Brandi

by Donna McDonald

  Brandi groaned against his shoulder. “What time is it? Do we have to get up?”

  “It’s 0-cat-thirty. Don’t you smell them?” Gareth asked.

  Brandi sniffed the air. Her stomach growled when she thought she smelled food. Did wolves eat panthers? Yuck.

  She laid her head back down on Gareth’s chest. She was starved but too tired to eat. Her body ached and it was the first time she’d felt true discomfort since her conversion. Gareth had obviously outpaced the nanos last night in his use of her. She felt his erection pressing against her belly again now and snorted. She couldn’t help wondering what he’d been like as a younger man.

  “No. No more sex until you feed me. My nanos haven’t caught up with your abuse yet. And my brain is mush from all the endorphins.”

  “Glad to hear both those things. How are you otherwise?” Gareth asked softly.

  Brandi raised her head at his concerned tone. “You mean emotionally?”

  Gareth nodded. “Yes. I guess that’s what I meant.”

  Brandi folded her hands and put her chin on them. “Well, I’m not angry, upset, or feeling the urge to throttle anyone this morning. I believe that might be a first for me.”

  Gareth laughed. “And it only took fourteen orgasms to put you in a mellow mood.”

  “Thirteen,” Brandi corrected. “Sorry. I faked the last one. I was tired.”

  His punishing pinch sent her rolling off him in laughter. She knew his ego wasn’t really harmed by her confession. And it had been the truth.

  She rolled off the bed and to her feet, moaning as she stood. It had her laughing again. Her walk to the bathroom was not very steady. Her legs felt like jello… something that had never happened to her before. When she exited the bathroom, she was walking a bit steadier, but her muscles still ached.

  “Where the hell are my clothes?”

  Gareth rolled off the bed, feeling like a million bucks. He reached under it and pulled out her duffle. “Your jeans were salvageable and they’re being cleaned, but your shirt had who knows what kind of blood on it. I sent it with Fallon to be burned at the facility.”

  Brandi dug through the contents of the bag, pulling out clean clothes. She smiled as she pulled on jeans that now fit a little more loosely. She pulled on a t-shirt and sat on the bed to pull on socks.

  “So I’ve been out of it for two days. What happened to Jon and Susan?”

  Gareth huffed out a breath. “We’ll talk about that later. I need to use the facilities right now. You probably should go out and greet our unwanted guests. Don’t kill them until I’m there to witness it.”

  Brandi snorted as he ran to the bathroom. “Coward,” she called.

  If Gareth was going to tell her Jon and Susan were now in one of Sheldon’s lab cages, she didn’t want to hear it anyway. Those people didn’t belong in a cage. If Jon was able to help the others, there was no good reason not to let them all go home to their children and the life they wanted to be living. If Sheldon wanted their cooperation with his freaking testing, he could damn well offer them something in exchange. If they didn’t want to be studied, Sheldon would just have to wrap his stubborn scientific mind around that.

  Then she remembered Danger Brain Diane. And the testosterone amped up guard. What had been their fate? She looked at the bathroom and snorted. She also wondered if Fallon and Lars would tell her.

  Standing, she ran a hand over her nearly shoulder-length hair, immediately remembering Gareth passionately holding her captive by it last night. The effects of that recent memory went straight to her groin, making her hunger again for the man now hiding in the bathroom to avoid her questions. She hoped the urge to kill him stayed away.

  Maybe she’d focus on the great sex like Ariel said she did with Matt. The sex was certainly phenomenal. Maybe she’d let her hair grow out long enough for Gareth to wrap around his wrist.

  Rolling her eyes at her rationalizing, Brandi took a deep breath and headed out to see Fallon and Lars.

  ***

  “Look Lars. She lives and she’s still able to walk this morning. I am disappointed in the prowess of the great Gareth Longfeather,” Fallon declared.

  Brandi raised her middle finger. It served only to make Fallon laugh. Ignoring him, she turned to her other visitor. “Hello Lars. How are you feeling?”

  “Much better—thank you for asking. The inside of me has finally caught up with the outside. I will certainly think twice before angering Gareth again. I am sorry I missed your great battle with Dr. Crane’s sister. Fallon said he missed seeing it as well. Your mate would not say how it was he was involved in the fight. As usual, Gareth says nothing interesting.”

  “Well, I don’t mind telling you. Even though I didn’t need the help, Gareth got all macho and jumped in front of a tranquilizer gun to protect me. The dart took him out. I took out Diane afterward. The woman would be dead now if not for Fallon. He whacked her with his mojo and made me go rescue the bears instead.”

  “Yes. He told me. Too bad Diane Crane got away,” Lars declared.

  “Got away?” Her irritated gaze swung to Fallon’s. “Damn it. Diane Crane got away?”

  Fallon nodded. “So it seems. She was not present when we went back for her and the guard. The guard never recovered and died on the trip back to Virginia. We think Diane Crane killed him quietly before she ran. We were too busy with the bear hybrids and our very brave fallen agent to chase after a scientist. I’m sure we will be seeing her again. ”

  Brandi sank into a seat at the tiny dinette table. Lars put a caffeinated soft drink in front of her which she gratefully sipped. Sugar and caffeine—the winning combination to chase away her sex hangover. “What happened to Jon and Susan? That’s all I really care about anyway.”

  Fallon and Lars exchanged looks instead of answering. Finally, Fallon turned to her. “So Gareth did not tell you what he did?”

  Brandi sighed and leaned back in her chair. “No, he didn’t tell me anything about what happened. But if Sheldon has put those poor people in cages, I’m going to kick some government scientist ass.”

  Lars laughed at her declaration, but covered his mouth when Fallon gave him a look. When Fallon turned to look at her again, Brandi could practically hear his brain gears grinding as he tried to be careful about what he said to her.

  Her bad-ass days might be behind her, but her work had made her what she was. Maybe all she was going to keep was agent attitude and the ability to kick ass when necessary. At the moment, she was certainly contemplating the best way to torture a couple half-panther half-asshat co-workers.

  Fallon crossed his arms and smiled. “I think you should discuss what happened with your… wait. What do you call Gareth now that you are officially mated?”

  Brandi crossed her arms to mirror him. She wasn’t surprised they knew. She was just surprised to be taking their knowledge so calmly. Not caring they noticed was probably a good sign.

  “What do I call my mate? Let me see. So many names come to mind. Why don’t you help me pick a suitable one this morning? Tell me what Gareth did with the bear hybrids.”

  Fallon chuckled. “I would love to help you pick a name for the great Gareth Longfeather. I think you should call him… hero. What he did, he did for you… or because of you. Either way, you would approve. You have been a good influence on him, Brandi.”

  Brandi released a pent-up breath. “Right. I get it. You’re not going to tell me what he did. So fine… I’ll just ask Gareth myself… as soon as the coward stops hiding in the bathroom.”

  Lars burst out laughing. Fallon chuckled again, but soon followed his mate in laughing too.

  Brandi was just to the point of growling at them both when Gareth padded into the kitchen in his sock feet. As typical, he drew her attention. This morning her stomach tightened in awareness. Damn the man for being so sexy. After last night, she was totally obsessed with having sex with him.

  “Lars was feeling better by the time everything was over so I had him fly Jo
n and the rest back to Colorado in the Osprey. We were delayed only for the time it took Jon to make them all change back to human form. Finding clothes for seventeen large naked people was the hardest part. Nothing was going to fit Jon at his new size, but he said he didn’t care. He went home wrapped in a sheet. Fallon and I told the storekeeper they were a nudist colony that we had arrested. We used my credit card for all purchases so Sheldon will never know.”

  “Let me see if I’m getting this straight. No Diane. No bear hybrids. And a very sick agent. How upset was Sheldon when you went back empty-handed?”

  “Well, he wasn’t… because we didn’t. We took him one dead bear hybrid partially autopsied and a dead drugged guard. He was happy enough with those… just kind of sad about his sister. But I also think he was secretly happy she escaped. You can never tell with him. He doesn’t reveal much.”

  “Danger Brain Diane is connected to Lane Nelson… sleeping with him among other things. She may even have worked for him once. She bragged to me about it. We never got far enough in our conversation for me to tell if Lane was feeding her info or she was feeding him. Either way, Lane could be a future problem for Sheldon. Does that mean we have to kill him?”

  “Will you hate me if we do?” Gareth asked.

  Brandi sighed. “No. But it just seems a waste. He was a decent handler up until he left me with Randall Crane.”

  Gareth shrugged. He was jealous, but maybe it was a good sign she wasn’t wanting her old lover dead.

  “Instead of killing him, Fallon and Lars can chip him. We can also cap his teeth with microphone transmitters. His secrets will be recorded round the clock. If Lane Nelson makes contact with Diane Crane, Sheldon will know about it as soon as it happens. The monkey hybrids are the sharpest people I’ve ever seen about handling Intel.”

  Brandi snorted. “Seriously? There are monkey people?”

  Gareth snorted as his head popped out of the small refrigerator and turned in her direction. “Monkey hybrids make way more sense than werewolves, don’t you think?”

  Brandi laughed at his logic, even though the reality beyond the joke still bothered her. How many other hybrid species were there? Did she even want to know?

  Her stomach growled loudly as she watched Gareth retrieve two triple-sized roast beef sandwiches and bring them to the small table. Fallon scrambled from the chair to let him sit across from her.

  “I saved your bears from Sheldon, even though it’s probably temporary. It’s going to be hard for them to learn to cloak what they’ve become. As much as I want to, I can’t save the world for you, Brandi. But I will stand by your side if you feel you have to try to do it. I’ll limit my cynicism to a couple days a week so you won’t want to kill me so often.”

  Brandi laughed, but her gaze was glued to him while he lifted his sandwich to his mouth. Gareth was steady, irritatingly steady at times. But he was also capable of change. He proved that most by letting Jon and Susan go instead of taking them back to Sheldon. If someone as jaded as he was could change, maybe that meant she was capable of changing too.

  “You’re right, Gareth. I want to save the world. But my unwilling conversion into a werewolf has enlightened me about the need to save myself too. I’m starting to think maybe the best thing I can do is save three wolf hybrid children no one else wants to help. If that’s my life choice, will you stand by my side and help me do that?”

  Gareth stopped chewing and swallowed. He nodded solemnly as he held her gaze. “I was already going to take care of the children, even if I ended up sucking at it as a single parent. I’ll admit to secretly hoping Jesse and Marilyn let me con them into helping until their grandkids start coming along.”

  He dropped his gaze back to his food, took another bite, chewed, and swallowed before speaking again. “And if you got pregnant last night, which is a possibility because of your heat cycle, we’ll figure that out too. Mating was inevitable, but I had planned on being careful. You wouldn’t wait until I retrieved the condoms I bought.”

  Brandi blushed. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t in the mood to talk. I thought you were just trying to slow things down by making unnecessary conversation like you sometimes do.”

  “Want to tell the cats what color underwear I have on? They’re getting an earful about everything else this morning.”

  When Fallon and Lars laughed at Gareth’s chastisement, her face flamed. She shrugged and sighed, deciding she deserved to be embarrassed. And Gareth deserved to be told the truth.

  “I wasn’t all that worried because I don’t even know if I can get pregnant. Ariel thinks our nanos are programmed not to let conception occur. Matt wants children with her and it hasn’t… okay, you’re right about the cats hearing too much. I’m shutting up now. We can discuss this at home.”

  Bowing her head, Brandi attacked her sandwich, tearing into it with large bites. She was beyond starved.

  Gareth stopped eating and studied her bowed head. Home, Brandi had said. On her own and without his prompting.

  “I don’t really care what Fallon and Lars are hearing. I only care about what you’re feeling. I’ll take anything and everything that comes from life with you. That’s what being a mate is all about. I love you, Brandi. It really is that simple for me. I wouldn’t change a moment and I certainly wouldn’t change you. I’ll prove that to you again tonight.”

  Just thinking about tonight sent nerves rippling through her. Brandi stopped chewing and rubbed her chest. There was an ache in the middle of it. Every time she looked at Gareth this morning her insides clenched in happy desperation. She wanted a hug from him so bad it was all she could do to keep her ass planted in the chair.

  Gareth made her needy… and emotional. In short, he’d changed her so much he’d ruined her. She sure hoped Ariel was right about those changes being a good thing.

  Gareth frowned at Brandi’s pained expression. “Indigestion from eating too fast? I’m really sorry I forgot to feed you last night.”

  Brandi shook her head. “No. I believe it’s love I’m feeling. It feels a lot like heartburn though, don’t you think?”

  Gareth snickered at her lack of romance, but nodded. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

  Chapter 20

  Brandi looked out the window and snorted. “Why are you whistling? We’re signing up to raise four year olds who read minds. God only knows what else they can do. It may be years before we see any real privacy again.”

  “It will be a little cozy for a month or so, but only until they get the kid’s addition to the house finished. It’s not like there are a lot of buildings being built in Wasilla. Carpenters from Anchorage are coming tomorrow. I already approved the plans they faxed. If it goes well, they’ll have the outside framed in a couple of weeks. They’re using Jesse’s blueprints. With the addition being a two-story, it’s not like it will even take away much of the back yard. Not that I care. I hated mowing anyway.”

  “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never mowed a yard in my life,” Brandi said flatly, turning to glare when he veered off the road. “But I can drive and way better than you obviously. You’re too easily distracted.”

  Gareth laughed. “I’m always distracted around you. And I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who hasn’t mowed a yard.”

  “Why do you even have to mow here in Alaska? It snows most of the year. Couldn’t you just turn your cattle loose in your yard for a while. They eat grass, don’t they?”

  Her question made him laugh. “My dull, easy life was over the moment I laid eyes on you. It’s a shame what a man will put up with for great sex.”

  “You mean stupendous sex,” Brandi corrected.

  “I would actually call it world record breaking sex,” Gareth declared. Her pleased laugh made his smile so wide it hurt his face. “When you’re happy, I feel like the luckiest werewolf in Wasilla.”

  Brandi snickered. “Changing your mind about that is going to be as easy as 1, 2, 3 here shortly.”

  “You might be surprised. Thi
s move might be so right and so easy that you’re going to immediately feel it in your gut.”

  Brandi rolled her eyes. “Kent is combative. Aggie is sneaky. And Stewart has prophetic dreams like I do. They bicker and fight and plot better than most agents I’ve known.”

  Gareth shrugged. “We’ll call Grandpa Sheldon if we need more help than we can find in the pack.”

  Brandi nodded and sighed, fighting butterflies in her stomach. “What if they decide they don’t like me for a parent? What if I let them down like my parents did me? What if…”

  “Stop,” Gareth demanded, pulling the truck into the driveway. “Just stop.” He turned to look at the woman he loved. “And stop chewing your lip. Never let an alpha, even a tiny one, see your nervousness. They will use it against you every chance they get. Be an unflappable beta. Be calm and unmovable… except in bed.”