Just as they cleared the doorway, Ben exploded into laughter.

"I love having a sister!" She heard him shout. Meryn felt her heart swell. She had a feeling she was going to like having a brother too, if she could stop embarrassing herself around her new family.

CHAPTER FIVE

They pulled up to a questionable looking apartment building. When Meryn got out of the car and walked past a drug dealer to check her mail he started having heart palpitations. She lived here?

He quickly got out and growled lowly at the man eyeing his mate. The man glanced up startled and kept moving down the street. The storm door was nothing but a sheet of cracked glass and rusted metal. When he stepped into the foyer, he noticed that the entryway light bulb had been removed. How convenient for a mugger. He was grateful that he wasn't able to see the state of the floor, but was concerned about the security risk the dim foyer presented. He followed her up a set of dark stairs, careful not to touch the railing. Meryn fished out her keys and went to unlock her door. The second her hand touched the knob the door moved, swinging inward slightly. She jumped back as if she had been electrocuted. Her eyes were huge when she turned to him. Pushing her behind him, he violently kicked open the door making it crash loudly into the wall. Meryn thumped his back.

"Shush, they may hear you." She whispered.

"Baby, if they're robbing the place, I want them to hear me so they leave." He explained.

"Oh. Good idea." She nodded.

"Stay here."

"Yeah, fuck that. I'm sticking to you like glue. I've seen this horror movie, the person waiting in the hallway dies." Meryn shook her head.

Aiden turned to stare at her.

"Later we're going to talk about your movie choices." He edged through the open doorway and looked around the room.

"How many rooms?" He asked.

"Main room, kitchen and bedroom with attached bath. That's it." Meryn grabbed his belt and he felt her small hand at his back.

He walked into the main room, there were no closets for anyone to be hiding in. He popped his head into the tiny, galley style kitchen. It was empty.

"Baby, stay here while I check the bedroom, okay?" She nodded. She closed the apartment door and her eyes darted around the room. He could tell she was trying to see if anything had been taken.

When he opened the bedroom door, he was immediately overwhelmed with the scent of another male. Someone had marked this room with urine and seed as his territory. Feeling sick, he pulled back the covers of the bed to find that the mattress had been slashed and semen decorated the pillows. His bear rose to the surface roaring. He barely managed to keep from shifting. Breathing through his mouth to stay calm he checked the bathroom and the closet. Both were also marked and empty.

"What's taking so long?" Meryn asked about to walk in.

"Stay out!" He barked. She looked at him with a hurt expression, but then noticed his barely contained rage. She stared past him, her eyes noticing every small detail.

"Is that ... is that semen?" She asked. He didn't answer, he didn't have to.

"I'm going to be sick." Meryn bolted down the hallway and he was right on her heels. She leaned over the kitchen sink and lost her latte. He rubbed her back. She rinsed her mouth out with tap water then stumbled to the fridge. She threw the door open and grabbed a container of orange juice. She swished the juice around her mouth before spitting that out in the sink. She took another drink and swallowed. Her hands were shaking when she put the juice back.

Aiden reached for his phone.

"What's up?" Colton asked.

"Have the Beta Unit fill in for you guys and bring Alpha to Meryn's apartment. I want the guys here five minutes ago." Aiden growled into the phone.

"Are you injured?" Colton demanded, in the background Aiden could hear Gavriel barking orders.

"I'm fine, so is Meryn. We're at the old apartment building on ninth street, apartment 3B. Just get here quick."

"On our way." Colton hung up.

"What if you hadn't found me yesterday and kidnapped me? What if I had come home to find this guy waiting for me?" Her body looked like it was trying to shake itself apart. Aiden scooped her up and sat down on the couch with her in his lap. He cuddled her close and kissed her hair.

"You were meant to be with me. It's why Fate had you climb that fence. He will never come near you, I promise you Meryn. This guy is a walking dead man." He didn't have the heart to tell her that the semen was fresh. They had missed this creep by minutes.

"Let's get you packed up. The guys will be here soon." He stood and placed her on her feet.

"How will I know what he touched? I don't want anything he ... touched." She made a face.

"I'll bring anything that carries just your scent out here for you to pack up. When that is done, you can walk through the bedroom to see if the things left are things you're willing to part with. If you want to keep those items, I will clean them for you." He lifted her chin and kissed her softly. "How's that?" He asked gently.

Her eyes filled. "You're amazing. I might be sorry I hit you with your toilet after all." Though her eyes were filled with tears she grinned.

"You're never going to let that go are you?"

"Nope."

"My little warrior." He ruffled her hair.

"I'm going to get started, let the guys in or they'll break down the door when they get here.