by R. E. Butler
She arched a brow and took a sip of coffee. “It’s hard to imagine you’re afraid of anything.”
“Being out of control and hurting the people I love…that was my biggest fear, and because I didn’t trust the berserker, I feared him. I was essentially afraid of what made me who I am.”
“You’re not afraid anymore, are you?” she asked as she fixed a plate for herself with eggs Benedict and a bowl of fresh fruit.
“Not of the beast. I’m not afraid of your brother, but I am a little worried about what will happen when we go to Wilde Creek later.”
“Yeah, well, if I’m being honest I’m a little worried too. I don’t know what Mal has told my parents about what happened. It’s bad enough to have to face him and my parents, but I’ll also be accountable to Acksel.” She took a bite of watermelon and then said, “But it doesn’t really matter what they think. I mean, in a way it matters what Acksel thinks, but Brynn won’t let him be too much of an ass. But as far as Mal and my parents go – you’re my mate, and I don’t need anyone’s approval for that to be a reality.”
He kissed her and then shook his head. “I don’t deserve you.”
“I think we deserve each other. Even though my wolf has been driving me crazy for years, I’m so happy that you’re really mine.”
“I always knew that whoever mated you would be a damn lucky male. I’m just glad it’s me.”
She grinned. “Me too.”
He set his fork on the plate and leaned back against the couch, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “I want to ask you about the future.”
“I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but I’m not psychic.”
He grinned. Flat-out grinned, and it just about made her heart stop.
“That’s probably not a bad thing, sweetheart, but seriously. After we talk to your parents and soothe Mal’s big-brother nerves, and talk to your alpha, what do you want?”
She finished her last slice of strawberry and turned around on the couch, tucking one leg under and resting her cheek on his outstretched forearm. “Where do you live?”
“I had an apartment, but it was provided by the hunters, so that’s gone.”
“You can’t even go get your stuff?”
“There wasn’t anything personal there anyway. I have a storage unit, though, with a motorcycle. We can go pick up my things.”
“I don’t understand how you could live without any personal stuff. What about photos of your family?”
“My grandparents left Wilde Creek when I went into the military. I have an uncle and some cousins, but once I started working for the hunters, keeping close to family wasn’t encouraged.”
How freaking lonely.
“So none of the hunters are married or have kids?”
“There are some, but they don’t go out hunting the shifters; they stay in the office, relatively out of danger.”
“Relatively?”
He shrugged. “The hunters are in the business of keeping dangerous shifters off the street. It’s a great way to make enemies, and because of that there really isn’t any place that’s safe.”
She wouldn’t tell him she was glad he wasn’t a hunter anymore, but she definitely was. She’d known his job was dangerous, but she hadn’t known what it was or just how bad it could get.
“We could live at my house. I rent it from some friends of my folks. They retired a few years ago and didn’t want to deal with selling after they moved away.”
“That would be good. If you want to get someplace together, we could do that, too. I have savings.”
“We don’t have to decide that right now.”
“Good point.”
“What about work?”
His brows rose. “I have the security company. Once I patch things up with Mal, it’ll be good for me to get to work. He’s been handling it on his own for a long while.”
She hoped that her brother and Lucian could get their friendship back on track. The business would suffer if Mal refused to forgive Lucian for putting Mia in harm’s way.
“I think that’s everything, right?” she asked, leaning forward and kissing him.
He pulled her against him and kissed her more fully. “For now, sweetheart. Let’s get cleaned up and go to Wilde Creek.”
Chapter 13
“Why did you join the hunters?” Mia asked as they drove to her house.
“A few years after I enlisted, I was offered a position with them. The head of the organization told me that being a hunter meant standing between danger and innocence, being willing to put your own life on the line to ensure that those who intended to cause harm to others weren’t allowed to. I kept thinking that if hunters had been around, my mom would’ve been saved. I didn’t want any other kids or families to suffer the way I did. I was robbed of my mom and my childhood, by a male I thought was dangerous.”
“Your grandparents lied to you, though. Your father’s berserker wasn’t a monster to fear, and neither is yours.”
He clenched the steering wheel tightly enough that his knuckles cracked. Forcing himself to relax, he said, “I know.”
“Do you hate them?”
“I hate the lies, and that they made me afraid of what I was. But they raised me, and for whatever reason – fear or hate or something else – they thought the best choice for my life was to turn me against my father. Maybe they thought they were saving me. I can’t change the past, I can only do better with what I know now. It’s easy to hate; it’s far more challenging to forgive.”
“How are you feeling about your dad?”
He reached for her hand, linking their fingers and kissing her knuckles. Then he rested their joined hands on his thigh. “Knowing the truth doesn’t make my mom’s death any easier. I wish I hadn’t lost all that time with him. I wish I’d seen through the lies.”
“He could’ve been really bitter,” she said. “He had every reason to have a huge chip on his shoulder about their mistreatment, and you staying away for so long, but he was gracious and forgiving.”
“I think dads are supposed to be that way.”
“I’d like to think that no matter where the choices in my life took me, my dad would always be there for me.”
“Your dad’s a good guy.”
“So is yours,” she pointed out.
Lucian felt a little like he was dreaming. It was surreal to think of how much had changed in his life in such a short period of time. He’d lost his job, found his dad, embraced his berserker, and claimed Mia. For all of the loss, he’d still gained so much more. He could dwell on the past, and be bitter about not being a hunter anymore, but all he had to do was look at Mia, and he knew he’d never want to put either of them in that much danger again. A nice desk job in Wilde Creek was exactly what he needed, if Mal would cooperate.
Turning into her driveway, he squeezed Mia’s hand and then turned off the truck. There were multiple vehicles parked in front of her house, which made it pretty obvious that there were people in her home. He recognized Mal’s SUV and her parents’ sedan, but not the others.
She’d called her parents from the hotel room before they’d checked out. It had been an attempt to tell her side of things, but her father had been furious and her mother had just cried. Mia teared up, and Lucian had felt entirely helpless to comfort her. He was the source of the pain, after all. Because of him, she’d been harmed, and he didn’t blame her parents for hating him.
Mia inhaled shakily and said, “Whatever happens in there, Luc, I just want you to know that I love you.” She turned glistening blue eyes to him.
“I love you, too,” he said, cupping her face and drawing her close for a kiss. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of the way she tasted, sweet and wild like a flower in the woods.
He got out of the truck and opened her door, helping her down and keeping hold of her hand as they walked up the sidewalk to the small house she’d called home for several years. He’d known where it was all along, but he’d never visited it, even in se
cret. He wished now, among hundreds of other things that he’d change about the past, that he’d walked up the sidewalk years before and asked her to be his.
She twisted the doorknob and found it unlocked, as he’d suspected. “Ready?” she whispered.
“For anything,” he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. Already he harbored a lot of guilt for the past, and now he was going to have that all laid bare for her family. His beast was hovering just under his skin, ready to defend Mia if anyone hurt her. It wasn’t that he thought she’d be physically harmed, but both he and his beast hated to see her cry. That salty scent of her tears was his undoing.
She opened the door and they walked inside. He was immediately aware of the utter silence in the home, as if everyone had stopped talking the moment they walked in. His enhanced senses told him that they were in the back of the house, but it wasn’t only her parents and Malachi; there were others there. Wolves.
He put out his hand and stopped her. In a low voice, he said, “I smell wolves.”
“Duh,” she murmured back.
“More than your family.”
Her brows drew down and she tilted her head, inhaling slowly. Her eyes flashed to the amber of her wolf, and then she snarled lightly. “Acksel and the elders. Shit. Talk about an ambush.”
His berserker rose to the surface, anxious to ensure she was safe. He pushed her gently behind him.
“Is this really necessary?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said.
She rested her head on his back with a sigh, wrapping her arms around him. “Lead the way.”
She straightened behind him, keeping her hands loosely on his waist. Although his beast was ready, he didn’t feel like going on a killing spree, which was kind of what he’d always figured his berserker would do when faced with an unknown situation. What his beast shared with him then, though, was that he wasn’t afraid of what they were walking into. They were stronger and faster than any wolf, and Mia would be safe no matter what, because it was his sole purpose in life now to keep her from harm.
They walked into the kitchen, and he pulled her from his back to his side, keeping an arm around her. Seated at the small table were Acksel, her parents, and Malachi. Four older males stood behind them. He guessed them to be the elders of the pack, including Acksel’s father, Dade. Two other wolves were there also: Ren, the beta of the pack, and Sam, the theto.
Mia was stiff next to him, and through their connection as mates he could feel her worry. They’d been expecting a conversation with her family, and instead they were now facing the pack leaders.
No one said anything for a moment, the silence stretching in the air thick enough to be tangible. Then Donna, Mia’s mother, stood and moved quickly to them. Lucian released his hold on Mia, but grabbed her hand as she embraced her mom. Both females started to cry, and Lucian looked at John, her father, who had risen to his feet slowly.
“I want to know if my daughter is still in danger,” John said. “And why the hell no one knew you were a berserker.”
Mia separated from her mom and moved to stand in front of Lucian, drawing both his arms around her like a coat and gripping them tightly. Lucian loved how fearless she was. Just like in the hunters’ offices, she appeared to be entirely unafraid of anything she faced. He knew her well enough to know that she really was nervous, but she wasn’t going to show it.
Donna rejoined John at the table, sliding into her chair and dabbing at her eyes with a napkin. “Malachi, let your sister sit down.”
“I’m fine,” Mia said, before he could move. Lucian inhaled her sweet scent. Just holding her and scenting her was enough to keep the beast in check, although he still didn’t sense any danger from the pack. They were clearly agitated and worried, but that was all.
He cleared his throat, ready to explain about his past, when the front door banged open and Brynn’s highly annoyed voice rang out.
“Acksel! Are you fricking kidding me?” Brynn, her belly swollen with child, stormed into the kitchen and leveled an angry glare at her mate. “You were going to have a discussion with my bestie without me?”
“Sweetheart,” Acksel said, his voice filled with a growl. “Don’t upset yourself.”
Brynn threw up her hands. “Look at me! I’m already upset! And this baby is kicking me. Stop it!” she put her hands on her belly and stared down at it, as if she could will the child to cease.
Mia giggled, and then coughed to cover it up. Brynn spun on her heels and in two steps had swooped in and gripped his mate in a fierce hug. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me!”
“When you were kidnapped, you didn’t call me.”
“I was unconscious,” Brynn pointed out. “And yeah, I did too call you, from Doc’s room.”
“Oh.” Mia frowned. “I didn’t want you to worry. I’m really fine. Lucian killed all the bad guys and we’re mated.”
Acksel moved to Brynn, pulling her away and whispering in her ear. She grunted and then folded her arms. “Herr Bossy Pants says I have to sit down if I’m going to stay, so can we move this whatever the heck it is someplace more comfy?”
Mia nodded. “Let’s go into the family room.”
Malachi and the others brought the kitchen chairs into the family room, which sported a couch, matching chair, and ottoman. Mia led Lucian to the fireplace, where she resumed her stance in front of him, their bodies tightly pressed together and his arms locked in front of her. When everyone was seated, and Brynn had stolen a yogurt from the refrigerator to eat, Lucian began to explain about his past. He felt like he’d relived his childhood a hundred times since he’d rescued Mia. But where there had been shame in his past, he now felt only sadness. He’d been lied to by his mother’s family, and lost out on a relationship with his father. But more than that was how afraid he’d been of the beast living inside him.
“Because I kept the berserker magically caged, I never felt a true calling to Mia as mates. I felt…something, but it was so muted I was able to stay away.”
Donna shook her head. “I don’t understand why your father didn’t fight for you.”
“Money, mostly. My grandparents saw the opportunity to raise me themselves and took it. I was young enough to believe their lies. I honestly didn’t remember anything about my mother dying, which in a way is a blessing, but it also means I was poisoned against my berserker because of them, too.”
Malachi, who still looked angry, said, “So if you hadn’t kept the berserker under wraps, you would’ve mated Mia before?”
Mia’s fingers curled into the tops of Lucian’s hands. “Of course.”
Mal snorted. “I just find it hard to believe that there’s magic powerful enough out there to keep anything under wraps, let alone a monster who by all accounts is one of the most dangerous creatures in existence.”
Mia growled. “Lucian and I are marked and mated. If you’re going to be an ass, Mal, then hit the road.”
Ren, who stood behind the couch, said, “There’s some family drama going on here that doesn’t involve the pack.”
Acksel nodded. “Right. Let’s get back on track. Explain how you were taken, Mia, and what happened.”
Mia swallowed audibly and then rolled her shoulders and straightened her spine. She launched into the story of her meeting with Dario at the bar, which set off the series of events that led to Lucian and his father destroying the nest and Lucian being kicked out of the hunters.
No one said anything when he and Mia were finished speaking about their ordeal. Brynn was softly crying, as was Donna, and Malachi looked stricken. Acksel kissed Brynn on the temple and called his wolves to follow him outside, leaving Lucian and Mia alone with her parents and Brynn.
“I’m sorry that Mia was hurt because of me,” Lucian said, speaking directly to her parents. “There are a lot of things about my past I would change, so I could’ve learned how to be one with my beast and be the kind of mate to Mia that you would be proud of.”
John stood
and came to them, hugging Mia and shaking Lucian’s hand. “You did the best you could with the information you had. I can’t imagine your grandparents’ thought process to hobble you that way, but they must’ve wanted you to be safe and thought it was the only way. Regardless, I would never try to separate truemates. Welcome to the family.”
Lucian was humbled by John’s sincerity. Donna joined them, hugging Mia again. “Do you think you’re pregnant, honey?”
“I don’t know. When it’s been enough time I can take a pregnancy test, then we’ll know.”
Brynn rubbed at her wet cheeks and smiled. “My bestie’s got her mate, and you guys have an amazing story to tell. I never knew that berserkers were real. I thought they were just crazy warrior humans who yelled a lot as they killed people in battle.”
Lucian snorted. “That’s the human version. My people – real berserkers – are descendants of gods. It’s why we can partially change form and have enhanced senses.”
“And your kids?” Donna asked.
“According to what my dad told me, only boys become berserkers. I would suspect that means that girls would take after their mother, so in our case they’d be wolves.”
He liked the idea of having a child, or a few of them, with Mia. It was one more thing they hadn’t had a chance to really discuss. He also wanted to marry her, and change his last name back to his father’s. Lucian and Mia Rhodes had a nice ring to it.
* * *
Mia knew the moment that Acksel and the pack members came back into the house that she wasn’t going to like what they said, and they didn’t disappoint.
“I won’t be offering you honorary membership in the pack,” Acksel said. “Unless you can prove to us that you’re not a danger to others.”
“How can he prove that?” Mia asked. “He’s not dangerous to anyone unless they try to hurt me.”
“You don’t know that,” Acksel said. “He’s hidden his nature for years with magical chains. There’s no telling what it will do now that it’s free, and it’s only been less than two days. You can tell me until you’re blue in the face that he’s no danger, but I refuse to expose the pack to an unknown.”
