Song: "Let Me Be Your Superhero" by Smash Into Pieces

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There was no time to explain.

He had fallen asleep after holding her sleeping form close, his heart, soul, and body aching for her.

In her dream, he saw her huddled in a dark expanse with just a bit of light illuminating her features. She curled up in a ball, her face buried in her knees as she held them tightly to her chest.

Words echoed in the empty void—hateful, derogatory words—in her own voice.

"Worthless..."

Worthless?

He fell to his knees before her, his heart aching that she would even think that about herself. Crouching down low, he pressed his nose against her white knuckles and whimpered.

When she looked up, the pain he felt reflected in those gorgeous blue-greens before him, drawing a whine from him as he licked her hand.

This is a dream, he reminded himself. He could do anything here. There was nothing to hold him back as his soul sought out hers.

Lowering his head as he squeezed his eyes shut, he imagined himself in his human form. When he opened them, he saw his fur recede into the skin of his arms and legs.

He forced himself to speak for the first time in a year, afraid he might not even recognize his own voice.

"Is that what you think, Mate?"

He sounded normal, no grizzly lisp or growl.

Encouraged, he looked up to see her staring at him, and he couldn't look away.

"You're not worthless. You are so much more than that."

She vanished before he had a chance to say more. Before he could cup her face in his palms. Before he could hold her in human arms. Before he could comfort, care, and explain everything as he stroked her hair with gentle fingers.

Instead, she jolted awake, thus waking him and he had to rush her to the river before her body seized up once more. Her wolf pressed against her skin, he could feel the heat of it, and the increased rhythm of her heartbeat.

He should stop holding her in this hot, humid weather. He wasn't helping her, but only adding more stress to her hypersensitive body.

But he couldn't help it. He longed to hold her. To take care of her, to comfort her, to tell her that everything would be okay.

He couldn't tell what she was thinking when she was cooling off in the river, and he didn't know how to communicate with her in the dark.

Did she know that was him in her dream and not merely her mind conjuring up images in her sleep?

It was common for the souls of mates to visit each other in dreams before sealing the matebond. It enabled them to break down walls and barriers that hindered their union—especially if they attempted to deny the matebond.

The matebond was a force all its own and it would push mates together if they tried to resist it.

Would she accept him as her mate having met him in a dream?

His thoughts circulated around that brief encounter and what she might be thinking now as he relaxed into the soothing touch of the river.

After a few minutes, his fur prickled as her eyes brushed over him. He turned to catch her staring, his heart skipping when she thanked him for taking care of her.

He caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles.

Of course. You are my mate, my heart, and my life.

If only I could tell you...

Faint voices whispered into his ears over the gentle babbling of the river, snapping him to attention.

This was unclaimed territory. This river separated one werewolf pack from another. He was not so close to their borders that they should sense him. Furthermore, the night was upon them. There should be no humans wandering the wilderness at this time.

Only one creature with the vocal ability of a human could be approaching and he had slaughtered one of them the previous night.

His mate had said that she had been kidnapped by vampires. He only found and killed one. Could the others be approaching them now?

Listening and sniffing the moisture-filled air, he couldn't make out their scents, but he thought he heard two sets of low voices and two pairs of legs sloshing through the river.

Without hesitation, he pressed a claw to his lips, asking for silence, before scooping her up into his arms and dashing forward.

Surprised, she began to protest, but he silenced her with a growl. She whimpered, but wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

He wanted to cherish this moment, to bask in the feel of her body against his, but the impending danger thrust away that simple primal pleasure for a greater primal need—the need to protect his mate. It was his fault that she was utterly defenseless, after all.

The water sloshed and splashed around him, catching the attention of the predators not too far back

"Did ya hear that?" a male voice whispered.

"Yeah, I also smell it. What is that?" a female voice responded.

"I don't know, but it killed Jessica."

Tiberius took to the shallows, knowing that no matter how much he tried to erase his stench, it would do no good. He needed to move silently now and find a safe place to put his mate so he could rid themselves of this threat that stood between them and finding her family.

The trees weren't large and thick enough here to support her weight. The forest was thinning as farmland stretched closer to the edge of the river. He looked all over for shelter, safety—anything—all the while the vampires chased after him and gaining ground as he scanned their surroundings.

A forest appeared as the river narrowed and larger rocks made it harder to run without slipping as water rushed over them.

Leaving the river, he took to the line of trees on the bank and picked up speed as the vampires raced after him merely three dozen yards behind.

Darting into the coniferous forest of pine, spruce, and fir, their prickly branches reaching out to scratch his face, he could smell the edge of a werewolf border ahead of him—and the largest tree as the marker.

That tree was exactly the size and shape he'd been looking for with a couple branches low enough and strong enough for her to climb up and support her weight.

Running to the trunk, he lifted her up and was relieved when she had the strength to latch onto it and pull herself up.

She looked over her shoulder and caught his eye.

He held a claw to his lips again and pointed up as the vampires tore through the brush, closing in fast.

She started climbing and he whirled around, crouching into position, ready to attack, as the pair of vampires came to a halt several feet away.

He growled in warning as two pairs of red eyes glowered back at him. Snapping his jaws, the pair of bloodsuckers bared their fangs, hissing, as they bent forward, their hands in front of them with their sharp nails on display, ready to rip and tear through his thick fur.

Both of their eyes flicked up to the large tree behind him before locking back on him a split second later. Grins spread wide at the prize to be won.

"She stinks like him," the male leech declared to the female. "How interesting it is?"

"You should come with us to Master Mandala's," the female sneered. "Perhaps he can help you poor beasts?"

Tiberius snarled. Help? What would they know about his curse?

It's a distraction, he told himself while he wondered who Master Mandala was. Would his parents know?

Now was not the time to consider it. Vampires had been the enemies of lycans for millennia. They couldn't be trusted and had to be killed on sight.

The male shifted his weight and Tiberius wasted no time in pouncing. The vampire was too quick, anticipating the move, and jumped away from the massive jaws that snapped while his female companion leaped over Tiberius and latched herself onto the tree.

As Tiberius pivoted, his mate screamed in fear, the sound raising his hackles and making his blood run cold.

He couldn't risk her life by attacking first. He had to keep those filthy leeches away from her.

Fueled by adrenaline, he ignored the male and sprang toward the tree, reaching up with his massive paws in hopes of catching the female in his clutches before she was out of reach.

His claws clasped her ankle and he yanked her down with him as gravity drove him to the earth.

His ears rang as the vampire screeched. As soon as his back paws hit the ground, the male vampire jumped onto his back. Fangs and nails dug through the fur on his neck and shoulders, ripping and tearing the flesh in an effort to slice a vital vein that would end his life.

Throwing the female away, she struck a young tree, snapping it in half before colliding with a thicker one and cracking it. While she took a second to recover, Tiberius threw the male over his shoulder and pounded him into the ground. Bones cracked with the impact before he tore the head off and threw it at the female. She shrieked as he proceeded to rip the limbs off and throw them at her until only the bloodied torso remained.

The acidic stench of the vampire blood wafted up his nose and eyes—making his eyes water, blurring his vision, and making it harder to breathe.

Still shrieking, the female charged forward.

He swatted her with his paw but missed as she shifted gears and side-stepped him. He stumbled as she kicked him in the thigh, her strength catching him by surprise.

Taking this moment of weakness, she jumped on his back and dug her nails into his neck and twisted.

The bite of her nails stung, but the twisting sent shockwaves of pain down his spine.

Roaring, he ran left and threw his back against the trunk of a tree. The tree cracked, along with the bones in her body as she cried out in agony. Vibrations from the impact ricocheted throughout his body, but he had no time to lose.

He pulled her limp form from his back and threw her over his shoulder and onto the ground before slamming his fist into her skull.

Blood splattered over his face and he hurried to tear her apart before falling to his knees, panting, the acidic stench filling his senses again.

Wiping the blood from his eyes with the back of his arm, howls cut through the darkness.

His muscles locked as his breath caught in his throat.

The werewolves were quickly approaching.

Hurrying back to the tree with his mate, he continued to breathe through his mouth and kicked dirt over the shredded vampire body in an effort to bury the eye-watering fetor.

His mate heard the howl too, her heartbeat quickening. A faint breeze picked up the stink of her fear and uncertainty as pine needles rustled underneath her.

"Do you think that's my family?" she asked.

He growled his doubt.

He didn't know whether she should climb down the tree and run away with him before the werewolves came, or face them.

They'll take her away...

Shaking that thought from his mind, he reminded himself that it was wrong to tear mates apart—unless one or both of them rejected each other and denied their bond.

Would she deny him now that she knew the truth? Now that their souls met in a dream?

Slumping against the tree, he put his trust in the Goddess.

His neck and shoulders stung. While the scratches had healed within seconds, vampire bites took longer to heal. The venom in their saliva had the same effect that silver did. It would take a day to heal and leave a scar. He clutched at the largest bite on his shoulder to ease the bleeding.

Her sneakers scrapped against the rough bark as she began to climb down the tree, the branches groaning.

"Are you hurt?"

The air left his lungs and he squeezed his shoulder in response to the sweet ache within.

He wasn't sure how well she could see in the dark, but he knew her undeveloped senses rendered her as weak as a human. She wouldn't sense the vampire blood as much, but maybe she had seen enough of the fight to know that he had not walked away unscathed.

Still, if they hurried, perhaps they could make it back to the river before the werewolves reached them and were, thus, outside the territory and not seen as a threat?

He huffed, reaching his hands up to her to help her down. As if that stopped werewolves and lycans from attacking in the past as I passed through.

Another howl sounded, making her pause in her descent.

He could hear them clearly now. Their paws pounded against the earth with the force of a hurricane. Surrounding them, there were at least a dozen werewolves charging. There were too many, he couldn't fight them all off if they attacked, especially if he had his mate in his arms or on his back.

His heart pounded as fear crept under his skin. He tried to swallow it, knowing it would give his opponents the upper hand, but he feared for her safety and well-being above all else.

He made a noise in his throat as he signaled her to stay put. He didn't want her down on the ground if they attacked. How could he live with himself if something happened to her?

She held still, her heartbeat pounding in his ears, her breath caught in her throat for a few seconds before she slowly released it.

Growls erupted around him. Teeth flashing snarls as the large wolves closed in, snapping their jaws, wrinkling their noses in disgust at the odor hovering in the air and drenching the soil.

Tiberius crouched down into a protective stance, baring his teeth.

The leader in their group shifted into his human form. He wasn't the alpha of the pack, but the beta or head warrior. The moonlight peaking between the dense leaves overhead flickered in his dark eyes.

"Shift and identify yourself," he commanded in a deep, authoritative voice.

Tiberius could feel the power he held over the others, but it did little to intimidate him and his Alpha Bloodline.

"Shift!" he demanded again when Tiberius growled.

Tiberius dug his claws deeper into the earth. He looked left and right from the corners of his eyes, confirming that more than a dozen werewolves surrounded him, fur bristling, and foaming at the mouth, ready to kill if ordered.

The leader's lips curled back, rage seeping from his pores, before he stilled and his eyes looked over Tiberius' head.

Hackles raised as mental curses filled his head. Snarling, Tiberius tried to deter attention back to him, but it was too late. They had already discovered his mate in the tree despite the acidic stench of vampire blood saturating the air.

"Release the girl, Rogue."

Tiberius snarled, making the wolves around him take a step closer, preparing to attack.

"Stop!" his mate called out from above.

He growled lowly as her heartbeat skipped irregularly.

Goddess, what if she has another seizure?

"Who are you?" the leader demanded up to her.

Finally, Tiberius could hear her name, but he didn't have time to enjoy the moment.

"I'm Crystal of the Lancaster Pack. I was kidnapped—"

"Crystal? We've been looking for you since last night. We know who you are," he said, his tone relaxing. "I'm Gregory, Beta of the Nickel Moon Pack. Our Alpha is on the phone now with the Alpha of the Matheson Pack, where your family is searching for you. Please, come with us."

He lowered his eyes to Tiberius. "Step aside, Rogue, or we will take you out."

"Don't hurt him," she said as Tiberius growled.

She was fighting it. He could smell her scent shifting as she fumbled to climb down the tree.

Throat rumbling, telling them to back off, he turned to help her down when wolves lunged and she cried out, "Stop! Don't hurt him! He's my mate!"

Jaws snapped at him. He swiped a paw when she cried out, wheezing, "T-T—"

And she was convulsing.

Whirling around, he reached up as she collapsed into his arms from a few feet up, and pulled her tightly to his chest as she continued to shake violently.

He growled in warning at the werewolves as they backed off, confusion marring their scents.

He held back his whimpers, rocking back on his heels and crouching down on one knee as her spasming slowed. When she stilled, he rested her lower body against his upright thigh and brushed the hair from her sweat-coated face. His heart clenched.

I'm here, Crystal. I won't leave you. I'll take care of you.

Blue-green eyes blinked beneath heavy lids as her heartbeat returned to a steady rhythm. "I-I'm sorry."

He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. It's my fault, not yours.

"Are you okay, miss?" Beta Gregory asked.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I'm just... tired."

"You're mates?"

Tiberius' throat rumbled in confirmation, while Crystal faintly uttered a "yes."

She closed her eyes before he closed his own, giving himself a moment of joy at her affirmation of their bond.

Despite his wounds, he slipped his arm back under her knees and rose up to his hind feet.

Hope was a thinly coiled thread looped around his heart and tugging hard.

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Dedicated to HeartStone Packmate GabitaSant - Join us on Facebook!

*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt ( Joflower ) 2017*