She waited for it to sink in. It didn’t take long. Her family had been front page news for months.
“You mean—the Secretary of Defence? The guy whose wife shot him and then herself? That Arthur Kelley?” Valerie turned to look at her. Kitty nodded. “Well—fuck. That might not help us. It would show that we can be violent if they know your folks were wolves.” Valerie began pacing again.
“I thought about that, but I can use contacts to let others in D.C. know. Some of them my father took into confidence so the knowledge that shifters exist is already out there. If we can get the President on our side it would help our cause.”
“Good, that’s good. We need some established couples to interview. That would help. We need some from the other packs as well.” Valerie was almost talking to herself.
“I agree, which is why I called a meeting with all the alphas in the United States. After that we can contact alphas in other countries, but for now we all have to be on the same page.”
“My dad—” Peter started, but the alpha didn’t let him finish.
“I’m stronger than he is, Pete, he’ll listen to me,” Russ assured Peter.
“I think we need Bella and David as the first interview.” Valerie turned to the couple.
David didn’t look happy. Nobody did, not that Kitty blamed them. The situation was beyond crappy. It sucked that they would be exposed. They should’ve been able to stay in hiding. It wasn’t like they were hurting anyone.
“What?” David stood and scowled.
“Dave…she’s right.” Bella stood and gripped David’s arm.
“I don’t want—” David turned to Bella.
“This isn’t only about us and you know it. I’m pregnant and it shows. I’ll be perfect.” Bella stroked David’s arm and it appeared as if it was calming him down.
“And you’re both attractive and calm types. That’ll help. I think Peter and Grey should—”
“Oh, hell no.” This time it was Grey who stood.
The whole room was tense. Kitty hated it. She clenched her fists. Everett took her hand in his and laced their fingers together. It helped more than she was comfortable with, but he was her mate. They’d probably have to talk when all of this was over.
She was scared though, she didn’t want to end up like her parents.
“You represent the foxes and you’re a gay couple. We need to come at this from all sides.” Valerie didn’t look at any of them. She still appeared to be scheming.
There was a knock on the office door. Everyone turned and stared.
“Enter.” Russ raised his voice.
Kitty figured it was so the person on the other side could hear, but she still jumped.
One of the pack members Kitty didn’t know stuck her head in. “Russ—there’s a Mr Harrington out front to see Kitty.”
“Thanks, Erin. Give us a couple of minutes and I’ll send someone out to get him.”
Erin nodded and left, closing the door behind her.
“Okay, this is over for now. I have the other alphas due to arrive this afternoon. Valerie, get your contacts together and start on your interviews. I’ll want to take a look at it before it goes live.”
Valerie nodded and left the room, Max on her heels. Joy and Zareb were next, followed by Bella and David. Peter, Grey and Everett stayed in the room.
“I take it the three of you are staying?” Russ raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, Russ, we are.” Everett spoke for all of them.
“Good. Kitty, do you know what Langford Harrington wants?” Russ tapped his fingers on his desk.
“My uncle Kurt wants me and my sisters under his thumb so he can take control of our inheritance.”
“It’s more than that, isn’t it?” Russ looked right at her.
He must have smelt her unease. The small room didn’t leave her anywhere to run.
“He…ahh…the reason we ran was because—”
“You’re safe here, Kitty. Go ahead.” Everett squeezed her hand.
“Uncle Kurt wants more than the money. He wants me.” Kitty flashed a quick glance at Everett, then down at their joined hands.
Everett growled.
“Well, as long as you’re happy here, you don’t have to go back. Calm down, Ev.” Russ smiled.
“But—he’s my alpha.” It was the first time she’d acknowledged that in a long time. He could call her back at anytime and that was probably why Langford had shown up.
“No, Kitty, I’m your alpha now.” Russ stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of her.
“O—kay.”
“And—you’re my mate. He can’t have you,” Everett growled again.
“Plus, we have your back. You’re family now, Kitty.” Peter smiled at her.
Kitty gulped. She figured they could talk about that first, but it helped knowing the guys were on her side.
“Is this true?” Russ looked between the both of them.
“I—yes, sir. I just—last night—,” Kitty began.
“I only confirmed it last night, Russ. We haven’t had time to talk.”
Russ looked over his shoulder. “Vivi, could you ask Mr Harrington to come in?”
“Of course.” Vivian moved out of the room, but not before she kissed Russ’ cheek.
“I know the two of you need to talk, and you can have that time, but we need to let Harrington know you aren’t going anywhere and about the threat to the shifters. I couldn’t get a hold of your uncle, maybe Harrington can. Would you be okay with that?”
“I have to be. This isn’t just about me or my sisters anymore, Russ. It’s about all of us. As long as he knows I’m off limits—I’ll deal,” Kitty assured him.
“Let’s get this over with so you can contact who you need to. We need to get this ball rolling.” The door opened and Vivian let Langford in before leaving.
“Mr Harrington, please have a seat.” Russ gestured to the chair in front of his desk.
“I would like to talk to Kitty alone.” Langford sat and put down a briefcase she hadn’t noticed before.
“I don’t think so.” Russ moved behind his desk.
“This is a private, family matter.” Langford didn’t even fidget.
“We’re family,” Russ assured Langford. “Plus we have other business we need to discuss.”
“Really? And what would that be?”
“Shifters are about to be exposed and I need to get all the alphas on board with a plan.”
Chapter Four
Everett had no idea how Russ could be so calm. All Everett wanted to do was take Kitty out of the office and protect her, not sit there and listen to the douchebag lawyer try to talk his smarmy shit. Of course, Kitty wasn’t Russ’ mate so it was a bit different for the alpha.
“And you know this how?” Langford sounded so refined.
Kitty was totally out of Everett’s league. She was highbrow society and he was a thug wolf who lived in the middle of nowhere. But he didn’t care. The Ancients made them mates and who was he to fight that? He didn’t want to. Everett had been lonely since Peter found Grey. He was man enough to admit it. Now the Ancients were giving him a chance and he was taking it.
“We have a seer in our pack. I was also informed many months ago that Everett and Kitty were instrumental in making things go smoothly when the time came to expose ourselves.”
That was the first time Everett had heard that. Was Russ making it up? Kitty looked over at him and he shrugged. What else could he really do?
“Kitty is needed at home.” Langford was firm on the matter.
Everett half expected Kitty to speak up, but she hadn’t looked up from their hands since Langford walked into the room.
“Kurt might have informed you of that, but D.C. is no longer her home. Kitty has settled in nicely and has accepted me as her alpha, as is her right. She isn’t being forced to stay here and if Kurt is any kind of alpha he wouldn’t have let her stay in the Tyler pack as long as he did. He holds no claim.”
“She is his blood, not just pack.”
“Doesn’t matter and you know it.” Russ shrugged.
“I have paperwork for her,” Langford insisted.
“Fine, you can have it brought here along with Kurt. I’m holding a meeting later today. If he can’t get here in person then he can conference in. If that is all, I’ve got a lot of things I need to prepare.” Russ dismissed Langford.
Everett wanted to grin, but stopped himself.
Langford stood and looked at Kitty, but Kitty didn’t even glance at him. He stopped at the office door as if preparing to leave, but didn’t seem happy.
“I’ll contact Kurt, but he won’t be happy about this.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Langford, but there is nothing he can do.”
“That’s what you think. I’ve worked for the Kelley family for a long time. They have—”
“I’m sure he has contacts, but so do I. So tell him it’s in his best interest to back off.”
Langford nodded and left.
Nobody spoke for a few minutes.
“Everett and Kitty are important to this whole mess and we’re just finding out about it now?” Peter was the first to speak up.
“Well, at the time, Kitty was new here and had been through an ordeal. Then—to be honest, I forgot about it. Things were calm. I figured the threat of exposure was over. I should have known better.” Russ ran a hand over his face.
“I’m sorry,” Kitty whispered.
“Hey—hey, no, none of this is your fault. It’s fate or the Ancients. Some call it destiny.” Everett pulled her close and hugged her tight.
“He’s right, this would have happened if you were here or not. I’m thankful you are here, though. You have some D.C. contacts that I don’t. We’re going to need all the help we can get and fast. I hate to—”
“It’s okay, Russ. I’ll go and make those calls.” Kitty flashed a small smile.
Everett could tell her heart wasn’t in it. He wanted to go after her, but she was going to need some time to be with her sisters.
“I’ll come by in a few?”
“Yes, I’d like that.” Kitty’s smile was more real that time.
She left the office and shut the door behind her.
“Russ—,” he began.
“I know, Ev, I know. I should have said something, but things were good and I didn’t want to mess with that.”
“How are we the key here?”
“I have no idea. You know how mysterious the Ancients can be. Maybe it only has to do with the two of you getting together so Kitty can use her contacts to break the news about shifters. I hope that’s all. Getting the packs together is a good thing even if the news doesn’t break. There has been too much corruption, what with Vivian’s den and Peter’s dad. They need to be taken care of. But we can all hope this is the last trial we have to go through.”
“How is Bella doing?” Peter asked. “She didn’t have another dream, did she?”
“She hasn’t said anything and you all know she would if she had something. She’s driving David to distraction with all her cravings, but it’ll be nice to have a few pups around. She and Erin should have babies around the same time. Just like the Ancients predicted. Of course now Zareb and Max are running scared because they’re next in line for babies according to the prophecy.”
That made Everett smile. He didn’t know Zareb too well, but to picture Max as a daddy? That was enough to make anyone have a laugh.
“So we focus on taking control of our exposure then batten down the hatches and ride the wave until things calm down?” Everett asked.
“That about sums it up. Peter, Grey, get ready for Valerie to interview you.”
Peter groaned.
“I know it isn’t something you want to do, but Valerie is right, we need to hit this from all sides.”
“I know, Russ. I don’t like it, but we’ll do it.” Grey stood and held out his hand to help Peter up from the chair.
Everett moved to follow them.
“Ev, hold back for a minute?” Russ spoke up.
He nodded at the guys and sat back down.
“What did you need, Russ?” Everett was anxious to get to Kitty. He knew it hadn’t been that long, but he wanted to see her.
“I want you to know, I’m not forcing anything. Kitty is safe here and I’d never—”
“I know, Russ. That’s what makes you a great alpha. You have no worries from me.”
“Good, good. Okay, get out of here and go talk to your mate. The others will be here in a few hours and I need to figure out what to say to them to get them on our side. Thank you, Everett.”
He knew a dismissal when he heard one. He left the room and made a beeline for Kitty’s house. He hesitated at the door. Maybe he should have waited. She was probably still on the phone talking to folks in D.C. They had time. Like Russ said, things didn’t need to be rushed or forced, no matter what his wolf thought.
Everett heard footsteps coming towards the door. He knocked so they would know he was there. Bunny, or was it Poppy, opened the door.
“Hey—Everett, what’re you doing here?”
“I need to see your sister.” Everett rocked back on his heels.
“She’s on the phone right now, but you can come in.” She smiled at him.
“Ah—thanks—”
“It’s Bunny.”
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay, most people have a hard time telling us apart.”
It really wasn’t an excuse, he was a wolf. Their scents should differentiate them. He took a deep breath and again when Poppy walked in. Now he could tell them apart. It was a slight difference, but it was there.
“Everett, did Bunny let you know Kitty is on the phone? We were going to go shopping, but it looks like something came up. We’re gonna just—yeah—come on, Bunny.” Poppy took Bunny’s arm and pulled her out of the doorway, slamming the door shut behind them.
No, they weren’t subtle at all. Everett shook his head. What would it be like to be that young again?
“Bunny, Poppy, are you—”
Kitty entered the room and his body went on full alert.
“They left.”
“Did they say where they were going?”
“No, just that shopping was cancelled.”
“Shoot. I didn’t want to, but I figured with the whole exposure thing happening I should get my contacts on line.”
“Right, right. So, how did that go?” Everett put his hands in his pocket so he wouldn’t grab Kitty and pull her close. God, he wanted to kiss her. To see what she tasted like, how she felt wrapped around his cock. Shit, he was getting hard. He closed his eyes and focused on keeping himself in check.
“I had to leave a few messages so now it’s sit and wait. I want to be able to get Russ in to see the President. It’s imperative that we have him on our side.” Kitty backed away from him.
Not that Everett blamed her. He was pumping out pheromones like they were going out of style. He clenched his teeth and stood his ground, not getting any closer. He wanted her, but not when she was so unsure.
“We should talk,” Everett finally said.
“About us being mates?”
“I think so. Yes. I want you really bad here, Kitty, but I’m willing to wait for as long as I have to.”
“Really? You’d wait?” Kitty stopped moving and looked at him for the first time since she walked into the room.
Like he was just going to jump her. There was too much in her past for him to even think about it.
“Of course I would. You’re in absolute control here. We’re on your timetable. I know you have other things you need to deal with, I just want to let you know that I’m here for you and we can chat about whatever you want to—whenever you want to.”
“You’re not—upset?”
“Do I smell upset, Kitty? Calm down for a second.” Everett still didn’t move a muscle.
“It—I—”
“No. You’re…calm. There’s no anger at all.”
Everett smiled. “I want more than anything to get to know you. It’s important, right? We need more, not just the mating bond.”
“I don’t know if I can be a mate.” Kitty looked down again.
He closed his eyes and counted to ten before opening them. He didn’t look at Kitty. Instead he looked around the room. It was a nice place, but not much in the way of personal touches. The walls were all beige with nothing hanging on them. The furniture was the stuff Russ had ordered in for them. He’d hoped that in all this time the girls would have made it feel more like home. It looked like they were just there for a brief stay.
“Kitty. Please, sit down. I’m not going to jump you, I promise.”
“Okay.”
Everett waited until she was settled, and took the chair that was to the side of the couch. He wanted to sit beside her. Not yet. He had to bide his time.
“Why do you think you can’t be a mate?” He wanted to scream, What the hell are you talking about? He didn’t want to corner her or she would bolt.
“Look what happened to my parents.”
“I don’t really hear about what happened to your parents. I don’t think anyone really understands. The press doesn’t always get things right.”
“My mom, she shot my dad. Everything was fine. We were sitting down for dinner. And—”
“You don’t have to tell me this, you know that, right?”
“I do. So you can understand. Let me—I have to get this out. I haven’t told anyone everything. Not even the girls. They were staying the night with friends. It was just me, my mom and dad.”
He didn’t know if he was prepared for what she was about to reveal, but he’d said he’d be there for her and he would stick to that because no matter what, she was his mate and it wasn’t like he’d get another one.
Chapter Five
Kitty couldn’t believe she was about to spill everything to Everett, but he was her mate and he had to know why she was a bad choice.
“It was a nice night. Mom and Dad had been fighting about something for days. I have no idea what it was about, just that my mom was very upset. It was one of the reasons the girls left the house. They were tired of hearing it. So dinner was on the table and we were eating. All of the sudden my mom stands up and points a gun at Dad. I have no idea where it came from. It’s like it just appeared in her hands. She screamed something, but I was frozen to my chair, mid-bite. I couldn’t do anything. Dad stood up too and held out his hands. I think he was trying to calm her down or something. She wasn’t having it at all. I flinched when she pulled the trigger.
Absolution Page 3
