United (The Ushers)

by Vanessa North

  As the time drew near to travel south to Bluefield, their lovemaking took on a desperate, urgent quality, as if each wanted to mark the other with scent, teeth, and soul. During one particularly explosive encounter, Monica took her mate in her arms as they both cried silent tears of ecstasy edged with fear.

  “Goddess, I love you, Mo,” Fionn whispered into her hair.

  “I know. I love you too,” she whispered back. “We’ll get him back, love. We have to. We’ll get your Dev back, and we’ll make things right with the Appalachian wolves.”

  “I want you to be right so badly, but my stomach won’t unclench, and the fear is driving me mad.”

  “It doesn’t show,” she reassured him, pressing a kiss into the warm curve of his shoulder. “You seem strong and confident, and everyone is following your lead.”

  Hands stroked down his chest to stroke across his flat, masculine nipples. As they hardened under her fingertips, Fionn let out a tortured groan before capturing her lips with his own. So quickly she could hardly note it, he had her on her back, her hands held above her head. His mouth devoured hers in a warring contrast between tenderness and ferocity. His hands abandoned hers to stroke down her body, pinching nipples and grazing the heat between her thighs.

  “Please,” she whimpered.

  “Please what?” he growled playfully.

  “Love me.” She smiled up at him, and his teeth lengthened.

  “Always.” He leaned down to graze his teeth down the length of her arm. She arched and cried out his name as he sucked a finger into his mouth, teasing the length of it with his teeth but never letting them break the skin.

  So slowly, she thought she would die of it, he slid inside her, already hard again. With his sharp teeth bared, blue eyes glowing with a supernatural heat, he appeared for a moment more animal than man. When he hilted inside of her, they both gasped, and she rocked against him hungrily. He seized her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers and squeezed, making her squirm against him.

  “I don’t want to let go of these beautiful breasts. Make yourself come around me,” he whispered, pinching again.

  Using a single fingertip to circle her clit, she obeyed, her back arching, pushing her breasts harder into his hands.

  Smiling sweetly at her, he lunged down before she could react, taking her earlobe between his teeth and drawing just the slightest bit of blood. She felt the walls of her orgasm bearing down upon her, and she embraced the feeling as it squeezed her heart and soul breathless before shattering into bliss. He followed her moments later, her name a hosanna on his lips.

  Chapter Seventeen

  GORDON KIRK HAD ARRANGED for Devon to meet him in Washington DC. This was not the first time Devon had been to the city, but it was the first time he’d skipped school to do it. Gordon had forged a note from Fionn Murphy, excusing Devon from classes. Devon took the train into the city, telling himself it wouldn’t matter; his mother would never need to know.

  Gordon and Jonny were waiting at the train station, wearing dark glasses and hats. Secretly, Dev thought they looked a little ridiculous, like the Blues Brothers, except dangerous.

  “Thank you for coming here today, Mr. Murphy.” Gordon reached out to shake Devon’s hand.

  He gripped the man’s hand firmly and tried to appear older than he was. He followed the Kirk brothers to a small restaurant near the train station and sat with them in a darkened booth.

  “Of course, sir,” he replied, his chest puffed with pride. “I am glad to help the cause in any way that I can.”

  “Yes, you’re a fine foot soldier, Mr. Murphy. We’re happy to have you. We’d like to offer you an opportunity. A mission, so to speak.”

  “Of course, sir,” Devon replied again. “I’m honored.”

  “Now, Dev, this could get dangerous,” Jonny warned. “It’s strictly a volunteer mission. We don’t ask our foot soldiers to martyr themselves to the cause, y’hear?”

  “What do you need me to do?” Dev felt his voice shaking slightly, so he took a deep breath and a sip of the water that had been deposited in front of him by a curly-haired waitress.

  “Son, we need to lure your father and his mistress out of hiding. We think some of the others will follow. That white bitch can’t seem to stay away from trouble. We’re going to be busy with the revival, so we need someone to step up and help us out.”

  “You mean, like bait?” Dev asked slowly, wanting to be sure he understood what was being asked of him.

  “Yeah, sort of.” Jonny grinned. “No fish hooks required or nothing, but we think your father would come down to Bluefield if he thought you were in danger. But we want him to come down on our terms, right?”

  “What do you say, Devon? Can you be our point man on this? Can we trust you to keep him away from the revival until it’s time?”

  “Of course, Gordon, Jonny, I would be glad to help in any way that I can. How exactly are we going to go about this?”

  “First, we’re gonna have a little photoshoot,” Gordon explained. “You’ll make it look like we’re holding you against your will. We’ll tell him to stay away and wait for further instruction—we’ll sort out what, in order to lure him here. And then it’s a simple matter of getting rid of the she-bitch. You can have your father back.”

  “You make it sound so simple.” Devon’s voice squeaked with adolescent admiration.

  “Well, Devon, a father’s love is both a simple and a complicated thing. There is nothing a father won’t do for his child. Nothing at all. It’s bottomless. No matter how you hurt your father, he will love you. He will cherish you. He will exalt in you because you are his son.”

  “I don’t think he even likes me very much,” Dev said.

  “Oh, Devon, never think that,” Gordon reassured him. “A father is helpless against the demands of love for his child. You know how much you love your sister Rose?”

  “Yeah, of course. She’s my little sister.” He shrugged.

  “That is just a fraction of the love a parent feels for his child. You are our greatest resource in this war against the moon-worshippers.”

  “Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?” Devon shrugged and grinned, looking like a twelve-year-old boy who had just stepped in way over his head.

  “You’re not going to be able to go home to your ma until this is over, you know.” Jonny’s voice had grown quiet. “We got you a hotel room here in the district for tonight, and then we’ll move you to Bluefield tomorrow. You got it? You lay low here in the city.”

  “Ma will worry about me.” Devon frowned.

  “She will, but that’s part of your cover. If she knew you were with the church, she wouldn’t worry or blame your father for the fact that you’re gone. However, thinking you’ve been kidnapped should get her all fired up.” Gordon’s voice was half-laugh, half-snarl as he described it.

  “As long as you think this is best, I agree.” This time, Devon’s words were sure—fervent, even.

  “I do, son. Now, let’s go ahead and order some lunch.” Gordon waved the curly-haired waitress to the table and ordered for all three of them.

  As they sat and ate in relative silence, Dev regarded the two wolves across from him with his stomach slowly knotting. This whole plan seemed too simple and seemed to take a lot for granted where Fionn was concerned. He wondered if there was more that he wasn’t being told? Well, they had referred to him as a foot soldier. He didn’t expect to be part of the inner circle just because he’d testified a few times. No, he knew he would have to earn their trust.

  Fionn was helping his mother in her garden when the phone rang. Growing up, he’d spent most of his childhood wherever his mother went, and that included spending hours planting, weeding, and harvesting with her. He found it comfortable to sit in the sun, pulling one weed after another, even as sweat dripped down his face. It reminded him of being a pup with no worries at all.

  “Are you going to answer that, Finners?” his mother asked him from beneat
h her wide-brimmed hat.

  Tugging one dirt-covered glove off, he reached into his pocket. “Yeah?” he answered. “Nikki? Calm down. What do you mean, Dev is missing? For how long? Did you call the police?”

  Fionn leapt to his feet, snarling into the phone at Devon’s mother. Monica, feeling his distress, came running out of the house.

  “No, don’t do anything yet, okay? Jack and Ted can help. No, they have friends on the police force. They will help.”

  Monica and Roisin could hear the human woman’s voice growing shrill.

  “Nikki, please… No, no, that’s fine. Yeah, I’ll text you the second I hear anything. You’ll do the same? Okay. Bye.”

  “Devon?” Monica asked.

  “She said he never came home from school this afternoon. She said she called the school, and they said he had a note from me, excusing his absence, and he hasn’t been in school all day.”

  “But he’s not talking to you. Why would you have written him a note excusing him?”

  “She thinks he forged it to play hooky.”

  “This reeks of Kirk,” Monica replied in a low voice.

  Just then, Ted came around the side of the house.

  “Hey, Fionn, you’re going to want to have a look at this.” He held up a USB flash drive. “It was delivered by a human courier service a few minutes ago.”

  “Laptop?”

  “Kitchen table.” Ted handed over the drive, and they all followed Fionn into the house.

  The flash drive showed a series of photographs of Devon: in the first, he held this morning’s USA Today. In the second, a note.

  Dad. I am being held by a man named Jonny Kirk. He says if you send the police, or if you come for me, he will kill me.

  The last photo showed Jonny sitting next to Devon, partially shifted, his grin showing lupine teeth. In one clawed hand, he held up another note.

  Wait for further instructions.

  Monica looked around the silent room. Fionn was biting his lip, and she could feel his anger rolling off him in waves. Annie came down the stairs and stood beside Monica, watching Fionn.

  “We’re going to Bluefield anyway. What’s his game?” Fionn pondered. “Why would he have Devon pretend he’d been kidnapped?”

  “Throw us off, make us act hastily. Maybe even keep us away from Bluefield,” Annie suggested.

  “No, he wants us there.” Fionn looked at her. “He would have done something else otherwise—no way he could expect a wolf to ignore this. I don’t think he knows that we know Devon is involved.”

  Graham and Ellen came into the room then, giggling. They both stopped short at the grim expressions on the faces around them.

  “Boss?” Ellen asked.

  “Devon is pretending to be kidnapped to lure us to Bluefield.” Monica filled her in. “But we don’t think they know that we know of Devon’s involvement with the ‘church.’”

  “Great, we can use this.” Graham nodded. “If they haven’t got Devon leading the humans, that makes it all the easier for Annie and Gerard to lead them away. And we have a reason to start moving wolves… We don’t have to wait and try to do it in secret.”

  “I don’t like it.” Bianca strode into the room, one hand over her belly. “It stinks.” Two steps behind her, Jack and Gerard wore matching scowls.

  “I won’t leave Bianca.” Gerard’s voice rumbled forth, hard like stone.

  “He thinks this is about me.” She shook her head. “Because of the bodies. Because I’m pregnant.”

  “He’s right.” Annie looked at Fionn. “Gerard is right, Fionn. This is about the third Usher. That’s why they are killing pregnant wolves—they’re trying to lure us out. And we almost walked right into it.”

  Fionn sat down hard, staring at the photo of Jonny Kirk and his son. “How many of the gathered wolves are pregnant?”

  “Just me,” Bianca said softly.

  “And, well, me.” Monica blushed.

  This was hardly how she wanted to tell him, Fionn could tell. His eyes widened as he looked at his mate, nostrils flaring as he took in the subtle changes in her scent. A fierce thrill worked through him, and his head flew back in a howl of joy. Monica grinned. The other wolves began offering congratulations, but Fionn only had eyes and ears for his mate as he flew across the room and swept her into his arms. Kissing her hard on the mouth, he looked into her eyes with all the love in his heart, plain on his face.

  The stakes had changed, and suddenly.

  “Bianca. You and Monica should return to the compound in New England, just to be safe,” Fionn ordered.

  “Oh, hell no,” Monica retorted. “Oh no, mate. Don’t even think you’re sending me home to sit around decorating the nursery. No way. We are in this together.”

  “She’s right.” Bianca turned, holding up her hands in a gesture of placation as she glanced at Jack. “Me, I’ll go home. Sarita is the third Usher, and she needs to be protected. Monica needs to stay with you, Fionn.”

  “Take Kathy and Ellen,” Monica said, squeezing Bianca’s hand. “I’ll feel better knowing they’re with you.”

  “Annie…” Fionn turned to his Guide. “I don’t want you being bait all by yourself.”

  “I’ll go with her.” Graham smiled at her. “I’m not necessary, and she’s my friend.”

  “Thanks, Graham.” Annie smiled back. “You know there’s more risk to you than to me, though.”

  “It’s okay, I understand the risks.”

  “We’re decided, then?” Fionn looked around the room, one eyebrow raised. The wolves nodded. “All right. I’m going to call Nikki.”

  “What are you going to tell her?” Monica asked in an undertone.

  He smiled and cupped her cheek.

  “The truth. I know where our son is, and I’m going to get him.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  BLUEFIELD, WEST VIRGINIA, was a small city in the Appalachian Mountains where Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina met. Monica and the Murphy brothers were staying in a chain hotel right by the interstate. Graham and Annie were scouting the area where the tents were being set up just outside town. According to Annie, most of the people working were wolves in human form, but there were a handful of humans, as well. The rest of the Alphas were waiting across the Virginia border for a signal from Fionn that it was time to move in.

  Fionn paced the room anxiously. His mate lay across the king-sized bed, watching him pace, massaging her belly thoughtfully. He knew she could feel his turmoil, but she said nothing, just watched. Finally, he spun on his heel and knelt by the bed.

  “What if we can’t get him back?”

  “We will,” she reassured him.

  “What if he won’t come with me?”

  “He has to, darling.”

  “What if someone hurts you?” She was his family now, his partner. He couldn’t help but worry.

  “No one will hurt me, love.”

  He took her hand in his own, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I love you so much. I’m so scared for you and the baby.” He brushed a hand over her cheek.

  “Annie told me to stay with you. She promised me that as long as you and I are together, we’ll be fine. I trust her.”

  “I’m glad. I never thought I’d hear you say that. Annie is different from Sara, Mo. She’s not as…”

  “Go ahead. She’s not as steady and reliable?”

  “No! She’s absolutely reliable. I’m the one who drove her away all those years ago. She’s more of a loner, a wanderer, I guess, than Sara was. Sara had the Inn and Bianca, but Annie is more of a free spirit.”

  “Of course. Cats are more nomadic by nature. Birds nest. What are you trying to say, Fionn?”

  “Well, I just thought you might have a hard time putting your faith in her the way you did with Sara. I’m glad that you trust her.”

  “All these years, and you barely know your Guide,” she remarked, running a hand through his hair. She had dyed it for him, back to his natural brown, to make
him less noticeable. It felt soft under her hands, and she began to wonder whether their baby would be brown-haired or black-haired like her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve felt her in your mind, Fionn. How did she feel?”

  He thought about it then, the rush that it was to feel her there, so potent and…“Fierce,” he whispered.

  “Yeah. And that’s all in your hands. She’d do anything for you, Fionn. She loves you, and you love her, too.” She held up a hand when he began to protest. “I know, I can feel the affection between you both. It’s not like our mate bond. But you would do almost anything for her, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yes.” It was all he could say. It was a simple truth.

  “And she feels the same. And I love and trust you, so I love and trust her.”

  “What an odd little triangle this is.” He sighed. “You know I’d never…”

  “I know. Just like I’d never with Angelo again.”

  “I know.”

  “Are you two done talking about me?” They felt Annie’s voice purr into their heads, and they laughed.

  “What’s the story, Annie?” Monica pushed the thought out to her.

  “It looks like the testimonies start at seven—Dev introduces Kirk, Kirk gives a sermon, the humans take communion, he gives them silver shot, and they go hunt.”

  “In Virginia,” Fionn noted bitterly.