by Tl Reeve
“Nah. It ain’t. It’s Caden’s. He made this situation and no disrespect, Alpha, he needs to right it. Not you. Not Jace or Keeley. It’s got to be Caden, and it’s got to be soon. Getting sober and pulling his head out of his ass is a start in the right direction. He still has a long road ahead of him. She’s not going to let him come crawling back into her bed just because. Needing him or not.”
Kalkin sighed and nodded. “He has a lot to make up for.” What an understatement. “To all members of my pack. Especially his mate and children. He has an idea.”
Rapier reached for his beer bottle. “Ideas are okay, but actions speak way fucking better,” Rapier said before bringing the bottle to his lips to finish the contents. “He has his mate standing right in front of him and does nothing.”
“He’s going to need your assistance.” The Alpha wolf shifter eyed him wearily.
“Then he should stop being a pussy and come ask me himself.”
“Caden isn’t aware of this meeting, Rapier.” Kalkin pulled one of the two stools out from under the countertop and sat. “Mackenzie told me of the fight between you two today. My younger brother is jealous. Worried the big bad lion is touching his mate. I thought maybe I could smooth the way for him with you when I counsel him on his idea.”
“Fuck him.” Rapier grabbed two more beers from the fridge then set one in front of Kalkin.
“Caden would be opposed to that, but Jace might be willing,” Kalkin quipped. Rapier didn’t comment, just tore off the twist top and guzzled the beer from the bottle as he leaned against the counter. “What are your intentions toward Danielle?”
“You asking for your asshole brother or you asking as Alpha?” Rapier inquired.
Kalkin was silent. For long moments, he studied Rapier, perhaps figuring out the best way to deal with Rapier. He couldn’t blame the Alpha, he’d do the same if he were in charge. “Depends. Which one would make you answer?”
“Neither?”
Rapier understood all of his flirting and all of his pissing in Danielle’s general direction grabbed all of the Raferty brothers’ attention. It hadn’t endeared him to any of them and Rapier could give two shits. Being Alpha gave him that ability.
Kalkin snorted, “Figured.”
“That’s it then?”
“Did you expect me to pull you out into the front yard and beat the shit out of you for the answer?” Kal placed his massive forearms on the countertop and pulled the bottle between his hands.
“Well” —Rapier took another sip of his beer— “from what I hear from the other members of the pack, it’s entirely possible.”
“Nah. Mating and having pups have mellowed me.” Somehow Rapier seriously doubted it, but he didn’t say a word. Kalkin lifted the bottle to his lips, took a long swallow then tilted his head to the side. “Who is Jasmine?”
Gods damn it.
He had heard and was just waiting for the right moment.
“You asking as my Alpha?” Rapier’s gaze dropping to his bottle.
“Actually, no, Rapier. I’m not. I am asking as friend,” Kalkin replied and Rapier didn’t miss the concern in the other man’s voice.
Now it was his turn to sigh. Saber always said he would need to trust someone about Jasmine and what he did to protect her. Rapier knew Kalkin was that someone. “My mate.” Rapier could barely force the words past his lips.
Kalkin hissed. “You lost a mate?”
He snorted. If. Only. “To my knowledge my mate still breathes and is somewhere between here and Los Angeles.” Rapier rubbed his thumb back and forth over the label on his bottle. “Raymond Quincy not only decimated my Pride—confiscating my lands and leaving us homeless—his scorched earth campaign forced me to do something I regret every day of my life. Your brother’s fucking lucky. He gets to see Danielle every day. If he chooses to. Breathe in her scent and know she lives. He gets to see how his pups are growing.” Rapier couldn’t help but flinch at his wistful tone. “Not all of us have such luxury.”
“You had no other choice,” Kalkin muttered.
Rapier realized Kalkin was a smart, compassionate Alpha, and it was why he trusted Mackenzie when he told Rapier about Window Rock. He should have had an issue, like a feeling of failure or something, before turning his Pride over to the other Alpha; instead, it felt right. Coming to Window Rock, being with the Rafertys had been the best thing he’d done.
“No, I didn’t. Her and my cubs, I do not even know if I have sons or daughters, are my everything.” Rapier’s voice trembled with emotion.
“I could make some inquiries. Keeley can help. My mate” —Kal snorted— “believe it or not is a talented computer hacker. She and your cubs could be brought here. There is safety in numbers, and Raymond Quincy wouldn’t fuck with me. They’ll be safe. Protected. I’ll make the same promise for them as I made for you.”
“I won’t risk my family. It’s safer for them to remain hidden till Quincy no longer resides on this earth.”
“I have a feeling you’re not telling me everything,” Kal said.
True. It’s safer this way. For all of them. “I have no interest in Danielle, other than being a concerned friend,” he admitted.
“And perhaps to bug the piss out of my brother?” Kal asked.
“Yeah, well that’s a given. He’s easy to rile up.”
Kal smiled. “Yeah. He is. I have to ask, is Dani aware your feelings are purely platonic?”
“They’re mated. It is impossible for her to have sex with me, just as it is impossible for me to have sex with her. She knows this.”
Kalkin didn’t say anything.
“Are you shitting me? No one has explained to her how mating works? Surely her sister has explained…” Kalkin shook his head and it dawned on Rapier. Danielle might believe he was interested in her, in a sexual way, as a mate. “Shit.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Kalkin said.
“Yeah, no. Sorry, Alpha, this is my mess and I’m a big boy. I’ll talk to her tomorrow, explain it as gently as I can. Also, if Caden requires my help, I will assist him in any way I can. I’ll even try to be nice.” Rapier grinned. He’d be nice, but he’d still wouldn’t stop poking at the other man. It was too much fun.
“When he comes to you, Rapier,” Kalkin stated.
“If you say so. Personally, I gotta be honest and tell you, I’ll believe it when I see it,” Rapier replied, before finishing the rest of his beer. “I gotta another six pack, Alpha. You wanna hang? We can go outside and finish them off under the stars or some shit.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Kalkin said, standing. He kicked the stool back under the countertop.
Rapier snagged the full six pack and walked out the back door and onto the deck. Kal followed, typing away on his phone.
“Keeley okay?” Rapier sat on one of the eight loungers spread out on the big deck.
“Yeah. Just letting her know where I am.” Kalkin smirked. “She wants me to call Royce or another deputy to bring me home, since I’m drinking.”
Rapier laughed. “You need to educate your mate a bit more about being a shifter. You’d have to drink a helluva lot of beer to get drunk.”
There was a misnomer about shifters and alcohol. Shifters could get drunk, it just took obnoxious amounts of alcohol to do so. The few beers they planned to drink would barely register if they were to take a blood alcohol test, much less get them drunk.
“Yeah. I’ll get around to that one of these days.” Kalkin took the beer offered to him. “Maybe.”
Chapter Four
If one more person asked if Danielle was okay, she’d scream. As it stood, it had taken every bit of her strength to walk out of the diner with her head held high after her son, Aiden, made it his priority to watch her eat a sandwich. Between both boys, sure, she’d skipped a meal here and there, but both Nic and Aiden needed her more than she needed to eat. Besides, she ate when she could. Might not be the best of situations, but she was dealing, and damn it, doing it on
her own.
What the fuck are you saying? She berated herself. Your sons want a happy, healthy mom, not this. Well, for now, until Nicolas grew a bit stronger and she healed a bit more, this was how things were going to go. She could deal with the repercussions later. Right now she had to focus on the boys and making sure they were taken care of.
Jace, surprisingly, announced earlier in the morning he had the day off. He instructed her to take a little time for herself, while he watched the boys. He’d been a natural with Aiden and Nic. She’d also seen a growing change in his demeanor since the death of Hazel and Simon. He talked a little more. Looked a little less pale. There’d been a spark in his blue eyes she’d never seen before. Unfortunately, it didn’t mean he’d be talking to anyone about his lover or the fact he had a son living with Loraine.
We all have our secrets. Things we don’t wish to lay bare for everyone to see and judge. You should know that above everyone else. Danielle did. Hello, she hid her pregnancy for as long as she could before telling any of the Rafertys. Then when she had, Kalkin went berserk. He made her tell him and Keeley the whole story of what happened between Caden and her.
Danielle’s lip trembled.
No. Don’t do it. He’s not worth your tears.
Anyway, she didn’t know who’d been more upset, Kalkin or Keeley. Both appeared ready to kill Caden; however, they’d already relegated him to the hotel by then. Instead, Jace and Royce had been committed to helping her as much as she wanted. Both men moved into the house for some time, before Royce moved into the newly built apartments closer to the Sheriff’s Department.
Jace stayed though. He didn’t leave her side. Hence why she stood outside the old, tan stucco facade building, staring at her sister through the glass door. The wooden facing above the entrance had been freshly painted, she suspected by one of the Dryer men or Mackenzie. Inside, Bodhi brought Keeley objects from a container next to where he stood, while she continued to talk to the boy. Ever since they found out who Bodhi belonged to, she and Keeley had made it a habit and a point of spending as much time with him as they could.
You’ve been neglecting him too...
She took a deep breath. Damn.
Since Keeley moved into Kalkin’s house, her sister removed all of her computers from the basement of the house they’d shared and brought them to the business property. Keeley and Jerome were working on a few things, and according to Keeley, once she was able to concentrate on something other than lactation schedules and bath times with the twins, she’d be back to work in cyber security. For now, her sister spent a couple of hours a day, while one of the Raferty men watched the twins, installing everything she’d need to run her business.
When she’d visited Keeley the other day, her sister had happily explained her new venture. Of course, she used the whole “classified” spiel with her, but Danielle got the jest of it. She liked it. A database for all the shifter orphans and those who were special. The information bank would be a way to get shifters to safe places they could call home if they desired or keep tabs on them if they were older. If Keeley and she were able to secure enough donations through rigorous fundraising, they would try to open small accounts across the country where these young shifters could go, to at least be able to withdrawal small amounts of money for food and essentials. Keeley was determined to fix what the Paranormal Bounty Hunters broke. Only they’d be doing so on the down-low.
And, what was she doing? Trying to keep my head above water. Danielle had all these abilities and could do everything Keeley could, but she hid them. She’d conditioned herself, even now, to hold her gifts in check so not to freak anyone or, worse, burn herself out. Maybe, she needed to stop putting herself last. Maybe, she should be doing something for herself as well. But what? She didn’t have to decide now, she could wait. She had plenty of time.
Until then, she’d spend her time at the orphanage, helping all those who needed it most. She’d give her boys as much as they needed from her, and she’d forge a new future for herself. She’d make an adventure for her family. As she reached for the door to Keeley’s shop, she stopped short when a young girl, well she said young, she was probably older than she appeared, edged in front of Danielle. The girl had long, thick wavy chocolate-brown hair and vivid hazel eyes. She wore a trendy silk blouse and stylish jeans, which hugged her petite curvy body. In a way, she reminded Danielle of Keeley. “Miss Danielle?”
“Yes? Do I know you?” Had she crawled so far into herself she’d forgotten the beautiful girl standing before her? Had she promised her something?
“My friend and I heard about what you’re doing for the orphans here in Window Rock.” She grasped for something behind her back. “Gosh, this is so unprofessional, but I hadn’t expected to see you or Miss Keeley, this was pure luck...” She cleared her throat. “Sorry, I ramble when I’m nervous. My name is Charisma Winters.”
Danielle cocked her head to the side. Winters? As in the senator? Could it be? “I’m sorry, did you say Winters, as in Senator Jackson Winters, senator from the fourth congressional district here, in Arizona?” There’d been some rumblings about the good Senator taking over the judiciary committee in congress and wanting to open a full-scale investigation into the government funding for PBH and also the alleged money laundering committed by the officials running PBH. It would seem after the agency had been shuttered, a money trail was found leading to different off-shore accounts. He’d also been an advocate for the shifter community, and it seemed a budding one for psychics too.
“Keeley does the same when she’s nervous. It’s good to meet you, Charisma.” Danielle grinned, trying to ease the young girl. She pointed to the paper in the girl’s hand. “What do you have there? Is this for me?”
“Y-yes!” Charisma handed her two resumes. “I don’t know when you’re going to open the orphanage, but I would like to apply. Actually, Marie Medina—my best friend—and I would.”
For the first time, Danielle noticed the girl standing across the street pretending not to pay attention. She grinned, peeking down at the professional resume. “Are you planning to go to college or are you taking classes now?” She didn’t want to be presumptuous about their ages.
“Oh yes, ma’am, we are. We’re already enrolled at Window Rock Community College. We can both get our desired degrees there, so working and going to school won’t be a big deal,” Charisma answered. “I’m studying to be a teacher. It doesn’t matter the grade level at all.”
Danielle nodded. “And your friend?”
“I think intake. For hospitals or in the mental health field.” The young girl folded her hands in front of her. “We want to help. Both of us have lived here a majority of our lives and, well, after hearing about what happened to you and your sister, we had to step forward and offer our assistance.”
Though she believed the good senator was human and perhaps a psychic null—someone who had no psychic gifts like she and Keeley or others in town—Danielle still had to be careful. These girls would see some interesting—in every sense of the word—things, with these kids, whether they were shifter or psychic, or both. And, though Winters might be accepting of them, it didn’t mean everyone would, even his daughter. She mulled over the pros and cons of having the girls work for them. If they were going to work for her and Keeley, she had to test the waters, make sure the girls were open to the idea of who they’d be taking care of.
“Who is Kalkin Raferty?” Danielle started with something basic.
“Alpha of the Raferty pack and Sheriff of Apache County.” The girl grinned, then laughed softly. “I might be human, Miss Danielle, but I’m not blind to what happens around here. I go to school with shifters—teachers and students.”
“What do you think of humans who have abilities?” She pressed.
“I have to confess, you and your sister, Miss Keeley, are the first people I have ever met with psychic abilities. We’re not afraid, if that’s what you’re asking.” Danielle opened herself up to the girl.
Curiosity and honesty greeted her. Charisma had been telling the truth. She also caught a thread of admiration and maybe wonderment, but why?
I think she likes you. Her sister’s voice drifted through her mind.
Why?
Keeley snorted. Oh, Dani. She laughed. What does she want?
To work for us. I’ll explain in a minute. “I’ll talk to Keeley.” She looked at the resume again. “I’ll give you a call in a couple of days.” Danielle hated when potential employers said such then didn’t follow through. “And, I mean it. I’m not blowing you off, promise.”
The girl relaxed. “Thank you. I appreciate it. We both do.”
“No problem.” Danielle gave a small wave as the girl hurried back across the road.
“Who was that?” Keeley greeted her at the door as she stepped inside.
“A couple of college students who want to work for us,” Danielle answered. “She gave me their resumes. Said they heard about what we’re doing and wanted to help out.”
Still shocked the girl had even approached her, she stared down at the 12pt Times New Roman font on simple white paper. Why would the daughter of a senator want to work for someone local when she could have any job in Washington as an intern? Could he have asked his daughter to investigate them?
Now you’re being paranoid.
“Wait...Winters? As in Senator Jackson Winters?” Keeley stared up at her, the same concern filling her reflected in her sister’s gaze.
“Yeah. She’s a null,” Danielle whispered. “She was honest, and a bit curious about me...us.”
Keeley sighed, and then smiled. “There’s the Danielle I know and love. It’s about time you allowed your little feelers out for something other than pain.”
Had she been doing such? “Whatever.” She returned to the subject at hand. “What do you think?”
“Well, you read her. I think it should be what you want to do.”
Keeley hardly ever deferred to her. The last major decision she made, Keeley and Danielle had stayed in Window Rock to face Simon and Hazel one last time. In some ways, it had been the best decision they’d made, in others, like now, it’d been the worst. Don’t go there. “I’m not sure I can be trusted to make this judgement call.”
