Christ, it wouldn’t have surprised Kon if she’d had to be knocked out by Toni or something.
When it came down to Kon, Jay, and their sister Jessie, Christie made a Momma Bear look like a neglectful mother.
Sighing, he kissed the top of her head, and as he did, he inadvertently locked eyes with his mate.
She was staring at him with astonishment. An astonishment that had him frowning at her. Did it come as a surprise that he could be affectionate? Or was it simply bemused bewilderment at his momma’s odd reaction? Because, Kon knew, whatever his pops had told her, it was a condensed version of the truth. No way near as bad as it would have been in reality.
Not that Leila would be aware of that salient point.
The idea she thought him some kind of big lug with no heart had him frowning and turning his glance from hers.
He squeezed his momma and said, “It’s okay, Mom. We’re both okay. It was just an accident. It could have been me. It only wasn’t because I pulled over first and helped change Leila’s punctured wheel. If Jay had, then I’d have been under the car.”
That didn’t appease his mom. If anything, it had her wailing a little more. “You’d have died for real, then.” She pulled away from his arms to glower at his twin. “Why aren’t you looking after your brother?”
Jay’s mouth dropped open. “You do realize you only just accused him of that?”
“Of course, I know that! I’m not an idiot. You’re supposed to be looking after each other, dammit.”
“We do, Mom,” Kon said softly, patting her on the back. “But accidents happen sometimes. We can’t always avoid them.”
She pursed her lips. “Who’s the woman?”
Her tone wasn’t the friendliest, and he raised his brows at the fact his dad hadn’t shared the news.
“She’s our mate,” he declared proudly, watching as it was his mom’s turn to gawk at him, then Jay, then Leila.
“You’re mated?” she squeaked, then pressed a hand to her forehead. “This is crazy!”
“Crazy good or crazy bad?” he asked warily.
“Crazy good, of course!” She let out another squeal, a happy one this time, and did a happy dance before hugging him, then rushing over to Jay to squeeze him too. Finally, she turned to Leila with a bright smile on her face and declared, “Welcome to the family, honey.”
Chapter 4
Wondered when you’d show up at my door.”
Eying the MC’s VP, Kiko, Kon grimaced. “I came as soon as I could.”
“I heard the ruckus yesterday, then had Major and your daddy in here trying to clear up for you.”
Kon scraped a hand over his jaw. “It wasn’t ideal. I had no reason to believe anything like this would happen.”
“Why would you?” Kiko pursed his lips. “You had no reason to suspect before yesterday that she was your mate?”
“No! Why would we? Yesterday was the first time we actually got a chance to scent her. Before now, her scent’s been overwhelmed by the shit her truck spouts and fumes from our bikes.” He shrugged. “If I’d known sooner, I would have told you.”
Kiko eyed him, the suspicion within that glance had Kon bristling a little. “You sure you weren’t laying low? Trying to protect her?”
Kon glowered at him. “No fucking way, Kiko. Dear goddess, you know us better than that. Why would I have brought her here today if I’d thought there would be repercussions. Soon as I knew why she’d stolen the money, I knew she’d be safe. We were just watching her.”
“Why? Why not bring her here sooner? You told me last week you had her location. What have you been doing with all that time?”
“Watching her.”
“Why? I didn’t ask you to do that. I asked you to find her, then bring her back here. You’ve done that but with a week’s waiting in between.”
Kon grimaced, an itch gathering at the back of his neck that he longed to scratch but knew he couldn’t, not without looking suspicious. “I don’t know why. Maybe we should have realized sooner that she is our mate, because I guess we were both fascinated by her.”
“Mundo said she was staying in a dump.”
“Yeah. There were around four other motels in the vicinity. All of them were better than the one she picked.”
“She was going cheap.”
“Yeah. Without a doubt.”
“You know why she was holed up there?”
“No. But I don’t think she knew what to do with herself. Her grandfather accepted the cash to help with her grandmother’s treatments, but he didn’t welcome her with open arms. Where she’s just left… it sounds like one of those cults you read about in the Enquirer or something. I mean, it’s nuts what she’s been telling us.”
“Nuts? Or bullshit?”
“No way,” Kon immediately retorted. “She’s whiter than snow.”
“You could use that defense if she hadn’t stolen a small fortune from us, Kon,” Kiko stated, deadpan.
“I know, but if you talk to her, you’ll see exactly what I mean. There’s no way that something like this isn’t eating away at her. The cult? She calls it ‘The Church.’ She’s hyper religious. There’s no way she’d do something like this unless it was imperative. I believe that.
“But, when her granddaddy rejected her, she was at a loss. I figure she holed up at the motel and just didn’t know what to do with herself.”
Kiko studied him, but slowly nodded. “Ava says the way she hacked into our accounts was genius.”
Kon blinked. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Seriously.”
“Ava said that?”
“Yes, dammit,” Kiko swore. “Since when were you a freakin’ parrot? Ava said she’s a genius, okay?”
Kon held his hands up in apology. “Sorry. It’s just for Ava to say that…”
“Yeah, it’s impressive as fuck. I’m not unaware of that fact.” He scraped his hand over his jaw again. “She’s Clan because she’s your mate, but that doesn’t mean the Council has to accept her. Especially not after what she did. You are aware of that?”
“Yeah. I know. But you’re not going to punish her, right? Not for the money, not when it was for sick family?”
Kiko narrowed his eyes. “Of course not, but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t pay. Not just a little.”
“I get that.”
“Good. Ava is currently working on a program that will help us identify Shifter kids who are stuck in the human foster care system. It’s an immensely difficult task. More than that, it’s gar-fucking-gantuan. She needs help. Who better than someone who Ava herself has admitted is a top-notch hacker.”
“I’m sure she’d be willing to do whatever she can to help.”
Kiko nodded. “I’d advise that even if she isn’t, you make her see sense. Look, I get what she did, and I can even accept it. There would be a few consequences if she weren’t mated to you and your brother, but as she is, the Council will tread gently. However, she has to atone.”
“If anyone can understand atonement, it’s Leila,” Kon retorted wryly. “It’s right up her street. Jesus, she doesn’t even swear.”
“That will be fun all round with your goddamn potty mouths.”
“Takes one to know one.”
Kiko’s mouth quirked up at the side. “The Council won’t acknowledge her until we deem her work satisfactory. Once that happens, she’ll be a Clan member on her own merit.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah. That’s it.”
“I’ll tell her right away.” He made to step out of the medium-sized office that consisted of little more than a desk and a comfortable desk chair—Bears didn’t believe in padding their dens or nesting. Most of the Clubhouse was as stark as this place. It was only the females, the mates, who changed things, tuned them up a notch. He wasn’t entirely sure why Mischa, Kiko’s mate, hadn’t prettied up this place, and could only assume it was because Kiko had expressly asked her not to.
It was in their nature to
appreciate the basics.
Before he could head out, however, Kiko murmured softly, “You haven’t claimed her yet.”
Kon frowned, turned around to look at the VP. “How do you know that?”
“Your scent hasn’t changed either.” Kiko shrugged. “It’s only a faint change when it happens, but it’s noticeable enough for me to realize yours hasn’t altered at all. I thought you boys would have dealt with that last night. Pip said Jay’s injuries were bad, but she healed him up good and proper as she usually does.” He quirked a brow. “There a reason you haven’t made her yours yet?”
“Which part of the fact she came from a religious cult aren’t you picking up on, sir?” Kon asked, scowling at the personal question, and simultaneously loathing the fact the Clan would realize they weren’t mated yet. He hadn’t even known that was a thing. Ava and Chris, Jessie and Spyder, Jarvis and his aunt Cinda… they’d all mated, and he hadn’t noticed a change.
Kiko tapped his nose, apparently sensing where Kon’s thoughts were heading. “It comes with age, boy. Your senses get stronger, not weaker. You’re still very young. Wait until you hit fifty and proper maturity. As well as you can scent now, it’s like a human in comparison to what you’ll be then.”
He sighed. “I guess that makes me feel a bit better.”
“Just what my goal is in life, to make you feel better.” Kiko snorted when Kon flipped him the bird. “Anyway, I get that she was in a cult. But the clue’s in the word ‘was’, surely?”
“No. She’s not like most women.”
“Few mates ever are,” Kiko stated with a wry twist to his lips. “That’s probably why the goddesses choose them for us.” He eyed Kon a second, then murmured, “Look, until you’ve staked your Claim, I’m going to keep you on jobs that will have you staying closer to home, all right?”
Kon would normally have been the first to growl at that, but considering closer to home meant being around Leila more, he was actually pleased by Kiko’s words; could view it as an act of generosity rather than the meddling he’d have considered it before. “Thanks, Kiko.”
“You’re welcome. There’s always plenty to do to keep you out of trouble. But I know how tough it is waiting on your mate to claim her, so if either of you boys need your asses kicking to let out some hormones and burn off some aggression, my Bear and I will gladly volunteer ourselves for the job.”
Kon grinned. “Thanks again, Kiko.”
“You’re welcome, boy. Now, fuck off.”
Leila peered around the bedroom that was to be her home for the foreseeable future.
There were two twin beds in the small space, but the first thing the guys had done was push them together.
The notion that they thought they’d be sleeping together was enough to make her cheeks pinken in response.
Could she? Would she dare sleep with them, lie between them, be the buffer… the ham in their sandwich?
She flinched at the thought and rounded her shoulders as she tried to come to terms with just how insane everything was at the moment.
The walls were white, and save for a few dirty posters of women who managed to make a bikini look more underdressed than full nudity, a TV, and a fridge, that was it.
It certainly couldn’t be classed as homey. Or even roomy.
She was surprised the two of them even fit in here. It would be a heck of a pinch with all three of them.
They had a decent closet space—she knew, because she’d peeked after they’d left her here to report back to someone called Kiko, who was a VP of the club. And the bathroom was fairly modern. All in all, it was better than the motel she’d left by a mile, but it wasn’t homey. It wasn’t comfortable.
She bit her lip as she stared at the nudie picture. Would they let her take it down? And even if they did, would they be comparing the lush, ripe forms of these females to her? How could she be found anything other than lacking?
She had big boobs… but that was about it. Her hips were small, her waist was tiny but bony, and her arms were like a pigeon’s or something.
The women on the walls were just that. Women.
She felt like the ugly stepsister in comparison.
“Never took you for a nudie kind of gal.”
The voice had her jolting. Not just out of surprise, but mortification too.
She spun around and saw Kon was leaning against the doorjamb, arms folded across his massive chest.
There was something comforting about his size. It was like walking around with a bodyguard—especially when he was glowering as was usually the case.
But now, he was actually smiling. Sure, in comparison to Jay’s it was pretty close to a grimace, but for Kon? The small quirk of his lips was practically a grin.
She felt her cheeks flush—bright red was usually their state around her, a fact she knew she’d have to get accustomed to. “I-I was just looking.”
“And I can bet what you were seeing.” He quirked a brow at her, then strode over to the wall where she’d been standing before she’d flung herself over to the window to physically distance herself from the image she’d just been studying.
Her head tilted to the side in surprise as he reached up, grabbed a point of the poster, and ripped it in two. Then, grabbed the rest of the shreds from the wall.
She gawked harder as he went around the room, tearing each poster up and balling them in his huge fist.
With all four women now torn into pieces, he headed for the bathroom and, from the sound she heard, flipped the trash can there and shoved the posters inside.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said with a squeak, even though their destruction had been high on her list of priorities.
He snorted. “You think I need those chicks on the wall when I have you?”
Her eyes rounded as she stared down at herself. In comparison, she was so, so… diminutive.
That was the only word she could use.
“You really mean that?”
He blinked at her. “Wouldn’t say it if I didn’t. You’ll come to learn that real fast about me, Leila. I don’t lie. It’s not in my nature.”
“Is it in Jay’s?” she asked curiously.
He shrugged. “Sometimes. It depends what we’re doing.”
“What does that mean?”
Another shrug. “If it’s something for the MC or the Clan… if we need to convince someone black is blue to make shit happen, then we’re good because my twin has the gift of the gab. I swear, he’d sell ice to polar bears. It’s frickin’ insane what he can do.”
“Would he lie to me?”
He winced. “I’d like to say no, but to spare your feelings he might.”
“How?” Leila narrowed her eyes at him, not particularly liking that particular answer.
He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Say we had to do something for the Clan, something dangerous, something we knew that would scare you… he’d never tell you. I wouldn’t say anything, but if you asked, I’d answer.” His lips twitched. “You’ll soon learn our different quirks.”
“It’s amazing how different you are when you’re so alike too.” She’d picked up on that earlier.
At the diner, though to her, the differences in both brothers was as evident as them being two separate entities, the waitress had gotten their orders mixed up when Kon had switched seats with Jay to get up to use the bathroom.
At the clubhouse, his family knew them well, but a couple of riders had called them by the wrong names. Not that the brothers had corrected them. They’d just gone with the flow.
She guessed they were used to it.
Still, Leila found it hard to comprehend. In fact, she had to say something. “Why do people confuse the two of you?”
Kon cocked a brow. “Because we’re twins. Identical twins.”
She pursed her lips. “You’re completely different.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Mom and Dad find it the easiest, but only when we’re together. Jessie can usually tell
us apart when we’re not together though.”
“You mean, even your family get it wrong?” She frowned at that, not liking it on their behalf. Although, Leila guessed it made sense that this goddess of theirs—and didn’t that thought alone make her feel like she’d broken a commandment—had contrived to make the one person in the world who could separate the two of them, their mate.
Yet further proof, she supposed, that she was as they claimed her to be.
Not that she doubted it anymore. This morning, when terror had filled her at the notion it had all been a dream, and the relief that had swelled, flooding that fear as though it had never existed, at the sight of them… Well, that had been evidence enough for her.
She’d never found it easy to make friends. Had found connections hard to create. But not with these two.
“How is it we look different to you?”
“Well, you scowl a lot more than Jay does,” she said bluntly, not caring when said scowl reappeared. “See. You’re always frowning.” It made him look cute though, she had to admit. The black clouds on his face shouldn’t have been attractive, but for some reason they were.
She supposed it was like the difference between enjoying a hot, sunny day at the beach—which was Jay’s personality—and then loving a night in, a fire blazing, as a storm brewed outside, and rain pattered against the windows.
The two brothers weren’t exactly night and day, but their temperaments certainly were contradictory.
“Also, Jay’s bigger than you. His muscles are, I guess, padded somehow?” She started to tug at her bottom lip with her fingers as she contemplated what she meant. “His muscles seem kind of thicker? But yours are really tight. I wouldn’t want to fight either of you in a dark alley, let’s put it that way, but I think you’re the stronger. Yours seem condensed.”
Kon blinked. “You noticed that?”
“I don’t see the same person when I see you, Kon. There are so many differences it’s like comparing me to one of those posters.”
“A contest they instantly lose.”
She smiled a little. “Thank you.”
JAYDEN Page 6
