Ada's Protective Mate Read online

  Of course this didn’t always work out the way she planned, not possible when you interacted with others daily and had a best friend such as Remika Alberts. But Ada had thought she was happy with her life, where she was headed. Now, she was seeing things differently and wasn’t so sure she had made all the right choices. Creatures were too unpredictable, some high strung, aggressive, contrary and many other things, to mingle with constantly, she had to be on guard and was always suspicious. This was understandable having seen her parents killed during riots forty years ago, a protest against a High Council decision. One minute the protest was peaceful, the next, unsuspecting members of the crowd were set upon.

  Had she focused on parts of creatures natures and blamed them for what happened?

  “Cara, why do you stand out here by yourself?” Nico glided down the hall and came to a stop beside where Ada stood staring out the windows into Central Park across the street.

  “A moment of quiet to think.” She turned and looked up at the stunning vampire. “Where do we search now?”

  The ethereal creature leaned down and, surprising Ada, gently kissed her cheek and took her hand. Nico Romano was OK, for a bloodsucker.

  “Grazie.” Thought reading again. He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and led the way down the hall. “Come, fratello, there is much to organize.”

  Nate was following behind them, his green eyes intent on both of them. He reminded her of a stalking beast, and one wrong move could trigger some instinct to pounce and howl. Amusing. He was a wolf after all, and they loved to pounce and howl and always blamed it on “instinct.”

  “What is your idea, bloodsu—Nico?” She corrected herself.

  Led into the study she had been in earlier today, Nico waited until Nate closed the door behind them. As vampires tended to do, he took his time to answer, drawing out the moment so all attention was focused on him.

  “I am not attention seeking, cara.” He smiled smoothly. “I paused for a moment to think and consider my words. And no, I do not see that it is rude to listen in to thoughts.”

  “I guess you would not, but let me assure you, vampire, it is. I won’t even bother to explain why because unless I’m talking about a vampire’s believed perfection in oneself, they rarely listen to what others have to say.”

  Nico frowned ever so slightly, his expression almost tired. “I am wounded, Ada, that your opinion of me, and my kind, is this low. Tell me, why is this? Why hold such contempt for your fellow creatures?”

  Appalled, and ashamed at her callous remarks and thoughts, Ada had no excuse other than worry, fraught nerves, and anger. Nico had done nothing but be helpful. She was prepared to dismiss that he mesmerized her earlier. It may be offensive to her, but she now understood he did it with no ill intent or selfish motives. Possibly she could just explain she did not like to be mesmerized and he wouldn’t do it again.

  “I apologize. I am angry, frustrated and worried and taking this out on you and others. I realize this is not acceptable and will not do so anymore. Please, tell me your idea.”

  “This is a trying ordeal for all.” He reached out and squeezed her hand briefly, then released and turned to a large, antique desk. “Nathaniel, you have been at my desk, I see.”

  The werewolf rolled his eyes and stuck his hands into the pockets of now ruined jeans. If she didn’t know better than to make bets and deals, Ada would have bet a demon Nate was behaving like a child about to be scolded, and rightly so. Ada disliked anyone messing with her desk. It was amusing and interesting to watch, considering how cocky and take charge the man normally was, to see him dropping his eyes now and kicking the toe of his shoe into the carpet. She hid her smile.

  “I didn’t go near it. Must have been one of your vamps.”

  “My vampires know better than to touch my desk, or anything in this room. You, my wolf, cannot seem to help touching everything, regardless of what is expected.” Turquoise eyes narrowed on the werewolf, and Nico hissed. “I can smell you on my iPad.”

  “Ah, hell. Come on, Nico, I had a call and needed to write something down. It was important.”

  “Not important!” Nico muttered under his breath in a mix of Italian and Spanish, holding up one finger when Nate went to speak. After a moment he breathed out, temper leaving him. “Let us not touch my desk again, si, Nathaniel?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” The werewolf growled. “Be touching every damn thing in this room if you keep the attitude up.”

  Turquoise eyes blazed, clashing with vibrant, meadow green. One hissed, the other growled. For a moment she thought they may actually come to blows. She wasn’t a fan of fighting, and they certainly didn’t have time for it right now, so she stepped in between the two big aggressive male creatures.

  Yes, an absolutely stupid move ordinarily, stepping between two big powerful creatures often resulted in the person who interfered having the anger turned on them. But not in this case. They considered her to be under their protection and had taken vows to cause no harm to innocents when being sworn in as sentinels.

  “Stop it, both of you. There are much more important matters to see to. Nathaniel, do not mess Nico’s desk, and Nico, you allow Nate into your study. Yu must allow him some freedom to make use of it. Perhaps give him a desk of his own. Now, can we continue with matters other than these childish arguments?”

  Nate grinned, tugging her into his arms and burying his nose in her hair. “Yes, ma’am.”

  There must be some way to deter the werewolf of this preoccupation he seemed to have developed of touching, sniffing and holding her! Especially the holding, Ada snapped to herself, resisting wriggling as this would only entice the damn creature. The problem was she normally found it objectionable when anyone attempted to do any of these things to her, rebuffing briskly and ensuring they knew never to attempt again, except for Remi, of course. The werewolf though was having a very peculiar effect on her, one she was finding impossible to resist.

  When he sniffed her, she shivered. When he touched her, whether it was fleetingly or a tight hug, she trembled. When he held her, it was like a rush of heat, sensations and needs coming to life inside her and erupting to take her over. She was far from being a fool and never deluded herself or avoided issues, instead meeting them head on and eliminating them. This was different. She had needs like anyone else, and the werewolf set her alight. There was only so long she could fight it, only so long logic, reason and a strong aversion to interacting in any way with other creatures could be pushed aside. And she was consumed with need that only he could satisfy, the pleasure only he could deliver. At least she wouldn’t have the worry of emotional attachment from either of them. Once the burning physical attraction between them was met and quenched, they would part and move on, never to pine or mourn the loss.

  That was Ada’s consolation in this untimely, and unwanted attraction, or realistically, honestly, the driving need that was fast consuming her for the hot, aggressive, dominant, green eyed wolf.

  They would be lovers, and very soon.

  Nico was not so appeased, and his usually cultured, ever so slightly accented voice took on a petulant, if somewhat childish, tone.

  “He is well aware of how I do not like what is mine to be touched, cara—”

  “But you’re mine, so all the shit in here is too.” Nate gave a cocky grin. “Come on, Nico, I’ll keep my paws off your precious desk.”

  “See that you do.” With an arrogant look, Nico flicked on the laptop. “We have had little to no success in finding where the black sorcerer hides the last six months because of the tablet spirit who has embedded itself inside him and changed Grydern him. Usually when a creature is being pursued by the authorities, werewolves and vampires can chase using scent, and immortals, imps, fairies, and demons trace the magical signature that all of us have. Penny found the lingering magic at the witch’s house familiar, though different and tainted. We can hope that she and Divij will memorize the magic signature and when used again, they can ident
ify and, if extremely fortunate, follow. This leads me to the imp, Remika. I noticed in the land dispute meeting today she wore a charm around her neck. We may have a chance if the black sorcerer has not thought to remove it, or even considers we can use this to find her.”

  That had not occurred to her and was actually rather ingenious.

  Ada nodded. “Whoever wove the magic for the charm. You think to follow this. I don’t know how that works, but the charm was from a friend, though I cannot recall who.”

  “Penny. And it was either made by Sev or Ruine. Also, the demon bracelets. I am curious as to who forged them.”

  “Why would this be significant?”

  “Because, cara, an object crafted will hold the magical signature. One moment.” Again he held up one finger, halting both Ada and Nate’s opinions and questions with a single gesture. Turning to the computer, he typed with incredible speed, even faster than Penny had. Vampires were known to be exceedingly fast, the fastest of all creatures. “Ah, here we are. The bracelets were placed in the vault when the High Council wished to collect objects that were dangerous or highly valuable, either to keep them from the wrong hands or to protect and preserve for the future. They were donated by Sultan Carlos. He forged them himself.”

  “Damn brilliant thinking, bro.” Nate slapped Nico affectionately on the back.

  The werewolf was right. The vamp’s thinking was brilliant. With both the pendant and demon bracelets holding magical signatures, they may be able to track directly to Remi. Excitement shivered through her, but she quashed it as effectively as she quashed opponents in the courtroom as it would only distract and as yet there was still much to do. This is where her precise, calm, rational attitude came to the forefront.

  “What do we do now?” She asked, wanting to set them on their course immediately and not waste any time.

  “We have Chase and Div see what they can do to find the bracelets and lead them to the black sorcerer while Penny, Sev, and Ruine look into the charm the imp wears.”

  There may be hope for Remi yet, like Divij had said to Ada in the meeting. Where she had been frustrated, hurting and angry before, not to mention tired, it was all replaced with very contained hopeful excitement.

  “In the meantime, we need to get changed and head to Galdorcwide.”

  The excitement took a nose dive to panic. Oh Gods, no!

  She’d always had the unexplainable fear that if she ever returned to Galdorcwide, she’d be trapped there. After managing to leave and setting herself up with a life in the human world, she’d made sure never to set foot, for whatever reason, in the creature world again.

  “Galdorcwide? Why?”

  “Magic, honey.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  She was going to Galdorcwide. The dread that rose so fast and thick when Nate said they were going to the mythical land had not abated in the least, and it now sat like a heavy weight in her stomach.

  Brownies did not have instincts like werewolves; they didn’t have vamp senses or demon intuition. Nor were they—thank the Gods and all their chaos—seers like some unfortunate immortals. Though considering how much knowledge visions provided them, Ada sometimes pondered if a little pain for a lot of gain would be worth it. But despite not having any supernatural abilities in premonitions, Ada knew, she knew, the moment she stepped into Galdorcwide her entire life was going to be turned on its head.

  In fact, since meeting Nate, her life had been tipped from its axis, and she wasn’t entirely sure she should put it back. For a long time Remi was at Ada to make some changes and blatantly told her that she had a chip on her shoulder that was getting out of hand. Interacting with creatures again was showing Ada she had formed some fairly erroneous opinions of nature and character.

  Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Ada stopped pacing. She needed to settle her thoughts and physical reaction. She always became just a touch snippy, a defense mechanism, when nervous or out of her depth. Granted, it wasn’t often she was out of her depth, and the prejudice, or slight chip on her shoulder, always tended to come through loudly when it happened. That wasn’t good, appalling even. Despite everything, in the end, no matter how long and far she was from Galdorcwide and creatures, she was still very much one.

  Possibly her reaction was due to the irrational feeling of being trapped there with obligations. It was true, if she hadn’t broken away and kept a strict distance, she’d be sucked into every frigging useless whiny little dispute and never be able to leave.

  Stuck in Galdorcwide forever. Even now the thought had her hands subconsciously clenching into fists, sweat beading her forehead and nails digging into palms.

  Sweet destiny! She couldn’t go back!

  Deep breaths, Ada, you know better, she tried to calm herself. You don’t have to stay. You’re strong, more than capable of withstanding a barrage of brownie guilt and disappointment.

  But was she strong enough to ignore the needs of her own kind, not stand for those who couldn’t stand for themselves and others? That was Remi’s question so often and as much as Ada wished to dismiss and ignore, admittedly, she could not. Usually for this argument, she would be saying, Don’t be stupid, of course you can! You’ve been doing it for nearly forty years with very little difficulty! But now, probably from Remi’s constant chatter and nagging, she began to wonder why she couldn’t have both. It was what Remi did, and lots of others like her cousin, the dentist. She was strong, far more than capable and knew how to deal with any matter of situation. Why did she stress so much over creatures?

  Because they were unpredictable. One minute peaceful in a protest, the next rioting and fighting…and killing her parents!

  Ada froze. That’s what it all came down to, that protest forty years ago which turned into a riot that her parents involved themselves in. Stupid… No, she lifted her chin. They were far from stupid, just devoted to Galdorcwide. They took their places in the riot to stop others from being harmed, the High Council from being stormed, and property from being destroyed. They were killed defending the world they loved, and all the creatures in it.

  They were far better than her, but how could she truly trust creature nature when they turned so easily, were so extreme? Perhaps she couldn’t, not entirely, but she could trust herself and a few who swore allegiance and to protect all. A few who were sturdy and full of character, loyalty and temperamental.

  Still, she needed time to think over possibilities and outcomes, and what the consequences were. At least this time, if she did go, it was for a specific purpose, and they would be leaving quickly…still, it did not make her feel all that much better.

  She couldn’t just go! She needed time to prepare.

  A sharp rap on the door stopped Ada midpace. Before she could respond, the door opened, and Nate came in, stride long and purposeful. He shut the door, and meadow green eyes pinned her. When he spoke, the tone was firm, rebuffing arguments.

  “What’s the problem?”

  Instantly her back went stiff, and her voice frosted over. “Aside from having dogs rudely come into my room without an invitation, not a damn thing.”

  Earlier when she’d called him a dog, Nate’s reaction had been a growl, snarl, or scowl. This time he merely raised dark brows.

  “Must be something bothering you, honey. You haven’t showered and changed, and you’ve been pacing since coming in here.”

  He devastated her when conversational and reasonable. Tense, she shook her head and paced. For Remi she would go to Galdorcwide, she just needed a little time to prepare herself for the onslaught of creatures’ differences and behaviors, and to control the panic.

  “I’m fine, leave me alone.”

  “Yeah, you’re real damn fine. One smoking babe.” He leered at her. “But that doesn’t explain the pacing and tension. What’s going on?”

  “Explain something to me, and be warned, I am a lawyer and will use whatever you say against you.” Her tone turned snippy. “How did you get my belongings?”


  Unruffled and mild mannered, a striking change from his normal ways, Nate inspected the wall high boxes and suitcases stacked neatly to the side.

  “Div sent out a crew to pack up your apartment—”

  The grand duke did what? “He did what?”

  As though expecting her reaction to this news, he merely shrugged. “Grydern knows where you live—”

  “Grydern is not interested in me in the slightest, not enough to warrant having me moved from my own apartment, without consent, I will remind you.”

  He continued as if she hadn’t interrupted. “So for yours and others safety, we’ve relocated your belongings here, for the time being. Your furniture is in the storage area of the basement, and don’t worry, the vamps were real careful and have it all covered.”

  Temper simmering at his complete disregard for her objections and annoyance, and for having her life taken over, Ada glared at him, arms crossed and foot tapping. When that didn’t have any effect on him—the werewolf simply smiled in that mild, unaffected way of his—she raised one hand, pointed her finger at him, and gave a very slight, sharp nod.

  “Ow. Shit!”

  Watching him jump a foot in the air gave her some momentary satisfaction.

  “Bloody, nasty brownie magick.” He patted himself down, flicking dust off and flinching as it stung him.

  A brownie’s magick wasn’t much. They used whatever was around them, small, simple things like dirt, dust, rain, water, and other things of nature to cover creatures in, to make them sting, to move small objects around. Brownie magic was mostly just irritating and annoying.

  She’d love to be an imp right now and turn him into a donkey’s ass.

  “Now I’m gonna have to take another shower.” Finished dusting himself off, he frowned. “The vamps need to clean their rooms better.”