Protector (Book 1 of the Ames Sisters Series)

4

"Wait, you're this Mark Jacobs?" I asked pointing at the matching name and he nodded. I swallowed hard as he took the book from me and closed it softly.

"Do you want me to read the mate book now?" He asked but I just stayed frozen and watched his movements. "Before you ask, yes I have a lot of money, yes I don't have to work as an Enforcer, but no I will not leave that job because it is the only thing in my life that has ever given me purpose."

"Take me home." I cut off the rest of his speech hearing how he must think of me. Shallow. Had to say something about money, yet again. And brought up his stupid job like it was his Presidency.

"What?" He asked looking over my face.

"Take me home. I don't care about your money or title or job. I don't appreciate you thinking that I was interested in any of that in the first place. All I wanted to do, was get to know more about Wolves because my parents sheltered me and my sisters from everything of that world. So if you wouldn't mind, take me home." I said getting up and walking away from the table once I was done handing him his ass and walking up the darker path towards his car, that now that I think about it, he did have a very expensive car.

"Devin!" He shouted after I got around a bush and it blocked his view. I ran down the rest of the way before trying to open the car door but it was locked. I leaned against it breathing heavy from running when I heard his fast footsteps coming towards me. "You don't run from me. Get it?" He asked looming over me when I turned to see him getting closer and I gulped.

"You don't tell me what to do got it?" I asked him after gaining a bit of confidence. I had my magic to help me if I needed it to.

"You are my mate Devin, whether we like it or not nothing will ever happen to you. Even if I have to see you to the damn castle under heavy guard to make sure you never leave." He threatened and I glared before blowing on his face while reciting a spell in my mind. "What the fuck." He hissed rubbing at his face.

"Works just as well as pepper spray. Don't ever take that tone with me. I don't care if you are the brother of some royal family. No one talks to me like that. I might be your mate but I don't have to walk two steps behind you and only speak when spoken to." I shouted before pushing at his shoulder and sending him to the ground as the pain his in eyes and no doubt nose started to get worse, but at least his ears worked just fine.

I saw the books near him and bent over to pick them up before getting his keys from his pockets and unlocking the car. "Get out of the car." He shouted and I heard the growl in his voice and I picked up my speed to get out of there.

"I'll leave it at the bar." I told him and backed up before getting the hell away from him and this land. When I passed the huge house I saw a few people outside and they all seemed to look after the car before getting into motion in trying to stop me but the car was faster than their feet.

I got on the highway and drove as fast as the law would allow before getting to the bar. I grabbed everything of mine and got out, leaving the keys in the unused ashtray and then booking it to the bus and right home.

"Hey! How was it?" Ivory asked as I closed and locked the door before muttering the same spell to make sure no one but me and my sisters could enter.

"Horrible. He is a pompous ass who thinks he is entitled to ordering me around." I spat letting the anger seep out as I walked in with the books.

"What are those?"

"These are going to tell me how to get rid of him." I said and went towards the kitchen and set them down opening the book about mates and seeing some sort of vow. I skipped over it and skimmed until I saw the word reject and paused.

If one needs to reject their mate simply state the following in their presence:

I (Your name) here by reject (Your mates name) as my mate.

But know that no matter what your body is bound to one another. You will never have the chance to have another mate or children with someone of your choosing.

I licked my lips and looked up to see Aurora and Ivory looking over the Wolf book with wonder in their gaze and I gulped meeting A's eye and she narrowed hers. "How about you read this instead of a medical journal Ivy and then I will read this one with Dev." She said picking up the book and putting it in our baby sisters hands and then motioning her into another room.

"Okay, but tell me if you read anything about us." She told me and I nodded but rolled my eyes when she left.

"What happened?" A asked coming closer to me and wrapping an arm around me. So I spilled, down to the spell I used to blow in his face and my get away. "That asshole. He would keep you locked up in a castle while he might as well be out having fun with any female that winks at him!" She shouted and took the book and saw it. "Can't have kids..." She trailed off and looked up at me. "Well, you can always adopt with the right man." She told me and crossed her arms and I gave her a smile.

"He was so possessive and mean. But it was like instinct." I told her wondering if that made sense enough to her as well and she sighed and leaned her head on mine.

"Does that mean he isn't really your mate?" She asked and I shrugged and looked over the book.

"I have to read and see what it all says. What this all means." I told her and flipped to the front of the book skipping the first page with the vow on it. I started reading the tell tale signs of finding a mate, and they were all there with Mark.

Aurora left me to the rest of the reading about 30 minutes later and went up to bed while I read and then re-read sections before going up to bed. I didn't have court for the next 2 days thankfully so I could hide out and cool down before seeing Mark again.

Laying in bed I couldn't help but get angry all over again about how he had made a point to say he was rich. But also made a point to say that I would be left somewhere while he just did whatever the hell he wanted. The memory gave me a bad taste in my mouth so I got out of bed and went down to the kitchen and poured myself some tea.

Sitting in the kitchen I wasn't sure if it was my mind playing tricks on me or if something was really scratching at the back door. I got up slowly and heard a whine so I opened the door knowing that whatever was there wouldn't be able to come in anyways.

A large wolf was there, picking up it's head from where it was laid and sitting so it was the same height as me. It was fully black besides a white stripe from between it's eyes down to his nose. His eyes looked so familiar I knew who it was. "Go away." I whispered to him and he whined and sank back down.

He kept eye contact with me and I felt my heart hurting as I thought about the words I was going to say to him but a pang sent me to my knees. He barked as I collapsed loudly making my ears hurt almost as bad as my chest. "Devin!"

Hands wrapped around my shoulder and moved me to lay on my back. "Aurora get her pills!" I heard whining and Ivory's eyes left me and I saw the shock come over her face. "Oh my god."

"I got em! Open her mouth." I felt hands on my jaw before my head was tipped back and my sister pried my jaw open and then used a spell to liquefy the heart medication and made it travel at rapid speed down my throat and into my system. In a matter of minutes I was on the couch, tea in my hand, blanket on my shoulders and my sisters trying to find some clothes that would fit Mark who was still locked outside until I utter the spell.

"What happened?" A asked when Ivory finally went to give Mark some of my dad's old clothes.

"I was about to tell him the rejection and I just felt it again." I told her and she rubbed my back before making me lean on her shoulder.

"What the hell was that?" I heard Mark and kept looking towards the picture of my parents on the coffee table in front of me before feeling him sit down on my other side watching me.

"It happened when our parents died too. She was walking down the stairs on the day of graduation, ready to go pick them up at the airport and she had a heart attack." Ivory went on with the story despite my glare. "When we went to the witch and asked about that, she told us that Devin's heart was weak because it was meant to thrive on all people around her that loved her and who she loved."

"Enough Ivory." I shouted and she met my eye and licked her lips.

"And when mom and dad died her heart became weaker." She continued and I looked towards Aurora who was looking down at her hands and looked to me and shrugged.

"And since she was going to reject you as her mate it basically just gave her a warning." A told Mark, moving her eyes from mine and then looking right to him.

"What do you mean mate?" Ivory asked and I just looked towards the picture again. "Devin! What does that mean. Like mom and dad were mates? That kind of mate because Mike here sure as hell isn't British."

"Mark." He sighed out his name and all three of us turned to glare at him and he just cleared his throat.

"Yes like mom and dad kind of mate." I sighed after a moment and stood up letting the blanket fall before going towards the kitchen to reheat my tea.

"How come A knew and I didn't?" Ivory asked following me and I sighed.

"Because Mark is a pompous ass and I was going to reject him!" I shouted and heard a growl but ignored it and looked to Ivory who looked hurt.

"She knew before me... she knew long enough to still not sound so shocked about it. When did you know?" She asked me and I licked my lips.

"When I was shopping for our trip to the lake." I told her and she glared at me. "Don't look at me like that. You were so happy and I didn't want to bring up mom and dad more than I needed to." I told her holding up my finger to her when she was about to open her mouth and shout at me.

"What we should be worried about is why this pompous ass is still in our house." A called coming in and moving towards the chips.

"I am not a pompous ass!" Mark growled and leaned on the counter.

"You kept talking about money and your job. Did you ask me about mine? Or ask me my favorite color or food or how old I am. Hell you didn't ask me anything." I said and glared at him and crossed my arms.

"It is rude to talk to people with your mouth full or vice versa." He told me with narrowed eyes and I heard a giggle and turned to see A with a hand over her mouth and her eyes wide.

"Are you serious? You ate in silence?" She asked looking between the both of us and I nodded at her. "Wow, okay, what are you Mr. Manners?"

"More like in line for a throne." I muttered and rolled my eyes.

"Can we stop bashing me here? I want to know what will help Devin with the heart thing." Mark announced and I sighed. My tea beeped and I turned to get it out and blew on it slightly.

"She's fine for now, until something else 'breaks' her heart." Ivory said with quotation marks and I just started sipping my tea.

"There is nothing that can help her?"

"Her medications when she has the little pains like before." Aurora told him and I sighed.

"What were you doing here?" I asked turning to him and he cleared his throat and looked towards my sisters. "They'll hear you either way." I sighed and they both nodded to him.

"I was here because you ran away. You don't get it Devin, I will chase you to the ends of the earth because you are my mate. I have never had a relationship, I don't know how to talk to someone and keep the conversation going."

"Does that mean he is a virgin?" I heard Ivory whisper loudly and I gave her a look.

"No, I am not a virgin but I have never had a meaningless relationship knowing it wouldn't go anywhere." He said it like it was obvious and I looked to my sisters.

"Yeah well, I wish you were a virgin, then we could all make fun of you." Aurora said and moved to sit down and Ivory followed her lead. I kept standing and looked towards Mark who had his arms crossed and was looking at me.

"Does that bother you?" He asked me and I just blinked.

"Does it bother you that I am not a virgin either?" I asked and his face turned into a sneer and my sisters laughed and I cracked a smile as I looked over at them.

"Does every man hold a double standard?" Aurora asked him and I moved to sit down now and cracked my knuckles.

"I came here..." He stopped as we all turned our faces to look at him. "To apologize." He said it like he was agreeing to eat dirt.

"Go on then. Apologize." A told him and I laughed and swatted her hand.

"Devin Ames, I am truly sorry for making you think that I thought that the only thing you were interested in was money. Will you accept an apology from me?" I had to swallow the laugh that almost escaped at the sound of seriousness in his voice. It was so formal and very 16th century like that it took me back. But I knew he meant it as well.

"Yes." I nodded and his worried expression melted into one of relief as he came closer to me. Leaning in to me his lips brushed my cheek and I heard my sisters squeal. "Shut up you two." I scolded and I felt something hit my nose and saw Ivory look towards A whose mouth had formed an 'O' before laughing and getting up and running away.

"It's still there." Mark whispered using his forefinger to get it off my nose and I screeched and wiped the rest off before running after A and chasing her around the house. "I don't think she should be running, she just had one of those things." Mark shouted and I heard his fast feet before I felt an arm wrap around my waist and pull me before I was spun into his chest.

"I'm fine now." I told him honestly knowing that I was.

"You know it's not right to run around the house right?" He asked so serious that I had to laugh and then bite my lip.

"Did you grow up with rules?"

"Of course." He said and I smiled.

"Our only rule was to not kill each other. I think you need to have some fun." I said looking over his hard features and wondering how long it had been since he laughed for more than a few sarcastic seconds or even laughed the night away.