True to his word, Colton finished ten minutes later and walked over to the car.
"We're not far from the city gate, from there it's about twenty minutes to the Alpha estate."
Elizabeth got out rubbing her arms briskly. "I'll be right behind you."
Colton grinned and winked. She laughed. He was such a flirt. She walked back to her car. He had left it running with the heat on. What a sweetie. She followed his car down the dirt road. When he turned down an almost undetectable path, she sent up a prayer of thanks that he had found her. She would have never found the city entrance without him.
Twenty minutes later they were pulling up to a large estate house. She parked behind him and got out. They walked towards the porch.
"I'm just going to let them know that I found you and I'm heading to the city so they can put someone else on perimeter watch." Colton held open the front door for her.
"Sounds good. I still need to find a place in the city to stay and a garage to get these tires replaced, so we'll have to take care of that," she said.
Colton nodded. "No problem. I know a few retired warriors that rent apartments, we'll check with them first."
"That would be a life saver," she smiled up at him.
Colton shut the door behind them. She took two steps forward and tripped over the ornate rug in the foyer. Unfortunately, she landed face first.
"Shit! Are you okay?" Colton gently helped her up and winced when he looked at her face.
She gingerly touched her nose and her fingers came away with blood. "At least it's not broken. I know how that feels."
"Do you break it often enough to know?" Colton's eyes widened.
"Yup. I'm kind of a klutz."
"That sounds familiar." Colton was now frowning.
"You." A deep male voice said from above them. Elizabeth turned and looked up. At the top of the stairs was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. He was tall, but lean with broad shoulders that tapered off to a narrow waist. Dark hair fell carelessly around his shoulders in waves. But it was his grey eyes that captivated her, the intensity in his gaze mesmerized her. It was as if she could see the weight of ages in his eyes. When they shifted from eternal grey to red she swallowed hard.
His movements were a blur as he flew down the stairs. He backed her up against the door caging her in with his arms on either side.
"Gavriel! Man! What the hell?" Colton yelled.
"Leave us!" the dark haired man demanded.
"No way. Get your shit together." Colton said as he tried to wedge himself between them. Her body reacted to Colton's interference. She didn't want to move away from this dark stranger. When she inhaled, it dawned on her that this man was a vampire and he was her mate.
Gavriel swiped at Colton dragging his claws across his forearm.
Colton cursed and grabbed his arm. "Man! What the fuck?"
"Colton back off. She must be his mate," a third man said edging close to them from behind Gavriel.
"Ryuu, are you sure?" Colton asked and started to back away.
"I'm sure. He is my mate," Elizabeth spoke up. Gavriel moved her towards the open door to their left.
"Elizabeth, you don't understand," Colton began.
"He's my mate. He won't hurt me," Elizabeth let herself get herded towards the door. She stepped backwards into the empty room and her mate kicked the door shut behind him, never taking his eyes from her.
"You're Gavriel, right?"
He circled her, getting closer with every step. His eyes burned a deep red. Growing up in Noctem Falls, she had only ever seen this once before, when one of the men had been in the midst of his vampiric transition and his more aggressive tendencies had risen to the surface.
"My name is Elizabeth Monroe. I'm your mate." He stopped circling.
"I know. I dreamt of you." His voice sounded deep and raspy.
"What did you see?" she asked.
"You. You falling all of the time." He leaned in and inhaled. He closed his eyes a blissful expression on his face. She realized he could smell her blood.
"Are you in transition?" She watched his face carefully.
He nodded and opened his eyes. "How did you know?"
"I was raised in Noctem Falls."
"Then you know that you need to stay away." He turned his scarlet eyes to her. She flinched. There was barely anything human in that gaze. She looked towards the door but her animal began to protest. This was her mate, it was her responsibility to take care of him.
He gave an anguished cry and doubled up, wrapping his arms around his torso. He shook his head and when he turned to look at her, his eyes flicked from red back to grey.
"Please go! I don't want to hurt you!" he gasped as she watched the muscles under his skin shift and tremble. It was then that she realized how much pain he was in. He was experiencing blood depravation on top of transition. There was no way she could walk away and leave him writhing in pain. She stepped closer.
"Let me help."
He shook his head. "Please!" he begged.
"No. You're my mate, it is my right and my duty to feed you. I offer all of myself to you," she recited the words that she had heard so many times amongst the couples growing up. To be able to feed your mate was a gift.
"You won't hurt me and I can't stand to see you in so much agony. Please feed." She placed a hand on his back. His head turned and he stared at her his eyes shifting from grey back to red.