The Protector

Who?!

As the day went by, Alex began to relax even more. She had agreed to go shopping with Ziva for her date with Eyal the next day. Tony kept attempting to gain her attention, stopping only when she growled at him. Poor man kept himself close to Gibbs, one eye always on Alex. Tim, Eyal, and Matt had opted to go for a swim, giving all the women on the beach a show. As for Gibbs, he was currently sitting beside Alex, his mate had gone to the bathroom. Hence why she was so relaxed.

"So what do you do?" Gibbs suddenly asked.

"I am in between jobs right now." It wasn't a complete lie. At the moment she had yet to put her degrees into use. After everything that has happened, a job was the last thing on her mind. "I am just visiting for a few days, then I have to head back."

"Matt told us you came down from California was it?" Gibbs asked.

'Matt what did you tell Gibbs?'

'You came down from Oregon to visit for three days.'

"No, Oregon." A sly smirk formed on her lips. He was not about to catch her trip. "So Lisa is your wife?"

Gibbs knitted his brows together, clearly overthinking his answer. "She is technically my girlfriend, but that just sounds off. Let go with lover."

Alex cringed at the word. 'Lover is so much worse.' "I don't think she likes that wolf of yours."

"She's had a few bad encounters with Luna." Gibbs took a swing of his beer. Before she could say anything, Gibbs suddenly lunged his arm in front of her, stopping a volleyball heading towards her head. Tossing his beer on the sand, he grabbed the ball and threw it back at them. "Watch where you throw that! You almost hit her on the head!"

One of the boys shrugged. "Sorry man it was an accident."

"Damn punks." Gibbs sat back down, grumbling as he did so.

Alex placed her hand on his, offering him a small smile. "Thank you."

He placed his free hand over hers. "It's no problem."

"Alex!"

"Gibbs!"

They both turned at the call of their names. Seeing the look on Matt's face, Alex knew she was fucking up. Dusting the sand off her, she excused herself. "What?"

"You know what." Matt snapped. "I brought you along so you could interact with your team as you. Not so you could hold hands with Gibbs."

"I was simply thanking him for stopping the ball heading towards my head."

Matt sighed, cracking his head. "It doesn't matter if or how innocent the touch was. You are an unmated female in heat, marked by your other mate and allowing this mate to touch you." He grabbed her chin, he waited until she looked up at him. "You know that had he been a wolf, Nathan would have ripped his throat out."

"I know."

It wasn't uncommon for males to fight and even kill for females. Had Gibbs been a wolf, Nathan would have ripped out his throat without a second thought. And solely for the reason that he had touched her. Unmated males unless wanting a challenge were not allowed to touch marked females, much less that of an alpha.

There were many upsides to being marked. A couple being, it stopped unwanted males. Made the heat much more bearable. Made the bond between males and females much stronger. Downside? It hurt like a bitch. Anyone touches the mark and a burning sensation would travel through your entire body. If the male that marked you loses the challenge from another, the winner would either mate you then and there or place his mark over the previous one. When that happens, you are in for a night of pain, fever, and hallucinations. One of the many reasons she hoped Elston doesn't challenge Nathan.

Matt and Alex said their goodbyes only after the coast guard came to kick them out. Ziva made Alex promise her, she would meet her at Eyal's place to go shopping. Durning the processes of leaving, she caught sight of Gibbs cloning into his car. The man gave her a small wave, before driving off.

Climbing into Matt's car, she laid back into the seat. Her eyes facing the road from her window, but her mind wasn't registering anything. Not until she spotted some familiar trees, trails, and scents. Sitting up, she was surprised to find themselves at Elston's cabin.

"Matt, what are we doing here?"

Matt pointed to the clock on his dash. It currently reads 2:13 am "It's already day two, you need to talk to Elijah now."

Alex was scared, nervous, and upset with herself. Scared in seeing how he will react to the news. Nervous in telling him. Upset because she was about to break a good man's heart. 'Why did this have to be me? Why couldn't the universe simply allowed me to meet Nathan first.' Taking in a deep breath, she pushed open the car door and jumped out. "You will be here?"

Matt nodded. "Of course. If you need me, just call me."

'Okay, I can do this.'

Before she reached the first step, Elston stood on the porch. His smile causing her gut to twist in remorse. Taking a step closer, Alex saw his eyes shift from, happy, to confused, to angry. No longer were they the sweet honey-colored ones, but red.

"Elston..."

"Who marked you?" His body was tensed and his hands were clenched to his side. A growl rumbled from deep in his chest. His eyes were bright red. She could tell he tried to remain calm, but he was struggling.

"Let's talk inside." Alex didn't want him shifting in such a state of mind. A mad wolf was bad. A mad werewolf was even worse. Blood and rampage are what followed a loose werewolf. "I will explain everything inside."

"Explain?" Elston scoffed. "Explain what? That you have decided to throw everything we had into the trash? And for what, for the first male that walked across your eyesight?" He stepped down, standing inches from her face. "I gave up my life, my career for you! I came back for you! I gave you my life and all my love!"

"Calm down!" Alex growled. "If you want to yell instead of talking that's fine. Yell all you want, but I am telling you now, I will not tell you who I am mating." As she made a move to leave, he was quick to block her path. "Elston move."

"Tell me, tell me what I did wrong? What I didn't do? What I should have done." He grabbed her hands, holding them tightly in his. "Tell me what I did wrong to lose you."

Alex felt her heart shattered at seeing such a look of defeat in his eyes. Pulling her hand away from his. She cupped his chiseled jaw. "You did nothing wrong. I know everything you did, you did it thinking of me. But even after the so many obstacles we have been through, it wasn't meant to be." She wiped away the single tear falling from his eye. "With the will of destiny, I have found my mate. I am pretty sure I have lost Gibbs, I will not lose this one."

"Who is it?" Elston asked once more, growling as she once more denied him the answer. "I will find out Alex one way or another. So best you tell me now who marked you?!"

"I did."