Chapter 3 of Wolf Shield

Continue reading this Paranormal Romance featuring a curvy FMC and a Big Bad Wolf...

📖 Ready? Chapter 3 of Wolf Shield

“D

amn it, Storm,” Kingston Baldric, Dragon Shifter and leader of Storm’s unit frowned at him.

The Guardians of Chaos had few rules, but the ones they did have were important. Like the one about no unannounced visitors, especially of the human kind. But what was he to do? Storm held his ground while the Dragon growled from his position in the hallway of the Keep.

He wasn’t fool enough to answer the angry Dragon. He simply slipped past his leader with the woman from the lot cradled protectively in his arms. He stalked the hallways to his room. The door opened on its own, and he took that for the Keep’s blessing on his decision to aid the female.

He placed her down gently on his bed, already having refused to put her in any guest room. Not even their own medical examination room was good enough for her. She was his to help.

There were currently six Guardians in their unit and of the six, two were crowding his space. Storm was the sole Wolf Shifter. Furio, the Horse Shifter, had his head stuck inside the doorway. Kingston, the Diamond Dragon and their leader was growling and frowning from his stance.

Missing were Byram, the sole Vampire of the unit, Elena, a Panther and the only female, and Egros, a male Witch formerly of the Coven Realta. With Kingston’s mate there had been seven, but now that Neela had been stolen from them, their numbers had diminished by one.

The Keep, the name they called their castle, was located deep in the pine barrens of South Jersey. Their only neighbor was a Jersey Devil Shifter and his family, but other than that, they were a good hour from any city or town. The location was good for keeping their work a secret from the humans.

He normally didn’t mind the isolation of the Keep, or the way they all intruded on one another’s privacy, entering private rooms without knocking and so forth. But now he felt anxious to the point of agitation.

It was the first time he could recall feeling so protective of his privacy. It was obvious why, mating fever was upon him. He just hadn’t been prepared for the onslaught to be so great.

Amassed of enchanted stone and steel, the very walls that surrounded him were made of magic. The kind he’d vowed to protect. Almost intuitive, the Keep was the safest place he knew, while providing the utmost comfort for its inhabitants.

It wasn’t the where that bothered his Wolf at the moment, it was more the who. Four males and one female lived there with him. All of them were currently unmated.

Yes, his beast recognized the pain that seemed to emanate from their leader after the loss of his mate and as such he knew Kingston was no threat to his female. But still. There were others. Including that idiot Horse who’d touched her at the lot.

Storm’s Wolf would simply not allow anyone near her. He could not let his mate out of his sight. The beast was riding him hard. The animal in him knew who and what she was to him. He demanded she be marked and claimed.

“No. You will not mark her unless we know for certain she is what you say she is, and not unless she agrees to it. That is an order,” Kingston practically roared, but Storm’s Wolf didn’t give a f*ck.

Yes, he was projecting again. That kind of telepathic sympathy was useful when their unit was in battle, but that was the second time in as many hours he’d slipped and allowed his thoughts to be known. Mating fever was f*cking with his sense of balance.

“She is mine, King,” he began.

“You can’t start thinking with your dick, Storm, we need you here with us,” Kingston returned, “Besides, you don’t know if she’s truly yours.”

“Yes, I do. When she was in danger, I was able to use powers I never had. It’s the sign of a true mate.”

“I saw it too, Kingston,” Furio added.

The Stallion Shifter was sporting a black eye and stood as far away from Storm’s bedroom door as the hall would allow. Smart man. While Storm wasn’t proud of himself for punching him in the face, his animal did find some pleasure in knowing he’d hit the man for touching his woman. Never mind what he did to those asshole reptile Shifters.

“How did clean up go?” he asked his leader.

“Fine. Byram said there wasn’t much left of the two men, but he recognized one as a Loyalist sympathizer,” Kingston narrowed his gold eyes at him.

“Two, there were three of them,” Storm interrupted.

“Yeah, well, you must’ve missed at least one of their carotid arteries then. And why were you there to begin with?”

“To talk to his f*cking informant,” Storm growled.

He didn’t like the questions. He didn’t want them in his room. He just wanted her to wake up.

“Uh, anyway, Byram found my informant in the back seat of a car not too far from the lot,” Furio interrupted, “he was missing his head though.”

“Shit. So, it was an ambush,” Storm concluded.

As a Vampire, Byram would’ve been able to pick up the blood trail of the Reptilian Shifters and the Goblin informant. The Loyalists had no shame apparently. They would hire anyone. Even a bunch of half-wits who didn’t seem to know they should never bring a human into the war between supernatural factions. The Dragon Shifter’s voice shook him from his reverie, and Storm focused on the golden-eyed man.

“It would seem that way. The woman was working you guessed?”

“Well, I snagged her computer, but she doesn’t seem to be a librarian,“ Furio interjected.

“You stole her things back at the library?” Storm asked.

“Not stole, borrowed, so we could learn why those goons wanted her,” he insisted.

“It doesn’t matter. You have to bring her back,” Kingston said.

“No,” he snarled, “that f*cking Gila Shifter scratched her. She could be infected.”

“Well, we won’t know that if you don’t let Byram near her.”

“I could claim her. My bite will remove any toxins,” he started.

“I already told you, no,” the Dragon snapped at him.

Storm snarled, though he averted his eyes out of respect for their leader. He’d vowed to follow Kingston in all things, but this was not part of his duty to the man or the Guardians.

No one had the right to interfere between mates. Not even him. His Wolf bristled. The beast was not happy with Kingston’s declaration. The thought of anyone, especially that bloodsucker Byram going anywhere near his mate, was liable to drive Storm crazy. She was an innocent, and she was his alone to protect.

“Kingston, my Wolf just can’t do that, you know what this is like. She is my mate, I can’t let anyone else near her. I can’t let her go. She is too soft for this cruel world.”

“Storm-”

“No. If the Loyalists know about her, if that bastard who got away told them about my reaction to being near her, then her life is in danger.”

He could not let her go without knowing she was safe. Maybe not even then. His soft mate had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Through no fault of her own she’d become the target of his worst enemy.

“The Loyalists have already killed one mate. They can’t have another,” he gritted his teeth as he spoke.

Kingston might be angry with him, but there was no way in hell he was letting her go. She was far too precious. He wanted this conversation over and the two men gone. He was the only one who could protect her. It was his duty. His privilege even.

Mine, his Wolf pressed him and Storm closed his eyes. He counted to three. He knew that Shifters could be possessive assholes, and something inside of him admitted that he wasn’t above that.

“Storm, you need to bring her back. You cannot mate her until you explain things, and then only if she agrees. That’s an order.”

Stay tuned for the next installment!