Wyvern Protection Unit - Chapter 41: Chapter 41

“Hang on, Larimar,” she told the winged beast who was her lover before he could roast the lying, sniveling loser’s hide.
His Wyvern hissed a warning, and Harold Jenkins whimpered. The miserable turd.
“Kim? Kimmy! Thank god you logged into your computer. It was the only way I could’ve found you,” her former boss muttered as he crawled around the beat-up car he’d been driving and attempted to go to her.
Of course, her thirty-thousand pound lizard boyfriend stepped in front of her, blocking his path. She had to admit, she kind of liked it when Larimar got all growly on her behalf. The beast was positively Magical.
She’d never seen a Dragon or Wyvern, except for artistic representations she came across in her work or from Carolina’s artwork. Larimar’s beast rumbled menacingly at Harold. How did she ever sit through a date with that man? He was as appealing to her as a bag of wet farts on a hot day.
“Kimmy, I am begging you call off your, um, monster.”
“No, I won’t. How could you do this to me?”
“I had no choice! You have to believe me.”
Grrrrr.
“I suggest you speak in softer tones, Harold, or my monster is going to roast your ass.”
“I’m sorry, okay? Let me explain⁠—”
“Explain? How can you even think to explain? You dared steal the priceless treasures I worked my butt off to acquire for the university! You sleaze! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, you linked my name to your treachery!” she yelled.
“Come on, Kimmy, look, maybe we can talk away from your, uh, thing?”
At that remark, Larimar snarled and puffed smoke through his nostrils. He obviously took offence to being called a thing. Without even realizing it, Kimberley placed a hand on his leathery wing. She stroked the smooth, hard skin there and felt his tension ease.
It’s okay. He won’t hurt me. Harold Jenkins is a whimpering idiot.
She startled at the response he whispered into her mind. Thankfully, she recognized Larimar’s voice.
If he takes one more step or calls you Kimmy again, I will roast his pale ass where he stands, mate. Mine!
Oooh. She really liked it when he was possessive. Kim bit her lip to stop her bizarre train of thought, but she couldn’t help it.
Sexy, powerful, murdery mate.
Who knew she was so bloodthirsty? Her body reacted to Larimar’s protective display in an almost instinctive way. It was at complete odds with her education and typically pacifistic nature. Something the eternal student in her would want to study later, she supposed. Indeed, it was very odd she would be so turned on by Larimar's violent predilections when it came to her safety.
I would destroy worlds for you, mate. You are everything and all things to me.
Kimberley’s heart skipped a beat for two reasons just then. One, she’d been thrown off guard by her lover’s voice speaking directly inside her brain when she hadn’t been trying to communicate with him. Two, she realized it was not his voice as much as it was his Wyvern’s.
The beastie seemed irritated and perhaps a little jealous by Harold’s sudden appearance. Imagine that. The hunky Shifter was positively green—no pun intended to his green scaled perfection.
Kim grinned. Not quite over the fact he was jealous. Wasn’t that cute?
I’m a sixteen ton Wyvern about to burn this fucker alive for daring address you so informally and you think it’s cute?
“Yes, I do,” she answered out loud. “You know, I really do think you love me.”
Mate, I am warning you. Two minutes or he is toast.
“Okay, sheesh. Gimme a break,” she grumbled.
“Kimmy? Who are you talking to?”
“Shut up, Harold,” she muttered.
“Yes, Harold shut up.” A very annoyed and gloriously naked Larimar stood beside her suddenly, echoing her sentiment.
“Oh shit,” the sniveling man muttered. “Look, Kim, I need your help⁠—”
“Hang on. Unless you want my boyfriend to burn your ass to a crisp, shut the fuck up Harold, and stay put,” Kim commanded.
Oh, she knew she should be more concerned with Harold’s sudden arrival, but she had other things to think about. Like the fact she was well and truly mated to a Wyvern Shifter, who was also psychic, and fuck all, if that wasn’t the most important thing in her life right then.
Kim had never been the one the guys ran after or got jealous over. She’d never felt particularly desired and, to her knowledge, had never inspired jealousy.
Maybe she was a fool, but she needed to know for certain if this was as real as she thought it was. There was one way to find out, and it wasn’t going to be in front of Harold.
“Um, can you have them watch him?” Kim nodded to the six pairs of yellow eyes from the nearby brush.
“Yes, but don’t you think you should find out what he wants?”
“In a second. This is important.”
“Okay,” Larimar replied, one eyebrow raised.
“Um, let’s get inside, and you can put something on,” she said, and couldn’t stop smiling.
“Of course,” he replied, his eyes followed the small movement of her tongue.
The tiny pink muscle darted out to lick her suddenly dry lips as she took in his very large, very naked body. Whatever Harold had to say could wait a few minutes.
“Watch him,” Larimar snarled, and suddenly seven huge, growling coyotes came out of the brush and formed a circle around Harold.
“Uh, Kim⁠—”
A large snarl from her mate had the man whimpering, and she squeezed Larimar’s hand, which made him focus on her instead. His chest rumbled with his growl, but from the tone of it she could tell tearing Harold’s head off his body was not the only thing on his mind. That was good.
Indeed it was.
“What is it, love?” he questioned as he followed her into the small cabin.
Kimberley was used to roughing it. She was an archeologist for fuck’s sake. The small, somewhat dingy accommodations were positively luxurious compared to some of the tents and sites she’d slept in over the years.
“You know, I’ve been studying and traveling the world looking for artifacts for two decades. Ever since my undergrad days,” she began.
“I know, I’ve read your file,” he interrupted, head cocked to the side as if he was trying to figure out just where she was going with this.
“I’ve seen wonders. I’ve seen priceless pieces of our history. I’ve met heads of state, top field researchers, and curators for the most famous museums in the world,” she continued. “But none of those places, or people, or things have ever made me feel like this, Larimar. It’s scary,” she confessed.
“Did I do something wrong, baby? Tell me, whatever it is, I will fix it,” he vowed.
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” she said and moved closer to him, running her hands up his sculpted abs to his bulging pectorals, and finally, around his thick neck.
I heard you in my mind.
She thought the words rather than said them and waited a beat to see if he would reply.
Yes, my love. It is our matebond. It will only get better with time. Is that why you’re nervous?
Kimberley shook her head.
I don’t know. It’s a lot to understand, but I am willing to try. So, can you hear everything I am thinking? Like that I want you to kiss me?
His grin was beautiful as he pulled her into him and covered her lips with his hard mouth. His kiss was undeniable, invasive, and tempting. If it wasn’t for Harold, she’d be jumping him right then and there.
You can shut me out anytime you want. I promise not to take thoughts from you unwillingly, my love. But it might take a little while for us to get used to it.
Kim could live with that. Ten minutes later, they re-emerged from the cabin. She was a little more disheveled than she had been, and a little unsteady on her feet.
The satisfied smile her mate wore, along with a pair of sweats to her immediate frustration, left her feeling one part randy and one part relieved. It was definitely better he be covered up when venturing into the world.
Mine.
She almost tripped at the barely whispered word in her head and his responding growl. Did that husky sounding whisper come from her?
All yours, baby.
Larimar sent the words into her brain, distracting her. Kim had never been the type of woman who’d inspired passion in a man, any man, never mind one who looked and fucked like a god. She’d poured herself into her studies as a young woman, allowing work to become her life in later years.
She knew her self-worth and she didn’t need a man to validate those feelings. But with Larimar it was different. She felt no shame, no doubt, only joy. She understood it was insane, but who was she to argue with fate? Just being near him was enough to send her heart into palpitations, kissing him was like heaven.
If you think that was something, wait till later.
“Um, Lar?” she said and tugged his elbow, and he turned his head to look at her.
“Yeah, baby. I am trying to give you privacy, but you’re projecting loudly,” he told her and smirked.
She had to admit, that cocky grin was positively panty-melting.
“Fine. You can show me how not to do that, later,” she said.
“Whatever you want, love,” he said. “Now, let’s go question this asshole.”
“Okay.”
She took Larimar’s big hand and held it as they walked over to where they’d left Harold. The idiot was on his knees, eyes squeezed tightly shut. The alpha of the coyote pack turned and looked at Larimar before running off into the marshy woodlands with the rest of his kin.
“Harold,” she said, and waited for the man to acknowledge her.
He whimpered, but kept his eyes closed.
“Harold!” she yelled louder.
“What? Oh, oh thank god you came back!”
He started to stand but tripped and wound up back on the muddy ground. How on earth had this utter mess been chosen as dean over her? He was such a jerk. She waited as he finally found his footing and stood on shaky legs.
Even whacked out on whatever it was that had his eyes red, nose runny, and nerves going haywire, he seemed to try to hold on to that snotty contempt he was famous for around her.
“How could you leave me out here for so long?” he wailed, and she noticed the puddle beneath him had increased since she and Larimar had gone inside.
Gross. She wrinkled her nose and stepped back.
“Well, are you turning yourself in?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Look Kimmy, you have to help me⁠—”
“Call her that again and I swear to the fucking gods I will eat you.” Larimar’s growl stopped Harold short, and she touched his elbow gently.
That was something about Shifters she rather liked. The need for touching, like an affirmation of their feelings.
Hmm.
What were her feelings for him, exactly?
Like? Definitely.
Attracted? Hell to the yeah.
Love? Maybe.
She felt Larimar’s attention turn to her and she pinched his arm. They had time for that later. Time to question this jerk.
“You set me up, Harold. You stole priceless artifacts from my dig and left me to hold the bag. People shot at me,” she said.
“Oh, big deal! They shot at you. So? They dumped my fish tank and left my poor fish to die, Kimmy, and now, they want their money back because no one can read that stupid tablet. I’m desperate,” he wailed.
“You mean you can’t read it,” she snarled in disgust.
“It’s not in a language I am familiar with, no,” he said, straightening his filthy tie.
He looked like shit—all dirty and discombobulated—but he was still putting on airs. He really was a sad little man, really.
“It’s an archaic form of the language, Harold. Not your area of expertise, but I guess you forgot to mention that when you STOLE IT!”
“You can read it, though, right Kimm—er—Kimberley? Can’t you?”
His eyes lit up maniacally, and she shook her head in disgust.
“You know my resume, Harold. You know my expertise. How many of my articles have you stolen over the years? How many times have you taken credit for my research?”
Anger and fury boiled through her veins, and she realized it wasn’t hers. It was his. Larimar’s. Her eyes darted to him, and she saw scales appear and disappear across his torso. His chest heaved with his breathing as he tried to control his anger.
“I never did!”
“Rrrrr.”
“Okay, fine! Maybe I did, but, but—” Harold sputtered and inched closer to her, away from Larimar. “You have to help me!”
“Are you out of your mind? I’m calling the FBI⁠—”
“You can’t do that, Kimmy. It’s too late. These people mean business.”
Harold was sweating and his skin took on an eerie shade of gray. He smelled bad, like rot and decay. How Kimberley knew that she was not so sure. Maybe it was from her new matebond and telepathic link to Larimar.
“Mr. Jenkins, we will alert the authorities and you will be protected. Now, I am warning you, step away from my mate,” Larimar growled.
“No, you can’t. It’s too late,” he muttered as the sounds of something—a helicopter—grew closer, flying just overhead.
“I’m sorry. So Sorry. I had no choice!”
“Who is that?” Larimar growled and grabbed Harold by the collar. “Who have you brought here?”
Kimberley stared in horror as Harold’s skin became mottled. His lips turned black and dark liquid began to ooze from his ears and eyes.
“Harold, what have you done?” she shouted in horror as Larimar let the man go and took a step back.
“Her computer had a tracker. All university equipment is outfitted with them. I had no choice,” Harold repeated, and struggled to breathe.
His voice was raspy as his face grew bloated and bits of his skin began to slough off, revealing bits of decayed muscle and bone beneath.
“What did you do?” Larimar demanded.
“They know she can translate the tablet. She is the only one who can,” he grunted, clinging onto Larimar’s hands.
He hung from the Wyvern’s grip, mumbling and fizzing at the mouth. His eyes turned white and milky as a long sigh rattled before he went still.
“I think he’s dead,” Kim yelled over the noise.
Larimar dropped the corpse, holding Kim back. She covered her mouth as the man she’d worked with began to decompose at an incredible rate right before her eyes.
“He’s been dead awhile. His corpse was reanimated somehow,” Larimar growled.
He glared at the approaching helicopter.
“Come on, Kim. Whoever this is, they aren’t here to help. We have to go. Now!”
“We can’t just leave him,” she said as tears pricked her eyes.
Harold might have been a shit, but this was a lousy way to die. She watched in horror as his body bloated, then shriveled. Black ooze leaked from every orifice, and his veins protruded with the sludge. The gory display was revolting, and the stench he exuded was worse.
“We have no choice, baby. Come on,” he grabbed her hand in his and they ran for the cabin.
Kimberley grabbed her wallet and the USB drive with her research on it, foregoing the laptop. Larimar tossed her his spare helmet and threw on his leather jacket and boots.
She jumped on his bike behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle, clinging tightly while he revved the engine.
“I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle,” she yelled.
“Just hold on to me, baby,” he said. “I have you. You’re safe.”
Kim knew he meant it. Out of everything that had happened to her in the last forty-eight hours, she trusted Larimar Wessex to mean it when he said he had her. She was safe in her Wyvern protector’s arms. Of that, she had no doubt.