only thing that protects us all."
"This is your way of telling me that you won't Change in the middle of the street. No matter what happens."
"We can't show what we are. So you have to keep yourself safe. Because I'd break that for you. I'd pay with my life, but I'd do it."
"Parker, I wouldn't want you to." She sounded horrified.
"That doesn't exactly figure into it. It's primal. It's instinct. There's no logic anymore. The humanity takes a backseat."