CLASH of REALMS

FOUR

Tyler sat beside her, watching her sleep. The doctor had bandaged her head and legs; she had a broken arm, two fractured ribs, and a concussion. Any more injuries and they would have had to admit her to a hospital. His eyes drifted to Alistair, who was standing on the other side of the bed. If he hadn’t killed two wolves, Tyler would have skinned him alive.

“Stop looking at me. You’re making me uncomfortable”

“Are you blind?”

“I already told you that she came out of nowhere”

“I don’t believe it. You’re either blind or intoxicated”

He shifted from one foot to the other “I only drank one glass of wine”

“One?”

“The point is she came out of nowhere and jumped in front of my car”

“Get out” he had been forced to cancel all his meetings and work from home. Even though Alistair had saved the woman from wolves, there was no telling what her reaction would be once she woke up. What if she decided to sue them? They hadn’t reported it to the police because the car Alistair had been driving was full of weapons. Weird weapons that might make them come off as crazy or members of a cult. How could they explain something like that?

We’re hunters and we attended a party to get rid of a vampire. We carry all kinds of weapons in case we run into other supernatural creatures

Tyler could see how it would go down. They’d be locked up and either taken to a mental asylum or forced to see a psychiatrist for the rest of their lives. Just the thought of that made him shudder. He would have to wait for the woman to wake up and talk to her. Why was she being chased by wolves? What was she doing out there so early in the morning? Also, what had she meant by mine? Did she lose something?

He studied her face. There were a few bruises on her cheeks. Women were fussy about their faces. If they left a scar, she’d follow them to the ends of the earth. So aside from finding out who she was, he had to make sure she wouldn’t go to the police and then agree to all her demands. Whatever she asked, he would give it to her.

It was going to be a long day.

The doctor had said she’d be out for three to four hours. Tyler thought to catch up on some work while she was still unconscious and settled in the living room. Half an hour later he almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you”

He turned to tell her she hadn’t startled him but the words died in his throat. Those eyes... He’d seen them somewhere. He was sure of that. But where? Hadn’t he lost his memory? How could he be so sure about that when he barely remembered anything?

“So beautiful,” she said running the back of her hand along his cheek. He found himself agreeing with her

“Yes. So striking”

“I’ve been looking for you. If I’d known you were here I would have come sooner”

“Me too. I’ve been...” Wait, what was he talking about? What did she mean by looking for him? He jerked his head back. Out of her reach “Why are you up?”

“I couldn’t wait to see you”

“Why? Do we know each other?”

“Can’t you feel it? The pull?”

She was half asleep. Or she wouldn’t have been able to walk out of the bedroom on her own. Or speak nonsense. Getting up, he scooped her into his arms and carried her back. He didn’t want her to charge them for more injuries “You need more rest. I’ll stay in the room and if you need anything just let me know. We’ll talk after the medicine has worn off and you feel a little better”

“You smell so delicious,” she said, burying her face in his chest. Tyler was convinced that it was the meds talking. Anyone in her position would be demanding compensation. Not smelling him. Slowly, he lowered her on the bed and then tucked her in “Your heart is beating normally. How is that possible?”

“Because I’m healthy”

“Shouldn’t there be a reaction?”

“To what?”

“My touch. Our proximity. Even if you’re human, you should still feel something. A zap of electricity or...”

“Please go back to sleep” he tried to leave but she grabbed his hand. Her grip too strong for someone with so many injuries

“I don’t have time to waste. I’ll be gone in three months”

“Gone where?”

“Stay with me. I want you beside me at all times. Please” she added. Tyler didn’t know what her plan was or what she was talking about, but he decided to play along. Later when she made unreasonable demands, he’d remind her that they had done everything she wanted.

“Do you have a contact we could call and let them know you’re okay?”

“It’s fine. They’ll eventually find me” She didn’t sound drowsy at all. Wasn’t the medicine supposed to keep her asleep?

“What happened? Why were those werewolves chasing you?”

“No idea. I went to sleep and... Wait, did you just say werewolves?”

Tyler pursed his lips. He should have been careful with his wording. Now she was going to treat him like a madman and try to leave. If they were lucky, she’d just run and not tell anyone about them “Why were you there?” He asked instead

“Don’t change the subject”

Of course, she wasn’t going to let it go.

“Yes. They were werewolves”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’m a hunter. The man who caused the accident is Alistair, my cousin and we come from a long line of hunters” Color drained from her face and she whispered,

“Hunters?”

“I’m sorry to drop this on you but supernatural creatures do exist”

“And you kill them”

Tyler debated whether to continue or not. She could be traumatized. He shouldn’t have told her she was being chased by werewolves. Maybe it would have been better to let her believe they were normal wolves. Then again, weres were bigger than normal wolves. Even if she wasn’t aware of that, she would have found out sooner or later.

“It’s my job to protect humans”

“From supernatural beings?”

“I don’t expect you to believe me. All I ask is that you keep it a secret. Don’t tell anyone about what happened or that my cousin...”

“I need to leave” She pushed the sheets away trying to get out of bed but Tyler stopped her. Putting his hands on either side of her body and caging her under him

“I can’t let you leave until you promise not to tell anyone”

“I promise”

She was lying “I also need to make sure that you’re fine so until you’ve recovered, you’re not going anywhere”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ariadne stared up at him. He was so beautiful that she found herself at a loss for words. She’d thought that the moon goddess had taken pity on her and led her to him because they didn’t have much time. Since he was human, they couldn’t be together. How wrong she’d been. Her mate was a hunter and the second he found out she was a werewolf, he’d kill her.

Wolves could be mistaken for humans as long as they didn’t shift or get hurt. If they’d met a few hours earlier, she could have pretended to be a human, spent three months with him then leave. He wouldn’t have found what she was. But it was too late. In two hours, all her wounds would heal then he’d figure out she wasn’t human. Talk about jumping out of a frying pan and into the fire. It would have been easier to just deal with the wolves rather than run.

She needed to come up with a plan soon.

But what?

“Are you holding me hostage?”

“No. But the doctor said you had a concussion. It’s best to avoid moving around”

She could feel the wound on her head healing already. He wouldn’t hesitate to put a silver bullet between her eyes “I’m fine”

“I can’t have you blaming us if any complications arise in the future”

“I won’t. Now move away. I have to leave”

“I just realized I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Tyler Kirkwood”

“Ariadne”

“Nice to meet you, Ariadne. I apologize for what my cousin did. It wasn’t intentional”

“Apology accepted. Now can I leave?” She needed to go. Had the others gotten out? What time was it? Where was Keith and Dalton? They had to be looking for her.

“Tomorrow. I’ll have the doctor come back in the evening. He’ll decide if you’re fit enough to leave. Let’s talk about compensation. How much do you want?”

He was too close. She couldn’t breathe or think properly. With his scent enveloping her like that, she wanted nothing more than to stay that way forever. But another minute she was in that house could be her last “I don’t want your money”

“It’s not my money. It’s compensation. You were hurt and we’d like to compensate you for the injuries we caused”

Human medicine didn’t have any effect on her. She felt a buzzing sensation on her cheeks and guessed it was the skin pulling itself back together. In a few minutes, whatever injuries were on her face would be completely gone. Using all her might, she pushed him away and jumped out of bed.

“Ten thousand dollars in cash. If you try to negotiate, the amount will go up”

“Fine. But before leaving, you’ll have to sign an agreement stating that we settled this. You will have no right to sue us in the future”

“In that case make it twenty” She’d just remembered that she had no money. Dalton and Hilda handled everything. If she wanted anything, all she had to do was ask. Now that they’d separated, she would have to take care of herself until they found her.

“Very well then. I’ll go get the money and the contract. Wait for me here”

So much for first impressions. She could almost hear what he was thinking. He thought she’d gotten herself run over so she could extort money from them. That would mean that she had done a background check on them and knew who they were. It was annoying because she hadn’t. Where the f**k was Keith? If this was the kind of protection he was offering then they needed to talk. He should have made sure she hadn’t gotten into an accident. Tyler was back a few minutes later with a bag and an envelope.

“Sign it”

She did. Then grabbed the bag and left the house. Only to find a cab waiting for her. He must have called it thinking she couldn’t walk. Well, her feet were still wrapped in bandages so it was normal for him to think that way. To her, he was handsome, kind, and generous. To him, she came off as a gold digger who would put her life on the line for money. Ariadne ground her jaw and left. Telling the driver to take her to the nearest hotel.

First, she needed to find her people and make sure they were fine. Maybe the reason they hadn’t gone to her was because they were hurt. Then she would find out why they had been attacked. Which pack were those wolves from? Did they know who they were attacking? She had a month to settle that. Then she would approach Tyler again. Hopefully, his opinion of her would have changed.

Sixty days sounded so short. Could she change his mind and make him love her? The mate pull would make him want her, and frustrate him until he gave in to his feelings but that didn’t mean he would end up falling in love with her. She’d heard humans could resist it. With wolves, they had to find their chosen ones and be with them. But it wasn’t the same for humans. They could give in to the pull for a little while but they had a choice.

And back there, Tyler’s heart hadn’t even skipped a beat when he touched her. Which meant he was one of those humans who would fight the pull with everything they had. Ari pursed her lips in anger. Why was everything so hard?

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