“Oh, he’s-“ I started to tell her Jason was not my boyfriend, but Jason interrupted me with a big smile.
“Mrs. Peterson! Anna has told me so much about you, I’m so glad to finally meet you. I’m Jason.” He held out a hand for Mrs. Peterson and she blushed before reaching forward.
“Well, aren’t you charming?” She tittered, obviously taken in by his good looks.
Mason cleared his throat from behind us and Jason waved a hand towards him. “And that’s my brother.”
“Oh, my.” Mrs. Peterson gaped at Mason and then back at Jason. “Twins…there’s two of you.” She murmured to herself.
I smiled at her, trying to deflect her attention off them. “Where would you like us to put the urn?” I asked her pleasantly.
“Oh, on the table inside will be fine for now, dear.” She answered me, fanning herself a little with the program that had been printed for the memorial.
“Jason will get that,” Mason said as he shoved the urn into Jason’s arms.
“I’m actually Anna’s other boyfriend, Mason.” He told Mrs. Peterson with a huge grin.
Mrs. Peterson and I just gaped at him in astonishment. She was the first to recover and gave a nervous laugh. “And you‘re funny, too. I need to introduce you to my niece.”
Mason gave a polite laugh, but he still had a huge grin on his face. “Oh, no. Anna doesn’t share her men with other females.”
I elbowed him sharply in the ribs. “He is funny, isn’t he?” I asked Mrs. Peterson, my cheeks flaming red.
She gave us a strange look. “Just remember that you are in a church right now, young lady.”
I nodded in embarrassment. “Of course, ma’am. I’m sure Mason is done with the jokes now.”
She nodded and as she walked away I glared at Mason.
“What was that about?” I whisper-yelled at him, pulling him into the corner and out of sight.
He shrugged. “If Jason can be your boyfriend, why can’t I?” He asked me with a wicked smile.
I rolled my eyes. “I never said Jason could be my boyfriend, he came up with that on his own.”
He put an arm around me and leaned close. “Who cares what anyone here thinks of us.” He waved a hand around to encompass the crowd that was gathering in the church. “You don’t belong in this world anyway.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent. “I guess it doesn’t really matter, it’s just that I’m already socially awkward, so being weird brings it up to painful levels.”
He wrapped his other arm around me to bring me into a hug and I enjoyed leaning into his embrace.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he murmured into my ear. His low voice sent shivers down my spine and warmth flooded through me, but this time it was not due to embarrassment.
“What did I miss?” Jason’s voice came from behind me.
“Nothing,” I murmured as I pulled away from Mason.
“Anna said we can both be her boyfriends as long as we don’t embarrass her.” Mason told him solemnly, but I saw the sparkle in his eyes.
Jason smiled at me. “I’m glad you came to your senses, Anna. We make very good boyfriends.”
I just rolled my eyes. “At least you’re humble.”
Jason held out his hand for me with a smirk. “Mrs. Peterson reserved us seats in the VIP section.”
I took Jason’s hand, but reached back for Mason’s hand as well. Mrs. Peterson was probably going to be gossiping about the girl with two boyfriends as soon as we were out of her sight, so I was going to enjoy the support the twins were willing to offer. Mason gave me a pleased smile as he took my hand and the three of us walked into the church together.
We walked in and had a seat in the front row of the pews. I felt a little uncomfortable having the entire church staring at my back as I sat between Mason and Jason, but Mrs. Peterson had hung a little paper sign on the pew to reserve it for us. I would have felt like I was disrespecting her kindness if I tried to sit anywhere else. No one spoke as the church slowly filled with guests. The atmosphere was quiet and depressing, as if everyone felt that they needed to project an air of sadness.
I was a little surprised that Evelyn had spent so much time here. When she described her church I had always pictured somewhere bright and cheery where she celebrated the joy of life with the other church members. Maybe I was letting the circumstances cloud my judgement, maybe this was a happy place to be on normal days.
I had prepared myself for this event, expecting that it would be difficult to talk about Evelyn without shedding a tear. But I had not expected to feel this oppressive sad silence weighing down on me. I had expected more of a celebration of her life.
I shifted a little in the uncomfortable wooden pew. Mason squeezed my hand and I could see that he was just as uncomfortable. The church had been built in the 1930s and was clearly not built for men over six feet tall.
The memorial service went well. I was relieved that I did not have to speak in front of everyone. Mrs. Peterson had told me that it was better left to ‘those of us within the church’. I think she meant that as a slight, but I didn’t mind.
The church slowly emptied to the reception hall that was housed in the basement of the church. There were no windows present in the room, only florescent ceiling lights interspersed with the beige ceiling tiles.
Mrs. Peterson had arranged for a potluck, but instructed me not to bring anything. I politely sampled most of the dishes that the guests had brought and walked around the room, thanking people for coming.
The twins were well behaved during the reception and we made small talk with Evelyn’s friends who had attended. I knew it was time to leave when people started whispering and sending strange looks our way. It looked like the gossip about us had now been spread throughout the entire room.
I sighed and tugged on Mason’s sleeve. He gave me a questioning glance.
“Can we go?” I asked him quietly.
He gave my hand a squeeze. “Of course, is everything okay?”
I nodded. “I’m just done here.”
Mason gave Jason a signal and I walked over to Mrs. Peterson to say my goodbyes.
“Leaving already, dear?” Mrs. Peterson asked in her fake-nice voice.
I smiled at her. “The service was lovely, thank you for having it here. I’m sure Evelyn would have loved it.”
“Of course. When you are done living in sin, I hope you will consider joining the church here. We are a very forgiving crowd.”
I blinked at her in surprise.
“Lovely to meet you!” Jason said loudly. “But we have to get going.”
He tugged on my hand and I followed him out, not even bothering to respond to Mrs. Peterson.
“Mace went to get the car,” Jason told me as we waited by the entrance. I was relieved to be back in the bright sun and I could hear the waves of the ocean in the distance. The parking lot was close enough to the beach that they had to block it off during tourist season, otherwise it would be packed with the vehicles of day trippers.
“Mason already has the urn?” I asked nervously.
Jason smiled. “Of course, we aren’t about to leave Evelyn with a bunch of judgmental bitches.”
I laughed. I should probably feel upset that she had been so rude to me, but I really just felt free. I would never have to see anyone in that church ever again, so their opinions didn’t matter to me. Walking out of the church caused a huge weight of oppression to be lifted from my shoulders. They were probably a group of lovely people, otherwise Evelyn would not have spent so much time with them. I tried not to let Mrs. Peterson’s parting comment color my opinion of the whole group.
But I was happy that now I could go home and be with my pack. I wouldn’t get any judgment or condemnation from them. I know that I had only been with them for a short time, but I felt like they had embraced me into their family. Although, I had to admit that I was starting to feel more for them than just friendship.
It didn’t help that the
six guys I lived with were insanely attractive. The more comfortable I became around them, the more my thoughts were starting to drift into inappropriate directions. I had thought there were a couple times when the guys were attracted to me as well, but I had been too nervous to push the issue.
Jason suddenly snapped to attention, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Mason needs us!” He told me urgently. “I need you to stay close to me and follow my directions exactly.” He said with a serious look in his eyes. “Playtime is over.”
I nodded in agreement, but my heart started to pound. Was Mason okay? Serious Jason only came out in emergencies.
Jason unbuttoned his suit jacket and I remembered the handgun he had flashed earlier. He strode off and I followed close behind him, nervous about what we were going to walk into.
Jason stalked through the parking lot confidently and I trotted after him. I quickly kicked off my shoes and bent to pick them up without losing pace with Jason. He didn’t even pause to smirk at me or make a quip about my shoes, so I knew the situation was dire.
The pavement was rough under my feet, but I was able to better keep pace with him without my shoes. Plus, I would be ready if we needed to run once we got Mason. I really hoped it would not come to that.
Jason motioned for me to stay close as we turned down a row of cars and caught sight of Mason.
He was standing next to the Jeep. The driver’s door was open, and it was all that stood between him and a group of three men. He flicked his eyes to us as we approached, and I could see a flash of relief across his face before he went back to looking threatening.
Two of the men turned to face Jason as we approached but the third never took his eyes off Mason.
“I was starting to wonder where you were.” The man who had addressed Jason was as large as Cody and had a dark beard. He smirked at us. “I don’t think I have ever seen the two of you apart before.”
His two friends snickered. I glared at Beardy. No one who messed with my twins was going to get away with it. I think I surprised Jason just as much as myself with the overwhelming protective urge that surged up inside of me and bubbled out in the form of a low warning growl. Beardy just looked amused when I let out my growl.
“This is the female everyone has been talking about?” Beardy trailed his gaze from my feet up to my chest. “I guess I can see what all the fuss is for, I wouldn’t kick her out of bed.”
This time Jason was the one to growl. “You will never get anywhere near her.”
Beardy threw back his head and laughed. “I’m going to enjoy taking her away from your pack when the council gives the order. We might even have to make a stop before I present her to them.” He winked at me.
I really wanted to punch this guy. Jason must have had the same thought because his hand twitched. “You’re lucky you are under the council’s protection.” Jason snarled at him.
Who were these guys? They must work for the council, but what were they doing here? If they were here for me I was sure Beardy would have taken pleasure in announcing it.
“Was there something that you wanted?” Mason asked coldly.
Beardy didn’t turn around to answer Mason, but instead addressed Jason. “Just in the neighborhood and thought we would see what the Seaside Pack wanted at a human’s funeral.”
Jason shrugged. “We’re leaving, does it matter?”
“Leaving with the human’s ashes.” Beardy stated pensively. He turned his gaze back to me, so Jason stepped in front of me to block his view.
“Sounds like we are done here.” Jason stated.
The tension was thick in the air as everyone faced off against each other. The threat of violence hovered around us and no one moved.
Jason and Beardy had their gazes locked, neither of them wanting to be the first to look away. I could see Jason’s hand slowly creeping up towards the holster under his jacket.
Crap! I needed to do something before things got out of control.
“Beardy!” I shouted.
His eyes flicked towards me and his staring match with Jason was broken.
“It’s John,” He told me irritably.
“Oh, okay.” I stuttered. I wracked my brain for something to say. I had just wanted to break the tension; I didn’t actually have anything to say.
“I kind of like Beardy.” Jason told him with a chuckle. “It has a nice ring to it.”
“It’s been fun chatting,” Mason added. “But it’s about time to go. Anna gets cranky if we don’t feed her lunch on time.”
Beardy gave me a mocking bow. “We wouldn’t want to keep the princess from her lunch.” He waved at his two henchmen and they sneered at me before following him to their SUV.
Mason and Jason watched them until their vehicle had disappeared around the corner.
“What was that about?” I asked, my voice sounding aggravated.
The guys glanced at me and then each other. “Let’s talk while we get out of here,” Mason suggested.
Jason motioned for me to go ahead of him into the Jeep and Mason started to drive before we even had our seatbelts buckled.
Jason was furiously texting while Mason drove. “Uh, guys. You promised talking?” I reminded them. Jason just grunted but Mason met my eyes in the rear-view mirror.
“Sorry, Anna. Those were the errand boys of the council.” He told me seriously.
“Technically, they’re enforcers,” Jason muttered.
Mason snickered. “I can’t wait to tell everyone that you called John, ‘Beardy’.”
I blushed. “Well, that’s what I was calling him in my head and I wanted to get his attention.” I told him defensively.
Jason laughed. “You had perfect timing; I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t been there to break the tension.”
“Would any of that have happened if I wasn’t there?” I asked bitterly.
“Honestly, it very well might have.” Mason told me. “The council has had us under a microscope ever since Austin started accepting lone wolves and ‘rejects’ into his pack. I think when the council allowed Austin to start his own pack they expected him to recruit from the pool of extra males in the other packs. They had no idea that they were approving a pack of military miscreants and lone wolves.”
“Hmmm,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “I can see why they would think the two of you are trouble.”
Jason looked up from his phone to give me a wry look.
“How did they know where we were? Did they follow us?” I asked nervously.
“Probably,” Mason murmured irately. “We should have been on the lookout for that. We fucked up and let down our guard.”
Jason gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry, Anna. I know it was important for you that things went smoothly today.”
I just shrugged. “You guys aren’t to blame, those asshats are.”
Both of the twins grinned at my description of the enforcers, but quickly went back to brooding. Austin was probably not going to be happy about this. He and James already worried about my safety when I was away from the house, but I wasn’t going to let them put a damper on my freedom. I still needed to be able to live my life.
I frowned to myself. Now I had to worry about being stalked by both mysterious kidnappers and council enforcers? I did not like the thought of the council targeting our pack. I thought because Austin’s father was on the council they would look favorably upon us?
I was going to have a talk with Austin when we got back.
Chapter 2
Anna
James was waiting for us when we walked into the house. He was dressed casually, in black cargo pants and a fitted black T-shirt that showed off his lean and toned physique. I could compare the other guys to football players, but James had an air about him that screamed danger. If I had to compare him to anything, it would be an assassin. James was a sleek and graceful predator.
“I need the two of you to report up to Austin’s office immediately.” He told the twins
gruffly.
The twins both sighed and trudged towards the stairs.
James frowned at me, so I gave him an agreeable smile. His dark eyes watched me thoughtfully.
“I’ll make lunch,” I offered, in an attempt to distract him from trying to order me around.
It worked because he nodded and then followed the twins upstairs. I waited until I was sure he was in the office with the door closed before I ran upstairs to see Caleb.
I was glad that James had excluded me from the meeting; I knew he was just going to question the twins without giving them any information.
Right now, Caleb was going to be my best source of information. I knocked on Caleb’s door with my ‘secret’ knock that identified me to him. I had started doing it as a joke after he had accidentally mistaken me for James one day, but it always seemed to make him smile so I kept doing it.
I heard an answering shout to my knock, so I let myself in. He stood up from the computer and stretched his back as I walked in. I went over to him and gave him a hug.
Over the last couple of weeks, Caleb and I had gotten closer. Any time that I wasn’t with the twins, I was usually with him. I had really connected with Caleb because we were both a little shy and socially awkward.
I could confide in him when I embarrassed myself in front of other people or when I had social anxiety. We would both laugh about our uncomfortable situations together. He understood me in ways that I would never be able to explain, and he made me feel like maybe I wasn’t so weird after all.
“I heard there was an incident?” Caleb asked me, stepping back from the hug to look me over for damage.
I laughed. “I’m fine.”
I walked over to the corner of the room where the puppies were crying for my attention. Caleb had melted my heart when he had offered to puppy sit them during the day. The twins and I had been brainstorming ideas for where they could stay while I was at work and they were in class when Caleb had jumped in with his offer. All three of us had turned to him in surprise.
He had just blushed and shrugged. “I’m home all day anyway, so they can just stay with me.”
That was the first time that I had hugged him. He had turned bright red, but he had awkwardly hugged me back. Now that we had talked so much about our difficulties our hugs were much more natural. We had made an agreement to help each other through some of our issues. Being able to casually touch without being awkward was one of the things we were both working on with each other.
Finding the Fire Within Page 2
