Mine for Eternity [Council Enforcers] (Siren Publishing Classic)

would be the next person he ate. Tessa knew she didn’t stand a chance against him. She was stupid to even think she could have outsmarted the animal in the first place. Resigning herself to her fate, she watched the monster raise those wicked claws and swing them toward her chest. She sent a prayer out to whatever god or deity willing to listen to keep her son safe and let someone find him.
    Fire roared through her shoulder as his claws dragged across it leaving blinding pain in their wake. Then his weight was lifted off Tessa’s chest, allowing her to scream. There was no way she could hold back, and she cried out at the top of her lungs. Distantly she could hear her name being called, but Tessa could only focus on the white-hot pain as she continued to scream and her brain began to get foggy.
    “Tessa! Baby, wake up.”
    She felt her shoulders being shaken and frowned. Was she dead? Why was Mitch yelling at her instead of fighting off the monster?
    “Tessa, honey, come on, open your eyes.”
    She didn’t want to. She was warm and the pain was gone. Tessa didn’t want to open her eyes and see her attacker growling over her again. She would rather just lie there for as long as possible, but a whimper broke through the fog in her brain, and she opened her eyes. It took a moment for Tessa to figure out where she was. Mitch was sitting on the side of the bed staring at her with concern in his eyes, and Nico was curled up in his lap crying. It was just a dream. The thought hit her, and Tessa squeezed her eyes to keep the memories at bay.
    “Nico, come here, baby.” She reached for him, and he instantly climbed in her lap and wrapped his little arms around her neck. “Mommy just had a bad dream, baby. I’m okay now though, and I’m sorry for scaring you.”
    If Mitch being in her room and Nico scared to death wasn’t proof that she had been screaming out loud, Tessa’s raw throat was. The dream had been too real and played on her biggest fear of having to leave Nico behind.
    “You wanna talk about it?” Mitch asked quietly.
    Tessa didn’t want to, but it was time. If her dream was anything to go by, then she needed someone on her side. If not for her, then at least for Nico. If something were to happen to her, then she needed someone to be there for her son so that he wasn’t alone. Looking at Mitch, Tessa knew she wanted him to be the one to protect Nico. The man had opened his home to them, no questions asked, and had been there for them. He was good with Nico, and her son seemed to love Mitch even though they had only known him for such a short amount of time. In her opinion, kids were a good judge of character, so if Nico approved of him and trusted him, then she would put her trust in him as well. Tessa just hoped her telling him what she truly saw didn’t backfire in her face.
    Taking a deep breath, she started talking before she chickened out. “I need to tell you what else I saw that night, but I don’t want you to think I’m crazy. I’m not doing this for me though. I’m doing it for Nico. I can’t protect him, and I need help.”
    “Baby, you can tell me anything, and I promise I won’t think you’re crazy.” Mitch took her hand into his large one and gently squeezed it. “You believe in whatever you saw that night, and that’s good enough for me.”
    Mitch’s sincerity was exactly what Tessa needed to convince her to open up to him. Once she started, the whole story came pouring out. She repeated what she had already told him about getting off from work late and walking home alone. She explained what she had told the police. Then she told him what she hadn’t told anyone else. She watched Mitch’s face as she explained that the man she saw wasn’t human and how his eyes glowed and he had fangs and claws.
    Mitch never flinched the whole time she was talking. His face stayed blank, and Tessa was glad. She didn’t want to see the look of pity or even worse, for him to look at her like she was crazy. She didn’t think she would be able to stand it coming from him. When she was done, Tessa felt relief like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It seemed that all her strength and energy drained out of her as well. She had been running on her own for over two weeks. She had no support or help. It didn’t even matter if Mitch believed her or not, just knowing that someone else was in her corner was enough for her.
    Mitch was still holding her hand, but he didn’t say