Chapter Fifteen
Blain
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that we can’t find anything, and no, I didn’t tell Hannah that you’re searching for the attacker because you don’t want Jules to know,” Logan assures me from the seat he occupies across from my desk.
It’s been three days, three excruciatingly frustrating and blissful days in which I’ve lied through my teeth to keep my female, mated her fully, and pretended that I am happy just to skip around the fucking house and eat cookies while those flea bags are out there living. After what they did to my female!
“I don’t know how long I can keep myself contained here, Kilter. My female seems to be oblivious to the rising tensions concerning her stay in our home, the vendors at the stores are all happily shunning her, and every fucking time I walk into one of those places, I want to rip someone to pieces just on the supposition that they’re the ones who hurt her!” I snarl, my temper rising again when he shrugs and leans back.
“Dude, you’re preaching, man. I’m not happy with the way shit’s gone down around here lately either. Trust me! You think I like investigating your ass when I know it’ll hurt Jules? I hate it and to top it off, my mate is ready to explode with three young, and she’s cried every night for the last three nights because of you. It sucks, and I don’t know what to do about it. And then this shit. Nick came to my home and suspended me because I’m looking into this for you.” He growls, taking the beer I offer him after I raid the fridge and discover a Post-It that says, Five o’clock somewhere is not five o’clock here.
Damn adorable female.
“I would think he’d be pissed about Jules being hurt.”
“He is. He’s just not happy that I’m helping you.” He laughs when I grin and shrug cheekily.
“Like I give a damn what he thinks. I’d be sorry about your suspension if I gave a fuck, but since I don’t…you all know this investigation is all about him keeping Julia and I apart.”
“No shit! My advice, man, and since I owe you for Hannah, is to stay low and not antagonize this shit until his deadline is up. Please. I can’t not report anything.”
“I thought you were suspended.”
“From active duty until I bring in proof against you! My job literally hangs in the balance of this case. If I don’t produce, I can kiss my job goodbye, or so the council has told me. Jock isn’t willing to do that; he likes his job since it gives him access to other packs and he’s searching for a female he lost…”
I grunt, grimacing when it occurs to me that other packs are more than able to give dirt on me. More specifically the Sloan pack, especially since Sloan was the only resistance council member who got out of there alive.
“Whatever. All I’m interested in now is finding those two idiots who hurt Jules, the rest can wait.”
“Yeah? Then tell me what to tell my mate when Julia asks her if she thinks it’s a good idea to get pregnant, right now? Hannah cries at the drop of a hat and—”
His phone rings, and he answers it, his face going snow white when he jumps to his feet and yells a curse.
“Hannah is going to the clinic! Apparently, she’s gone into labor, and Lync and Jules are taking her now. Come on, motherfucker!” he yells, startling me mute. “Come the hell on! I’m not sticking around here while my mate is in pain and Julia is gonna need you because you can bet your ass the Silverton bunch will all be there. Move!”
The mention of my mate has me moving and following him out the door. Mother, I hardly spare a glance but to tell her what is happening just in case she gives a damn.
We run all the way there in ten minutes, and I arrive just as Nick decides it’s time to start yelling at his daughter. Logan doesn’t stop until he’s out of view, but I do, and I snarl when the male rises and towers over my mate threateningly.
“You’re being an idiot! That asshole doesn’t give a shit about you! You’re a means to an end for him and that is it. Your life debt bullshit and Fating are all that stands between him and death.” He snarls, his face filled with anger and a need that I think I would respect if not for his tone.
Jules narrows her eyes, and I want to crow when she spits out a curse and steps back.
“Prove it, Dad!”
“What?”
“I said prove it! Did Blain hand over the formula he found to the council?”
Don’t laugh, Blain. That would not be a good idea. Oh, who am I kidding? I laugh and walk up to Jules with a shake of my head.
“Malina, don’t get upset. Come on, let’s go sit over there and relax. Hannah is all that matters right now, and besides, you shouldn’t upset yourself, you could be with young,” I croon, grinning when she closes her eyes and starts counting under her breath.
“Young?”
“Of course, young,” I say easily, smiling at him in a way I can only describe as taunting. “She is my mate after all, and these things are the result of a good mating.”
Jules stiffens against me, but I pull her closer and kiss her hair, murmuring endearments that soon have her softening. This is what I adore about my mate, she isn’t one to hold a grudge, and now that I have her and she’s willing to give me her all, she is with me. Always.
Not her family, not her Alpha, because I am hers and I am her first stop and the one she turns to. Always.
“Stop antagonizing him,” she whispers so low I hardly catch it.
“Only if he gets the fuck out of your face, baby. Otherwise all bets are off,” I tell her, keeping my voice level as I pull my eyes up to meet his.
The anger I see there doesn’t faze me. In fact, my lips twitch when I look him up and down.
“So nice of you to come over and ensure that my mate was well after your fanatics attacked her and beat her unconscious,” I drawl.
“What?!”
This time it’s Prissy who yells, and I almost laugh when she jumps up and strides towards us, glaring at her mate while trying to look Jules over. I feel a small measure of relief when the female seems concerned and goes so far as to touch Julia’s face before she steps back and growls.
“Someone hurt my baby! Some motherfucking sonofabitch laid their filthy paws on my child?” she screams, shoving him away when he tries to touch her. “Don’t. You tell me, Nick, you look at me and you tell me this isn’t true and you haven’t kept it from me.”
The male practically flinches right out of his skin and throws me a furious glare before sighing and looking down at the floor.
“I have Clarke looking into it, Prissy girl. I didn’t want to upset you about this if you couldn’t be there with her, but I swear to you, baby, I will find the animals and kill them myself,” he mutters, growling when her face crumples and tears start falling.
“How could you not tell me? How could you, Nick? Have you slipped so far already that your own child means nothing?” she sobs, pulling away when he reaches for her.
“Priss, of course not! I always watch, baby, you know that! I just can’t do anything until she comes to her senses.”
“Comes to her senses? You bag of rabies-infested fleas! Comes to her senses? The way my parents expected me to come to my senses when I wanted to mate you?” she yells furiously, causing the whole waiting room to go deathly quiet.
Nick goes still, and I see the male flush before scrubbing at his face with a groan.
“Like they had a choice! We’re Fated; we were meant to be together,” he argues, making me bite my lip to stop a laugh of triumph.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
I almost laugh when Jules pinches my stomach and glares before she turns to purse her lips and raise an eyebrow.
“Oh, and what the hell is this between me ‘n Blain? We’re Fated too, but that doesn’t seem to matter to you, Dad. He’s mine, my mate, the male I was meant to be with and you spent years lying to me about it, you and mom both!” she hisses, holding up a hand when her mom comes closer. “Don’t bother if you’re still on the hate trai
n concerning my mating. We’re together, and we’re staying that way, so either get over it or get out of the way. As for the banishment? You so much as swing a feather near my mate and banishment will be the least of my worries because I will go on a killing spree the likes of which no one, shifter or human, has ever seen. Come on, babe, let’s go grab a seat. I’m hungry.”
I’m still reeling, grinning and fighting a hard dick when I walk to the vending machine to grab Jules some potato chips and a soda. The rest of them, Banner, Barbie, and even Bear haven’t said a word about our confrontation—for which I am grateful because Julia looks ready to start swinging any minute.
I would definitely call that a victory for us, but even as I do, admitting fully that I more than enjoyed seeing the Alpha paint himself onto the train tracks, I don’t like the pain I see in her eyes when she looks at me and tries to smile.
“I’m sorry, bria. I shouldn’t have—”
“No. It’ll be a reality soon, god willing, so they need to get used to the idea. Besides, I like knowing that you want to brag on us a little. Is that what you were doing?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.
I lie through my teeth and nod before kissing her, leery to admit that my main aim was to irk the hell out of her father.
“Of course, mate. You are imminently brag worthy.”
“Oh, be still my heart,” she mocks, shoving a chip into her mouth.
By the time she’s done, I don’t know if I want young or if Hannah is just a baby because the shrieks coming from that room are unholy and bone chilling.
“I don’t know what she’s screaming for. They numbed her from the waist down and cut her open,” Cass says and laughs, making even me chuckle because that sounds like Hannah alright.
“She said she wasn’t missing out on the mandatory male bashing!” Barbie laughs which sets off the whole room.
“She told me she’s almost sad she didn’t have to push because she wanted video of her decking Logan that she could justify and enjoy,” Jules says and giggles, her delight and joy in this moment making her beautiful beyond compare.
“And you, Jules? How are you going to feel if you’re in the delivery room after your Fated is gone?” Nick mumbles, silencing the room once again.
Grim fucking Reaper—that one. Christ, even I’m not that dark, and I kill people and enjoy it. Regularly.
“Dad, just drop it, would you? I don’t want to hear about your problems now, not if you can’t be happy about three young coming into this world. Hush, and by the way, he’d better Goddamn be there or I’ll lose it, you hear. I am not bringing your grandyoung into this world knowing that you and Blain are at odds. Get over it and move on!” Jules mutters, settling into me with a sniff. “And don’t you even say anything.”
“Me? Bria, I would never point out to the exalted Alpha that he’s lost his only daughter because he’s intent on a vendetta against an elite.”
The male scowls and wisely holds his tongue when his mate glares him into silence. I’m almost certain the look he shoots me is meant to be threatening, but all I can do is grin and accept victory like a gracious male would. With a smirk.
After that things settle down to the occasional coffee run and complete silence. Two hours later, an exultant Logan strolls in with a wide grin on his face and the air of a male well satisfied with life.
“She okay? What took so long?” Brig demands, rising to walk over and shake his hand.
“She wanted a bath after the young were born, and the girl wasn’t having any of it until she got fed,” he says proudly, his face shining with delight.
“Girl?” I ask, shaking Jules awake so that she can share in this.
She sits up with a mumbled string of unintelligible words and then smiles the moment she sees Logan.
“Yeah man! Two boys, Archer and Hunter, and a little girl named Moxy. They’re all great and doing good although Han is convinced they’re too small.”
Jules practically glows, and it’s in that moment that I vow to myself that I will give her young and stay out of trouble.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t cause it, just that I’ll work harder not to get caught. Standing and taking her hand, I follow everyone down the hall and into Hannah’s room, whistling cheerily and throwing Brig a wink when he scowls at the sound.
Seems my little brother knows something about me then. I’ll have to see what I can do about that.
“They’re perfect, Hannah!”
I smirk when Julia practically pounces and grabs a young, any one that she can get her hands on, chuckling when Hannah scowls and huffs.
“Well, of course they are. Look at that hunk I made them with and look at me. It’s hard to mess with what’s already perfect, ya know.”
Even I can’t stop a bark of laughter and walk forward to kiss Hannah and congratulate her.
“This doesn’t mean I like you, brother,” she warns, grinning when I wink.
“That’s good because unrequited hatred is rather boring.”
She smiles, and I move back to lean against the wall and just wait for Julia to get over the young fever. It takes a good fifty-three minutes of mind-numbing female trilling and chatter before Logan gets fed up and tells us all to get lost.
I manage to kiss Hannah again, smiling when she tells me I’m a loser and then take my mate home with me. At least I do try, but hell, I should have guessed that walking through town was going to be a problem.
We get all the way through town, with people staring and then I take the path through the woods and grab Jules close, my hackles rising when it feels like we’re being surrounded on all sides.
She’s tense against my side as we walk, but I keep my arm around her, try to reassure her, and smile darkly at whoever thinks they’re sneaking up on me.
“Blain.”
“It’s okay, baby. Just relax and enjoy your walk,” I soothe, palming her ass as we come close enough to see the front of the house. “Go inside, malina.”
“But—”
“When I get back, I’ll do that thing with my tongue,” I purr into her ear, pulling her in for a kiss that makes me hard as hell before pushing her away to pat her ass and get her moving.
Jules looks at me with a frown, but I tap her ass again and nod to the house with a hard look to get her going.
“You better be okay.”
I grin, knowing that after tonight I’m going to be more than okay.
The first bursts out of the trees on four paws just as Jules reaches the front steps and makes a beeline for her. Stupid. God, I hate stupid people, I think, allowing a partial shift that brings forth razor sharp teeth and claws.
I move in a blur, as I run forward and swing around, swiping for his throat without one ounce of regret. The wolf goes flying back but not before I catch the satisfying scent of blood. A lot of blood.
The second was sneakier, more intelligent, and comes crawling out from beside the house, once again going for Jules, and I lunge, sinking my teeth into its neck and shake my head with a growl that almost covers the howl he lets off.
Jules screams are loud in the air, but I ignore them and swing around to grab the wolf that lunges at me, my arms closing tightly around its body before I squeeze and snap his back with a satisfied snarl of fury.
Mine! My mate, I think, madness pounding through me, as a killing rage takes me over. Die. They’ll all die, and when the bodies litter the front yard, I’ll take my mate upstairs and bite her so hard my seed won’t have any option but to take and flourish.
Bloodlust hits me when number four slowly comes out from the trees, its teeth bared in a snarl as it stalks closer, the hair on its back bristling with the urge to kill.
In this state, I’m not even a little fucking bothered. Four. Four of them have come after what’s mine, and they will all learn a lesson, every single one including those assholes in town. I’m going to kill and leave the trophies on the lawn and shove this so far up the council and Alpha’s ass they won’t know which
way to turn.
I’ll laugh and relish the shitstorm this will cause, and I sure as hell will enjoy the blowback Alpha is going to get when the entire pack finds out that the daughter he once loved so much can’t go a day without being threatened or attacked.
I keep my eyes on the mutt as he creeps closer, shifting left when he goes right and making sure the door is covered.
“You do this, and you die,” I rasp, my voice unnaturally deep.
He growls, the sound a threat that makes me smile broadly and wave my hands in a come-hither motion. He doesn’t move though, just keeps circling while I counter his moves, looking for his opportunity to strike.
I laugh then, my voice a harsh scrape of humor and shake my head ruefully. He thinks he can get the drop on me, that I’m about to let anyone through me into the house. Near my mate.
I’d rather die, I think, the thought startling me in its truth and intensity. Fuck.
He lunges just when he thinks I’m distracted by humor and I duck and roll, swiping out at his underbelly. He howls and falls to the ground, scrambling to recover. He can’t though, and I almost laugh again when he whines and starts shaking, resisting the shift.
I watch, bored and well tired of the spectacle until he’s lying on the ground in just skin with his belly pouring blood, the shift not fast enough to heal him in any way that counts.
Hendricks.
This male is a Hendricks, one of the leading mixed families in Greyriver, and if I weren’t so full of rage and the need to kill I’d feel like hell about him. He’s only twenty-two, so young and with a full life that could have been great. Unfortunately, he came after what’s mine, and for that I happily watch him bleed and gasp in the dirt.
“Your people are mistaken if you think anyone will get near my mate,” I rasp, going down on my haunches to glare down at him.
“She’s not going to live. Won’t stop until she’s gone. Traitor!” he gasps, clutching at his belly.
I’m about to tell him that the only person dying around here tonight is him, but the door flies open and Jules comes running out, dropping to her knees at my side.
Greyriver Shifters Page 109
