Declan wished that Warrick was up here. This was his crazy ass uncle. "Gerald, you said it was an arranged mating. As far as I know, we don't have arranged matings."
Gerald looked at him, disgust in his eyes. "Of course not. Arranged matings only happen within the Founding and Noble families, to keep our lines pure."
Declan turned his attention to the small, trembling woman behind the wolf shifter. "Rachelle, honey, you know I'm not going to hurt you. You want to tell old Declan what's going on?"
Rachelle nodded. "It is true, I belong to Peter. We found each other a few days ago. Gerald normally does not let me go up to the market level, but as we were out of some things, and our normal servant has been helping the refugees get settled, I decided to come up here myself." Her face took on a dreamy expression. "And that is when I found Peter. For my entire life, I did not even know what I was missing. I did not know." Her voice broke, and she took a deep breath. Peter wrapped his arm around her. She looked up, tears in her eyes. "I did not know that matings were supposed to be like this." From the way she emphasized the word, Declan knew exactly how she'd been treated by Gerald. He turned back to the angry vampire.
"Well, Gerald, Rachelle here says that she belongs to Peter and not you. You know as well as I do that it is against our laws to interfere with matings. You will have to step aside."
Gerald's nostrils flared, and he turned to Peter. Declan had only a second to react. He jumped in front of the wolf shifter as Gerald raked his claws downward, catching Declan across the abdomen. He felt each hard nail rip his flesh open. Rachelle screamed as a crowd quickly gathered around them. Three wolves, including the Wolftown beta, Jorge, tackled Gerald to the floor. Declan blinked, staring up at the ceiling.
I don't get paid enough for this. Wait, do I get paid for this? Damn, I must be hurt worse than I thought. All I had to do was patrol. He reached down to touch his belly. His hand came away covered in blood.
"Well, that's gonna leave a mark," he said before darkness swept him away.
*****
"Look Kari! They have meat kebobs! And are those funnel cakes?" Avery asked. Kari had a new appreciation for his enthusiasm. She had dreaded coming back to the city, but his childlike excitement actually made this somewhat enjoyable. Their escort, a flirtatious witch by the name of Micah Sageson, was pointing out all of the vendors. Micah told her that their luggage had been carried to their new quarters and the only thing she should worry about was learning her new home.
"Everything smells so good!" Avery exclaimed, hopping from one foot to the other. He turned to her. "Where do we start?"
Kari waved her hand pointing to the entire cavern. "Help yourself; just do not come crying to me if you stuff yourself silly and have to be rolled to our new quarters."
Avery was just about to turn and head toward the food stalls when they heard screams. Micah was instantly on alert as wolves poured out of their homes. On the far side of the hall, a small group was forming next to the wall. Seconds later, the smell of blood reached her. She turned to Micah.
"Micah, there is blood, a lot of blood. Someone is close to dying."
His jaw clenched. "You two stay here. I need to see what's happening." He turned and ran toward the crowd.
Avery inched in closer to her and looked up. "I thought we would be safe here," he murmured. Kari felt just as confused; Noctem Falls was supposed to be a safe haven. She was about to walk Avery toward the guest quarters when the scent of the blood changed to her. The more she inhaled and exhaled, the more delicious it smelled. She felt her fangs extend. Avery's complexion turned chalky, his blue eyes were wide, and he trembled.
"Kari? Kari, what's wrong?"
Kari could only shake her head; she couldn't answer. The smell was overwhelming. It was rich and decadent. It smelled like everything that she had ever enjoyed in life combined into one aroma. There was the scents of chocolate, coffee, freshly cut grass, and the crisp smell of linens hanging in the sunshine. She just wanted to roll around in it. She clutched at her chest, breathing heavily.
"Kari, you're scaring me!" Avery exclaimed.
She turned to him and saw tears running down his face. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. The scent of the blood morphed again, this time tightening things in her lower body and causing her nipples to harden. She became more aroused than she had ever been in her life. Step-by-step she made her way over to the crowd and wedged herself between bodies, pushing them aside. She had to get to the source of that smell. She heard Micah yelling, other men's voices yelling, but her focus was now on the man on the ground. He had red hair. No, not red, strawberry blond, and he was huge. Every bit as big as Law, maybe bigger. He had a square, chiseled jaw and soft, luscious lips. She watched as his breathing became more labored. Something in her snapped; the man on the floor was her mate! She knelt down and brushed the hair out of his face. She looked at Micah.