by Kasey Belle
“I saw it.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“If I say no, are you going to order me to tell you?”
“Don’t be an ass. Since when have I ever used Alpha dictate on you?”
“When I was nineteen and going to kill Mal for joyriding in my Camaro and wrecking it.”
Declan chuckled. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Okay, other than that time?”
“When we were twenty, and you ordered me not to kill Kell for kneeing me in balls during our annual Thanksgiving football game. He did that shit on purpose and you know it.”
Declan held up his hand to stop Paul. “I get it. I’ve used it a few times, but only to keep you from becoming the bitch of cell block D.”
Paul snorted, “Whatever.”
“Look Paul, I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end that little gift, from the Fates. I’m lucky I had Cade to share it with. You don’t have a partner to shoulder some of that burden. Nothing said between us will go any further, us unless you want it to.”
“Yeah, I know.” Paul rubbed the back of his neck trying to relieve the tension.
One side of Declan’s mouth cocked up in the lopsided smirk. “I get it, you’re a big bad Dom, even Dom’s need to vent.”
Paul grunted. On lead feet, Paul made his way over to the table and sat in the chair. Declan was right, there was no one to share his burdens. In that aspect he envied the ménage relationships in the pack. Members of that family dynamic were never truly alone. However, the thought of sharing his mate with another, even his brothers, had him ready to kill. He laid his forearms on the table, tried deep breathing exercises, clenching and unclenching his hands, to get his rage under control. Declan set a cup of coffee in front of Paul, then pulled the chair out across from him and sat down.
Paul took a sip of the dark brew, allowing the warmth to sooth him. “Thanks. I wasn’t expecting the coffee to brew that quickly.”
“It actually wasn’t that fast. You’ve been sitting there for five minutes.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. You’re ready, when you’re ready. I’m not in a rush.”
“I don’t mind if you tell Cade, just not Fiona. Fee won’t be able to keep it to herself. She’ll want to rush in-”
“And act like an avenging angel. Yeah, I know. My mate isn’t known for her subtlety.”
Paul kept his focus on his hands. He would lose his composure if he had to look Declan in the eyes. “After I left here this morning, or yesterday, I looked into Bud. I looked at the case file.” Tears burned the back of Paul’s eyes. “The night she escaped her marriage, Bud caught her, beat her, and tried to strangle her. Before all that, that night,” Paul cleared his throat, “he raped her. He fucking brutalized her. Not just that one time, but throughout their marriage. In the dream, I saw, I saw him whip her with this leather belt, until she was bloody and then he forced himself on her.”
Paul looked at Declan, there was anguish and rage in his cousin’s eyes. Paul was sure it wasn’t a tenth of the emotion that was in his own. “You need to know, Alpha.” Declan shifted and his demeanor changed at Paul’s usage of pack hierarchy. “I plan to kill that motherfucker. I am going to rip out his fucking throat. If you wish to stop me, now would probably be the time to do it.” Paul inclined his head in respect.
Declan nodded. “I would do the same. I have done the same. You have the right to avenge your mate. I won’t stop you unless it endangers the pack. I suggest you do it carefully and quietly.”
“Thank you, Declan. Go hug your mate, I know you want to.”
Declan smiled. “You’re right, I do. Try to get some sleep.” With those parting words, Declan left. Paul used the solitude to figure out, how he was going to tell Cathy she was his mate, and how he was going to quietly kill her ex.
Chapter 11
Cathy forced herself to go downstairs and join everyone. She was so embarrassed about last night, or this morning, depending on your perspective. Thanks to her stupid subconscious mind, she upset her hosts, terrified Luke, and pissed off Paul. Oh, she knew Paul wasn’t mad at her. He was angry at the situation. Truthfully, so was she, but as her therapist advised her, only time would lessen her PTSD symptoms, time and therapy, not wishful thinking or anger. She had also suggested medication, which of course, Cathy refused. She didn’t like the idea of being pumped full of meds. She had a son to take care of and she couldn’t do it stoned out of her mind.
Cathy followed the voices into the family room. She stood outside the doorway, took a deep breath, held it for the count of three, and then exhaled slowly. An exercise her therapist taught her to circumvent her anxiety naturally. Cathy repeated the action until she no longer felt like running.
Luke jumped up from in front of the television when he saw her and ran over. “Hey Mom, guess what?”
“What?”
“Mr. Cade knows all the words to Despicable Me One and Two.”
She noted all the male chuckles and good-natured ribbing aimed at Fiona’s largest husband, at Luke’s declaration. Cathy looked at Cade expecting to see anger, at the very least annoyance. She saw the exact opposite.
Cade grinned as he arrogantly looked at every man in the room and replied, “It’s okay. I think we can all admit they love me more than you. Don’t be haters cuz your jealous.”
“Jealous?” A large dark-haired man, Cathy didn’t recognize, said, “You had to resort to bribery by Blu-ray, pied piper.”
Everyone in the room laughed at the insult, including her. The extremely large man stood from where he was sitting next to a pretty, dark-haired young woman. Damn, he was a big one. He had a few inches on Cade. The man approached her slowly, with his hand already out. He obviously got the memo about why she was here. Cathy wasn’t sure if she should be mortified or pleased by the gesture.
“You must be Cathy. I’m Marcus. Most everyone calls me Marc. I’m Declan and Cade’s brother-in-law. That beautiful woman is my Amelia.” He looked towards a gated off play area and smiled at the little boy playing with large plastic Legos. “That’s our son, Jonah. He’s a year old.”
She shook Marc’s hand. “He’s adorable.”
Marc smiled and puffed up like a proud father. “Thank you. It was all me.”
Amelia came up behind him and rolled her eyes at Cathy. “Oh, yeah, all you big guy.” Marc hugged Amelia to his side. She reached out to shake Cathy’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Cathy.”
“You, too.”
Baby Jonah looked over and yelled for attention. Marc stopped Amelia, “I’ll get him, babe. You stay here and visit.”
Cathy glanced around the room. She saw Kell and Mal off to one side, in deep conversation with Declan. Mal looked up at her and sent her a friendly smile and wave. She wondered where, their brother, Paul was and felt disappointment, at the thought of not seeing him today. I thought you were putting him out of your mind, mocked the imp.
“Overwhelming, huh?”
“I’m sorry?”
Amelia smiled shyly. “I meant all the guys. They can be overwhelming. I’m related to them, and I find them to be too much, most of the time.”
“They all seem very nice,” Cathy said carefully.
“You can speak your mind here, especially to us girls. We stick together.”
“That they do.” Marcus chuckled as he walked up holding Jonah. “Every man in this room, knows better than to get between “the girls.” Marcus performed a single handed air quote since his other arm was occupied by his son. “Unless they plan to do something dangerous, we stay out of their way.”
She looked at Amelia. “They, who? Fiona and you?”
“Yes, me, Fee, Shelly, she’s Fee’s best friend. You’ll meet her in a bit. Then there’s Kelly, that’s Jay’s mom, Sarah, who is Carly’s mom, and Carly. You’ll probably see them tomorrow. Did Fiona mention to you about coming out to my house for lunch?”
“No she didn’t.”
“Please say y
ou’ll come. We do a girl’s day at least once a month. All the girls will be there, including Carly. She’s a little young to be hanging with us, but she’s the only girl in a sea of testosterone. She likes to come over, and usually, ends up playing with Emma Grace. It’s the least we can do to save her from the penis bearers.”
Cathy laughed. She liked Amelia. “Maddie mentioned her. Fiona was lamenting the fact about boys not passing muster.”
Marcus scowled. “She’s sixteen.”
Cathy and Amelia looked at each other and laughed.
“That seems to be a popular opinion around here. Declan said the same thing, the other night.”
Jonah leaned out of his daddy’s arms to reach for Cathy. She looked at Amelia, not wanting to over step. Some mothers didn’t like strangers, especially unknown women, holding their kids. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not. I’m surprised Fee hasn’t snatched him up, yet. You might want to hold him while you have the chance.”
Cathy took little Jonah from Marcus and settled him on her hip. Jonah babbled non-stop about what, Cathy didn’t know, but it was obviously important to him. Every time she looked away to talk to Amelia, he’d pat Cathy’s cheek with his chubby hand to draw her attention.
****
Paul stood in the hallway outside the family room. He angled himself in such a way that had an unobstructed view of his kitten, but she couldn’t see him. His heart skipped a beat when Cathy took little Jonah into her arms. When she kissed the top of the little cub’s head, Paul had a vision of her doing that with their children, only it was a little girl she kissed. By the Fates, he wanted that with her. She laughed at something Amelia said, and he smiled. She was beautiful, and when she smiled or laughed, she glowed.
He looked to his left when he heard the quick pats of little feet. He knew who possessed that little stride. He sniffed the air, make that two someone’s, Emma Grace and Princess. He moved out of the way as the tiny fuzz ball rounded the corner and darted into the family, with the little pixie hot on her tail.
Emma Grace giggled as she came around the corner and yelled, “Princess, come here. You always make me chase you.” She saw Paul and waved as she ran passed him, on her way to the family room. “Hi, Uncle Paul.”
He heard his mate gasp, he looked up, and their gazes collided from across the room. The spell broke when Emma Grace giggled, again. Cathy blushed prettily and looked away. He took a deep breath to get himself under control. His wolf wanted to claim her, now. He looked at Emma Grace who was still chasing Princess when something on the floor caught the attention of his peripheral vision. It was one of Jonah’s big Lego blocks. Emma Grace was heading straight for it. If she didn’t see it in time she would trip over it. Just as he was about to call her attention to it, Princess changed direction. Emma Grace had to do a running leap to keep from stepping on the cat. He saw the outcome before it happened. She was going to trip on the block when she landed, and the brick hearth was mere feet away. Damn, this was not how he wanted to reveal his wolf to his mate. He couldn’t let Emma Grace get hurt because of bad timing.
Paul burst into motion as Emma Grace’s foot hit the Lego. She flew toward the corner of the hearth. He snatched her out of the air, cradled her to his chest, and turned mid-air so he could land on his back and not crush the little pixie. He landed with a thud and a face full of dark corkscrew curls. Emma Grace pushed herself up off his chest, from inside his arms, and looked down at him with a big smile.
“Thank you, Uncle Paul. That would have hurted.”
“Yeah, no problem, pixie.”
Emma Grace puckered her lips and gave him a kiss.
Everyone came running to their side. Jay and Luke got there first with Fiona a close second.
“Emma Grace! Are you okay?” Jay grabbed her hand and his eyes scanned her for injuries, as did Luke’s. He couldn’t imagine how helpless they must have felt. As Emma Grace’s future mates they had a need to protect her, but as cubs they were unable to do so. Fiona plucked Emma Grace from his chest and hugged her.
“Emma Grace, what did I tell you about running in the house?” Fiona looked more relieved than angry, but she still had her parental duty to perform.
“You said, don’t run in the house, cuz I could fall and get hurted.”
“Yes, right. Now you know why. If Uncle Paul hadn’t seen you…”
Fiona blinked rapidly, trying to rid her eyes of the tears that threatened to fall. Paul knew it had to be a combination of her fear and hormones that had Fee in tears so easily.
“Yes, Mommy. I won’t run again, kay? Promise. Don’t be sad.”
Declan and Cade surrounded Fiona and Emma Grace and embraced them. Declan looked at Paul and mouthed “thank you”.
Paul screwed up his courage and looked at his mate. Cathy stood in the same spot, little Jonah in her arms, and her mouth hanging open in shock. Amelia slowly reached over and pulled Jonah away from Cathy. Amelia smiled sweetly when his mate looked at her.
“Mr. Paul, that was amazing! Mom, did you see how fast Mr. Paul moved? He was like The Flash.” Luke shot him that toothless smile, then turned back to his mother and frowned. Luke tapped her arm. “Mom? Are you okay?”
Cathy’s wide-eyes were focused on Paul, and as he slowly stood, they followed him. He didn’t want to move too suddenly and cause her to panic. She was clearly in shock. Cathy reached out and pulled Luke behind her, shielding him from them.
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
Instead of answering Luke, she addressed the room. “What are you?”
“They’re wolves.” Emma Grace stated with a smile.
Cathy’s gaze jerked to Emma Grace. “Wo-wolves?”
Emma Grace nodded. “Yes, they can become big ole growly doggies. Well, except Jay, cuz he’s not old enough yet.”
“Can you?”
Emma Grace giggled and shook her head. “No, I can’t. Mommy can’t eader. Aunt Shelwy can’t. Lily Rose can’t, she’s just a baby, and she’s a lion. Oh, and Uncle Max can’t turn into a wolf, cuz he’s a lion, too.”
Fiona rolled her eyes and set Emma Grace down. “Very helpful, Emma Grace.”
“Thank you, Mommy. I knowed that was sarcasm, Mommy, but I choose to nored it. Cuz it was helpful. Cuz Ms. Cathy didn’t know.” Emma grace smiled up at her mother.
Paul covered his laugh with a fake cough, as did his brothers, earning them a glare from Fiona.
Fiona turned her attention back to Cathy and moved slowly toward her, then stopped when Cathy stiffened.
“No one’s going to hurt you Cathy. I promise.”
“How do I know you didn’t lure us here to eat us or something?”
Fiona chuckled. “Well first off, I didn’t know you were coming until you called. Second, the only meat they eat is served at the dinner table. Why don’t you sit down before you fall down, and we’ll talk?”
Luke peeked around his mother. “Ms. Fee?”
“Yes, Mr. Luke?”
“Why would Mom think you are going to hurt us? What’s going on? Was Emma Grace serious?”
“You saw what Mr. Paul did, that’s not normal for humans, right?”
Luke shook his head. “That was like superhero stuff.”
“Well, he’s not a superhero, but he’s not human, either.”
“He’s not?”
“Nope. In fact, the only humans in this room are you, your mom, me, and Emma Grace. Everyone else are wolf shape-shifters.”
“You mean like werewolves?”
The shifters in the room took exception to the term and mumbled, “Shapeshifter.”
Fiona snickered and dramatically threw up her arms. “Finally! I knew you were a smart one, Mr. Luke. I’ve been saying that all along. I told them they were werewolves, but they don’t like the word. They said it has a “negative connotation,” Fiona used air quotes, “to it and that there is a difference, something about control. That being said, it doesn’t change the fact that they turn in to wolves, thus werewol
ves.”
Luke looked at everyone, up at his mom, and then back to Fiona. His little eyebrows creased with worry. “That doesn’t mean they will hurt us though, right?”
Fiona squatted down in front of Luke. “Of course not. No one here would hurt you or your mom. You are family and even if you weren’t, you would be safe here.”
Luke shook Cathy’s arm. “Mom, you are freaking me out, say something.”
“I think we should go.”
Emma Grace and Jay yelled, “No!”, and ran over to Luke. Jay put a hand on his partner’s shoulder and Emma Grace hugged him around the waist.
Emma Grace looked up at Cathy and pleaded, “Please don’t leave and take Luke away, Ms. Cathy. He’s my other bestest friend. Jay and I need him.”
Jay reached out and held Emma Grace’s hand and a calming influence settled over the room. Paul felt his taut muscles relax. What the hell?
Cathy looked around, her eyes darting from shifter to shifter. “Who’s doing that? Which one of you werewolves are doing that? Why do I feel so, so, not freaked out?”
Paul looked at Declan and spoke to him through their pack link. “Are you doing that?”
“No.”
“I think Jay’s doing it.” Cade indicated the three cubs still linked together, sharing a smile.
“Holy shit! He’s an omega.” Declan edged toward the cubs. “Finding Luke must have triggered his abilities.”
Cathy stepped in front of the cubs. Declan stopped midway and assured her, “I would never hurt you or your cub.”
Cathy watched Declan with suspicious eyes, but allowed him to come near her. Paul took that as a positive sign and decided to move closer to his mate.
Declan knelt down in front of the three cubs. “You’re doing that, aren’t you Jay?”
Worry creased Jay’s brow. “Yes, sir. Ms. Cathy was really scared, and I didn’t like that. She shouldn’t be afraid of us. We are her family. If she’s scared of us, she’ll leave. I don’t want her to take Luke away.”
