by Lynn Hagen
“I’ll have Hawk send some men to check out Mr. Adam Nyte,” Kota said as Maverick took a seat behind his desk and kicked his booted feet up. He knew he wasn’t feeling this way just because the little prick had been checking his daughter out. Of course, that alone put the man on Maverick’s least-favorite people list, but there was more to it than that. He hadn’t remained alpha for this long without having instincts that told him there was more to the man than met the eye.
“I want Nero to run a background check on him as well,” Maverick commented. “If there is anything shady about that human, I want to know.”
Kota nodded as he stood. “I’ll stop at Nero’s office across the hall before seeing Hawk.”
Maverick pulled at the patch of hair under his lip, wondering who Adam Nyte was and what he was doing in Brac Village.
“Are you contemplating Ruttford’s death again?” Cecil asked as he walked into the office and dropped down onto the sofa.
“I wasn’t, but thanks for reminding me about the prick.”
Cecil rolled his eyes and lay back on the couch, using the arm as a headrest. “You need some deep and intense psychotherapy, Maverick. Maybe I can get Nicholas to shrink your head and teach you how to cut the cord.”
Maverick narrowed his eyes at his reason for living. “You’re supposed to be on my side,mate.”
“And most of the time I am. But on this subject, you are on your own, buddy. You know I agree with Melonee.”
Maverick decided to leave the subject alone before he blew another gasket. It would do him no good. He and Melonee were at an impasse, both refusing to see the other’s point of view. He didn’t give two shits if everyone thought he was being unreasonable and overbearing. She was his little girl, and he wasn’t ready to let her go.
“Has Nero finished setting up your network?” Maverick asked as he changed the topic of conversation.
Cecil sat up, giving Maverick a look that said he knew what the man was doing. “He did. He also sent word to the other packs and Christian’s coven for the mates to each set up an account under a username and password.”
Maverick was glad to see Cecil getting so involved in the intricacies of the pack instead of getting into trouble. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe his mate was finished causing havoc, but it was good to see him getting into other things as well.
Maverick turned just as his office door flew open, twin brothers running in and heading straight for his desk—or behind his chair to be more precise. “Isn’t it late for you two to be running around?” Maverick asked just as Murdock came racing in, his eyes flickering around the office.
“Seen my boys?”
Maverick tried his best to keep a straight face as he shook his head. “Not in the last five seconds.” Murdock spun around and headed out of the office. Small giggles sounded behind his chair.
“You two can come out now,” Cecil said. “He’s gone.”
Matthew peeked his head out and glanced around the office. “He’ll be back. He’s trying to trick us.” His head disappeared behind Maverick’s chair just as Murdock appeared in the doorway again, shot a glance around the office, and then walked away, mumbling under his breath.
“He should be gone now,” Maddox announced as he popped out from behind the other side of Maverick’s chair. “That was close.”
“Now what are your diabolical plans?” Cecil asked.
The twins stood there glancing at each other and then at Maverick. “We don’t know. What should we do?”
It amazed Maverick that, although these two were twins, the older they became, the more Maddox looked like Murdock and Heaven’s softer features appeared in Matthew. Their personalities even seemed to match their parents’. Maddox was a true alpha when it came to the two. He was the leader, the one leading Matthew around and getting them into trouble while Matthew obediently followed. He had no doubt this running from dad thing was Maddox’s idea. Maverick wasn’t sure considering Matthew was an escape artist.
“Come on, guys. I’m sure we can find some trouble to get into,” Cecil said as he led the twins from Maverick’s office.
“Just don’t take them to a damn strip club!” Maverick shouted after his mate. He wasn’t sure if he should rescue Heaven and Murdock’s boys or trust that his mate had a bit of common sense…Maverick got up and went after Cecil.
Just as he cleared his doorway, Micah and Ludo stopped him. “What do we know about this Adam Nyte?”
Maverick watched as Cecil headed toward the kitchen and prayed his mate was getting them some cookies and not sneaking out the back door. He turned his attention to Micah. “Nothing right now. I have Nero working on the human’s background.”
“What’s with the surveillance then?” Ludo asked.
“My gut,” Maverick replied. “There is something off about that man, and I want to know since he is in my damn town.”
“We could just interrogate him like we did in the good old days,” Micah suggested with a sinister smile. The wolf’s dark eyes seemed to light up at the prospect.
“If it comes down to that,” Maverick replied. “For now, just keep an eye on him and let me know what he’s up to.”
As the two walked away, Maverick strode into the office across the hall from his, finding Nero behind his desk, typing away. “Anything yet?”
Nero clicked a few more keys and the printer came to life, a few pages sliding into the tray. “There’s not much known about him. Not much at all,” Nero said in his normal nervous tone. “But I did manage to find out he works freelance as a construction consultant.”
Maverick crossed the office and pulled the pages from the printer, scanning what Nero had found. It seemed Mr. Nyte had spent a lot of time overseas working on various projects for a few companies, but nothing that would tell him why the man was in Brac Village.
“Keep searching.” He walked from the office, more determined than ever to find out what secrets the human was hiding.
Chapter Five
Melonee sat at the breakfast table, feeling the tight knot in her stomach. She couldn’t stop thinking about her time with Ruttford last night and what he had done to her body. That was the first time the man had taken things that far, and Melonee was wasn’t averse to doing it again. Never before had she felt anything that explosive, and her body tingled at the remembrance. She needed to get her thoughts under control because she knew for damn sure the shifters could scent arousal.
That was all she needed this early in the morning was her uncles interrogating her. There was no way in hell she was revealing what had gone on between her and the man who had given her the best orgasm of her life.
God, she was blushing. She could feel her cheeks heating.
But Ruttford’s warning kept playing over and over in her mind. Five days. He was giving her five days before he threw down the gauntlet and demanded his mate. Melonee had been prepared to leave tonight, but that was before Adam had showed up.
Now she wasn’t sure what to do.
She knew she should have told Ruttford, but after what he had done to her, Melonee was surprised she remembered her own name.
“Your eggs are getting cold,” Johnny said as he poked her arm and then pointed at her plate with his fork. How could he think of eating at a time like this? Her world was spinning out of control, and he was thinking about eggs?
“Do you want them?” She slid her plate over to him, careful not to let her confusion of her situation show on her face.
“Well, if you insist,” he said before pushing his empty plate aside and grabbing hers. “Can I eat the sausage, too?”
“Knock yourself out.” She knew she needed to call Ruttford and tell him what was going on, but she feared his reaction. The fey had waited patiently enough, but if he found out there was another man fated to be hers, she wasn’t sure Ruttford would wait the five days. He just might storm in here and demand she leave with him.
She winced at what she knew her dad would do if her mate decided to
go all Rambo on them. It wouldn’t be pretty.
Johnny patted her on her hand and whispered, “You should go see Dr. Sheehan. You look a little constipated.”
Melonee smiled and hugged the man. If he only knew how much he had lightened the moment for her. “Or it could be the fact that I need to shop.”
Johnny’s blue-grey eyes lit up. “Now you’re cooking with bacon. I can have Hawk take us to the mall.”
“Mall?” Keata said from across the table. “Did you guys say you were going to the mall?”
“I want to go,” Blair said as he pushed his plate aside. “I need to do some Christmas shopping.”
It looked like Melonee had her day set. But that still didn’t settle the butterflies in her stomach. She needed to talk to Ruttford, but hell if she could work the nerve up to call him. Maybe after shopping with her family she would have the nerve, although she doubted it.
She also wanted to find out where Adam was staying and have a talk with him as well. She just wasn’t sure what she was going to say to him.Oh, by the way, I’m fey and you are my other mate.Yeah, that wasn’t going to cut it.
But her biggest hurdle was going to be her dad. Melonee was dreading that talk. Maybe she could text him once she moved out. God, she was such a chickenshit. She knew she couldn’t do that to Maverick, not after he had taken her into his home, adopted her, and loved her like she was his biological daughter.
Maybe she should call her mother. Even though Olivia was happily mated to Windstorm, a shifter who lived with the eastern pack of grey wolves, they still stayed in contact and saw each other often. She should be able to help Melonee with her problem.
“I’ll meet you guys in an hour by the front door,” Melonee said to the men around the table as she scooted her seat back and then made her way to her bedroom. As soon as she had her door closed, she grabbed her phone and dialed her mother.
“Hey, sweetie,” her mother said as soon as she answered. “I was just about to call you.”
Melonee sat down on her bed, wondering how to start the conversation. Maybe she should just blurt it out and get it over with, like ripping a Band-Aid off. “I have another mate.” She winced and held her breath as she waited for her mother to reply.
“Oh, dear,” Olivia said. “How did you find out?”
Melonee rolled to her stomach and cupped her face with her free hand, wondering how she was going to deal with this mess. “A stranger came by last night. I guess he used to go to school with Uncle Lewis. As soon as I answered the door, I knew.”
“I’m guessing if he went to school with Lewis that he’s human?”
“And you would be correct.” Melonee sighed. “What am I going to do, Mom? Maverick is already having a fit over Ruttford, who, by the way, told me last night he was giving me five days and then he wasn’t waiting any longer.”
Olivia chuckled. “It seems you have quite the situation on your hands. Does Ruttford know about this human?”
Melonee growled in aggravation. “No. I was going to tell him last night, but then…” Even talking to her mom, Melonee was embarrassed to say what had happened last night under the large oak tree.
“He became frisky?” Her mom took a guess.
“Kind of,” she shyly admitted. “He made me forget what I wanted to talk to him about.”
“Men tend to do that, sweetie. But you can’t keep that bit of information from Ruttford. He deserves to know that you have a multiple partnership on your hands. I’ve met the young man, and he seems very sweet. I’m sure…oh, heck, I really can’t say what he’ll do.”
“But if Ruttford is my mate, and Adam is my mate, wouldn’t that make them each other’s mate?” Melonee felt a spark of hope light up inside of her. Maybe she was fretting over nothing. Maybe the two would accept each other and things wouldn’t be so bad.
“I can tell you from experience living here in Zeus’s town that just because you have two men doesn’t mean they will get along. Quite a few of the men here almost killed each other until they stopped acting like macho boneheads and settled into their relationship.”
That wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
“But, Melonee, whatever happens, you have to follow your heart. I love Maverick to death for taking you in when I couldn’t take care of you. He was a godsend, but this is your life, not his. Do you really want secrets between you and your mates?”
No, she didn’t. She wanted what she saw the others under this roof experiencing with their mates. The way the men looked at their mates was nothing short of awestruck. Even though Cecil was the biggest troublemaker she knew, Maverick looked at the man like this entire world rode on Cecil’s happiness.
Melonee wanted something like that. She wanted a family so badly that it hurt. She saw the way Murdock looked at Heaven, or the way Montana cuddled with Gabby, their children tucked close and the intimacy so raw it was tangible. Melonee wanted children. She wanted them to grow up with their cousins, under one big happy roof.
But the way things were going, she would be four hundred by the time she bore her first child. “I’m scared.”
“I know, honey. But part of being a grown woman is facing that fear and doing what needs to be done, no matter how hard the road is to travel.” Her mother sighed. “I wish I could give you a hug and make things all better, but this requires more than just me wrapping my arms around you. Although if you need one, I will certainly make your stepfather bring me there.”
Melonee smiled. “No, I will handle this. Tell Windstorm he better bring you for Christmas or I’m going to give him coal in his stocking.”
Olivia laughed, they shared a few more exchanges, and then Melonee hung up, still confused and scared as hell. She dialed Ruttford’s number, biting her thumbnail as she waited for him to answer.
“How’s my beautiful girl?” Ruttford asked when he answered.
Melonee felt the blush creep over his skin once again as she remembered what the man had done to her body last night. “I’m fine,” she admitted. “Heading out to do some shopping today with the guys.”
“And you want me to meet up with you?” His voice was teasing, making things low in her body tighten. “God, no. I love Johnny and Keata to death, but they can’t keep a secret to save their lives.”
Ruttford growled. “Five days, beautiful, and then that’s no longer our concern.”
“We need to talk,” Melonee blurted out before she lost her nerve. “Can we meet tonight, same place?”
Ruttford was silent for a moment and then said, “You won’t change my mind, Melonee. I’m being generous with the five days.”
Her anger spiked. “If you hadn’t played all those tricks on my family, Maverick wouldn’t be ready to skin you alive.”
“If I had known they were going to be family, I wouldn’t have come near them. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m tired of waiting, Melonee. You’re mine and I plan on claiming you, whether your dad likes it or not.”
Melonee would have given him a piece of her mind for talking that way to her, but he was right. Ruttford had been more than patient. “Tonight, ten o’clock. Same place.”
“Wear some loose-fitting clothes, beautiful,” Ruttford said, his voice dropping to a husky tone that was filled with sensual heat and naughty promises.
Melonee hung up and wondered what the fey had in mind for her. She sat there holding the phone, her body wound so tight that every part of her was feeling needy and hot. Ruttford had woken something inside of her, and now that Melonee had a taste of what things were going to be like between them, there was no going back.
But before anything more happened between her and Ruttford, she had to tell him about Adam.
A knock sounded on her door. “Come in,” Melonee called out.
Hawk came into her room. If she hadn’t grown up around this warrior, his sheer size would have intimidated her. The wolf seemed to demand everyone’s attention when he walked into a room. “Yes?”
“Can I talk to you
for a moment?”
Oh, no! Please don’t let him be here to give me a sex talk.The man had that gleam in his eye, and he looked uncomfortable as hell. She was going to die of mortification if he began with the birds and the bees.
“Okay,” she said as she drew the word out.
Hawk took a seat on her large, pink chair. He looked so out of place she nearly laughed, but didn’t because her stomach was tying in knots.
“The only reason I’m here is because Johnny asked me to talk to you.”
She was going to die. “About what?”
Hawk glanced around the room, his tanned skin taking on a slight shade of red.
Please, no, no, no.
“We all know that you found your mate, Melonee,” Hawk said and then cleared his throat. “And, uh, soon he’ll be claiming you.”
Melonee sat there slack-jawed. He was really going to go through with this! She wanted to hide her face and scream at him to get out, but she just sat there, stunned into silence. She prayed he lost his nerve and walked out. She prayed she lost her hearing. Hell, she prayed the house was struck by lightning in the next five seconds.
But she wasn’t that lucky.
“There are things guys like, and, uh, I just wanted to tell you—”
“Stop right there!” Melonee finally said before he totally messed her head up. “Look, Uncle Hawk, we both know you don’t want to have this conversation just as much as I’m begging you not to plant those images in my head. Why don’t you tell Johnny we had the talk and everything is fine?”
Never before had she seen the man looked so relieved. “Thank fuck,” he said and then apologized for cursing. “Trust me, the only reason I came in here is because he badgered me to speak with you.”
“We talked, you filled my head with images I’ll need therapy for, and we had a heartfelt moment,” she quickly said. “Now go.”
He stood. “I’ll tell him that.”
Melonee jumped up and locked her door as soon as he left. She stood there with her back pressed into the door, wanting to laugh and scream at the same time. She loved her family beyond measure, but if anyone else came to her withthe talk, she was going to shimmer herself to Alaska.
