N. Walters - Isaiah's Haven

She drank in the sight of him. There was a wound on his shoulder and several gashes on his chest. But it was the blood flowing down his leg that worried her the most. Isaiah acted as though nothing was wrong. His hands were steady, his eyes clear and calm as he finished fastening the last button.

A male throat cleared. “You want to introduce us?”

Meredith peeked around Isaiah’s shoulder at the very large, naked male standing in the middle of her wrecked club. He was a fine specimen of a werewolf, but he didn’t make her blood pump hard and hot, not like Isaiah did.

She held out her hand. “Meredith Cross.”

He took it, enfolding her fingers in his much larger ones. “Joshua Striker.”

Isaiah reached around and gently disengaged their hands before dragging her beneath his arm. Joshua raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

“Thank you for helping.” Meredith couldn’t quite manage a smile but her gratitude was genuine.

“My pleasure,” Joshua said. “I would have been here sooner, but I stopped for some backup.”

“What the hell are you doing here? Not that I’m not glad to see you,” Isaiah added.

Joshua shook his head. “I got a strange phone call telling me you were in trouble and giving this address. I was already on my way to Chicago when I got it or I might not have made it in time.” His gaze flicked to Meredith. “You didn’t sound like yourself during our last call.”

Meredith wasn’t sure how she should take that. Thankfully, she didn’t have to speak.

“You Strikers are more trouble than you’re worth.” A surge of dark power encompassed the room. Meredith gasped as a tall, dark male strode into the place like he owned it. Deadly menace poured off the stranger in waves. This was no werewolf. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was a vampire. She’d seen one once, years before in New Orleans, and she’d hoped never to repeat the experience.

“Damek.” Isaiah inclined his head.

“Is that him?” Damek motioned to the werewolf currently being held down by Hank, Michael and Teague.

“That’s the only one left alive,” Joshua informed him.

“Hmm.” Damek strode forward and everyone took a step back. Everyone except Joshua and Isaiah. “There was one of those nasty bounty hunters outside. I imagine his job was to watch the carnage and report back to his masters.”

He stared at Spencer, and for the briefest of seconds, Meredith felt sorry for the wolf. Damek swiveled his head around and stared at her. Isaiah growled and tightened his hold on her.

Damek ignored Isaiah and motioned to her sons. “Let him go.”

They glanced at her. Or rather at Isaiah. When he nodded, they stepped out of the way, releasing the wounded werewolf. Damek struck with the speed of a cobra. One moment he was standing chatting with them, the next his fangs were in Spencer’s neck.

Meredith cringed, but she wouldn’t look away. Her sons took several more steps back. Although, she didn’t think that would save them, any of them, if Damek decided he wanted to hurt them.

Vampires were far and few between, but those who did exist were incredibly old and powerful. No one knew the extent of their powers. They were a secretive lot, rarely having contact with other paranormal beings.

The room darkened. Shadows seemed to creep forward, reaching for Damek. He quickly withdrew his teeth and stood, swiping at the back of his mouth with his hand. His eyes were glowing.

“Stand up, my new pet.” Spencer stood, his eyes vacant. “What were your orders and who else knew about this attack?”

“We were to kill the half-breeds and take the women. Only we knew about this attack. Adams didn’t want to have to share the women.”

“Good.” Damek gently stroked the side of Spencer’s jaw. Meredith shivered as she noticed that Spencer’s wounds were healed. There seemed to be no end to Damek’s powers.

“How did the bounty hunters contact you?”

Spencer rattled off an email account. “Very good,” Damek continued. “You will return home, saddened by the death of your comrades. The bounty hunters tricked you. You found nothing here. You will tell this to your superiors and you will seek out and attack the hunters.” Damek captured the male’s head in his hands, staring deep into his eyes.

“Yes,” Spencer replied.

“Go,” Damek ordered. Spencer left and no one stopped him. Damek dusted off his hands. “That’s done. I did much the same with the hunter. I told him that his information was wrong and that there were no werewolves here. Whoever their leader is, he’ll have his hands full fighting off a group of pissed-off wolves. You and your little pack should be safe.”

“I don’t understand,” Meredith blurted out. “Why are you doing this?”

Damek seemed to glide across the floor, coming to a halt in front of her. He reached out and touched a finger to her jaw. Beside her, Isaiah tensed.

“For some unknown reason, I seem to like these unruly Striker brothers. There is no doubting their exquisite taste in females.” He inclined his head to Isaiah. “And it amuses me. Not much does these days.

“Then there is the added bonus of having them owe me.” He smiled and his fangs gleamed. “I find that I like that idea best of all.” He glanced at Joshua. “You’ll be happy to know I took care of a few humans who were wandering the street. Really, Striker, you need to shut the door behind you when you enter a building.”

Took care of? Meredith swallowed hard. Had the vampire killed innocent humans?

Damek continued on, seemingly oblivious to the growing tension swirling around the room. “They won’t remember a thing when they wake in the morning. They’ll just think they had too much to drink.” He licked his lips. “They made for a tasty late-night snack.”

Joshua strode up to stand beside his brother. Both men were stark naked. Next to the vampire, who was clothed in what looked to be a designer suit, they appeared primitive and feral.

“You and your pack should be safe if you choose to stay in Chicago.” Damek pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to her. “If you ever need my help.”

Her fingers closed around the heavy vellum card even though she knew she’d never use it. Anything this male did came with strings attached. Lots and lots of strings.

As though he could read her mind, Damek smiled and bowed. “I’ll leave you now to clean up the mess.”

The shadows deepened, seeming to swallow Damek whole. They all breathed a sigh of relief when he disappeared.

“Bastard makes a hell of an entrance and exit.” Isaiah gave her a gentle squeeze before yanking his brother into his arms. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too.” Joshua surveyed the mess. “We gotta dump these two.” He motioned to the bodies of Briggs and Adams.

Neema started crying softly in the background, pulling Meredith’s attention back to her pack. They were all shocked. Teague, Hank and Michael all had injuries. They were all bruised, battered and bleeding, but they were alive. Neema was pale and looked as though she was barely holding it together.

“Neema, we need water and bandages. We can use Benjamin and Michael’s apartment.” She knew the younger female would recover faster if she had something to do. Sure enough, Neema quickly took charge, ordering Benjamin and Kevin to help Hank and Michael while she went to Teague.

Her little pack disappeared upstairs. Meredith sighed, knowing her job was just beginning. She dug deep for strength. Every bone, every muscle of her body hurt and her heart ached.

The threat was over. There was no reason for Isaiah to stay any longer. His brother was here to bring him home to his pack. Whatever responsibility he might have felt for her and her pack was gone. He’d more than done his duty toward them.