Chapter Nine

Payton

I stood in the shower letting the hot water relax my tired and sore muscles. My mind flashes back to my encounter with the three vampires in the woods. My dad always told me never to rush into battle blind. Know your enemies, know their weakness and their strength. Make sure that you have all angles covered and have thought of every possible outcome. "Have a plan", he said, then a backup and backup for your backup, and never let your emotions rule you and never take the bait.

I've lived by those words for as long but at that moment I couldn't think, I could only feel. My mate was hurt and all I wanted was to go to him. My brother was dead and I was barely holding on to my sanity. Wynter would not settle for anything less than death for those how to hurt our mate and killed our brother and neither would I.

(Flashback)

"Whoever killed the wolf will be the first to die."

"Is that so? I'd walk away if I were you, little girl. The last thing I need right now is to have to put down another mangy mutt."

I bared my teeth at her, I was going to rip her throat out. I charged at her but one of the stupid male vampires decided that he wanted to go first and came charging at me. I jump up and out of the way onto one of the tree branches nearby.

"Okay then, you first." In times like these being a witch/wolf hybrid is the best thing in the world, they were faster but I was smarter. The minute he made to follow me he was done for.

" Tacete."

He froze mid-air and I heard a gasp from the other two on the ground and turn to their shocked faces. I called out to the bitch that killed Kyllir.

"Hey bitch, watch this."

Her eyes snap to mine and I smirk at her before leaping from the tree and onto the vampire frozen in mid-air. Sinking my teeth into his neck and ripping out a good chunk out of him as we fall to the ground. I release him before we hit the ground and landed in a crouch with his neck still in my mouth. I spit it in the direction of the other two.

I kept my eyes on their shocked faces. "Never turn your back on your enemies in a fight." My dad said. I looked down at the vampire at my feet withering as he bleeds out. Keeping a fixed eye on the woman I keeled over his body

"This is for Kyllir."

I brought my hand down with as much focus as possible, my sharpened claws helping to break skin and bone as I plunge my hand into his chest. His screams of agony greet my ear. I smile at the female vampire who too seems to have gotten over her shock, her face was now contoured in rage. I stood up ripping the vampire heart out of his chest in the process and he immediately turns to ash including the heart in my hand.

"Markus!"

I turn to the other male vampire who seems to have also gotten over his shock. With as much sweetness as I could mustard in my voice, I asked.

"Would you like to go next?"

~~

Shaking my head to clear the memory I grabbed my body wash and scrubbed myself down. Once I was clean and my hair was washed I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Wrapping a towel around myself and grabbing another one to wrap my hair up and leave the bathroom.

I got dressed in black silk pajama pants and a Black Crow T-shirt. Drying my hair I pull it up in a messy bun. I sat down on my bed to gather my thoughts before going back downstairs. My life is spinning out of control and it's all because of that demon vampire on my couch. I've not even known the man for a full twenty-four hours if you look at it and already so much has happened. He's right about one thing though we can't stay here that woman was no ordinary vampire. If I was an ordinary wolf she would have snapped me in two.

I walked into the living room to see Nickolai standing by the window looking out into the darkness. I took a few minutes to take him in. He's quite a beautiful man, even with his freakishly tall height and built. It suited him being built like a house with his long black hair and strong legs. He reminds me of a gladiator.

He turned to me and our eyes connected. I can honestly say I have never seen eyes so brown. They're beautiful. He walked to my uncertainty in his eyes so I meet him halfway. He still seems a little uncertain and I could accurately feel his worry and sadness. The mate bond is getting stronger now that I've marked him. I was wondering what was involved or what was the process of Vampire mating since that was something I hadn't looked into in all my research. He and I had a lot to talk about, maybe not right now but soon.

I could tell from his rigid stance that he wasn't going to make the first move even though I was barely an arm's reach away from him. I could feel how nervous he was and it made me nervous so I went to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his chest. My head barely reaches his breast. Inhaling his scent I sighted and snuggle into his chest as the smell of chocolate and citrus wrap around me like a blanket. It's comforting. He finally brought his arms up and wrap them around me. We stood there wrapped in each other arms, no words needed giving each other much-needed comfort. Wynter was very happy.

I was the first to break the silence.

"I thought I told you to lay down."

"You know you are one bossy little lady."

Giggling, I pulled away from him so I could look up at him.

"Little."

"Compared to me, yeah, little."

He was smiling down at me, I'd never seen him smile before. His smile was breathtakingly devilish, it lit up his face but the sadness in his eyes was what caught my attention.

"What's wrong with you?"

He didn't answer so I stepped out of his hold and backed away so I could get a better look at him. The thing about the mate bond is that it's a bond and completed or not Nickolai and I had exchanged blood and have accepted each other or at least I have. He's hurting and I can feel it and it's not physical pain but something much deeper.

Taking his hand I led him over to the couch.

"Sit please."

When he sat down I straddle his legs. He seemed surprised by my action but he was my mate and I was not going to be shy about it or around him plus I want to be able to see his face when we talk and I can't do that standing.

"What's wrong?"