Tall, Dark & Furious (A Pyte/Sentinel Novel Book 6)

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Are you okay?” Trace asked softly as he gently ran his fingers through her hair as she noted the strain around his eyes and that he looked paler than before.

  “My head hurts,” she said softly.

  With a sad smile, he leaned down and pressed a kiss against her forehead. “I know it does, wife. I’m sorry.”

  “Where were you?” she mumbled in a daze, wondering why her head was starting to spin and her eyelids suddenly felt heavy when she looked up to find her brother adding something to her IV.

  “I really don’t think you want to know about that,” Nathan said as her eyes narrowed on him seconds before everything went black just as she decided that she was going to get her answers one way or another.

  Chapter 30

  Williams Mansion

  Maine

  “We shouldn’t be doing this,” Christofer said, even as he pressed a kiss against the large swell of his mate’s belly as he snaked his hands beneath the large shirt that she was wearing and hooked his fingers in her panties, pulling them down as she ran her fingers through his hair.

  “Probably not,” Cloe readily agreed, as she stepped out of her panties and turned around, presenting him with a sight that had his cock straining against his fly.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, pressing a kiss between her shoulders as he slid his hand between her legs and groaned when he found her wet.

  “God, yes,” she said, spreading her legs further apart to give him better access.

  They’d tried a lot of positions since she started to show, but this one seemed to be her favorite. Then again, she seemed to love this position before she’d started showing too, he thought as he ran his finger through her lips, noting how wet she was as he teased her clit.

  “Christofer,” she said, moaning his name as she pushed back against his hand as her grip tightened on the table in their temporary bedroom. It had been agreed that it was for the best that they stayed here until they had the baby to make sure that they had everything that they needed. Once the baby came, they were going back to the house that he’d had built for his wife so that they could have privacy.

  “On the bed,” he said, instead of giving her what she wanted as he reached over and took her hand in his.

  With a curious glance over her shoulder, she did just that, leading him over to the bed that was the perfect height for what he had in mind. As she sat down on the edge of the bed, he reached over and grabbed two pillows only to moan as his mate ran her palm over his trapped cock, giving it a squeeze before she slid her hands up to his belt and pulled it loose.

  Careful of his mate as she unsnapped his pants, Christofer placed the pillows behind her. When he was done, he watched as Cloe slowly unzipped his fly, exposing the tip of his cock pushing past the waistband of his boxers. She tore a groan from him when she leaned in and licked the tip before taking it in her mouth as she pushed his pants down far enough to free him. Beautiful glowing red eyes looked up and met his as she slowly took his cock in her mouth.

  He watched as she pulled back, running her tongue along the underside of his cock as her fangs teased the sides only to do it again. He could happily come like this, but he had something else in mind for her. He allowed her one last teasing stroke of her tongue before he pulled back so that he could lean down and kiss her as he gently pushed her back so that she was lying back against the pillows.

  Breaking off the kiss, he got down on his knees between her legs and-

  “Oh, god,” his mate moaned before he got the chance to touch her, making him frown as he looked up and saw her worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she placed her hands on her belly, rolled over onto her side and curled up into a ball as she pushed the pillows out of her way and mumbled another, “Oh, god,” that didn’t exactly sound promising.

  That was followed by a scream that had him quickly shoving his deflated cock back in his pants, yanking up his zipper and fixing his belt as he…as he…as he…

  Christ, what the hell was he supposed to do?

  “Christofer?” came the softly mumbled word that drew his attention back down to his wife to find her squeezing her eyes shut.

  “Yes?”

  “I think this is the part where you carry me down to the clinic?” she suggested as he stood there nodding only to move his ass when the next mumbled, “Oh, god,” came.

  By the time she’d started screaming, he’d decided that it would probably be for the best if he never touched her again.

  *-*-*-*

  “Don’t fucking move,” Chris told the man that thought it was a good idea to knock on their door as Marc slowly backed away from the clinic door, taking Jessica with him as he searched for somewhere to hide her just in case.

  They hadn’t had any problems since they moved here, but with what he saw on Izzy’s computer screen, he knew that it was just a matter of time before they came looking for them here. He’d been hoping that he made it to his immortality before the war started, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen.

  “My name is Dr. Noah Phillips. I’m a medical doctor. Caine sent for me,” Marc heard the man explain as he carried Jessica over to the bookshelves and after shifting a bit, he was able to squeeze into the corner and sit down.

  “Mine!” Jessica said, grabbing hold of his nose with her small hand.

  “Shhhh,” he whispered absently as he leaned to the right a bit, just far enough so that he could keep an eye on the front door and make sure that his brother was okay.

  “Is Caine expecting you?” Marc heard his brother ask as he shifted his gaze to the other door, wondering if he should try the door to see if Michael forgot to lock it, but he already knew that it was pointless.

  The Sentinel doctor never forgot. He didn’t like anyone in his office. Eric had explained that the doctor was very particular about his office before he’d moved in with them. He’d kept his office a certain way since 1890 and didn’t like things moved around. Normally that wasn’t a problem since Marc generally went out of his way to avoid the Sentinel, but today he needed to get Jessica somewhere safe before-

  The bloodcurdling scream had his breath catching as his attention was drawn back to the open clinic door and-

  “Do something!” Christofer snapped, somehow looking paler than his mate as he carried her into the clinic and placed her on one of the stretchers.

  “What the hell do you want me to do?” Chris demanded as he walked into the clinic, dragging the human along with him.

  “You have four goddamn children!” Christofer pointed out, only to wince when his mate screamed as she curled up onto her side and-

  There was a sigh as the human pushed Chris aside, walked over to the side of the stretcher and knelt down so that he could talk to Cloe. “First baby?”

  “And last,” she bit out with a red-eyed glare aimed at Christofer, who stood there, looking panicked.

  “My name is Noah and I’m a doctor. Do you think it would it be okay if I had a look to see how you’re doing?”

  “No!” Chris and Christofer snapped at the same time as Cloe readily nodded her head with a, “Please take it out. I’m ready. Just get it out, please.”

  With a chuckle, Noah said, “I’ll see what I can do,” as he stood up and helped her onto her back. When she was all set, he gestured for Christofer to come closer. After throwing his mate a wary look, he noticeably swallowed as he came closer and took Cloe’s hand in his only to wince when the next scream came.

  When Noah went to look between her legs, Marc decided that he really didn’t want to see this. With that in mind, he stood up, squeezed back out and headed for the door with Jessica in his arms and-

  “Where’s Michael?” his brother asked, taking Jessica from him.

  “He’s not here,” Marc said, averting his gaze from what he was trying to pretend wasn’t happening only a few feet away.

  “Where is he?”

  “Boston,” their father said as he came into the room and immediately turned aro
und, grabbed hold of Marc’s arm and went back the way he came.

  “What is he doing in Boston?” Chris demanded, following them into the hallway as he absently gave Jessica baby kisses.

  “The Packs,” Ephraim bit out evenly.

  “We need him here,” Chris said, throwing the clinic a pointed look when the next scream came, which was followed by a pained grunt from Christofer.

  “What’s going on?” Caine asked as the front door opened and he walked inside with Drew by his side.

  “Cloe’s having the baby,” Ephraim said, gesturing towards the clinic where more screams were coming from, each one louder than the last.

  “Michael’s not here,” Drew said, frowning.

  “Where’s Madison and Kara?” Caine absently asked as he looked into the clinic and noticeably relaxed when he saw the doctor and mumbled, “Thank god.”

  “Kara’s sitting with Danni, and Madison was in the nursery the last time I checked,” Chris said, gesturing towards the human. “A friend of yours?”

  “He’s here to help Danni,” Caine said, only to curse when Madison suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs with Izzy in her arms.

  “You’re going to drop me,” Izzy said, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.

  “I will if you keep making me nervous,” his mother said as Chris broke his no swearing rule and handed Jessica over to their father before running up the stairs and pulled his mate into his arms.

  “You need to go to Westdrom, Maine,” Izzy said before they had a chance to ask what was going on. “I added a filter to Tattletale to help keep an eye on the Packs and their movements with a special focus on the rogue Packs and shifters known to work as mercenaries, their aliases, as well as watch for alliances.”

  “What’s in Westdrom?” Ephraim asked as Marc watched as a muscle ticked in Caine’s clenched jaw a split second before he pulled his phone out with a curse.

  “That’s the thing. I don’t know. But whatever it is, it has the old Keenan Pack coming out of the woodwork. Three weeks ago, six members came out of hiding and headed to Bangor. A credit card slip had them arriving in Westdrom the next day, and two days later, there was a house fire at one of the old houses that the Keenan Pack built. The fire department determined that it was arson.”

  “But that’s not the only problem. The house belonged to Samantha Lukas. There’s a warrant out for her arrest for the fire. Her brother is Nathan Lukas, the Sentinel assigned to watch over Rerum. She’s his twin sister,” Izzy said, looking like she might be sick.

  “Oh, shit,” Chris said, rubbing his hands roughly down his face. “They’re going to tear her apart.”

  “Why?” Marc asked, licking his lips nervously as he took in the worried expressions on their faces.

  “Sentinel twins don’t normally survive, but the ones that do are marked. They normally don’t last very long once they cross paths with a shifter or a vampire,” Ephraim explained.

  “We need to figure out who we’re dealing with here. Who runs the Keenan Pack? I’ve never heard of them,” Chris said as Marc watched Caine pace the foyer, trying to call someone only to curse, hang up and try again.

  “One of the first Packs to come to the colonies when the English began to settle the area. They were mostly stonemasons, but they eventually got into construction. They built a lot of houses all over New England and eventually got into real estate. They made a lot of money in the colonies before they were forced to return to Europe where rumor has it, they became even richer,” Drew explained.

  “What’s the big deal about this Pack?” Chris asked as his attention shifted to Caine, who looked like he was about to lose it.

  “They killed their Alpha three centuries ago before they fled. Besides the fact that they’re ruthless, they’re also insanely rich, and led by a vicious bitch who killed her own child when she realized that it was an Alpha to ensure that she didn’t lose control of the Pack,” Drew answered.

  “Why did they run?” Ephraim asked, giving Jessica baby kisses when she started wiggling in his arms.

  “They pissed off the wrong vampire,” Caine said, shoving his phone back in his pocket as he joined them just as Cloe let out one last scream and the sounds of a baby crying reached their ears along with another pained grunt.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Chris asked, only to wince when his baby girl gasped.

  “Sorry, baby,” Chris mumbled as Jessica wrapped her small arms around Ephraim’s neck and snuggled, letting her Daddy know that she was mad that he broke his no swearing rule.

  “They grabbed Ethan’s son and refused to tell him what they did with him. He’s been after the Pack for over three hundred years,” Caine said, clenching his jaw before adding, “His son is a Pyte. They grabbed him before he reached his immortality. For some reason, they came back to make sure that he was dead.”

  “And he wasn’t,” Ephraim guessed, sharing a pained look with Caine as something passed between them. It was a look that Marc never wanted to see on his father’s face again.

  “No, he wasn’t. He got out, killed them, and somehow managed to contact Ethan, who called me and asked me for a favor, but I couldn’t leave Danni. So, I asked Kale for a favor,” Caine admitted, which earned matching curses all around.

  “Wait. Why would you do that?” Izzy suddenly asked.

  “I didn’t tell him about Trace. I only told him that I needed him to go to Westdrom and guard the town, keeping shifters out until I could get there,” Caine explained while Izzy worried her bottom lip.

  When Caine saw the movement, he asked, “Why?”

  “Because Kale accepted the bounty on Ethan’s head.”

  Chapter 31

  “Yeah, that’s not fucking happening,” the Sentinel that should have learned his lesson the first time said as he moved to block Trace from going into his wife’s room.

  Absently nodding, Trace continued to slowly drink the bag of cold blood as he reached out and grabbed the Sentinel by the shirt and shoved him out of his way. Ignoring the Sentinel’s pained grunt, Trace walked into the room that his father had set up for him. He’d decided to give his wife this room since the other room had been damaged earlier. That, and there was currently a large shifter passed out on the bed.

  He’d considered dragging the shifter out of the house and throwing him headfirst into the largest tree that he could find for helping the Sentinel earlier, but the exhaustion that he’d seen in the shifter’s eyes reminded him of how his father used to look when Trace was little and his father had been afraid to close his eyes out of fear that something would happen to him. Forcing himself to finish off the cold blood that turned his stomach with the hopes of fixing whatever the Sentinel had done to him earlier, Trace tossed the empty bag on the bureau before walking over to the bed to make sure that his wife was okay.

  She shifted in her sleep with a soft groan, but other than that, she didn’t wake up. Knowing that she needed her rest, Trace reluctantly forced himself to walk away. He walked over to one of the bookshelves that lined the walls and reached for his book only to select a different one, deciding that he wasn’t quite ready to find out how it ended.

  Book in hand, he found a spot against the wall, sat down, and opened it with a, “Don’t,” when the Sentinel limped into the room and moved to sit down on the bed next to his sister. Once he had the book opened on his lap, Trace found himself sighing as he looked up to find the Sentinel standing in front of him, glaring down at him.

  “As soon as she feels better, I’m taking her out of here,” Nathan bit out between clenched teeth, earning a soft groan from the small woman curled up in the bed behind him.

  Biting back a curse, Nathan quickly glanced over his shoulder to make sure that his sister was okay only to stumble back when the small woman dragging a blanket behind her pushed him out of the way with an incoherent grumble before she sat down between Trace’s legs and curled up, resting her head against his chest while Trace sat there, stunned. That is until
she grumbled something else, making his lips twitch as he reached over and pulled the blanket over her and wrapped his arm around her.

  “This isn’t over, Pyte,” Nathan bit out only to narrow his eyes on Samantha when she grumbled something else as she shifted to get more comfortable in his arms. With one last glare, Nathan gestured for the dog to come with him only to end up shaking his head in disgust when the dog climbed off the bed and joined Trace on the floor, laying down at his feet.

  Muscle twitching in his jaw, Nathan reluctantly limped out of the room as Trace looked down at his wife, noting just how beautiful she was as he reached up and gently pushed her hair out of her face. When she smiled in her sleep, he ran his fingertips along her jaw, noting how soft her skin was as he cupped her jaw and found himself leaning down so that he could press his lips against her forehead, realizing just how precious she was to him.

  *-*-*-*

  “Am I dying?” Samantha asked the warm, firm chest that her face was pressed against.

  There was a soft chuckle and then, “No, wife. You’re not dying.”

  “Then why do I feel like I’m dying?” she asked as every muscle in her body screamed in agony.

  “Because you’re sleeping on the floor,” her brother bit out from the doorway where Trace had banned him.

  “It’s more comfortable,” she lied because she refused to tell her brother that the real reason that she was sleeping on the floor was because she wanted to feel Trace’s arms wrapped around her.

  “You need to eat, wife,” Trace said, gently pushing her hair behind her ear as he leaned down and pressed his lips against her forehead.

  “Stop calling her that,” Nathan bit out evenly as Trace carefully picked her up, ignoring her brother and carried her to the bed where he carefully laid her down and pressed another kiss against her forehead with a murmured, “I’ll be right back, wife.”

  Samantha reached for the comforter only to sigh when Charlie, who’d refused to leave her side since they came back from the emergency room, jumped up on the bed and laid down, hogging the comforter. With a glare, she reached over and-