I Don't Need You

Mine

William

“Elizabeth....hmmm” I breathed leaning closer to my incredible mate. She didn't look away as she brought a hand to my face. I heard the tires before I saw the headlights and something inside of me snapped. Threat! My mind screamed as I pushed my mate back a few steps and allowed my claws to elongate. I didn’t think twice before jumping on the hood of the van. The driver looked at me through the windshield with a look of horror. That’s right I will rip your f*****g head off, I thought as I began to make my way to the divers side door.

“William!” My name on her lips almost knocked me to the ground. I turned to see Elizabeth running forward “Stop! He’s a friend!” She shouted I turned back to the man in the van and who now held his hands high in surrender. I could smell his immortality, not a vampire or a wolf but a spell master. Weak, I decided as his eyes lowered in submission. My mate's hand was suddenly on my thigh her eyes flashing red. Was she trying to protect him?.

My eyes flashed red back at her and she growled low.

“Get down William, he will not hurt me” she whispered. I had no other choice but to listen to my mate. I jumped from the hood and landed in front of her. The driver was starting to look familiar now that I wasn’t raging.

“Jared?” I asked squinting my eyes at him. He looked up and broke into a smile.

“William you son of a b***h!” He yelled as he opened the van door and jumped down. Jared’s head came to my chest as he clasped hands with me and stood back.

I turned to look at Elizabeth who stood with a confused look.

“I know him from work,” I said shrugging.

“For a minute there I thought you were going to kill me! What are you doing here?” He asked looking between Elizabeth and me.

“Working, and then I ran into this damsel in distress,” I said cockily. Jared looked at Elizabeth and burst into loud laughter. I watched as Elizabeth smiled brightly.

“She’s the best hunter on this side of the world I doubt she was in distress!” He said in between laughter. I didn’t find that hard to believe seeing as though I was the best hunter on the immortality side of the world it would only make sense that my mate was also elite.

“Thanks, Jared,” she said looking down shyly. There was nothing shy about my mate so why was she acting this way now. I looked between Jared and Elizabeth and growled. Was she with him?

No, she couldn’t be.

Jared looked up his face stone-like before backing away.

“Hey take it easy what’s wrong with you?” He asked looking as if he was debating getting back in the van. Elizabeth’s hand rested on my wrist and it calmed me in seconds.

“Sorry”, I muttered shaking my head. If I remembered anything about the mate pull it would be that I had to mark her before I lost it and killed anyone that came close to her.

“The vampires are over there Jared,” Elizabeth said pulling me back a step so he could get around us. I turned to face her. Her eyes flashed angrily.

“Stop threatening him” she hissed.

I could feel my eyes shifting as well, so she felt something for him.

“Are you with him?” I asked stepping towards her. She looked as if I slapped her.

“No! You know that’s not possible, for me at least” she mumbled that last part but of course my ears caught it.

“It’s not possible for me either Eliza” I whispered bringing my hand to cup her face. Since the day I felt she was born I wasn’t able to even lust after another women. I didn’t feel anything. That’s part of what drove me insane it was the whole “Your mate and nobody else” thing the universe declared for me. Before her there were many women but none compared to her. I didn’t think I would ever get a mate I had lived for so long and I hadn’t felt her. It hadn’t occurred to me that she probably hadn’t been born yet until my heart flipped crazily during a fight. If I hadn’t recovered from the things my body were doing at that moment I would have lost my head to a wolf.

Sparks, unlike anything I’d felt traveled from my hand to my core and rocked me backward. Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she closed them and leaned her face into my touch. A stillness surrounded us as we stood there in the dark alley. I wanted to take her and mark her. She was mine and I was an i***t for staying away as long as I had.

“Umm. I’m all set over here are you riding with us back to headquarters William ?” Jared asked pulling us from our world. I steadied my breathing before letting her go. Her eyes popped open and she took a step back. I forgot about the vampire I dropped a few blocks back, I couldn’t leave him there to be discovered.

“I have to handle something first I’ll meet you there,” I said not taking my eyes off my mate. A sense of sadness took over her eyes and broke my heart.

“Alright let’s go, Liz!” Jared exclaimed before jumping in the van. I couldn’t help the growl that escaped me again. He’s not going to harm her you i***t, I thought to myself. I closed my eyes trying to get a grip on myself.

She was moving away from me when I grabbed her hand stopping her.

“I’ll meet you there and then we’ll talk,” I said lifting her hand to my heart. A sad smile played on her lips.

“Yeah,” she said before pulling away from me. Her uncertainty battered against me. I watched as the van pulled off taking my mate with it.

Elizabeth

Jared sat silently in the driver's seat as the gates to headquarters opened. He didn’t bring up William the entire ride and I was thankful for that. I needed time to think before I saw him again, if I saw him again. My mate had found me and I knew he didn’t come looking for me we just happened to be in the same area at the same time. If he didn’t come looking for me then why was he acting so protective of me. He didn’t truly want me it was just this mate pull that was causing him to act this way.

The building before us stood several floors high it was painted all black two years ago and it wrapped around a field almost in a never-ending spiral. There was security on different levels of the building they all waved as we entered. I’ve been living at headquarters since my parents died when I was fifteen It was home and I didn’t ever see myself leaving this place that took me in and trained me for the real world. Headquarters housed all kinds of immortals and put them through neverending training. This training helped immortals find their gifts, it prepared them for the human world as well. I have never been to the other side of the world where there were only immortals. There had to be a portal opened to get back and forth and I had yet to master that. Not that I wanted to go to the other world I was raised here on the mortal side and I protected mortals and immortals all the same. Jared lived here for over a hundred years but like most immortals, he stopped aging around his twenty-fifth birthday so he would always appear young. It was late a little past midnight but I knew mostly everyone was awake.

Jared pulled the van into one of the multicar garages and I helped him unload the vampires in a comfortable silence. We took the elevator up to the fourth floor, as soon as the doors opened I felt a cool breeze hit my face. This room was for interrogating and had little furniture there was a room with all white walls and a two-sided mirror. Jared and I threw the three vampires in there and sat down at the black table outside the room to wait on James.

“So how do you know William?” Jared asked finally.

“I don't actually,” I said lowly, I knew eventually this was going to come up.

“It looked as if you two knew each other very well to me,” he said allowing some concern to slip through.

“Nope, just met him tonight,” I said looking up at the hanging lights rocking back and forth.

“Well, William is an old hunter I haven't seen him in over fifty years...I was surprised to find him with you” he said causing me to look at him finally.

“He worked here fifty years ago?” I asked raising my eyebrows. Jared laughed and shook his head slowly.

“No he's been working here longer than that, he helped build this place from the ground up,” Jared said proudly.

Great, I thought to myself just as James walked through a door on our left. A sense of disappointment shot through me, I didn’t realize I was hoping for William to come until that moment.

“Great job Liz,” he said as he made his way to the double-sided mirror.

“These guys don’t even have records there has to be somebody else running this, it just doesn’t make sense,” James said rubbing the bridge of his nose.

I felt my mate before he spoke.

“There is”, my heartbeat skyrocketed and my hands began to sweat I let my hood fall back as I lifted my eyes to meet his. A pleasurable sensation went through me as I fisted my hands in my lap. Now that I had met my mate and we felt each other, the mate pull was going to be so much worse. William exited from the elevator ducking so his head wouldn’t hit the top and dumped a body on the floor.

“William!”, James shouted before walking over to greet him with a big hug.

“Oh, I forgot to call ahead and tell you I ran into him!”, Jared said grinning.

I looked away and willed my heartbeat to slow down.

“Hello, old friend!” William said from behind me I melted in my chair trying to disappear. He came. I tried to shake the lust building inside of me and attempted to sit up.

“Old? Now let’s not get into age”, James said before walking over to the table. James was handsome enough along with his brother Jared with their boyish looks, brown hair and deep blue eyes. But they were nothing compared to William. I felt that warmth in my body intensify as William stopped behind my chair. The protective stance was not missed by James as he lifted an eyebrow.

“Have you met our Liz?”, James asked resulting in a small growl from William. James took a step back before realization hit. I had been here since I was fifteen James knew there was a difference in me five years ago and approached me about my mate. I told him that I did feel my mate. He’s been more protective over me since then.

“Yes, I have,” William said flatly earning glances from the two brothers. James and Jared seemed to be having a silent conversation before understanding and disappointment washed over Jared’s face.

James winked at me before turning to William.

“She’s our best-trained fighter I still believe she has unlocked potential .. now tell me what you know about these fires,” James said moving back to the double-sided mirror.

“I don’t know much but that vamp over there revealed a name, Iris” He said taking a seat beside me. I pretended he wasn’t there while my body did the opposite and came alive.

“Iris..I’ll have the tech team run that name in the database maybe something will come up,” Jared said eagerly as he stood and exited the room. A small part of me felt sorry for Jared, I knew he had feelings for me but I never led him on I never gave him the idea we could ever be together. James shook his head before coming to take Jared’s spot. His eyes glistened with excitement as he looked between William and me. I groaned having an idea about what he was thinking.

“William I need your help on this. I know you work on the other side of the world but it seems both sides are fighting a common threat”, James said sitting up straighter. William sat up as well turning his attention to me. I avoided him as I locked eyes with James pleading with him to not do this to me.

“I’ll speak with your commander about working with Liz to bring down this common threat if you would agree. Liz has never had a partner and I know you like to work alone as well, but the two of you together would be perfect!” He was so excited now that he pushed away from the table and was pacing the floor. I snuck a glance at William to find him already watching me with a wide grin. His eyes flashed red with my fire burning in them. I leaned forward before shaking my head and standing.

“Draft the plan. I’m willing to do what’s needed to protect these families” I said before turning towards the elevators. William was beside me in an instant.

“We need to talk.” He said quietly before looking to James.

“Is my room still my room?” He asked with amusement. James laughed and closed the gap between us.

“Of course you will always be welcomed here,” James said clasping William on the shoulder. He turned to me and nodded.

“Great work as usually Liz I’ll have that plan for the both of you first thing in the morning.” He said before turning to the vampires that have been almost forgotten.

“We’ll question these three in the morning as well get some rest.” He said and with that, I turned and stepped over the body William brought.

“He’s dead he needs to be disposed of”, William called over his shoulder before entering the elevator with me, as the doors shut I felt a sense of finality.