Absolution

by Jambrea Jo Jones

  Kitty shouldn’t be here, this had to be pack business, but she had nowhere to go.

  “I had a vision.”

  Russ groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “Just when things settled down. I shouldn’t be surprised. What was it about it?” He sounded resigned.

  “It—Russ, it’s bad. I saw a news broadcast where they caught a shifter in mid-shift. Humans are about to find out about us.”

  Kitty gasped and looked between Bella and Russ. The alpha had paled at the words and was incredibly still. Bella appeared to be shaking. This wasn’t good. Bella bit her lip and her mate hugged her close.

  Russ exhaled loudly, startling Kitty because he hadn’t moved for what seemed like the longest time.

  “Shit. We were warned this might happen. But we have the heads up now. We have to fix it—control the situation. It’s destined to happen, but we’ll break the news. I’m going to have to go visit the other packs and get them behind us before we go live.”

  “I can help.”

  Kitty looked to see who’d spoken up, but she was still bad with names. She must have looked confused because Everett whispered in her ear.

  “That’s Valerie.”

  Kitty nodded. The situation was fascinating, but—she stopped herself from saying what she was thinking. If she put it out there, she’d have to go forward and put herself on the line, and she had her sisters to think about.

  “Valerie, that’s a good call. You still have ties at your station?” Russ’ shoulders didn’t look as tense, and he was a bit more animated than before. That had to be a good sign. She wouldn’t have to say anything. She could just go about her business.

  “I do, but we’re going to have to need something that gets the sympathy of the people.” Valerie paced back and forth.

  “I can help.” Kitty slapped a hand over her mouth. Why did I say that?

  Chapter Two

  Everett looked at Kitty. God, she was gorgeous with her blue eyes and long blonde hair. And such a tiny little thing it looked like a strong wind would carry her away. She’d been so timid when they’d first met and he was proud of her for standing up to that lawyer. He really didn’t think she would be able to. It looked like living with the pack had helped her find her courage. There was more spirit in her then he’d ever imagined and it made him hard. Wildly inappropriate, but what was a guy to do when his mate looked so fierce? And of course he’d been hard almost the whole time they’d danced. At first he didn’t think she was going to accept him. When she’d flinched at his touch, she’d nearly broken his heart. There was no way he would ever hurt her, but Everett had to be sure they were mates. The second he’d pulled her close, he’d known it was more than just regular attraction.

  Yeah, he figured she knew they were mates as well, after her mad dash away from the dance floor. He’d thought she might’ve been on that day he’d rescued her from his demented uncle, but didn’t want to push it—at least not then. At that time he’d only wanted to get her out of a bad situation. He came to find out her sisters were younger than he’d first thought too. Good thing they’d got them out when they did. Who knew what kind of mental and physical damage could have been done to all of them?

  Now Kitty was volunteering. How could she help when the news that shifters were real broke? If it was up to him she would stay far away from it, but it wouldn’t be his decision. Hell, he wasn’t even really part of her life yet. It would be up to the alpha to figure out how she could help, but she wouldn’t be doing it alone. Everett would be there every step of the way.

  Kitty looked horrified that she’d spoken up and her sisters appeared nervous. This didn’t bode well. Everyone around them waited for her to say more and Everett knew she was about to bolt, he felt her tensing up. He gripped her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

  Poppy and Bunny huddled around Kitty. She pulled them close, but the deer-in-the-headlights look didn’t go away.

  “Kitty, how can you help us?” Russ’ voice was all calm and authoritative.

  “I…I…” She shook her head and pushed back against Everett.

  “It’s okay, you know you can—” Russ began.

  “Hey—Russ, could we maybe…table this for now? It’s not like it will happen tonight, right?” Everett glanced at Bella.

  “Usually the Ancients give me time after a vision, but I never know how long. It could be tomorrow or a month from now. It’s never cut and dry with them.”

  “Okay, do you remember which broadcast it was? Evening news? Morning?” Everett smoothed his hands down Kitty’s arms.

  Bella closed her eyes and it took a few moments before she spoke. “It was late night so that would mean—what? Ten o’clock news?”

  “Good, that’s good. Russ, can we do this in the morning?”

  Everett’s taking over didn’t seem to faze Russ. If it were any other man, he’d probably have put Everett in his place, but Russ had a way of really listening to his people and that was what made him a great alpha.

  “That’s a good idea, Everett. It’ll give me some time to do some brainstorming. And Kitty—you don’t have to help, I’m not going to hold you to anything, but I’d like your input. We can all talk after breakfast in the morning.” Russ nodded and left, but not before patting Everett on the back.

  It was just him and the three sisters off to the side of the dance floor. “Why don’t I walk you guys back to your house, unless you’d like to stay here at the party?”

  Kitty turned to face him. “Thank you, for that. I—um— Yes. Please, I’m ready to call it a night. Girls?”

  He liked that she included them and didn’t force them. He wasn’t surprised when they both nodded and started walking towards their cottage. Everett knew where it was, he’d helped them move in, not that they had much stuff. Grey and Russ had gone back to the Tyler pack to get what the girls had left there.

  Speaking of Grey, he and Peter weren’t far off and kept peering at him. He grinned and waved them off. He’d have to talk to them later, but for now he had to get the girls to the place where they felt the safest. They would all be shaken up with the appearance of the dude Kitty had called Mr Harrington. It didn’t look like they’d had much luck in the past if that lawyer was there on behalf of their dead parents. Kitty had looked scared before she’d taken charge.

  Everett hoped he could get Kitty to talk to him before the guy showed back up at the pack house, but he didn’t think there’d be time with the meeting after breakfast. If Everett had read the situation right, the lawyer would be back banging on the door first thing, but if the guy touched Kitty one more time, Everett would rip his face off. It was a close call tonight, but he’d managed to keep his wolf at bay. It wasn’t like he and Kitty had bonded yet, they hadn’t had any time. Well, he could have made time, but he wanted her to be secure in her place within the pack before he even looked into them being mates. And now—now he knew she was his.

  Sometimes, being a wolf sucked with all the mate crap. He remembered how it had almost destroyed his cousin, Peter. Of course all of Peter’s ‘I’m gay and can’t have a mate’ thing hadn’t helped the situation. But now he was happy with his mate, and someday Everett wanted that too. It hurt that he couldn’t stay with Kitty, but it was too soon, if her earlier reaction was anything to go by. He’d just take her to the door and drop her off. It would take all of his willpower to back off. His wolf was pissed and wanted to break free, but Everett held himself in check.

  They had a nice walk through the woods to get to Kitty’s house. The pond area was secluded for trysts, more than one wolf got busy there. Maybe—yeah, he wouldn’t think of that. No need to get hard and have his pheromones go all crazy. Not when the girls would have been able to smell him. Earlier it wasn’t such a big issue because the clearing had been full of horny wolves. Here—with just the girls, talk about embarrassing.

  Poppy and Bunny hurried inside, Kitty hovered at the door. “Thank you, again, for—you know—being there.” She gave him a hesitant
smile. She played with the knob and nibbled on her lip.

  Everett traced her mouth with his thumb, getting her to release the poor abused flesh.

  “Kitty—” He looked into her eyes.

  “No, please don’t. Not yet.” She stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his mouth before turning and going inside.

  He stood for a few minutes looking at where a second ago Kitty had stood. He bowed his head and took a deep breath. His mate was on the other side of that door and there was nothing he could do about it. Everett wouldn’t force the issue. It wasn’t in his nature. There was always tomorrow. No matter if he wasn’t in with the core group of the pack, he was going to be at that meeting.

  The walk back to the group didn’t make him any happier. He stood at the edge of the party. The dance from earlier still ran through his mind. They’d had fun. If that lawyer hadn’t shown up maybe he could have calmed Kitty down enough to talk.

  Peter must have seen him because he tugged Grey over to where Everett stood.

  “Hey, cuz, what’s up?” Peter stopped in front of him, blocking his view of the festivities.

  The music was still country and the twang echoed around the clearing.

  “Kitty’s my mate.” Everett blurted it out. Shit, he hadn’t mean to do that, but he needed to tell someone and Kitty wasn’t talking—yet.

  “Okay, then why are you here?” Grey slapped him on the back.

  “I—we…it isn’t time. Not yet.” Everett sighed.

  “Ev—” Peter began.

  “No, Pete, this isn’t like with you. I’m not running, I promise, but she isn’t ready yet.”

  “I wasn’t ready either. I don’t think most of us are, some less than others.” Peter looked a bit ashamed.

  Everett hated that look on his cousin’s face. He had nothing to be ashamed of.

  “I think we have more worries right now besides my mate. Did you guys hear Bella earlier?” Everett changed the subject because he didn’t want to admit how right his cousin was.

  “No, we were busy dancing.” Grey winked at Peter.

  Everett laughed. He liked how playful Grey could make Peter. And now he looked happy—no more pinched look, he was at ease and leant back so Grey could hold him. Everett didn’t think he’d ever seen Peter so relaxed in his own skin. It had been a long time coming and he hated to take that away from him, but this had the potential to be bigger than anything.

  “We’re about to be exposed to the humans. Bella had a vision.”

  “Fuck,” Grey whispered.

  “Exactly. They’re having a confab tomorrow morning so the pack can handle the news break. Things are about to get dicey real soon. Maybe you guys should—”

  “Don’t you finish that sentence, Ev. Don’t you dare. We are pack and we won’t go into hiding.” Peter reached out to squeeze Everett’s arm.

  He should have known his cousin wouldn’t just leave. The Masters pack was everything to all of them. They couldn’t have a better leader than Russ and Everett knew Russ would do whatever it took to protect everyone.

  “You’re right. I know it. I’m going back to the house to get some rest. I want to be there tomorrow. Kitty said she could help and I want to make sure if she does, she knows I have her back.”

  “We’ll be there too.” Peter nodded.

  Everett smiled and nodded. It was nice having family to stand by you.

  “Thanks, Pete.” He turned and walked away.

  Maybe he wouldn’t go to bed just yet. He needed a run to wear himself out. He stripped out of his clothes and shoved them under a bush before shifting. He raced through the wood.

  The trees were a blur. The small animals didn’t tempt him. Usually bunnies were good for a hunt, but that only made him think about Kitty and her sisters. He was trying to get them off his mind so he could sleep. It wasn’t working. Nothing was. All he wanted was to mate. His wolf agreed. Now wasn’t the time. Everett had to keep that mantra going through his head. It was the only way he would not race to Kitty’s place and lay claim to her.

  He was panting by the time he got back to his clothes, and he couldn’t run anymore. Everett lay down and collected himself before shifting back. He liked his wolf form, but everything was more primal. The run had done nothing to really clear his thoughts.

  The shift back was fast. Everett tugged on his jeans and gathered the rest of his clothes before heading to his room in the big house. It was like a big dorm. All the single shifters lived there, leaving the houses for the mated pairs and the families.

  It wasn’t a bad place, but he missed Peter since he’d moved out to his own place. All of the smaller houses were being filled. A lot of pairs had got together in the last year. The pack was growing in leaps and bounds. Hell—they even brought one of those old shifter dudes back from Africa.

  And now they were about to be exposed. It blew donkey balls.

  Chapter Three

  Kitty barely tasted breakfast. It was a nice meal of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, all of her favourites, but all she could think about was afterwards when they would have the meeting and she’d have to reveal parts of her past that she really didn’t want to. If Bella was right, their whole species would be in danger. She had no idea about the Ancients, her home pack had never talked much about them. They were never as spiritual as the Masters pack seemed to be. Kitty had missed all the drama over the past year or so. She felt bad for the Masters, but happy that her little family hadn’t been there.

  Now this.

  “Kit, you okay?”

  Kitty looked at Bunny. Her sister appeared nervous and Kitty couldn’t have that.

  “Yeah, you’ve been playing with the eggs. They’re good, you should eat them.” Poppy nudged her with an elbow.

  “I’m good. Promise. Finish eating and you can go back to the house.”

  “What about you?” the twins said at the same time.

  She had to grin, they were so in tune. Sometimes they even finished each other’s sentences. It could be a bit creepy, but she was used to it.

  “I have a meeting with Russ.” Kitty pushed her eggs around her plate before she took a bite.

  “Are we in trouble?” Bunny worried her lip.

  “Trouble? No, honey, I just need to discuss a few things with them. That’s all.” She patted Bunny’s leg.

  “They won’t make us go back, will they?” Now Poppy picked at her food.

  “Nope. This is our home now.” Kitty looked at them both, trying to reassure them any way she could.

  “Good, I like it here.” Bunny grinned.

  “Me too, sweetie, me too. Now finish up. You two have chores.”

  “Aww…Kitty.” They both groaned.

  “Don’t you ‘aww, Kitty’ me. If you want me to take you into town later for some shopping you’ll clean up your rooms.”

  Not to mention she needed to look for a job. She’d managed to stuff some money away before they left, but a lot of that had gone to the Tyler pack. They were supposed to have helped Kitty get what was rightfully hers from her parents’ estate, but that had never happened as far as she had been able to tell. Now Mr Harrington had shown up. She’d bet her last nickel that bastard Roger Tyler had told Mr Harrington where to find them. Roger hadn’t been happy when they left. Well, he hadn’t been pleased period with his gay son showing up. If they’d stayed after that, who knew what condition they would have been in. Roger had a heavy hand and he didn’t care who he hurt.

  “We’re adults, you know. You don’t have to baby us.” Bunny pulled her out of her musings.

  Teenagers. Kitty was just happy they’d started acting their age. For too long they’d been so quiet and almost perfect.

  “Yes, I know, you’re old enough to clean your rooms without me telling you. So…do it.” Kitty laughed.

  “Whatever.” Poppy shoved her food into her mouth before getting up from the table.

  “Dishes,” Kitty reminded her.

  Poppy grumbled, but did wha
t she was told. Bunny did the same. Usually the housekeeper took care of those things at home, but things were different now.

  Kitty glanced around and most of the pack had left. Russ and Vivian were at the head of the table, talking. Peter and Grey were still there, as well as Everett. She’d known he’d been there the whole time. It was like she had radar and it was tuned into the Everett station. He’d looked at her a few times—she could feel his gaze. And there it was again. She glanced up and away quickly.

  Russ stood. “Let’s adjourn to my office.”

  She gathered her stuff and left it in the kitchen. It wasn’t her day to help in there. They had a schedule and rotated dishwashing and cooking. She was on tap next week. She liked the steadiness of it all.

  Everett fell in to step beside her on the way to Russ’ office. She glanced back to see Peter and Grey not far behind. Nobody spoke until they got into the office. Russ sat behind his desk and Vivian stood beside him.

  “Okay, for those of you who don’t know, our newest member is Kitty Kelley. Kitty, I’ll introduce you to everyone. Over on the couch are Valerie and her mate Max, beside them is Joy and her mate Zareb. On the other side of the room are Bella and her mate David. You know Peter, Grey and Everett, right?”

  Kitty nodded and looked at the floor. She hated the focus being on her.

  Russ continued. “Last night Bella had a vision that we are about to be exposed. We have no idea when, but we need to assume it’s soon. We’re going to use Valerie’s media connections to release our news.”

  “We need to find a sob story and get it out there. Something that will get the people on our side and if someone has any government contacts now would be the time to speak up. If we get an ‘in’ with them maybe they can help us.” Valerie stood and paced the room.

  It was time. She needed to speak up, but her family might make the situation worse. She cleared her throat.

  “Kitty? Is this why you said you could help last night?” Russ’ voice was low, as if he was trying to calm her.

  “Yes,” she whispered and cleared her throat again. “Yes. I’m the daughter of Arthur Kelley.”