by Jo Penn
Holy shit! If he weren’t stunned, and possibly worried what the hell these creatures were planning to do to him, he might have been memorizing the three hunks who reminded him of a mix of bodybuilders and bears. Or, he might have yelled at the one who grabbed him and threatened to call the cops. Edward did have a bit of a temper, and he absolutely hated anyone who pushed others around. It was a real turn off, and lit the wick on his already fast to ignite anger.
“Is there a problem, Second Croggen?” one of the security people asked.
“Nope, no problem, Carla. Actually, do you have a staff or conference room free at the moment?” the big man in the middle asked.
It was the same man who had grabbed Edward out of the lift. Edward pulled his backpack closer and reached inside his right pocket for his phone. He may need to call the police for he sure as hell didn’t want to go anywhere with these three big brutes.
Then it sunk in what the security woman had said. Second Croggen. Second was a term used in the local pack and with other paranormal groups. It was some sort of title and position, a high up one. Edward darted a look at the man who grabbed him and saw the security woman pass him a key card. He gulped loudly and looked around. His attention was snagged by the uniform one of the three very nearly identical men was wearing.
It was a police uniform. A deputy, constable or officer, or whatever they were called here. Well, it looked like Edward was shit out of luck getting help from local law enforcement.
“Honeybun?” The man who had been eating the honeybun held out a large brown bag.
Edward slowly shook his head, eyes wide. “Err…no, thank you. Umm, what’s going on?”
The man in the law enforcement uniform grinned and flopped down in the chair beside him, sticking out his hand. “Hi, I’m Trekk Croggen, part-time officer for the Milson City Centre police. You’re not under arrest, so chill.”
“Ahh, okay, that’s good. Then why did that man grab me?” And under his breath. “And why aren’t you arresting him for assault at the very least?”
“Well, you keep getting away from him, and this time, as he’s finally managed to scent you, he wasn’t going to let you slip away.” Trekk winked. “And I can’t arrest my brother, that’s just wrong, dude.”
Edward muttered about weird creatures quietly and decided that if he weren’t under arrest, he was out of here. But as he went to stand, Second Croggen pinned him with those honey hazel eyes and reached out. Trying to evade the hand seemed like a good idea, until the big paranormal growled low, scarring Edward witless. So much so, he froze immediately and shrunk into himself.
“Hey, hey. You’re okay,” a deep voice rumbled close to Edward.
When he felt hands rubbing up and down his arms, Edward blinked a couple of times and jerked away. Second Croggen held his hands up and smiled, in probably what he thought was a gentle way, but was more like a toothy leer. Well, that’s what it seemed like to Edward.
Annoyed over being scared by the creature, he pointed at the bigger man. “Don’t you touch me! If there’s a problem, I would think you wouldn’t go around grabbing humans, you’d approach and discuss whatever the issue is like a reasonable, sane whatever paranormal you are, instead of displaying inappropriate behavior.”
The very similar looking men all stared at him, brows shooting up. Edward snorted in disgust and grumbled about annoying, bossy paranormals. Then he spotted River Aston leaning against a wall watching and looking remarkably amused and relaxed. Edward narrowed his eyes on the charming man and stormed over, jabbing a finger in the Croggen’s direction.
“I want to press charges. Is that what you do? That man, the one the security guard called Second Croggen, pulled me off the elevator and caused me physical harm and mental anguish.”
River straightened and gave a very smooth smile. “Yes, I did witness you being removed from the lift, Edward. As did Alpha Urian, Enforcer Drax Charmers, and the dozens of others who stopped to gawk. Why don’t we move along to the conference room security have made available to us?”
Looking around, Edward finally noticed the dozens of people and creatures all watching avidly. Well, that was embarrassing. He glared at Second Croggen, blaming the man for this and everything that came after. As he was guided along by Attorney River Aston, Edward had a sudden realization and cleared his throat a little nervously. He had a bad feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Ah, what exactly does Second mean?”
Security opened a door off the lobby and led them through a labyrinth of halls to a large conference room.
“Second generally means second in command or charge of a group. In this case, Tripp Croggen is the Second of the Starters wolf pack,” River explained, and waved Edward to the seat beside him. “Tripp and his two brothers—they are triplets—are bear shifters. Big brown bears. Allow me to make introductions.”
Edward managed to keep his expression relatively neutral when he really just wanted to curl his top lip and snap at the man who was too smooth for Edward’s taste, and enjoying this way too much. River’s lips twitched as he sniffed the air near Edward before waving a hand across the table to where a few creatures had pulled up seats and sat.
“Tripp Croggen, Second for the Starters pack. Beside him on the right is Tredd Croggen, one of his triplets. On the other side is Tripp’s other triplet, Trekk Croggen, and I believe he introduced himself. Next to Trekk is Alpha Urian Starters of the Starters pack, and beside him is Enforcer Drax Charmers.” River glanced at Edward and quirked a brow. “Are you aware what an Enforcer does?”
“Yeah.” Edward wrapped the earbud cords around his MP3 player. “I’m unsure what I did to provoke an attack by Second Croggen.”
River sat and waved a hand at Tripp. “Why don’t you take the floor, Tripp?”
Edward looked across the table and was a little overwhelmed, and honestly, impressed with the sight of the triplet bears. Once he heard the name Croggen, he was well aware of who they were. It was well known through Milson Valley—and probably a lot of other places, as well—that the Croggen triplets were bear shifters and high up in the bear shifter council, as well as the Starters pack. One was even mated to a Lord in the Sanchez pride.
Tredd had longish hair that fell in silky soft waves around his face to his ears, and was a warm brown color, quite different from any Edward had seen. Tripp’s hair was to his shoulders and pulled back loosely, a few strands escaping and hanging around his broad face with a prominent nose, firm chin, and handsome features. Tripp had a short, scruffy beard just around his chin and mouth. Trekk’s hair was shorter than Tripp and Tredd’s, but still longish with an abundance of curls and waves. If it weren’t for the hair, Tripp’s beard and their mannerisms, Edward doubted anyone could tell the difference between the brothers, what with their six foot seven big framed muscular builds and similar looks.
“You know what a mate is, Edward?” Second Tripp Croggen asked quietly, watching Edward intently.
Immediately, Edward was alarmed and jumped up, clutching his backpack to his chest with one hand and pointing accusingly at Tripp with the other.
“Oh, hell, no! I’m no one’s mate! That’s not what you’re saying, right?” He was sort of praying that was not what the bear was saying.
Tripp rubbed his bristly jaw, watching Edward with mild curiosity. “I’m saying you’re my mate.”
This was a disaster! Drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, as per his psychologist’s instructions when he felt he was out of his depth, Edward sat back down and looked at River.
“Can I make him prove it? And what are my rights? I’ve heard humans don’t have any rights when it comes to a paranormal claiming a mate, but there has to be laws protecting people.”
River nodded calmly. “There are numerous laws. In answer to your first question, Tripp can easily prove he is your mate by claiming you and leaving his claiming mark on your body. It is said to be extremely pleasurable receiving a mate claiming mark.”
>
Edward at first was startled, and may have given an embarrassing shriek of alarm, but then he glared drolly at the smiling lawyer. “Might be best I get a lawyer who’s not a paranormal.”
River grinned widely. “Vinn was right, damn demon usually is. You, Edward Nelson, do not particularly like creatures.”
Edward quickly glanced at the bear triplets to see the shared look of surprise. He couldn’t help it. He had a tendency to be a bit of a bitter bastard at times when confronted with what really irritated or upset him. Like this situation. He did not want to be the mate of some paranormal!
Smirking at the bears, he nodded. “Nope, not a creature lover. I’m out of here—”
“Sit down.” Alpha Urian Starters, a big wolf, rose and pointed to the chair Edward had just vacated. When the wolf narrowed his eyes, Edward was quick to sit. He felt like a yo-yo. But the hairs standing up on the back of his neck warned him the Alpha was not someone he wanted to mess with. “Let’s get a few points straight right from the start. Regardless of whether you like us creatures or not, you still have to obey the laws that govern each and every one of us. There are very specific mateship rules that come into force if you’re not willing to mate with Tripp. Do you understand, Edward?”
Sulkily, Edward jerked a nod. “I want my own lawyer.”
“There are four excellent human lawyers in my law firm. I can arrange for one to attend now,” River offered.
Edward stared at the man drolly. “Thanks, but I will choose my own, that way there isn’t any bias.”
And no one being a bossy prick and demanding their own way. For a moment, the handsome creature looked offended and a bit miffed. But then he shrugged it off and went to speak, but was interrupted by the conference room door swinging open. Edward’s jaw dropped, and he now felt a large amount of fear as a very deadly creature strode into the meeting room.
An Avenger, the deadliest type of creature around. They had unique skills and tended to wear hooded coats like this one did.
“Hey, brother, what’s up?” River smiled up at the creature.
“You are not where you are meant to be, River.” The creature’s voice was chilly.
River frowned, not looking worried, just thoughtful. “Oh! Sorry, I got distracted by Tripp trying to snag his mate, Edward here.” River pointed at Edward.
“Hey, Vicus, how did that assignment go last night?” Alpha Urian asked cheerfully.
“I eliminated the threat without incident, a clean…” The Avenger paused when Edward gulped. The creature gave a barely heard sigh. “I will spare details.”
“Good, we’ll chat further about what you learned later. Now, Edward Nelson, are you going to give Tripp a difficult time claiming you? If so, speak up now, so we’re all prepared for a rampaging bear.”
“Not my fault if he rampages. And if he does, he should be locked up.” Edward stood and walked around River, then the Avenger, giving that particular creature an extra wide berth. He also did his best to ignore how every set of eyes in the room were on him. Predators, each and every one of them. He shuddered. “I’m going to work, and while there, I’ll be contacting a lawyer. A human lawyer who will actually care about how paranormals have laws that suit them, and majorly mess up a person’s life.”
No one spoke, just watched him, which was creepy, Edward decided. As soon as he was through the door, he made a dash for freedom.
Chapter Three
“Well, he’s a bundle of sunshine.” Trekk grinned and nudged Tripp with his elbow. “And he looked so normal and nice. Guess that’s why they say you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
Tripp glowered at his brother. “You’re not helping.”
“Nope.” Trekk shook his head and held his hands up, palms showing. “Maybe he’ll calm down and see that having a paranormal for a mate isn’t the worst thing ever.”
Tredd snickered. “Did you see how he shuddered in the end? Man, and the waves of dislike pouring off him would be enough to give me a complex if I didn’t know I was an amazing bear.”
Tripp lowered his head and groaned. “Tell me there aren’t any laws that are going to cause me more difficulty in claiming my mate, River.”
“Sure…” River fell silent.
Raising his head, he saw River was frowning absently. That did not fill Tripp with the happy jollies. He sighed.
“Don’t forget, Emile and Sebastian introduced all those new mateship laws,” Enforcer Drax Charmers, the fearsome three wolf, reminded them.
Drax was a good friend, a brother in arms. They, along with Uri’s beta, Kelly, helped their Alpha run the pack and keep everyone safe in the valley. Drax had the unique ability to shift not only into his wolf, but a combination of wolf and human, and was even faster and stronger in that form, all his creature abilities heightened.
“True.” Tripp nodded. He would spend a few hours going through those laws himself before making a time to speak directly with Lord Sebastian Sanchez, who was actually Tripp’s brother-in-law.
Considering what was going on with Tredd and Trent Sanchez, Sebastian’s brother, Tripp knew there was a bit of strain between them all. They were normally fairly close, referring to each other as one family. Over the last year, their usual closeness had become strained, unfortunately. With that in mind, Tripp didn’t want to add further strain by turning up at the clinic Seb and his cousin, Dominic, ran to help others with emotional and mateship difficulties.
“Good point, bro.” Trekk glanced at his watch.
Tripp noticed Uri narrow his eyes on Trekk. Tredd was the eldest, next was Tripp, then Trekk, all born within a few minutes of each other. Their Mama said they didn’t want to be separated.
Trekk was the genius with no direction whatsoever. While he had a lot of potential, a whole heap of helpfulness and a cheerful disposition, he rarely stuck to a task as he bored quickly. Trekk was everyone’s friend, and none of his ex-lovers got pissed off when he moved on so fast. But, the bear tended to be lazy, and Uri had begun kicking Trekk’s butt to get him up and fulfilling all those smarts and potential.
Tredd meanwhile, was all alpha. Tripp’s elder brother was stubborn, big on laughter, big on fighting, and mega smart. Tredd was an electrical engineer and carpenter, plus had a law degree and worked part time at the Police Station, and had been in charge of all the soldiers and security for the pack. Tredd liked working with his hands and figuring things out, just like Tripp and Trekk. They shared the same gift, which was looking at something and being able to see what had taken place, or needed to be done. Handy on a worksite, great at a crime scene.
Tredd’s problem was he wasn’t all that soft and understanding. And Tripp guessed that’s why his brother ended up at odds with his mate Trent, for there was a helluva lot more going on beneath the surface of that beautiful tiger than Trent let on.
Tripp though, he loved to solve puzzles. He was the new Captain of the Milson City Police, he was Second for the Starters pack, and an Alpha himself. Tripp liked to garden as it cleared his head, and drag race. He also loved reading, brawling, and good food. Tripp hadn’t been looking for a mate. He was busy and enjoyed his life, which may be why he’d waited so long to actually seek Edward Nelson out, and discover one way or another who the man was that intrigued him so much. Now that he had, Tripp was more than ready to mate and wanted Eddie—Tripp really liked that name—home with him in the big house he shared with his triplets.
Yeah, he didn’t think that was going to happen anytime soon. What was Eddie’s beef, anyway? He frowned, considering that and what he would have to do to find out, and hopefully get close to his mate, really close. Damn, his man was hot! A prickly, slightly bitter sounding cynical creature, sure, but Tripp didn’t have a problem with that. As long as there was room for caring and respect, they could work together on the rest.
He glanced across at Uri. “I’m going to need a few days.”
“I’m thinking a few weeks.” Uri chuckled. Tripp growled. “Oh relax, Tripp! It’s no
t a big problem. Sure, your mate seems to have a bit of dislike for paranormals, but he’ll get over that once he gets to know us. And you’ve got the mating pull, which smooths everything out.”
Tredd snorted. “Yeah, it’s really working for me.”
Urian winced and sighed. “Okay, let me rephrase—”
“Just grab and claim your mate,” Avenger Vicus said. “That is what paranormals do. We do not sit in a conference room discussing the problems. We act and deal with situations.”
River bit his bottom lip trying not to laugh. “Yeah, like you dealt with that situation this morning.”
Vicus lowered his head, golden eyes narrowing on his brother. The Avenger was a beautiful creature and more inclined to tolerate others now he was mated.
“It was Layke’s fault.”
“No, this one was all yours.” River snickered. “You didn’t do your half hour of sorting and look what happened. There was an uproar that caused your wolf mate to jump out a window and twist his ankle, while your other mate had an OCD moment, and our siblings were wailing about labels being everywhere.”
Vicus hissed and with a quick swipe, had River up from his chair and out of the conference room, River laughing the entire way. Though the Avenger may be the deadliest creature around, they all knew how he protected and looked after his family, and kept them all in line.
Tripp sighed and slouched back in his seat. “Maybe Vicus is right. I should just claim the human and begin the bonding process.”
“Yeah, you could. Or, you could wait a few days and allow the human to get to know you and understand better. Maybe you could discover why he has a bit of a prejudice and dislike of paranormals. Plus, he has to agree to be claimed, either by word or actions, part of the mating laws.” Trekk jumped up, excited. “Gotta go, have an intergalactic meeting in a few.”
Uri spluttered as Trekk raced out of the conference room. “What the hell? He’s meant to be working in half an hour! You need to deal with him. And you.” Uri jabbed a finger at Tredd.
