“Now that we’ve ironed out our agreement about your assignment—do you think I could watch you shift sometime?”
Brandi snorted at the obnoxious question and glared as she dropped her hand from her mouth.
Then she had a what the hell moment. Did it matter if Shitty Sheldon saw? Did it matter if any of them did? She was sure Randall Crane had provided a picture of her wolf in a cage. Maybe they needed to know what she was really like outside of one. Maybe they needed to know the penalty of science playing God.
And after all, Sheldon was giving her the children, which was more than she’d actually expected to get in concession to her demands. Was Gareth right that there was more to the scientist than she knew?
Keeping her gaze locked on her new handler, she shifted smoothly into her wolf. Showing off, Brandi danced in front of him on all fours, teeth bared while Sheldon stared open-mouthed in shock. Then she lifted her head and howled until nearby beakers began exploding.
All the people in white coats ducked down behind their counters. The hybrids—or whatever they really were—all slunk to the back of their cages obviously in terror of her change to a complete animal form.
When the stunned silence had gone on long enough to satisfy her human ego, and her wolf’s need to prove itself, she went trotting down through the middle of it all, heading in the same direction Gareth had taken.
White-coated scientists pressed into heaps of fearful bodies, keeping well away from her as she passed by.
All-in-all, Brandi couldn’t remember having such a good morning in a long, long time.
Chapter 10
“You shifted in front of all of them? Are you out of your mind?” Gareth demanded.
Brandi continued repacking her duffle. Maine wasn’t as cold as Alaska, but she was still going to need layers. Now that she had a salary again, she’d buy a couple more long-sleeved undershirts when they stopped off in Wasilla.
“Randall had already showed him photos of me in wolf form. I just confirmed what he knew. It was a concession.”
Gareth ran a hand through his hair. “A concession? What kind of concession? I’ll tell what kind. It was a stupid one.”
Brandi shrugged. “He’s letting me take the children. He’s given me his word. It was a concession so he’d know I wasn’t bullshitting him about what I am. Hasn’t he seen your wolf?”
“No. I refused to show it to him. Travis did as well. I have a healthy fear of Sheldon’s penchant to put people into cages.”
Brandi lifted one shoulder. “Well, that’s you. I’m not afraid of him.”
“I liked it better when you were.”
She sighed. “Are you going to be like this the whole time? I never figured you for someone so pessimistic. It’s like we’ve traded places. You used to accuse me of seeing the worst in everything.”
“Maybe it’s because I actually know what we’re getting into more than you do.”
“Maybe,” Brandi conceded, “but I think the difference is that I believe I’m going to be able to do what needs to be done and get my ass out in one piece. I’ll try to get your ass out as well, but collecting the principals is my first priority. I thought I would just put that out there.”
“Principals? They’re more than just principals. They’re dangerous creatures with abilities we don’t have data on yet. They could know we’re coming. They could be waiting to collect us instead. You can’t know what you’re going to find until you get there. That’s what makes this work so dangerous.”
“I don’t have nightmares about them yet, so I’m not going to worry until I do. Instead, I’m going to enjoy hybrid bear hunting because my freedom is at the end of this job. And I plan to bag Danger Brain Diane in the process. Maybe I can’t kill her, but I’m certainly going to make her life a living hell as I bring her back to her brother.”
Gareth ran a hand over his face. “Giving them nicknames doesn’t make them less of a powerful enemy.”
His chastisement made her laugh and earned her a glare. “It’s a coping mechanism. Are Fallon and Lars going? You never said what happened between the three of you.”
Gareth sighed and started to pace. “I don’t know if they’re going. I was very angry when we fought. They both have cracked ribs and mild concussions. I tried not to mess up their faces. They’re both very vain about their looks.”
“I had noticed,” Brandi said, grinning at his genuine regret. “Don’t they heal faster than normal?”
Gareth nodded his head. “Yes, but it’s still going to take them a few days compared to the couple of hours it took me. Sometimes it takes them a week or two with serious wounds. That’s if they rest. Whatever facilitates my shifting apparently also facilitates rapid cell regeneration for healing and other things. It took Reed two days to be able to leave his wolf form after getting shot with silver. I’ve heard keeping the form longer than two weeks can lead to forgetting your human side altogether. The longest I’ve held my wolf form is three days.”
Brandi nodded. “Fascinating werewolf tips—glad we can talk about them openly now. Think we can use the stealth plane and make a little side trip to Alaska? It would give us a chance to check-in with our Alphas and Heidi could take a look at our cat men.”
“Matt would never allow Fallon and Lars to be treated at the Healing Center.”
Brandi snorted. “In case it’s slipped your mind, Matt is not Heidi’s Alpha. Ariel would more than allow it. She could also use it to check out their blood samples and see what the truth is about their DNA situation. Maybe fact check Shitty Sheldon’s hybridization efforts.”
“That’s underhanded.”
“Yes. It’s called being an agent. If that offends you, think of it as killing two birds with one stone.”
“You need some new metaphors.”
“Probably. You need a new attitude, but do you see me complaining every minute about that? No. I’m packing and ignoring you. I suggest you do the same. I asked for a pick-up in less than an hour. I want to get this search started.”
“What happens after we finish?” Gareth demanded.
“I don’t know. We have to finish first… then we can discuss what’s next. I’m leaving the children with Sheldon until it’s over.”
“Thought he was Shitty Sheldon.”
“He is… but not when we’re talking about the children.”
Gareth flung both arms in the air before storming off to grab the bag he’d retrieved from his unused hotel room. Brandi grinned as she hoisted her fully packed duffle to her shoulder.
***
“Why are they here? They’re not supposed to be here—not now,” Brandi whispered.
Fallon shrugged. “When you changed the itinerary to include an Alaska stopover, it was logged into the plane’s automated flight log which reports all flight changes to headquarters. I could have changed the log, but saw no reason to.”
“From now on, all log reports need to be cleared through me before they’re filed.”
Fallon scratched his nose as he sighed. “This was not anticipated. I too was surprised when Dr. Crane showed up with the sleeping children. We carried them to the back of the plane in case the sedative wore off before we got to our destination. We figured they might have to be constrained. There are tie-downs and ropes in the utility closet next to the restroom.”
“Well fuc… fudge nuggets,” Brandi corrected, glancing at the back seat where three sedated kids slept. “This is a serious complication.”
“He said to tell you they are his sincere thank you for the show you provided,” Lars added.
Brandi groaned softly. “But it’s bad timing. What if no one wants to take them? I can’t do this mission with kids in tow.”
She shook her head when she saw Gareth approaching the boarding hatch. Without meeting their gazes, he growled at the three of them for blocking his way. His chin lifted as his attention caught their cargo.
“Fuc…”
Brandi halted Gareth’s cursing by slapping
a hand over his mouth. “They’re sedated, but I don’t want to take any chances. Curse words speak the language of anger to small children. We are not going to be angry about this. We are going to deal… somehow. Give me a few minutes to figure it out before you explode.”
Gareth peeled her hand away and stared open-mouthed. He blinked as his senses returned.
“You haven’t told Ariel… or Matt… or anyone about your deal. What kind of reception do you think they’re going to get? We can’t take them with us where we’re going,” he whispered urgently.
“I know that. Don’t you think I know that?” Brandi exclaimed quietly. Her gaze went to the back of the plane. They looked far more angelic asleep than they were when awake, and her heart thudded hard in her chest as she looked at them.
Just because no one wanted them, they had ended up as Randall Crane’s lab rats. She knew what it was like not to be wanted. Her parents had been the first to teach her that lesson. She couldn’t let that happen to them… not without at least trying to fix it.
Shaking her head, she looked back at Gareth. “I don’t want to risk Sheldon changing his mind. I can’t stand the thought of them being caged up in his lab. I’d rather cage them in the Wasilla jail and let Quentin babysit them until we get back.”
“Quentin?” Gareth hissed in disbelief. “He can’t find his own ass without help.”
When Brandi looked like he’d slapped her for her idea, Gareth bowed his head and swore quietly. Finally, he lifted his gaze to hers again, an apology for his hard-heartedness on his tongue. His heart thudded in his chest at the range of emotions lurking in Brandi’s eyes.
She had already started imprinting them… which could only mean one thing. There was a damn good chance they were going to be his introduction to fatherhood. And Brandi had no idea yet how deep her feelings already were for them. The woman still wasn’t in touch with her real feelings.
He glanced at the back of the plane. Two boys and a girl. He was going to have to parent three hybrid wolf children instead of real ones. How much wolf were they? It was ironic and he could hear Lily laughing from her grave. When she’d lost the child science had forced on her, she had also lost the ability to conceive altogether. Now he was going to have hybrid babies after all. Not Lily’s. Not his. And not even Brandi’s.
First, he fell too hard for a woman who killed ruthlessly. Now he was having to consider how he might cope with fathering orphans. He’d lived over two hundred years and this was the most confused about his life he’d ever been.
“Let me call the parents of the Calder boys. They built a basement play center for Ryan and his brothers when they were about their age. There’s no way out of it without coming up through the main house. Maybe Jesse and Marilyn will take the children in until we get back. They’ve been wanting grandchildren. None of the boys have settled down to give them any yet.”
“Thought Ryan was married once before?”
Gareth nodded. “He was. They never had children even though they wanted them. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen.”
Brandi nodded and sighed. “Okay. Sounds like a plan. I’d appreciate it if you would call the Calders. I’ll talk to Ariel and Matt. If there’s any heat from this, I swear I’ll take it. I won’t let Matt get mad at you. Taking the children to Wasilla is my idea. I guess that means they really are my responsibility.”
Gareth sighed when he met Brandi’s grateful and relieved gaze. Was this how he was supposed to become her dream man? Never mind he’d saved her agent ass from becoming a science project.
He sighed in frustration. With every mate, it was something different. The last thing he’d seen coming was having to fill Brandi’s need for the family she’d never had.
Domesticity was hard as hell for him. The cattle had never minded his ineptitude at making emotional connections. Somehow he didn’t think the children would let him get by as easily, even if his choice of mate might never want or expect any kind of close connection with him.
He ran a hand through his hair. Age was supposed to bring wisdom. Where the hell was it hiding about this?
“So who’s flying this thing?” Brandi asked, moving on to a more positive topic.
“Lars,” Fallon said proudly. “He is much better than me.”
“Not really… but thank you,” Lars said, wincing as he patted his partner on the chest.
“Okay, I’m ready to go when you all are.” Brandi moved to take one of the seats at the back of the plane. She shook her head at Gareth when he sighed in resignation and walked back to take the seat opposite her. “You can sit up front and talk to the guys. The children are asleep—well drugged really. I got them covered until they come around.”
Gareth reached across the distance between them and yanked her to him by her shirt. His mouth covering hers was essential to maintaining his sanity. He nibbled and sucked her bottom lip between his teeth before he turned her loose. It reminded him of her fangs dropping… which reminded him of why she was worth this trouble.
Her total lack of protest about his aggressive action sealed his commitment almost as soundly as a mating bite would have. No matter what happened, they would face it together. He’d worry about fearing the whole father thing when he had to. Until then he would just try to keep in their potential mother’s good graces until she got a freaking clue.
“Thanks for being a good sport,” Brandi said, settling back and fastening her seat.
His seatbelt clicking into place was all that kept him from yanking her into his lap and making his decision to claim her a reality.
***
The second hour into their trip, Gareth watched Brandi’s head nod a couple times until she stopped fighting her exhaustion. The seat reclined and seconds later the woman was totally under.
How many times had he seen her instantly sleep after sex the same way? She dropped off quickly when tired and woke up swiftly when she needed to. A lifetime spent fighting for your life tended to do that to a person. He’d only stopped doing it himself about five years ago. His wolf was always vigilant, but his human side was getting tired of looking over his shoulder. Both parts of his nature battled inside him when bodily consciousness was required.
His gaze moved from Brandi to the back seat where he found a pair of blue eyes studying him silently. Gareth inclined his head in a nod, letting the boy know he’d been caught. The boy pushed his body upright in the seat until he was sitting. The kid’s courage had his mouth twitching.
Reaching over, the kid shook the girl next to him awake. Minutes ago, he had been using her hip as a pillow. Gareth watched her serious brown gaze focus on him as she too sat up. He waved and tried to offer a smile to reassure her. It turned into a real one when she reached over and slapped the second boy hard on the arm.
“Was that really necessary?” Gareth asked her.
“Yes. He doesn’t like to wake up,” she explained.
“I don’t blame him,” Gareth said, wondering how sharp normal four year olds were. These three had nearly perfect speech and thought processes.
“Are you taking us back?” the first boy demanded.
“Back where?” Gareth demanded in return. “If you mean to the lab, the answer is no. If you mean back to the children’s home, that answer is no as well. What would you say if I told you that you’re going to be adopted?”
Gareth winced when the girl reached over and smacked the second boy a second time even harder. She had put some real force behind the second slap. The abuse recipient came out of his nap spitting mad and dive bombing her with a fist raised to hit. The first boy reached across her front and pushed hard on the second boy’s head to keep the fist from connecting.
Gareth covered his mouth to keep from laughing over what obviously was a well rehearsed wake up routine. These three were a lot like the Calder boys. He had a feeling Jesse and Marilyn were going to really enjoy them.
“Who’s going to adopt us?” the first boy demanded.
“Adopt us? We’re g
etting parents?” the second boy exclaimed, his eyes wide as they swung to look at Gareth.
Gareth smiled when the girl shushed him and pointed to Brandi, who was somehow still sleeping. He shook his head. Any other time, she’d come up swinging herself… like the second boy had. He tuned back into their arguing just in time to catch the most interesting part of their debate.
“I told you she was going to be our mother. That’s what Grandpa Crane said. I like her,” the girl said wistfully. “I think she’s pretty.”
Gareth drew in a breath and let it out. He covered his mouth to hide his surprise and his grin. Brandi was pretty. More importantly, she was sexy in the most honest way he’d ever discovered in a female. He had never told Brandi how she looked to him because he had been worried about her reaction. How crazy was that? He was afraid to tell his mate he found her beautiful.
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