Page 83 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

I was really hoping Robert would be here for this.

Putting down the dish towel, I collect both trash bags and walk out the front door. The business district is usually less crowded at this time of the evening. I move quickly, wanting to be back inside within a minute. Lifting the lid of the garbage bin in the back alley, I toss in one bag after the other, then shut it again. Turning around, I’m ready to run back into the cafe when my heart sinks in dread. Two figures are blocking my path, standing at the entrance of the alleyway.

My feet are frozen to the ground, but I try to keep my voice even. “Can I help you?”

The two men begin walking toward me, and one of them says, “We have a message for you.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” I say quickly, my eyes darting around for something to use as a weapon.

They’re advancing on me. Suddenly, I see a tire iron poking out of a plastic container. I pick it up, shouting, “Come any closer and I’ll beat your brains out!”

The first guy laughs, a sinister sound that turns my blood to ice.

The other one says, “You’re quite delusional. Arabella sends her regards.”

He darts forward, and my first instinct is to smash the iron against his legs, but Robert’s words swim to my mind.

Aim to kill. Always.

Swallowing, I pull the tire iron up behind me and swing it in a forward motion over my head, impaling the vampire. He lets out a choked sound as it pierces his heart.

I feel numb. My heart is thundering in my chest. I can see the blood in the light of the small bulb in the alley. He has a shocked expression on his face.

“Y—You bitch,” he gurgles before slumping to the ground on his knees and then collapsing onto his side. I let go of the iron in shock, and the other vampire charges at me, enraged.

I don’t get a chance to react, but as he comes flying at me, I cover my face with my arms. However, the attack never happens. When I open my eyes, I see someone different standing before me. One vampire is still on the ground, and the one who was about to attack me is off to the side, behind this new guy.

I’m terrified.

The light from the single bulb is too weak for me to see the face of the person in front of me. All I know is that he’s a vampire.

I stumble backward, and he catches me by the arm. “Charlotte?”

He sounds surprised, and his voice is oddly familiar.

“Let go of me!” I cry out, digging my nails into the skin of his hand, but he doesn’t budge.

“Charlotte, it’s me, Terrence!”

All the fight drains from me at the name.

Terrence?

The man holding my arm steps into the low light of the bulb, and I see sharp, handsome features, light brown eyes, thin lips, and dark, tousled curls. He looks like my childhood friend, Terrence Balcom, the son of one of my father’s advisors within the clan. But Terrence left Portland to pursue his education when I was nine years old. He promised to write to me but promptly cut off every form of contact once he was gone. He was the one person I know would have fought for me when my father was dragging me out of the compound.

My mouth dry, I stare at the familiar face. “You’re not—Terrence is in Europe. He left. He left me.”

“I came back.” Terrence looks around and sees the bleeding vampire on the ground and the one standing behind him, seemingly frozen in place. “Are these two bothering you?”

“They—” I look at the vampire on the ground. “They were going to hurt me.”

“Ah,” Terrence says lightly. “I see. Go. I’ll deal with this. Wait for me inside the cafe.”

I don’t ask him how he knows where I work. Terrence was always crazy smart. He was a genius among all the students his age. That was probably why his father chose to send him to Europe to study. He was invited to stay with a prominent vampire clan, which was nothing short of an honor. Losing the one friend I had was scary, but I was happy for him.

I never thought I’d see him again, at least not like this.

My heart skips a beat, not from happiness but from fear. My father always had high hopes for Terrence, and there is no way any vampire would come here to save me. If Terrence wants me to go inside the cafe, then…

---