SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Twelve: Halloween
“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Maverick asked, turning to look at Lyra as they drove toward her parents’ mansion.
Lyra turned to him, a puzzled look on her face. “What’s tomorrow?”
Maverick laughed and shook his head. “Halloween.”
“Oh!” Lyra chuckled. “I don’t know, didn’t really have plans.”
Maverick nodded and grinned. “Would you like to join me and the others? Halloween is our favorite holiday, and we always watch horror films and go outside to watch trick-or-treaters.”
Lyra smiled. “I love horror films.”
He laughed, “of course, you do.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He shook his head. “One of the many things I have in common with my mate.”
She smiled. “Oh,” she said, turning to face front again. “I like that we have so much in common.”
He sighed, still smiling. “So do I.”
They rode the rest of the way to the Williams’ Estate in a comfortable silence. When he parked the truck, he turned to her.
“You didn’t answer if you would like to join us.”
She looked at him and grinned. “I would love to. But are you sure your friends wouldn’t mind?”
He grinned. “You’re my mate. They are probably dying to tell you all of my wicked secrets.”
She opened and closed her mouth, then raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you have secrets?”
He chuckled, “not anymore.” He winked at her, then turned and hopped out of the truck.
Before Lyra could open her door, he was on the other side of the truck, opening her door for her and offering her a handout.
Lyra smiled and accepted his hand, jumping down to the pavement.
“Okay, everyone, act normal,” Tony said, joining Maverick and Lyra at the truck.
Maverick grinned and placed his arm over her shoulders. “I guess we don’t have to fake our relationship anymore,” he whispered into her ear.
She smiled up at him, and the group made their way to the mansions’ front door.
Everyone went about their day as if it was a normal, regular—no one is out to kill you—kind of day.
~🎃~
“So, which horror are we watching?” Lyra asked, following Maverick into the living room of Andrew’s house.
“You get to pick,” Andrew said, grinning at her. “Newcomer always gets to pick the first movie.”
“Oh,” Lyra said with a grin. “Are there movies to choose from?”
Andrew pointed behind her. Lyra turned, and her mouth dropped open. Behind her was a large shelf covered with every horror movie imaginable. Even some easy thrillers.
“Ooookaaay,” she said, staring at the movies.
“Which one gets your blood-curdling?” Daniel asked from across the room.
Lyra looked through the movies and grinned when she found what she was looking for. She picked it up and passed it over to Andrew.
Andrew laughed when he saw the film she had picked.
“Okay then,” he said with a nod, then turned and headed to the large T.V. on the other side of the room.
“What did our little human pick?” Daniel asked excitedly.
Andrew held up the case, and Daniel burst into laughter.
“Killer Clowns from Outer Space?” Maverick asked Lyra, his left eyebrow raised.
Lyra shrugged. “The shower scene had me afraid of showers for three years.”
Maverick clicked his tongue while the others laughed.
“Hey, I was six,” Lyra said, pointing at them.
“Too young to watch a horror film,” Maverick said with a frown.
Lyra shrugged her shoulders. “Mickie’s parents were out; the girl watching us was too busy with her bubble gum and boyfriend. We wanted to see what was so scary about clowns.”
Daniel and Andrew chuckled; Maverick pulled Lyra into his arms and laughed against her hair.
“I vote, IT, for the next film,” Daniel said, raising his hand.
“A clown theme on Halloween,” Andrew said with a grin. “I love it.”
“First, we’re going out to watch trick-or-treaters, then we’ll come back for the second film,” Maverick said, sitting down on the couch and pulling Lyra down next to him.
“Fine,” Daniel grumbled.
They watched the film, and Lyra only hid her face once. When the blood started dripping from the showerhead, she hid in the crook of Maverick’s arm. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. They watched the rest of the movie wrapped in each other’s arms.
When the movie was over, they left the house and headed down the street.
Lyra loved watching the kids trick-or-treat, and seeing all the imaginative costumes was the light of her night. Once they returned to the house, Andrew popped in IT.
Lyra fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Maverick lifted her into his arms when it was over.
“Thank you for including Lyra tonight,” Maverick whispered to his friends.
Andrew grinned. “She’s your mate. She’s a part of the group now.”
Maverick grinned, said his goodnights, and left. He placed Lyra into the truck, buckled her in, then shut the door. He rounded the truck and opened his door, then spun around, expecting to find Andrew or Daniel behind him. But he didn’t see who was there. A metal bar smashed into his face, knocking him on his ass against the truck.
The man standing over him laughed through the mask he wore over his face.
“Big bad Shifter taken down by a puny human?”
Maverick snarled and pulled himself to his feet.
“Maverick!”
Maverick turned when he heard Lyra’s scream. Another man had opened her door and was yanking her out of the truck.
“Lyra!”
“Don’t worry about her. She’s ours,” the man who had attacked Maverick said, pulling out a gun and pointing it at Maverick’s back.
Maverick turned and snarled at the man. The man pulled the trigger and stared when the bullet bounced off the large Shifter. Emerald roared as he came to the surface and tore the man’s head off. He moved around the truck to get to their mate, but it was too late. The other man didn’t wait for his partner, he shoved Lyra into a van, and the driver sped away.
Emerald started to shift. He didn’t care who saw him—their mate needed him. He roared as his wings expanded out.
“Emerald!” Andrew hollered as he and Daniel ran out of the house.
“They have our mate!” Emerald thundered, spreading his wings wide.
“Who does?” Daniel asked, running to the truck. He stopped when he saw the headless man. “Ah fuck, Emerald.”
“Go get her!” Andrew shouted. “We will take care of this shit.”
Emerald roared as he took off into the night sky.
~🎃~
“What do you mean my daughter is missing?!” Albert demanded, bellowing in Tony’s face.
Tony closed his eyes and counted to ten, then opened them again to an enraged father.
“Maverick is in the sky hunting her and her captors down as we speak. We will find her, I promise.”
Albert snarled, “I knew I should have bowed out!”
Tony moved into the human’s face. “Look at what kind of people you are running up against! If they would do this to your innocent daughter, imagine what they will do to the city!”
Albert opened his mouth and closed it again, then shook his head and started pacing the room.
“Maverick will find her. I can guarantee that,” Andrew said, watching Lyra’s father pace his living room.
Albert stopped pacing and glared at the Shifter. “And how can I be sure that my daughter’s safety is his number one priority? He fucking lost her while she was under his protection!”
“And he is going to regret that for the rest of his life, sir. But I promise you. He won’t stop until he finds her and destroys all those who dared touch her.”
“Look. I know Maverick likes my daughter, but he barely knows her….”
“He more than likes her, Mr. Williams. He is bound to her,” Tony said.
Andrew and Daniel glared at Tony.
Tony shrugged his shoulders. “He should know why Maverick will turn every rock upside down, burn every house in his path until he is reunited with Lyra.”
Daniel grumbled, and Andrew watched the future mayor. Tony is correct. If the other man becomes mayor, they may as well say goodbye to their town.
“Maverick is going to kill me for telling you this.” Andrew sucked in a breath. “Maverick and Emerald will do everything in their power to find Lyra because she is their mate.”
Albert opened and closed his mouth.
“I knew it.”
The group of men turned to Janessa Williams.
Janessa laughed, “I could see there was something between them at the Halloween party. Then a few nights ago—when his Dragon dropped her off. Dragons don’t show themselves to just anyone, do they?” she asked, looking at Andrew and Daniel. “Or we would see more Dragons around.”
Andrew and Daniel nodded.
Janessa looked at her husband. “Emerald will do everything to find our daughter. He’s a Dragon after all,” she said with a grin. “And he is our daughter’s mate.”
Albert shook his head and sighed. “When he finds our daughter, I want to have a word with him.”
Andrew grinned. “Yes, sir.”
“Let’s go help Emerald. He’s going to need backup,” Tony said, heading for the door.
“The Wolves are following her scent,” Daniel said as they made their way to the door.
“You two need to take to the sky and find Emerald, see if he has sensed her,” Tony said, nodding to the two Dragons.
Andrew and Daniel nodded and headed out the door to shift into their Dragons.
~🎃~
Lyra sat in a chair in a room—alone. A shiver ran down her spine every time she thought of the two men who had driven her to this location. When they had placed a pillowcase over her head, she had thought it was the end for her. But they were hiding their location.
She smiled to herself.
It doesn’t matter if she knows where they are. Her Dragon will find her. Not to mention she has Wolf Shifters watching her back as well. They will sniff her out in no time. And Emerald? Well, they better hope he doesn’t burn them. Because you can’t take a Dragon’s mate without repercussions.
The door opened, and Lyra jumped to her feet.
The man grinned at her. He was no longer wearing the mask, which worried her that they didn’t plan to let her go. Great, even if her father drops out of the running, they plan to kill her. Why else would they let her see their face?
“Hello, beautiful,” the man said, his crooked teeth looking like fangs in the dim lighting.
“You really should let me go,” she said, watching him move closer to her.
The man laughed. “Really? And why is that?”
“Because my protectors will come for me, and I can’t say what they will do to you.”
He laughed, “your “protector” is dead. I saw Fernando shoot him before I shoved you into the van. And Fernando never misses.”
Lyra let out a quiet whimper. No, she can’t let his words affect her. Maverick is a fucking Dragon. He has to have some kind of protection against firearms. Right?
“Awe. Were you close?” he asked with a snicker.
Lyra snarled at the asshole. She refuses to believe that Maverick and Emerald are dead. Not from a simple gunshot.
“He’s not dead, and he’s going to tear you apart.”
The man moved faster than a human should be able to and slammed her back against the wall.
Lyra squealed as pain shot through her back and ribs.
“You’re going to pay for that mouth of yours,” he said with a smirk. “And I know just how you can pay.”
Lyra screamed as he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed. She turned around on her knees and moved to the other side, but he caught her leg and dragged her to him. He grinned as he unfastened his pants and pulled out his cock.
“Suck it, bitch,” he growled, taking hold of her hair and shoving her face at his dick.
Lyra gagged at the sight and smell of the penis. Fuck, Maverick has ruined her for every dick out there.
“I said suck it!” he growled, pushing her closer to his dick.
Lyra turned her head away from his cock, and he slapped her.
Pain shot through her cheek and into her eye. Damn, she has never been slapped before.
“Fine, you don’t want to suck me off, then I will fuck you,” he growled, tossing her onto her back on the bed.
Lyra tried to get away, but he was too heavy as his body came down on top of her. One of his hands pulled on her pants while the other squeezed her tit. She closed her eyes and prayed that Maverick would find her soon.
When she heard her pants tear, she felt a tear slide down her cheek.
At least she lost her virginity to her mate.