Saving His Mate (A vampire-werewolf romance)

  Saving His Mate

  A Crescent Moon Story

  Savannah Stuart

  Saving His Mate

  Copyright © 2014 by Savannah Stuart

  ISBN: 9780996087414

  Cover art and design by Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs

  Proofreading by JRT Editing

  Digital Formatting by Author E.M.S.

  * * *

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

  Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book. This purchase allows you one legal copy for your own personal reading enjoyment on your personal computer or device. You do not have the right to resell, distribute, print or transfer this book, in whole or in part, to anyone, in any format, via methods either currently known or yet to be invented, or upload this book to a file sharing program. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Dedication

  For my wonderful readers.

  Chapter 1

  “You look like a hobo,” Grant said to Rex, eyeing him with clear disgust.

  “At least I don’t smell like one,” he muttered, shifting against the chair in the alpha wolf’s office.

  Grant snorted. “That’s up for debate.”

  Rex shrugged, not caring that he looked like he’d come straight from a low rent biker bar after getting in a fight with twenty bikers who deserved a good ass-kicking. Because that’s exactly where he’d come from. As a 250-year old vampire he needed to let out his aggression sometimes. He preferred sex—though it had been a while—but fighting worked just as well. “Fucking sue me.”

  The alpha snorted again. “You sound so human when you say that.”

  He laughed. Vamps and shifters didn’t engage in legal battles often. They usually settled things much more violently.

  “So what’s going on? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re trying to move in on my territory.” There wasn’t an edge to the male’s voice so Rex knew he wasn’t being serious.

  The truth was, vampires didn’t spend much time in shifter territory but over the last year Rex had ended up in Gulf Shores, Alabama multiple times because he’d been hunting rogue vamps, putting him directly into Kincaid pack territory. “Just another job. Foolish newborn robbed a powerful vamp and now I’m hunting him down.” And he was getting tired of doing the same thing over and over. For years he’d loved being a bounty hunter. Unlike other powerful, older vamps he’d never been able to put down roots with a coven. He hadn’t wanted to. It was odd but he felt more kinship with the wolf sitting across from him than most of his own kind. Wolves and other shifters weren’t cold or indifferent to the world like so many vamps.

  Grant watched him for a long moment. “You sound exhausted.”

  Rex half-smiled, not surprised by the other male’s observation. He started to respond when the door behind him opened. Before he turned he scented two females, one who was Talia, Grant’s human-mate-turned-shifter. He shifted in his seat and stood as the women entered. He nodded politely at both of them and waited until they’d entered before he sat back down. It didn’t matter how old he was, certain manners had been bred into him hundreds of years ago. Turned at the beginning of the American Revolution, to say he was from a different generation would be an understatement.

  “Hey, Rex,” Talia said, hurrying to her mate. She practically jumped in Grant’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she planted a noisy kiss on his cheek.

  From the subtle scent of vodka wafting off her and the other female he vaguely recognized, he guessed they’d been drinking. And it was clear Talia wanted to be alone with her mate.

  Rex stood. “Grant, I won’t be in town longer than I have to be. Thanks for letting me hunt in your territory.”

  Keeping his arm wrapped around Talia’s waist as he held her in his lap, the male shook his head slightly. “I don’t care how long you’re here… And I’d like to talk to you about taking a permanent position with my pack. It’d mean no more bounty hunting except jobs I might need. But you could put down roots if you want to.”

  The alpha couldn’t have shocked Rex more if he’d tried. Rex frowned, watching Grant as the other female sat in the chair he’d vacated with a sigh of exhaustion.

  “Oh, a vampire in our pack! We’ll be like the United Nations of packs. Wolf and jaguar shifters and now a vampire. I like it,” the female said, her words slightly slurred. She wasn’t being insincere either, even if she was clearly intoxicated. Sarah; that was her name. He recognized her from a BDSM club where he’d been hunting a rogue. She’d been whipping some guy with a flogger. Definitely not his scene.

  He ignored her and narrowed his gaze at Grant. He knew the alpha wouldn’t have made the offer if he wasn’t serious. Grant wouldn’t joke about something like that. “We’ll discuss this tomorrow. Alone.”

  Grant grinned, as if he thought he knew Rex’s answer. How could Grant when Rex didn’t know—even if he was tempted. “Meet me at the house after dark.”

  “I’ll be there.” He nodded once at Talia and started to turn toward the door when a subtle lavender scent rolled over him. His fangs ached at the sight of a tall, leggy female shifter standing in the doorway. With beautifully bronzed skin and a knee-length black dress that hugged her slender body in all the right places, his mouth practically watered as he drank in all her subtle curves. The dress tied around the back of her neck in a halter style and the way it pulled against her breasts showed enough cleavage that he felt like…hell, he’d never felt like this. For how slender she was, her breasts were surprisingly full. More than a handful and right about now, he could easily envision cupping them, licking them, teasing…

  The dark-haired woman flicked a glance at him for a millisecond before looking right past him. He couldn’t stop staring if his life depended on it and she’d barely noticed him. Talk about a blow to his ego.

  “Are you two hooligans done for the night?” the beautiful woman asked.

  Rex stared, his gaze tracking her as she moved farther into the room. His heart rate kicked up a notch and he had to force it to remain steady, to appear as if he was unaffected. Unlike the human myths that said vamps didn’t have hearts, he definitely did. And right now his was beating out of control. What the hell was wrong with him? His fangs pushed at his gums, aching to be unleashed with an insistency he hadn’t felt in over two centuries. It was…

  Fuck.

  No. No, no, no.

  It was not what he thought it was. He refused to even think the words.

  “You can’t use a word like hooligan. You sound like an eighty year old woman,” Talia teased, still perched in Grant’s lap, though she swayed slightly and Rex realized she’d had more to drink than he originally thought.

  “I’m two hundred,” the female said, laughter in her voice. “Grant, these two maniacs are done for the night. I’m sure you’ll get Talia home so I’m taking Sarah back to the compound.”

  The compound was the condominium complex the pack owned. Pricey beach front property where every packmate had a view of the ocean. It was right next to Grant’s two-story beach house. Seriously prime real estate.

  “Hey, I don’t nee
d…yeah, okay maybe I do,” Sarah slurred again, slumping against the chair.

  “I’ll escort them,” Rex blurted, surprising himself and everyone else in the room.

  All eyes turned his way and he could feel Grant’s curious gaze on him but Rex just watched the dark-haired female. Her espresso-colored gaze raked over him from head to toe, as if she found his offer amusing. She raised an eyebrow then turned back to her alpha without even acknowledging him. “I’ve got Sarah.”

  Grant nodded. “Okay, but Rex will go with you, Margery.”

  The female stilled, her jaw tightening. “I don’t need any help taking a drunk packmate home. Especially not from a vampire.”

  What the hell did that mean? Rex frowned, but didn’t respond. Maybe she didn’t trust vampires. That wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities. Just because he and Grant were friends didn’t mean that vamp-shifter friendships were normal.

  “I’m not drunk,” Sarah muttered as she fiddled with her cell phone. It appeared as if she was trying to unlock the screen but couldn’t figure out her code.

  “Humor me.” There was no give to Grant’s voice, his wolf in his eyes as he gave her an order.

  “Grant.” She gave her alpha an imploring look and for some reason Rex was positive there was more to her hesitancy than she was saying aloud. Margery and Grant were clearly having an unspoken conversation. After a long moment, the female sighed. “Fine, but no baked goods for you for a month,” she snapped in annoyance.

  To Rex’s surprise, Grant just grinned again while Talia loudly whispered that she’d share her stash with him.

  As Margery helped Sarah to her feet, she muttered something under her breath about obnoxious vampires. Moving into action, Rex went to help her, but she shot him an annoyed glare so he backed off.

  “I don’t need your help,” she said quietly.

  “My name is Rex.” It wasn’t exactly hostility he sensed in her voice, but she was definitely wary of his kind. He didn’t like it. For some reason the thought of this female feeling anything for him other than hunger raked against his senses like silver daggers.

  She didn’t respond, just steadied her packmate and headed for the door. Rex wasn’t sure why Grant had ordered the female to let him help, but he wasn’t going to question the alpha. The woman—Margery—had the most addicting scent. It wasn’t just her natural lavender scent, there was something else under the surface driving his senses crazy. As he started to shut the door behind them he saw Talia straddling Grant and quickly pulled it closed.

  As they reached the elevators, Sarah swayed against Margery and Rex immediately reached out a hand to help steady her. If his fingers happened to brush against Margery’s shoulder then all the better for him.

  She instantly pulled away from him in the elevator, putting intentional distance between them as she pressed the button for one of the parking garages. And she was still avoiding his gaze.

  “Grant asked him to join our pack,” Sarah said in what she probably thought was a whisper as she laid her head on Margery’s shoulder. “He’s cute.” Even if she had been whispering he still would have heard her with his supernatural hearing. Something the female had likely forgotten in her inebriated state.

  Margery looked at him then, full-on this time, not just a glance. Her dark eyes were so damn captivating he couldn’t have looked away if he’d wanted to. “You’re Rex the bounty hunter? The one who helped Ella with that vampire back in January?”

  He nodded, hoping that would give him some standing with her when clearly she didn’t like vampires. He probably wasn’t helping his cause when he looked beat to hell in grungy jeans, shit-kickers and a ripped T-shirt. “Yes. And normally I don’t smell like dirty humans. I got into an altercation earlier this evening.”

  “You think humans are dirty?”

  “No, but the ones I fought were.” The stench of booze and sex had been rolling off them in pungent waves.

  She relaxed a fraction at his words, which told him she clearly liked humans. Made sense considering her alpha had mated one. “Are you the same Rex who took Talia out on a date?”

  He froze at her question. The elevator jerked to a halt, the soft ding alerting them they were at their destination.

  She didn’t wait for a response, just muttered under her breath again as she exited the elevator with Sarah.

  Rex was right on her heels. “It was one time and before I knew she was with Grant.” It wasn’t as if they’d even kissed. He’d asked the pretty human out because he’d thought she was available. He hadn’t known she’d been in a fight with her then-boyfriend—or that her boyfriend had been a powerful alpha. Hell, Grant hadn’t even told her about the existence of supernatural beings at the time.

  “Hmm,” was all she said as she retrieved a keyfob from her small purse. She pressed one of the buttons and a nearby Jeep beeped. “You don’t need to escort us any further, vampire.”

  “My name is Rex and I’m going with you.” He gritted his teeth at her tone and her use of the word vampire instead of his name. “Is it all vampires or just me in particular you have a problem with?”

  At his question guilt flickered in her dark, mesmerizing gaze. “I’m…sorry. I’m not normally such a bitch,” she muttered.

  “It’s true, Margery’s so sweet. She’s like the mom of our pack,” Sarah murmured, snuggling closer to her packmate. “She just needs to get laid.”

  Rex’s eyes widened and Margery’s bronze face flamed crimson as she continued. “I’ve had a stressful day and it’s not personal, I swear. I’m sorry for being rude, but I really don’t need you to follow us back to the compound.”

  “I’m not going to follow you.” She relaxed until he continued. “I’m riding with you.” And he wasn’t letting the female out of his sight until she was safely back at the compound. Something about her had all his possessive, protective instincts flaring to life. There was no way in hell he’d fight this feeling. Not when he knew what it could mean.

  Chapter 2

  Margery resisted the urge to fidget or show any signs that she was uncomfortable having a vampire sitting in the backseat of her Jeep. Sarah was sitting in the front next to her, lightly snoring. She’d passed out before they’d left the parking garage.

  She hated that she felt the oddest attraction to Rex. It was making her wolf claw at her insides, wanting to strut around and preen for the male. And that was not like her. Especially not for a vampire. After what had happened to her as a cub she’d never gotten over her distrust of his kind. Something Grant very well knew. Which just infuriated her. It also told her that her alpha must trust this vampire a lot to send him with her.

  Because he knew that she didn’t need an escort. She was a strong, capable shifter. Not that weak, defenseless cub.

  “I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around over the last year,” Rex said from the backseat.

  She resisted the urge to look at him in the rearview mirror as she pulled up to a stoplight. The man was too sexy for his own good. Even disheveled and dirty, it would be impossible to hide all that masculine appeal. Tall, muscular with dark blond hair cut close to his head. She didn’t even normally go for blonds. Of course she never went for vampires either. Hell, maybe Sarah was right and she did need to get laid. It was the only explanation for the weird restless sensation humming through her with Rex near. Her wolf was urging her to do all sorts of naughty things to the male, taking her by surprise. She’d been in control of her wolf since she was a cub, but now she felt jittery and edgy.

  Realizing she needed to respond, she shrugged. “We’ve got a big pack. I’m sure you haven’t met a lot of us.”

  “How long have you been with Grant’s pack?”

  That was a safe enough question. “A long time. His father was my alpha.”

  Rex snorted at that, taking her by surprise. She glanced at him in the mirror to find him watching her with those dark hazel eyes. They were almost a chocolate color, but not quite. There was the slight
est hint of green in them and the effect was startling in the dim interior of her Jeep. The soft glow of his vampire eyes let her know he was feeling something for her right now too. She didn’t know from personal experience but she’d heard that vampires’ eyes glowed when they were turned on.

  “You didn’t like his father?”

  “The male was an archaic monster. It’s amazing Grant is the way he is,” Rex said.

  Agreeing with his assessment, Margery settled back against her seat, relaxing more, and belatedly realized she’d been hunched over and gripping the steering wheel for dear life. She had to get a hold of herself. She wasn’t an inexperienced young cub unable to protect herself. Her human and wolf side were warring with each other and it was beyond stressful. Her human side was fighting fear while her wolf side wanted to punch her fear in the face and rub her body all over Rex. Seriously, what the heck? She wasn’t a feline in heat.

  She lightly cleared her throat as she continued driving. “I agree. His father wasn’t exactly a monster, but was very mistrustful of outsiders. Anyone who wasn’t part of the pack.” And Grant definitely wasn’t like that. The world was changing and he was taking big strides in the shifter community. He’d mated with a human and now had jaguar shifters living with them.

  “What do you do for the pack?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, slowing as she reached the turn-off for the condo entrance located right off Beach Boulevard. She typed in the access code, not bothering to check if Rex watched her. He was a vampire and if he wanted inside their complex, he could just scale the wall surrounding the private parking lot in one jump. Of course he’d be tackled by one of her many packmates, but the privacy gate was for humans, not supernatural beings.

  “Your packmate insinuated that you were like a mother to the pack. Do you have…cubs?”

  “No. And I’m just one of the oldest members, that’s probably why she said that.” Only it wasn’t. Margery was one of the caretaker figures of the pack, definitely a mother figure. But right now her wolf didn’t want Rex thinking of her in those terms. She wanted him thinking of her as a sensual, desirable female. Which just frustrated her even more. She should not want this male and she definitely shouldn’t care what he thought. It was a miracle she’d managed to suppress the scent of her need as long as she had. She had to get away from Rex before he realized the effect he was having on her body. Because she had no doubt he’d use it against her.