by Angel Nyx
“Magnis Quinn.”
“Hi, Daddy.” Lily hadn’t planned on calling him Daddy; she hadn’t called him that since her mother died, but all of a sudden she missed the closeness she’d once had with her father. When she heard his voice on the phone, she felt tears stinging her eyes. She hadn’t realized, until that moment, just how much she’d missed her father. After her mother was killed, they’d leaned on each other in order to cope with the loss and heal from it, and they’d become close. She missed that closeness.’’ The silence on the other end lasted for several seconds, and Lily began to wonder if her father was all right. When he finally spoke, she relaxed.
“Lily? It’s so good to hear your voice, sweetheart.” His voice was thick with unshed tears.
“It’s good to hear yours too.”
“I’m so sorry, Lily. I’m so sorry I was too stubborn to listen to reason six years ago. I know if I’d just listened to you, you never would have run. It’s been hell not knowing if you were dead or alive. Ever since Declan told me he’d found you there in New Orleans, I’ve swung back and forth between the urge to come down there myself and letting you be the one to reach out first.” His voice broke ‘on a muffled sob.
“Don’t cry, Daddy. If you do, I will too and I don’t want to do that.” Lily took a deep breath. “I know you were only doing what you thought was best for the pack, and I forgive you. I don’t hate you, I honestly don’t, but Slatefall isn’t home for me anymore. You have to know that.”
“Yeah, Declan has made that pretty damn clear. He claims to be your mate, is that true?”
“Yeah. I fought it like crazy. I know, I know, there I was bemoaning how you were lucky you and Mom were mates, and you were trying to force me into a relationship that didn’t have that connection, and then I turn around and fight it once I find my own mate. I was involved with someone that I cared about and I didn’t want to let instinct control me. I know now that it’s more than just animal instinct.”
“Is he good to you? Before you let yourself get too involved with him, you need to ask about his past. It’s dark, Lily, really dark. You need to be prepared for that.”
“It’s a little too late for that.” She closed her eyes at the memory of how it had felt to be in Declan’s arms. She’d had a few relationships, even before she’d gotten together with Keith, but none of them ever made her feel the way Declan did. He overwhelmed her senses. She felt everything more deeply, more intensely, and it was a little scary. When she realized she’d gotten lost in her own thoughts, she shook her head and cleared her throat. “I’m already in deep with him,” she explained. “But I’ll still talk with him about his time away from the pack. How is everyone? How are Casey and Jacob? I’ve been thinking about them a lot lately.”
“Jacob is getting big. He started shifting not long after you left, which took a lot of stress off Casey because she was worried he wouldn’t be able to. He wouldn’t have been shunned by our pack, but you know how some other packs are.”
“That’s good he shifted. I know she was really concerned so I’m glad she was able to put that to rest. Some of them are real bigots. And Casey, how is she?”
“It’s hard to say, really. She keeps to herself a lot; she’s focused on raising her son and doing right by him, which means she doesn’t really get out much. She gets together with the pack on the full moon but other than that, we don’t see much of her. You should give her a call. Maybe you can get her to come out of her shell. She always did look up to you.”
Lily felt a bit guilty when she heard that Casey had withdrawn from everyone. She’d been slowly opening up about the rape, that had led to her being a mother at the tender age of fifteen, when Lily up and left, and Lily blamed herself for the relapse. “I’ll call her, I promise. Maybe I can get her to come down here for a visit. I think both she and Jacob would really like New Orleans.”
“That might be good for them. I hope you’ll come back home for a visit, sometime. I know Slatefall isn’t really home to you anymore, but traveling is a little more difficult for a pack Alpha than it is for a lone wolf.”
“I’ll figure out when I have some free time and let you know. I should get off here; I have an early day tomorrow, but I wanted to call you and reconnect with you. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, princess. It’s so good to hear your voice again. You take care of yourself, and you tell that mate that if he fucks up with you I’ll have his hide.”
Lily laughed. “I’ll pass that on to him. Take care of yourself, Daddy.” She hung up the phone and wiped tears from her eyes she hadn’t realized she was crying. She wanted to go ahead and call Casey, but she was already emotional; talking to the younger wolf while in that state wouldn’t be good. She would wait until after the trip to Phoenix was over then she would have time to really talk with Casey and try to get to the heart of why she’d become so withdrawn.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Casey was having trouble with the bastard who’d gotten her pregnant. Was he trying to be a part of Jacob’s life despite the fact he’d denied sleeping with her when she was fourteen, much less drugging her and raping her? Lily pushed the troubling thoughts away for the moment. She could speculate all she wanted, but until she talked to Casey, that was all it would be: speculation.
Chapter Sixteen
Lily
The sun was just cresting over the waters of Lake Borgne, the gorgeous pinks, oranges, and reds gleaming in her rear view mirror, as Lily headed her car northwest out of New Orleans. They would be taking the I-10 all the way up from New Orleans across the state, through Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Lake Charles, then on into Houston where they would stop for lunch. From there, they would continue on the I-10 until stopping for the night in Ozona, Texas. The most nerve-wracking part of the trip was going to be through the Red Moon Clan’s territory. Lily had no intention, whatsoever, of stopping until they were well past Lafayette, in order to avoid them. She would stop in Baton Rouge to top off her gas just to be sure she didn’t have to stop again until much later.
“At least it’s a pretty day for a drive,” Emelise said with a cheeky smile. “So, Miss Organized, you have our route planned out for us. What happens if we hit a detour or something?”
“Then we adjust it. As long as we don’t have to stop inside Red Moon Clan territory, I’m okay with having to deviate from our route.”
“What happened the other night really freaked you out, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, it did. I saw the look in his eyes, Eme. If Declan and Remy hadn’t gotten there when they did, he would have raped me; all three of them would have. He’d said he’d never had a wolf before and he wondered if I was as wild as a cat. I honestly believe he is a serial rapist so I hope they made him disappear into the bayou.” There was an edge of a growl to her voice.
“Something tells me that’s exactly what happened to him, girl. Declan isn’t the type of man to let someone who threatened his mate live. That wolf has a dark side; you can see it in his eyes.”
Lily nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’ve seen it too. The question is, just how dark is it?”
“He’d never hurt you, you have to know that,” Emelise said, watching her face.
“I know that, Eme; I’m not worried about him hurting me, but other people, yeah, that’s a concern. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.” She shook her head as if to clear it. “No more depressing talk. This is a road trip; let’s get some jams going,” she said and popped a CD into the CD player on her car’s stereo.
Declan
After getting Lily to promise to not stop within the Red Moon Clan’s territory, Declan had watched her pull away from her apartment and kept watching until she turned a corner and he could no longer see her car’s tail lights. Then he’d headed to the warehouse he’d recently purchased where he was meeting with his team. He would be taking them out to meet with Caine afterward.
The team consisted of three men and two women, not including himself. Sasha and Ech
o would be his aces in the hole. They were jaguars, and after the meeting with Caine, they would head over to Baton Rouge to let the Red Moon Clan catch their scent. They would be his Trojan horse, hitting the Clan from the inside. With any luck they’d get close enough to the Alpha to take him out, but even if they were only able to take out some of his lieutenants, it would give them an edge over the jaguars. While Echo’s strongest talent was stealth and breaking locks of any kind, including the most secure of safes, Sasha was their techie. She’d created many of the high-tech gadgets they’d used on missions when in Special Ops. Holden, a grizzly bear shifter, was the shifter version of a tank. He was a powerhouse, regardless of what form he was in. Then there was his munitions expert, Nikolai. He was a white Siberian tiger whose family defected to America during the Cold War. Last, but not least, was fellow wolf shifter, Steele. He was a sharpshooter, a sniper without equal. More than once it was his eagle eye from a distance that helped the team get out of a tight spot with no casualties.
“About damn time,” Holden grumbled when Declan finally walked into the warehouse. “What’d you do, get caught up in your mate and lose track of time? For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve sworn you would never settle down with one woman; I find it amusing as hell that you are completely gone on the female you’d come here to fetch for her father.”
“You’re just jealous,” Echo purred at him. “I think it’s good for him to finally have a woman who can go toe to toe with him.”
Sasha draped her arm over Echo’s shoulder. “I think you’re right. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this relaxed yet completely focused on the job.”
“I know, right? She’s a good influence on him. You’ll have to introduce us before we leave New Orleans, once this is over.”
“Enough gossip, devochki,” Nikolai said. “We have work to do and an Alpha to meet, da? Let’s get it done.”
Echo rolled her eyes at Nikolai calling her and Sasha ‘girls’. He’d called them that ever since they’d joined the Special Ops group.”Fine, fine, we can talk about his girl later. Sasha and I did a little digging and we found the properties that the jaguars have scooped up. They’re not as integral to the leopards as they could be, but some of them box the Pard in,” she informed Declan.
“Technically, they haven’t scooped them up, yet. The plots of land are being auctioned, and so far, the jaguars are the highest bidders. We can easily put the kibosh on their plan by upping the offer to a level too steep for them. If what you said is true, they won’t be able to afford to bid any higher, and that part of their plan will be gone,” Sasha put in.
Declan pulled a credit card from his wallet and held it out to her. “Do it. This is the first step in crippling them before they even begin.” The card wouldn’t lead back to the Black Water Pard as it was linked to a corporation he’d created some years ago for land acquisition that needed to be done discreetly.
“You got it, boss,” Sasha said before she took the card. “Do you have a limit?” When he shook his head, she grinned. “Alright. I won’t drain your finances but I’ll make damn sure it’s too steep for the jaguars to outbid us.” She went to her laptop. She had a scrambler on it so the connection was secure and untraceable.
“I looked over those images you sent me. I think you’re right; the jaguars aren’t planning on using just claws and teeth, they’re planning on using guns too. Where they’ve got them stored isn’t very secure, which tells me they don’t know they’re being watched. I can slip in tonight and make sure the weapons are useless,” Nikolai said once Declan was done talking with Sasha.
“Good. That will be step two in stopping them. The jaguars will come for a fight. They think the leopards are weak because they don’t get into a lot of squabbles with other shifter groups. They don’t realize the reason for that isn’t weakness, it’s Caine’s ability to work out differences in other ways. He’s a damn good negotiator. He’d have been a hell of an asset on the team back when we were still in Special Ops,” Declan said. “Okay, let’s do this. We’re meeting Remy Delacroix in half an hour. He’ll take us out to meet with his Alpha.” He headed for the exit with the others bringing up the rear.
Once they reached the compound, Delcan led them to where Caine waited for them. “Allow me to make the introductions so we can get that part over with.” Declan pointed to each member of his team as he introduced them. “Holden Montgomery, Sasha Frost, Steele Reinhardt, Echo Ramirez, and Nikolai Romanov, meet Caine Bordeaux, Alpha of the Black Water Pard.”
“Welcome to da bayou,” Caine said, inclining his head at the group of shifters who stood slightly behind Declan. Their positioning suggested they viewed Declan as their Alpha. They all nodded hello at him before Caine spoke again. “Declan tells me y’all are da best at what you do. Da Black Water Pard welcomes da help.”
“Dec knows what he’s talking about,” Holden said. “We were a tight-knit unit back in the day.”
Sasha studied the Alpha. “Looking around your compound, I can see why they’re envious, but if they think you’re weak, they’re fools. Anyone with half a brain cell, who is a shifter, would know right away that weak is the one thing you aren’t.”
Caine turned his attention to her. “It is to my benefit if dey make da wrong assumptions because it puts dem in dere place much quicker when dey find out how wrong dey are,” he replied with a smirk.
“Oh, I like you. You’re cocky.” She glanced at Declan as if to say ‘Can I continue’, and when he nodded, she turned back to Caine. “We discovered the jaguars were trying to buy up land around here that’s gone to auction in hopes of boxing the Pard in. As of half an hour ago, that plan went out the window because the land now belongs to Ghostpoint Systems, LLC.” At the puzzled look on Caine’s face, she flashed a grin. “Ghostpoint is owned by Declan. We’ve used the company to discreetly buy land before when it played an integral part in a job. There is no connection to the Pard so they’ll have no idea that whoever bought it is on your side.”
“Devious,” Caine said with a chuckle. “I like dat. Declan told me what da plan is; are you both good with dat?” he asked the two jaguars.
It was Echo’s turn to speak up. “Hell yeah. We live for this kind of shit. We’ve infiltrated multiple jaguar clans in order to topple an Alpha who thrived on hurting others. We’ve got this.”
“They’re good at what they do, they’re wicked fast on their feet, and they’re deadly in a fight,” Declan put in.
“Bon, bon. Den da plan is set. Wit’ any luck, it’ll all be over by tomorrow night.” Declan was certain that was when the jaguars planned to attack the compound and had shared his thoughts with Caine prior to arriving that evening. How the jaguars thought they’d get in without being seen was anyone’s guess, but it was clear the jaguars were making a play for the Pard’s land.
“If you’ll drop us off back in New Orleans, we’ll make our way to Baton Rouge with our sob story about how the mean leopards wouldn’t give a pair of jaguars, running from an abusive Alpha, a safe haven,” Sasha said in a voice that made it sound like she was close to tears.
Caine blinked at her and Declan laughed. “I told you, they’re good.”
“I can see dat,” Caine replied and motioned to Remy to escort the females back to the city while Declan and the others stuck around to discuss the details of the plan.
Lily
All the way through Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Lily was on edge. She kept glancing out her mirrors to make sure they weren’t being followed, and by the time they were safely out of the Red Moon Clan’s territory, she was a nervous wreck. When they finally reached the outskirts of Houston and stopped for lunch, she turned to Emelise. “Feel like driving until we reach Ozona? I really need a break.”
“I was wondering when you were going to ask me to take over. You’ve been jumpier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, girl. I’ll drive the next stretch. Maybe you should text that man of yours, see how he’s doing without you there. Fee
l free to partake in a little sexting; I won’t judge,” Emelise replied with a wicked laugh.
Lily smacked her arm. “Gods, you’re awful,” she said and shook her head.
“But you lurve me and you know it,” Eme countered as they stopped at a roadside diner to grab some burgers and fries.
“Yeah, whatever,” Lily said, completely in jest. Soon enough they were back on the road and she pulled out her phone.
Hey, just touching base to let you know we made it through RM territory fine and just finished eating in Houston. Would have texted before now but I was driving. Hope everything is okay back in NOLA. She closed her eyes to rest them a bit while she waited for his reply.
Fucking hell, woman, I was about to send out a search party. You had me worried sick. Don’t ever fucking do that again, doll.
Her eyes snapped open when the text came through and she laughed a little. “Oops, he’s a little ticked I didn’t text him after we were through their territory.”
“You better soothe his temper—no telling what he might do otherwise.”
Lily gave her a dirty look, but Emelise was right, she needed to soothe his temper, and his fear. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I just didn’t want to risk stopping until I was sure we weren’t being followed. I promise to be more thoughtful next time. I miss you. She knew the admission would surprise him.
You do? Good, because that feeling’s mutual. When you get back here in a couple of days, we will have a lot of time to make up for. You won’t be getting out of bed for a while once I have you in it. I’m also taking you to dinner because what’s between us isn’t just sex, and I want to know everything there is to know about you.
Lily shivered a little in anticipation, then she got a wicked idea, thanks to Emelise’s teasing. Dinner sounds great. As for not letting me out of bed for a while once you have me in it, maybe you should tie me up so I can’t get away. She hesitated in sending it before she finally did, then waited for his response.
