Coming to sit on the bed next to her, Jager lifted her into an upright position and took her in his arms. He rubbed a large hand up and down her back. “Just breathe, Daylen. I guess I shouldn’t have just dropped the age thing on you like that.”
“It’s okay. I had to find out sometime.” Daylen pushed away from Jager and slid out of the bed on the opposite side. “I’ll hurry in the bathroom so you can have it after me.”
Before Jager could say anything to her, she raced into the en suite and closed the door behind her, turning the lock once it clicked into place. She leaned her forehead against the back of the door and took a couple deep breaths. She was definitely in over her head.
* * *
Once she’d splashed some cold water on her face, Daylen had pulled herself together enough so she could face Jager again. When she stepped back into the bedroom, Jager didn’t say anything as he walked past her and into the bathroom. By the time he had finished up, Daylen was dressed.
They were now on their way downstairs and they still hadn’t said a word to each other. Before they reached the last step, Jager pulled her to a halt. Daylen gave him a questioning look.
“Just so you aren’t caught off guard,” he said, “you’re about to meet my entire family as well as Roxie and her mate. I can smell all their scents. I know I’ve dumped a lot on you already. If you’d rather not be around a bunch of werewolves right now, I’ll tell them to get lost.”
Daylen slipped her hand in his. She was not the type of woman to back down from anything. She was starting to get herself back on an even keel. If she could accept that Jager was a werewolf, she’d have to come to grips with how old he was. They had yet to discuss how things were going to go from here now that they’d slept together, but Daylen had a feeling she was about to find out exactly what it meant to be considered Jager’s mate.
Jager guided Daylen into a spacious living room with a large LCD television and a couple long black leather couches. Along with those pieces of furniture, there were a couple of matching black leather armchairs. Most of the seating was already taken up by Jager’s family. There was only an empty spot on one of the couches.
All heads turned Daylen and Jager’s way when they stepped into the room. She recognized Kye, who sat in one of the armchairs. He smiled at her. Two of the men sitting on one of the couches looked so similar to Jager that Daylen guessed them to be his true brothers, Roan and Skylar. One of them wore his hair almost as long as Jager did, while the other’s brushed the tops of his shoulders. All three men shared the same hair color and the same light blue eyes. One had his arm around the shoulders of a woman.
The one thing Daylen immediately noticed was how extremely good-looking most of the occupants of the room were. The only ones who didn’t have the supermodel look going on, though they were no means bad looking, was the woman who sat next to one of Jager’s brothers, the man sitting beside a woman with white blonde hair, and the woman with golden brown hair who happened to be glaring daggers at Jager. If Daylen had to guess, she would say that was Roxie.
Jager led Daylen over to stand in front of the television and turned them both so they faced the others in the room. He then introduced her to everyone, leaving the man and woman who sat together in one of the armchairs for last.
“That’s Roxie over there, and the man whose lap she is sitting on is Beowulf, her mate,” Jager said.
Daylen smiled. “It’s nice to meet you all.”
Roxie slid off her mate’s lap and moved to stand in front of Daylen and Jager. She glared at Jager, then turned a smile on Daylen. “It’s nice to meet you as well, Daylen, though I heard you were brought here under duress.”
“Jager and I sorted it out in the end.”
“You two may have sorted it out,” Roxie said, “but I would like to know if Jager left out some major details.”
“Did you run out and tell Roxie as soon as you left here last night?” Jager asked Kye as he turned his gaze on him. “I figured she would find out eventually. I just wasn’t expecting someone to tell her so soon.”
Kye shrugged. “What can I say? I went to Wulf’s Den last night, and Roxie asked if I’d seen you before I arrived. I’m sorry, bro, but when she threatened to do all kinds of nasty things to me if I didn’t talk, I caved.”
Roxie loudly cleared her throat. “Well, I’m waiting, Jager. Did you tell Daylen everything?”
Not sure what everything actually was, Daylen decided to take some of the heat off Jager. “He did tell me about his knowing I was his mate as soon as he smelled my scent, and about the mating urge. He also told me how werewolves are almost immortal, and that he is over a thousand years old.”
“And that was it?” Roxie asked with exasperation tingeing her words. “Incredible.
Just incredible. So he never mentioned what it meant when you made love for the first time and your souls joined. And you have to tell me you felt it. It isn’t exactly something that just slides by without you noticing.”
Daylen looked from Roxie to Jager, who happened to look a smidgeon guilty about something, and then back to Roxie again. “So that’s what that was. Jager never said anything about it. I thought maybe I had imagined it.”
Roxie rounded on Jager and started poking a finger into the center of his chest. “I told you to give her a choice, you big lug.” Poke. “Why didn’t you listen to me?” Poke.
Jager grabbed Roxie’s finger and pushed it away. “Stop poking me. Hey, having no choice has worked out for all the mated couples here in this room. Granted, Eli wasn’t a werewolf when he claimed Saskia, and didn’t have the mating urge to tell him she was his, but they still didn’t have a choice. Roan and Ansley are happy. And Beowulf didn’t ask first before he claimed you.”
“Leave me out of this,” Beowulf said with a chuckle from where he sat.
Roxie crossed her arms over her chest. “All right, knucklehead. Daylen has accepted your being a werewolf pretty well. Shall we see how well she accepts what it really means to be a mate to one?”
Daylen met Roxie’s gaze when the other woman moved away from Jager to stand in front of her. Given how upset Roxie seemed to be about Jager not telling her all there was to know about being a werewolf’s mate, Daylen braced herself for what was coming next.
She had a feeling it would be another blow to her system.
“Now, Daylen,” Roxie said, “I want you to stay calm, and remember, I’m just the messenger. If you want to punish someone after I’ve told you everything, I suggest you do it to the idiot standing beside you.” Jager let out a low growl at that, but Roxie ignored him. “First of all, I suggest you get Jager to buy you a big-ass diamond ring, because you and he are basically now married.” Roxie flashed the large diamond ring and gold band she wore on the ring finger of her left hand.
Daylen swallowed. “Married? As in we’re married married?”
“Yup. As soon as your souls joined, that was a werewolf equivalent of a mortal marriage ceremony, only it doesn’t have any witnesses and it’s much, much more intimate. There’s also no breaking that bond once it has been forged.”
She looked frantically around the room, hoping Roxie was pulling her leg, but everyone had a serious expression on their faces. “You’re kidding, right? I can’t possibly be married to Jager. We barely know each other. Up until last night, I wanted to throw him in jail every time I saw him.”
One of the men started to laugh, but it was quickly covered over with a loud cough.
Seeing as how Leif had his hand over his mouth and laughter lurked in his eyes, Daylen figured it had been him.
“That is why I told Jager to explain and give you a choice. As for getting to know each other, you’ll learn pretty quickly. The joining of your souls will take care of that.
Now that you’re mated, neither you nor Jager will be able to stand being away from each other for any length of time, especially in the beginning. A few hours away from Jager and you’ll feel as if you’re in a living hell. All
you’ll be able to think about is getting back to him.”
Daylen turned to Jager. “You knew that would happen?”
He unwaveringly met her gaze. “Yes.”
She didn’t think. She just reacted. Taking Jager by the arm, she kicked out at the back of his knees. As he went down to the floor, she kept her hold on his arm, keeping it high and outstretched as she used her thumb to apply pressure to the underside of Jager’s wrist. She had him on his knees, leaning forward, with his arm held higher than his shoulder in a matter of seconds. He also couldn’t get out of this hold so long as she kept her thumb on the pressure point under his wrist. Daylen had used this hold on more than one suspect.
“Now I can see why Roxie is a little pissed with you,” she said. “There is one thing you have to learn about me. I don’t like surprises like that.”
The room had gone completely silent. Daylen looked around to see everyone staring at her with surprise on their faces. “I have a black belt in karate, and I know a bit of jujitsu.”
Leif, all of a sudden, burst out laughing. He laughed so hard tears started running out of his eyes and he had to hold his ribs. The others in the room broke out in varying degrees of laughter as well. Even Roxie had cracked a smile.
“I’m sorry,” Leif said as he tried to bring himself back under control. “But you have to admit it looks pretty good to see Mr. He-man-warrior-who-can’t-be-separated-from-my-sword taken down so easily by a woman, and a mortal no less. How many times is this? Twice now?”
“This would be the third time,” Daylen answered.
That only sent Leif into another round of laughter.
Dirk, who sat next to Leif, elbowed him. “I’d cut that out if I were you. Jager will take it out on your hide.”
While still laughing, Leif said, “But it will be so worth it.”
Daylen ignored Leif and turned her gaze onto Jager. “If we’re stuck with each other, you’re going to have to stop keeping things from me. I don’t do well with people who don’t tell the truth or who purposely neglect to tell me things.” She then released Jager.
He stood and quickly put his arms around her waist when she would have put more distance between them. “Okay, I didn’t exactly go about this in the right way. If you had been a female werewolf, you would have already known these things. You being mortal just made it a little more complicated.”
“Speaking of me being a mortal,” Daylen said. “You said something about Eli not always being a werewolf. Does that mean now that we’re mates I’ll become one? Or do you have to bite me to turn me?”
“A mortal can’t be turned from being bitten by a werewolf. Werewolves are born werewolves. Actually, to the general werewolf population, a mortal can never be turned.”
Daylen frowned in confusion. “Then how did Eli get turned?”
Roxie broke into their conversation. “I think I should be the one to explain this one. I was once mortal as well, same with Ansley. There is a very old spell that will turn a mortal into a werewolf. I was the first mortal it actually worked on. It seems I have a little more magic inside me than the average werewolf. The spark of magic deep inside us is how we make the change. Anyway, it has turned out that I’m the only one now who can use the spell. With a small of amount of my blood and the spell, I can make you and Jager truly mates in all ways. At least I think it will still work in my condition.”
“Your condition?” Jager asked before Daylen could.
“You might as well tell them, Roxie,” Beowulf said when Roxie hesitated.
“There was another reason why Beowulf and I came here this morning, other than me giving Jager shit.” She paused, then smiled. “I’m pregnant.”
Chapter Ten
The room went from being so quiet you could hear a pin drop to six people talking all at once in rather loud male voices. Daylen couldn’t help chuckling when she saw the frantic faces of Roxie’s Protectors. Even Jager looked as if someone had told him the world was about to be destroyed and he was the only one who could stop it.
“This means we’re going to have watch Roxie even closer,” Skylar said.
“We’ll now have to do night shifts at Beowulf and Roxie’s house,” Roan said in a pained voice.
“Roxie won’t be able to go to Wulf’s Den anymore. It won’t be safe for her and the baby,” Kye added.
“I don’t mind taking the first night shift,” Dirk said.
“If Miles finds out about this, we’re fucked,” Leif said.
All Jager said was, “Fuck me.”
Saskia hadn’t said anything, but from the thoughtful look she wore, Daylen figured she was thinking about what Roxie had just told them.
When the men continued to talk over each other, Roxie put her fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. All the werewolves in the room stopped talking and covered their ears.
Now that Roxie had everyone’s attention, she said, “Me being pregnant does not mean things have to change. So I’m going to have a baby. Countless women have done it.”
Saskia finally spoke up. “That may be true, Roxie, but you aren’t exactly just any other pregnant woman. You’re the foretold one. We already know Miles will do anything to get his hands on you. We also know he’s recovered from the loss of his last headquarters. His new one we have yet to find, but he’s still recruiting lone wolves.
Remember Jager managed to corner one of his men before the lone wolf got away. You being pregnant means we’ll have to be extra vigilant.”
Daylen cringed inside when she heard Saskia mention Jager confronting the lone wolf. It was because of her that Miles’ man had gotten away. Now able to see the sword fight from Jager’s standpoint, Daylen realized she’d caused the Protectors to lose out on some valuable information. Since she was now technically one of them because she and Jager were mated, she figured her skills as a police officer could be used to help them find where Miles’ new headquarters were.
Before Roxie could reply to Saskia, Daylen asked, “Who is Miles?”
Saskia answered her. “Miles is my true brother. At one time, he was one of us, one of the foretold one’s Protectors. He left vowing to find the foretold one for himself when I was chosen to be the Protectors’ leader. Miles figured it should have been him.”
“What’s his last name?”
“It’s Jensen.”
“Can you give me a description of him?”
“Miles is just about as tall as Jager, has the same hair and eye color as me, and has similar features.”
“Where was the location of his last headquarters?”
Saskia rattled off an address in San Francisco’s older warehouse district. She then said, “I’m not sure why you need all this information about Miles. And the warehouse is no longer there. Miles blew it up because we got too close to him.”
“It was my fault the lone wolf got away from Jager. If not for me, you probably would already have the location of Miles’ new headquarters. I’m going to fix that.”
Daylen then asked the room at large, “Do one of you have a cell phone I can use?”
“You can use mine.” Dirk pulled one out of the front pocket of his jeans and tossed it to her.
Daylen caught it and flipped it open. She punched in the number to her police station. Once the other end picked up, she said, “Hey, Carey, it’s Daylen. Can you put me through to Ted’s line?” She then waited for Ted to pick up. When he did, she said, “Hi, Ted. I was wondering if you could use your amazing police detective skills and dig some information up for me.”
Ted chuckled. “Anything for you, Daylen. What do you need?”
“I need whatever info you can get on a man named Miles Jensen.” She then gave Ted a description of Miles. “I also need you to look up who was listed as owning a warehouse that blew up some months back in the old warehouse district.” Daylen quickly gave Ted the address Saskia had given her.
“No problem. I’ll see what I can find and call you back at home.”
“
I’m not at home right now. I’m over at a friend’s place. You can call me at this number.” Daylen looked at Dirk who told her the number to his cell. Daylen repeated it for Ted.
“This may take me a while, especially finding the information you want about the warehouse.”
“That’s okay. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be here for most of the day.”
After Daylen hung up with Ted, she snapped the cell phone closed and tossed it back to Dirk. “Ted is one of the detectives at my station. He has a knack for finding information about people and places that others can’t. If he can find out who owned the warehouse, he may be able to trace it to another property that Miles may have recently purchased.”
“Damn,” Kye said. “Having a cop in the family is going to have some fringe benefits.”
Daylen smiled. “I figure since I’m now a Protector too I might as well start pulling my weight.”
Jager started shaking his head. “Whoa, slow down there. You’re my mate. I never said anything about you becoming one of Roxie’s Protectors. You haven’t even said whether or not you want Roxie to turn you yet. A mortal doesn’t stand a chance against a werewolf. We’re a lot faster and stronger than your kind.”
Daylen narrowed her eyes. “My kind? Well this mortal has gotten the jump on you more than once.”
“That’s only because you caught me off guard each time.”
“Oh, really? Shall we test out your theory and see if I can still take you down head-on?”
“We don’t just fight with our fists, Daylen. We fight with our swords, and if need be, in our wolf forms. As a mortal, you wouldn’t be able to defend yourself against one of Miles’ men.”
“What’s the matter, Jager?” she taunted. “Are you afraid I’ll prove you wrong?”
Leif jumped up. “You’ve got him now, Daylen. That’s one thing Jager can never pass up on—a direct challenge.”
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