Page 13 of Wolfgang
What was done was done. His beast purred its satisfaction.
Our mate.
It was a matter of minutes, compelling the front desk girl to forget—now you’re cooperating, he grumbled to his beast—and carrying the limp form of the doctor to his car. He’d wrapped him in a robe he’d found in the small massage room, grabbing his clothes for later—no time to struggle with dressing an unconscious man right now.
It was a good thing he’d put such a rush on finding a house, now that his timeline had moved up considerably. There was no telling how long it would take for the doctor to wake, but at least Wolfe had the guest room set up, as the painters for the main bedroom wouldn’t arrive until the next day.
Wolfe buckled their seatbelts—no sense in getting pulled over by some bored, small-town cop and having to waste precious minutes compelling his way out of it—and took the opportunity to study his unconscious passenger up close, in the bright light of day. He really was a handsome creature, his full lips soft and almost pouty in sleep. And the way he’d stared into Wolfe’s eyes, cock hard and cheeks flushed with embarrassment, so clearly tempted to ask for release, even from a stranger.
Delicious, every bit of him: his face, his body, his blood, his poorly hidden eagerness to be handled.
Yes, fate had chosen well. Just as Wolfe had always desired.
A fierce spike of possessiveness ran through him as he looked at that handsome face, and his lips curled almost against his will. Wolfe had him now. His mate.
Now he just had to figure out how to keep him.
He sighed, slotting the key in the ignition and turning his focus to the road. He didn’t often (if ever) feel real regret, a fact for which he was grateful—a useless emotion, really—but now he did feel a certain…irritation that things had gone this way.
“You know he’s going to wake up frightened,” he mused out loud to his annoyingly content beast.
Our mate.
“Christ on the cross. If it were physically possible, I’d wring your neck.”
Wring your own neck, it countered smugly.
“Now you have a sense of humor, do you?”
The drive was over quickly, and Wolfe was so busy fighting with the voice inside his head that he missed the figure standing in his new driveway until he’d already wrestled the doctor from the passenger seat into his arms and was heading toward his front steps.
“What did youdo?”
The growling accusation caught Wolfe by real surprise, and he turned with a start to see a tall figure glowering at him. Black hair, fierce blue eyes. One of Johann’s new friends, Roman.
Wolfe quelled his shock quickly and nodded in greeting, repositioning the limp doctor in his arms. He had his human’s clothes pressed between them, and he didn’t want any of it to fall onto the dirty ground. “Good afternoon. I’m afraid you’re on private property. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Roman was staring in horror at Wolfe’s precious cargo. “You were meant to be helping us. And now you killed a human? In our town?”
“I’m sorry, are you the mayor of Hyde Park?” All right, Wolfe could admit his response was utterly childish, but he was quickly becoming so incrediblyirritated. And possibly a little high off the adrenaline of what had just occurred. It may have been terrible timing, but that didn’t make it any less of a rush, feeding from his mate for the very first time, watching the human life drain from his body, readying him for his transformation.
To his credit, Roman didn’t quite roll his eyes at Wolfe’s words, but he came awfully close. “You should know better than that. This is our territory.”
Wolfe sniffed. “Andyoushould know better. He’s not dead. He’s in transition.”
“A fledgling vampire wreaking havoc. Even worse.” Roman reached out his arms, stepping forward when Wolfe stepped back. “Hand him over.”
Just like that, Wolfe’s beast was out, and a growl escaped his throat, ringing through the afternoon air. “Do. Not. Touch. Him. He’smine. My mate.”
Roman looked appropriately startled, his dark brows reaching almost to his hairline, which was the slightest bit gratifying given he generally had an unflappable air to rival Wolfe’s own, when he wasn’t letting his protectiveness over his mate get the best of him.
With considerable effort, Wolfe pushed the beast back, hoisting the doctor’s slack body up so his head was resting on the curve of Wolfe’s neck. The scent of wisteria filled his nostrils. There, that was better. He nodded to Roman. “So I think you’ll find, by our kind’s customs, I have full rights to him.”
“He has a choice in the matter.”
Not if Wolfe had anything to say about it. But he inclined his chin in false agreement. “Too true. But as he hasn’t woken yet, he’s under my protection until he does.” He turned on his heel. “Good day.”
He strode to his front door, pleased that the other vampire didn’t try to follow him. He wanted his doctor safely in bed before he attempted any physical altercations—or better yet, to avoid them altogether. It wouldn’t do to jeopardize his mate’s safety while he was still in a delicate state.
