Hunters of the Gods_Power of Their Mate Read online

  “Well, there’s a hierarchy of order of power. You have the Alphas of each pack, then the Circle of Elders, there are powerful positions that give insight and feedback to the elders such as fairies, and historians. Then there are Goddesses, some of the most powerful of shifters that help to eliminate threats, and react when there’s need. Seldom has anything happened where that was necessary, or at least for some time.”

  “Who enforces their orders? Who takes care of finding those on this list?”

  “There are various powerful enforcers. I suppose the best way to describe them would be in ranks like the human military, but not quite because as I mentioned, sometimes shifter blood mixes. However, there are Knights, Warriors, Enforcers, and various Hunters.”

  “Hunters?”

  “Yes, for instance, the one list I mentioned, the one Volkan is on, that is a list created by the gods for good reason. It’s not the most dangerous of rogues, but ones who need to be eliminated before they increase their power and can kill or destroy more of the good shifters. Those are Hunters of the gods. The gods inform these men and women to search, capture and sometimes eliminate the evilest of rogue species. They’ve been very busy for the past several years. I wonder if something is brewing. I know many changes have taken place in securing the strongest packs. Others have failed to defeat, or simply self-destructed after months or years of bad luck, or takeovers.”

  Alexandra covered her heart with her palm and Margarete squinted at her, wondering if that was possibly a connection or an area her granddaughter would be an expert in. If so, then she really needed to talk to Cable’t. Her decision to save Alexandra’s life was a necessity and exactly what the gods had wanted her to do. Of all the types of creatures for the gods to have wanted to send to save Alexandra, why did Margarete instantly think of Cable’t? The repercussions of mixing such a powerful vampire as him with the blood of a woman like Alexandra wasn’t fully thought out. No one really would know what would happen. However, thinking about Alexandra’s reaction to the wolves, her instant attraction and the fact that these wolves could be her intended mates, combined with the shield she felt get put up and—

  Margarete covered her mouth with her hand.

  “Grandma, what is it?” Alexandra asked, and stood up.

  “That sensation you get, the feel of an arm around your waist, and embrace when you’re scared, when those wolves seemed aggressive in wanting you close, do you feel it at other times? Can you seek it out?”

  “I don’t like to seek it out, but it just seems to happen when I’m frazzled, or scared of course, and when the wolf men flirted and touched me.”

  Margarete placed her hands on her hips. “That sneaky vampire.”

  Alexandra’s eyes widened.

  “Vampire?” she asked.

  Margarete waved her hand. “No need to worry. I’ll handle it soon enough. Let’s get down to more rules and some more information on your parents’ abilities. Perhaps it’s a good enough time as any to start,” Margarete said, and then handed Alexandra the photo album. She then prepared a special tea for the occasion to keep Alexandra’s mind open to what she would already know, but what had been hidden within her mind to protect her from the evil that could still be preying on her. Alyssa would definitely need to stay hidden with Brock a bit longer, but something told Margarete, that the day for her granddaughters’ to no longer be shielded by magic, would be coming sooner than later after all.

  Chapter Four

  Cable’t watched her from a distance. She didn’t even know he was there, but she felt him. He could touch her with a thought. Caress her with emotion, all because their blood was one. He knew four years ago somewhat of the possible effects it would have. Him biting her, infusing his blood into her body to save her life, but what he got in return was so much more. He was bound to her, and at first it pissed him off, how often he sought her out. How he looked at her fears, her memories and nightmares of the accident and attack as opportunity to bind them fuller, to be there to comfort her. He never imagined what it all really meant.

  He sighed, her beauty like no other. He was used to being alone. To having his longtime friend and curator of his estate, Boniface, be the only true trustworthy friend he had. Sure, there were others, but being around for three hundred years taught him so much, and that very few were pure at heart.

  She kissed her grandmother good-bye and got into her car. He wanted to follow, to ensure she was safe, but then Margarete had her hands on her hips and called out to him. “I know you’re here, Cab. Come on inside. We need to talk.”

  She walked into her home, leaving the door open a moment and he appeared, closing the door behind him, standing in human form and looming over the smaller magi.

  “It’s coming. Things are happening, as I know you know what I mean,” Margarete said to him.

  “It’s my blood pumping through her veins. My ears that hear her thoughts, that feel what she feels.”

  Margarete nodded. “I couldn’t imagine how you felt when the three Alphas approached her, and she felt the attraction.”

  “No, you couldn’t imagine, nor would you understand my shock at what I felt, and at whom the three wolves are.”

  Margarete’s eyes widened.

  “You know who they are?”

  “Of course I do. No one will ever get away with taking what is mine, or what I possess.”

  “Cab, she is special, you know this. You knew her parents and what they sacrificed to keep the two girls alive.”

  “I know the entire family, generations actually, considering I’m as old as I am.”

  “But don’t look a day over twenty-five,” she complimented.

  “For good reason,” he countered, and gave her a smirk.

  “A benefit.”

  “Not always. Not when I’m forced to watch people, friends die of old age.”

  “What friends? You refuse any.”

  He shrugged his shoulders then took a seat by the table, crossed his one leg, and leaned back to stare at Margarete.

  “The wolves, Alphas, are Hunters of the gods.”

  “What?” she asked, shocked and gripping the chair.

  “The Saint family to be precise, and you know how I feel about wolves.”

  “The Saint family? By the gods, this is going to get complicated.”

  “Indeed.”

  “You need to back off. If they are her intended mates, and they are Alphas of the Saint family as well as Hunters of the gods, then she must accept them as her mates.”

  “No,” he said, and then stared at her.

  “What do you mean, no?”

  “I won’t allow it. End of conversation. It’s over, now is there anything else you need, Margarete?”

  “Cab, it is going to happen. You know as well as I do that when wolves find their mates, they will move heaven and earth possess them, to mark them, and become one with them.”

  He stared at her as the anger boiled within him. He could not accept this. Would not accept this.

  “You will always share a part of her.”

  “Don’t,” he demanded, and stood up to his full height of six foot seven. Margarete took a retreating step back.

  “This conversation is over. Good night,” he said, and then headed toward the door, opened it, and walked out into the night, then shifted into a black bat and soared through the night. He heard the cry of help, and quickly headed to assist, just as the night he heard Margarete’s cry for help, and wound up being a changed vampire forever.

  * * * *

  “These are amazing as always, Alex. You have a talent in capturing the most wonderful images. In people, their emotions, scenes on the streets of Dallas, it’s all breathtaking. I believe several of these shots will be showcased at Friday’s gala,” Mitchel Saunter, her boss and the event coordinator for all the gallery events through Texas and beyond, told her.

  She had been hired on a freelance level to make up for two other female photographers who were out on family leav
e, and then decided to become stay home moms for a while. It gave her the opportunity to do this full time, but she never expected to have a spotlight piece in one of the shows.

  “Showcased at the gala? Are you certain?” she asked, stunned at the opportunity. Could she actually take this opportunity, or would it be too risky?

  “Most definitely. I have to admit, when you first started doing the freelance work, I was unsure if you had the eye, the talent for such larger pieces, but you have outdone yourself each and every time I give you a job and an opportunity. Now, I know I’ve probably surprised you with the pieces myself and the board members have chosen, but, they are on display in the showroom on the upper floor for safe keeping, and to keep away from the eyes of anyone wanting a sneak preview of the gala event. Go on up, see the others that were chosen. I think one or two buyers are up there so don’t be surprised as you look around if you bump into them. Otherwise, the place is all yours.”

  She thanked him and then grabbed her purse, and slid her hands down the straight, slim fitting burgundy dress she wore with the matching heeled ankle boots. The sleeves hugged her arms tight, and the dress accentuated her large breasts and thin figure.

  She walked from the room as another person arrived and she had to do a doubletake. She paused where she was as he shook hands with Mitchell, but his eyes never left hers. In fact, she felt them caress over her body and through her veins. He was gorgeous, older, distinguished and so handsome her breath caught in her throat. He was also tall, like over six four, and wore a well-fitted, custom black suit. He emitted power, authority, and her body hummed, and she felt this odd sensation.

  “Oh, how rude of me, Cabernet Goustou, meet Alex Morgan. She’s a professional photographer who will be showcasing some of her work at Friday evening’s gala.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Morgan,” he said, and reached his hand out for her to take, but instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips and kissed the top.

  Warmth traveled through her fingertips, up her arm, and all over her body. Her nipples hardened and her pussy clenched. She pulled away and lowered her head. “Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you again for the opportunity, Mitchell. I’ll let you two have your meeting,” she said, and Mitchell smiled then turned, indicating for Mr. Goustou to follow. Instead, the man stared at her, ate her up with his eyes, and licked his lips as they roamed over her body, practically eliciting a moan. She wondered who the hell he was as she quickly gathered her body parts and nearly lost her footing. She felt embarrassed that the older, sexy man had gotten to her and he smirked. She took that as a sign that he was a player, and considering she knew nothing about men and their capabilities when it came to seduction, she should hightail it out of his sight.

  She made her way to the top floor and not a soul was in sight. When she went down the aisles seeing the many photographs from other photographers on display, she felt a mix of emotions. Was she good enough to have her photos alongside such incredible well-known artists and photographers like Earl Merk, Cindy Lane, Arthur Furia?

  She sighed and started to feel panicked, intimidated, and nervous. How was she going to handle this? She found her first enlarged picture, a photograph she took several weeks ago. A young couple were fooling around by the water’s edge in the park, where there was a long narrow stone wall edging the pond. As he lifted her up to stand there and held her hand as she walked, something caught their attention toward where Alex was, and both of them looked shocked, but then the woman started to lose her balance, and was leaning back about to fall into the pond. But the man held her steady, his arm and hand extending out. Alexandra caught it at just the right moment, making it appear as if they would both fall in, but they didn’t. The photo shows chivalry at its finest, and the young man was not going to release her hand, instead he would have fallen in with her.

  She smiled at the memory and then moved on to another scene, a street band playing amongst the bars, and a homeless man leaning against a building watching the band play, and appearing as if he were slightly smiling, enjoying the music. She remembered that, as well, and bought him dinner that night after asking him if it was okay that she took his picture.

  She moved down the line and saw some other photographers’ photos, some of trees in the park, the trolley downtown, and then back to another one of hers. The sunset in the background, a couple facing away from the camera, people coming and going all around them, not even phased by the beauty of that sunset, or stopping to take such a sight in and appreciate it, but that couple did. What caught her the most afterward, was how they leaned into one another. They each had an arm behind them so their hands were clasped together, and it formed a heart by the way the light of the sunset fell.

  She felt the tears in her eyes, and then that warm sensation like an arm come around her. She gasped, covered her belly with her hand, and caught sight of someone standing to the right of her through her peripheral vision. She turned, lips parted, eyes wide. The gorgeous older man from downstairs.

  He came toward her as if he glided across the floor, and didn’t even take a step. She couldn’t look down to see, her eyes focused on his height and his ability to snag her complete attention.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, his voice calm, deep, and affecting her. Every part of her tingled. It was strange, but as she looked into his dark eyes and saw the shimmering of something, she realized she knew him. Or at least she believed she did. He seemed familiar. Thoughts scattered through her head. Friend or foe? She sensed something dark about him. Something that had her gut clenching, and a sensation and need to bow to him, or show some high respect. She swallowed hard. Her heart raced. Her grandmother’s words lingered in the back of her head. The advice to heed caution when every part of her being warned her. Then other things lingered, but she couldn’t remember them, his voice interrupting her thinking process. Her focus was on him. She had no voice. She felt very little control. Then he spoke.

  “It’s been so hard staying away from you,” he said to her, and reached toward her to caress her hair from her cheek. He cupped her neck, tilted her head back further, showing her neck fully to him. She wondered why she felt that was significant, and as she battled for control of her thought process it came right to her. He licked his lips and she thought she saw a sharper tooth. Vampire? She felt the urge to retreat and turn away, intimidated by these emotions. Knowing somehow despite never ever seeing one before, that this man was a vampire.

  She wanted to step back, but then her body wouldn’t move. It was so strange.

  “You feel that, Alexandra? That familiarity, the calmness that comes when you need it most?”

  She was dazed by him, entranced by him. She nodded, but then shook her head. Her grandmother told her so much about vampires, and about their abilities.

  He closed the space between them, turned her so he was behind her as he wrapped one arm around her waist, and one hand gripped her right shoulder.

  She was shocked as she realized his touch, his arm, the way it felt around her midsection was not just familiar, but was the sensation she always felt when she was afraid, or uncertain. As she inhaled sharply, his hold tightened, then the hand that held her shoulder eased under her hair and neck to the left and tilted it to the right. His mouth was against her ear as her breathing hitched and she didn’t move an inch.

  “Feel my blood running through your veins, Alexandra?” he asked, knowing her name.

  She suddenly swayed from his hold, and felt her blood running through her veins, and his arm that was around her waist comforted, and provided safety, security, and felt so right.

  “That’s right, Alexandra. We are one. You don’t need any others but me. I’ll protect you, watch over you just as I have done for the last several years,” he said, and then she felt his mouth on her neck, the teeth pinch her skin, and her eyes widened.

  “You are not going to bite me,” she said as if she even understood the process. She only knew what Grandma explained, and then
of course what was in the books she gave her. She teetered a moment as she attempted to step away from him, and then he shook his head. She stopped immediately. She felt the desire, the need to be close to him. It was so odd. She was compelled to be against him, to feel his hands on her again, or at minimum inhale against his skin and know she was safe, but how could she be safe in the arms of a vampire?

  “Your body knows, Alexandra,” he said in what sounded like an accent of some kind. He didn’t have that accent moments ago. He held her gaze, those dark eyes had power in them, she read enough to know about mind control, about some of the amazing abilities vampires had, and also how untrustworthy they could be.

  All intimidating, never mind the man was so damn tall, she was a shrimp in comparison. She stepped from his hold backing up.

  “You have a lot to learn about vampires, my dear,” he said, walking toward her. She had nowhere to turn, no place to sneak away from him as her back hit the wall and he pressed closer then stopped, stepped back and pointed to the picture next to them. “This one doesn’t compare to any of yours,” he said, and she was confused at his sudden retreat, but then she heard the footsteps, followed by the voice.

  “There you are, Cable’t. Ahh, I see you found my most talented photographer. Her work will be displayed at the gala Friday evening,” Mitchell stated, joining them.

  She took the opportunity to run while she could. She felt confused despite the way Cable’t, Cabernet, or whatever name he went by, stared at her in warning. She defied him and smiled at Mitchell. “I must be going, Mitchell. I have an appointment shortly and another freelance job to do. Thank you so much for this opportunity.”

  “No, Alexandra, thank you. The gala is going to be amazing, and remember it’s black tie.”

  “Of course,” she said, and smiled then looked at the vampire. “Nice meeting you, Mr. Goustou.”

  “The pleasure was all mine, Alexandra,” he said in such a sultry voice, it flowed through her blood stream and straight to her cunt. He squinted as if he caught the scent, and she hightailed it out of there.