“Let me the fuck out of here, bitch. You aren’t going to dictate to me what I can and can’t do.” Ray sputtered and spat as he tried to get out of the ropes.”
“Okay, Ray, you want to know why you will never catch me off guard again and why you should thank those three men in there for saving your sorry ass?” Turning toward the back stairs, Kianna went to the shed and brought out three sawhorses, placing them about three feet apart. She went back and brought out four two-by-fours and laid them across the horses.
By this time, Teaghen, Duncan, and Alex had come outside and were watching carefully. Kianna bent forward, stretching out her muscles.
* * * *
Teaghen’s cock went rock hard instantly when his mate bent over, facing away from them, her ass up in the air. And what a fucking ass it is. He could tell by the low growls coming from his two brothers that they weren’t doing well either.
Facing them again, Kianna stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked Ray directly in the face. “This is why you will never hurt me, Ray. While you and my other moronic brothers were wasting time in prison and Bubba was spending all his money trying to stay out of prison, my daddies made sure I knew how to protect myself from people like you.” With that said, she quickly spun around and walked back to the boards.
Without another word, their little mate demolished the two-by-fours. Three hits was all it took to break them into small pieces.
“Damn, woman, that was spectacular.” Alex smiled as he went to her and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her cheek.
“Outstanding, baby.” Teaghen laughed. “What level are you at now?” he asked.
“I’m a fourth-level black belt now.” She smiled then turned to Ray and said, “Remember what you saw here today, Ray. According to the law, my hands are considered dangerous weapons. They’re dangerous because I can kill a man with one punch. And if you think I’m pulling your leg, then let’s have another go round like we did earlier, and it will be your last. I guarantee it.”
She strutted back into the house, but before she entered all the way, she turned back to the three men and nodded her head toward them, saying, “Let him go. I think he realizes not to mess with me anymore,” and walked into the kitchen.
Releasing Ray, Teaghen also warned him not to mess with Kianna or else he’d have to deal with him and his brothers, as well.
“Fuck you, Teaghen, that little brat doesn’t scare me one bit, but I won’t be messing with her anymore. I’ve got bigger things on my plate than my whore of a sister.” The minute it was out of his mouth, all three men moved toward him, but before they could get to him, he took off, from the backyard, through the house, and out the front door.
* * * *
Kianna giggled as she watched Ray run past her and out the door like the devil was chasing him. She hadn’t heard the last of him. She knew that for sure. Ray Deacon was as mean as his daddy had been, maybe even meaner. For the year she’d gone to school with him, he’d been in more trouble from fighting than anyone else. He was still that angry little boy that she grew up with.
“He’ll be back, little one, but we’re here now, so he won’t get close enough again to hurt you. No one will,” Duncan said.
“As I demonstrated out back, Duncan, I’m more than capable of taking care of myself now. He doesn’t scare me in the least anymore. My dads made sure I could protect myself after they found out what Bubba had done to Mom and me.” Kianna pushed her chair back from the table and walked over to grab a cup of coffee. She had only the things from her truck to unpack. The rest of her stuff wouldn’t be there for another week or so. That would give her a chance to go through the house and throw as much of Bubba Deacon’s belongings in the trash as she wanted, where they belonged. She’d make sure to ask Ray if he wanted anything first, but she doubted her brother was the sentimental kind.
“It’s good to have you back, little one,” Teaghen whispered against her neck, making her jump. “You know, now that you’re close to us, we won’t let you go this time?”
Rhetorical question that is was, Kianna still felt the need to address their possessiveness. Turning to face him, she didn’t realize that he was still standing so close behind her, and she smacked soundly into the solidness of his chest. Damn they are big. Placing her hand against the wall of his chest, she gave a good push and quickly darted around him to her seat at the table.
“You know, Teaghen”—Kianna smiled up at him—“this whole macho, alpha-male attitude that you and your brothers have going on isn’t conducive to my life, so might I just ask you to back the fuck off. I’m not the little girl who fawned all over you three all those years ago. I am a full grown woman who has a brain and has lived the last fifteen years without the watchful eyes of the Featherstone brothers. I don’t need a man, let alone three, in my life thinking they can tell me what to do.”
* * * *
Alex had been leaning against the doorframe, watching closely the interactions between his brothers and their mate. They had known how well she was trained over the years. Jeff and Sammy made sure they were kept up to date. Kianna’s mom, Marion, had been a gentle, loving soul. How she ended up married to that bastard, Bubba, they never understood, but she had found two wonderful mates in Jeff and Sammy. Pack brothers.
They had all decided, when Marion married the two brothers, that they wouldn’t share their secret with Kianna until they thought she was ready. Apparently, that time never came, and then Marion passed, and it didn’t seem the right time then either. Now, here she was, their beautiful, strong-willed mate asserting her autonomy but, in the process, awakening, even more, the protective instincts of her mates.
Before he’d thought it through, Alex was pushing away from the door, headed toward his mate. Lifting her up, he plopped her down on the granite counter top so he could stare into her eyes without having to break his back bending down to her. At six foot five, he was used to having to bend down when speaking to someone but not this time with their mate. He wanted her to be looking him in the eye when he spoke to her.
“Listen to me, little one,” he said. “We know you can take care of yourself. Jeff and Sammy trained you very well. In fact, it seems they trained you better than they let us know.” Alex smiled at the look of astonishment that crossed Kianna’s face when she realized what he had just said. Being boxed in by Alex’s strong arms meant that she couldn’t go anywhere without trying to fight him to do it.
“You think that after all your pestering and puppy chatter over the years that we weren’t going to make sure you were well taken care of, even though you weren’t where we wanted you to be, with us? Jeff and Sammy protected you when we couldn’t, and for that, they will forever have our gratitude. But now that you are here, there are some things that we need to discuss, and now is not the time. We’ve waited a long time for you to come home, Kianna Deacon, and we can wait a little more, but not without a taste…”
Alex pounced. That was the only way it could be described. He had her legs spread, his arms wrapped around her, and his mouth on hers in an instant. He cupped her face, and his tongue brushed along her bottom lip then plunged into her mouth. Hot and fiery, he tasted her completely. He stepped back and gave her a tender smile, stroking his finger down her cheek.
Duncan stepped forward next and dropped his hands down beside her on the counter and nuzzled in against the side of her neck. Lifting one hand, he cupped the back of her neck and, with his thumb, turned her mouth to meet his.
* * * *
Duncan’s kiss was gentle, yet Kianna knew he was holding back. With a last stroke of his tongue along her lips, he stepped back as well.
Teaghen was still sitting across the room at the table, glaring at her.
“Come here, Kianna,” he snarled.
Hesitantly, she slid off the counter but didn’t go to him. She felt as if she was being stripped naked by the way Teaghen looked at her. His eyelids were partially lowered, and it looked like he was angry with her.
She started toward him, and the moment she came into arm’s reach, he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap. Running his hand through her hair, he gently tugged on it to pull her face back so they were eye to eye.
“This is where you belong, little one, in the arms of myself and my brothers. You have belonged to us since the moment we found you in our forest when you were only a child. We let your mom take you with her because you were still too young and needed her guidance through your teenage years. But you have always been ours. Make no mistake about that.” Teaghen’s kiss was almost savage. He plundered her mouth showing no mercy. His tongue stroked and teased against hers, and then he sucked it into his mouth, all the while kneading the back of her head. When he finally lifted his lips from hers, they were both breathing hard.
“I don’t understand, Teaghen. Are you telling me that all these years you’ve known where I was and have watched over me?” Kianna just couldn’t imagine that kind of loyalty.
“Yes, my sweet. We’ve always known where you were. As heads of our community, it was our duty and, with you, indeed, our pleasure to watch over you as you grew.” Duncan and Alex came to kneel beside her and Teaghen.
“There is so much we need to tell you, baby, but now isn’t the time,” Duncan said, kissing her cheek. He again rose to stand and watch as Alex leaned forward to kiss her other cheek, saying, “You need to get yourself settled, and call Jeff and Sammy, and have them come to the ranch. Since they aren’t too far, it shouldn’t take them more than a couple of hours to get here.” Alex, too, stood and watched Teaghen, as if waiting for something.
Standing with her still in his arms, Teaghen set her feet down on the floor, kissed her gently on the lips, and nodded to his brothers to leave.
“We’ll be back in a couple of hours, sweet one. Be prepared for a long talk with us and your dads. They should have talked to you long before this, but circumstances haven’t allowed them to.”
“What are you talking about, Teaghen? You’re being so secretive about this, and what the hell should my dads have told me?” Kianna gripped his forearms tightly, so he couldn’t just walk away.
Gently removing her hands, he brought them to his lips for a kiss and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “I think you already know but, for some reason, have kept it to yourself. We’ll talk more when we return,” and he turned and left.
Kianna stood in the middle of the kitchen, her mouth agape. How the hell did he know that she knew of their secret? She had been so young when she learned of it that, for her, it was like a special gift, knowing something about the Featherstone brothers that no one else knew and keeping it tucked inside her heart, safe and sound.
Chapter 2
As soon as they had moved far enough into the forest, all three men stripped the shorts off and shifted. Running through the wooded area would be much faster in their wolf form than in human form, and it would also give their wolves a chance to run free and celebrate their mate finally coming home to them.
* * * *
Rusty watched from his hideaway in the barn as the three men left and headed out toward the forest. The Featherstones were not to be taken lightly. Around these parts, they were well respected and did a lot of good stuff for the community. He knew that Ray not only wanted to take the ranch away from his sister, but he also wanted to pay the Featherstones back for the loss of his brothers. Even he knew that Ray was a bit on the crazy side when it came to blaming the Featherstones for his brother’s death. He’d heard the whole story from his cousin, and the only reason Steve was dead was because Sean was even crazier than Ray.
Tucking himself back inside the barn, he walked to where Ray and a few of the other ranch hands sat just in time to hear Ray’s offer.
“You guys know that if we can’t get rid of my sister then our operation will grind to a halt. We can’t be bringing in all that merchandise with her sniffing around. I’ll give twenty thousand to the man who gets rid of her. I don’t care how you do it as long as she’s gone for good. That snotty little bitch isn’t going to stand in my way.” Glancing around, Rusty could see that none of the hands that were there would be up for the job that Ray was asking them to do. They were greedy enough, sure, but they didn’t have the stomach to hurt a woman. Especially after seeing the Featherstones so protective of her, thank God. Scaring Kianna off the property was one thing, but hurting her was something completely different, and he wanted no part in it. But he was smart enough to know if Ray found out about him not wanting to hurt his sister that he’d be the one hurt. He needed to get himself out of this mess so he could move on. Maybe he should head down to his brother’s place in Arizona. He could relax and kick back. He’d saved enough to retire on because of all the “extra” work he did for Bubba and Ray, so yeah, maybe it was time to get while the getting was good. First, he knew he’d have to figure out a way to let the Featherstones know about Ray’s offer to the hands so they could be on the alert. He couldn’t live with himself if that little snot got hurt. As much as he didn’t like her for embarrassing him and all, he didn’t want to see her dead.
“Are you listening to a damn thing I’m saying, Rusty?” Ray yelled at him.
“Ah, sorry, Ray, just thinking of how to earn me that twenty thousand you’re offering.” He gave Ray a big ol’ grin and moved in closer to the group.
* * * *
It took Kianna a couple of hours to empty out her truck. She couldn’t stop thinking about what her dads knew about Teaghen and his brothers. Surely they would have told her. Nah, they would have wanted to protect her.
Smiling, she continued cleaning out the master bedroom of all Bubba’s things. She didn’t want one item of his left in there. She’d put it in storage in the back shed for now, and Ray could take whatever he wanted. But by the month’s end, everything was going to charity. She was determined Bubba was going to do something good, even if it was in death.
“Hello?” she heard Sammy yell from downstairs. “Is there a little slip of a girl around these here parts?” Kianna ran downstairs and almost jumped into her dad’s arms for a big hug.
“What about me?” Jeff griped with a smile.
Hugging him, too, she said, “I missed you two. I’m glad that you stayed close, although I don’t know why. I thought you two would be home by now.”
“Let us get our coats and shoes off and a cup of coffee in our bellies, and we’ll try to explain everything. Although Teaghen, Duncan, and Alex should be here anytime now, so maybe we should wait for them.” Jeff glanced at his brother who shook his head in agreement.
“Okay, we’ll wait for the three alphas to get here, then.”
Before she could continue, Jeff startled her by taking hold of her arm saying, “What have they told you, Kianna?”
Smiling up at her worried dad, she tried not to giggle. It would serve them bloody well right if she told them she already knew about the Featherstone’s “gift,” but she couldn’t do that to them. They had been so incredibly good to her mom and her that she trusted them implicitly. If they knew and didn’t tell her, then there was a reason for it. She just wanted to know what it was.
“They haven’t told me anything, Dad. Teaghen was insistent that we wait for you to get here first. Just what the hell is going on?” She feigned aggravation.
A heavy knock came at the front door just as Sammy was about to open his mouth. He smiled and walked to the door. “Phew…saved by the bell, or in this case, the knock.”
* * * *
Teaghen and his brothers had been listening from the edge of the forest. They knew something was up with their mate. They just weren’t sure what.
“She knows something, Teag,” Alex said through their link.
“She knows a whole lot more than she’s let on over the years, that’s for sure, Alex.”
“How could she know anything about us? We never shifted any time she was near us,” Duncan chimed in.
“Our little mate has known a
bout us since she was a young girl, I think.”
“How the hell is that possible?”
“Remember how she loved to follow us everywhere? I think she snuck up on us one night and saw us shift. I thought I scented her, but she was downwind, and then it was gone, so I thought it was wishful thinking.”
“Damn, Teaghen, why didn’t you say anything? She could have brought a lot of trouble to us and not even known it. She was such a tiny, little bit,” Alex said.
“I wasn’t sure that she was actually there, and the next time we saw her, she didn’t act afraid or curious around us, so I figured it was just my imagination.”
Alex shifted and stretched out his muscles. “Well, brother dear, let’s go a pay a visit to our little mate and find out just how long and how much she knows.”
Teaghen and Duncan shifted as well. Duncan removed the backpack that he’d had Art, one of the omegas, strap to him. It held their clothes so that they could go in covered up this time.
* * * *
Jeff opened the door with a big smile. “Hey boys, your timing couldn’t have been better.”
“Yeah,” Kianna said sarcastically, “you three always seem to show up when you’re needed. It’s like you have superhuman hearing or something.”
“Don’t be snotty, Kia,” Sammy snapped. “We raised you way better than that.”
Sighing, Kianna gave her dad a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Sorry, Daddy Sam, I’m just a little tired from all the unpacking, I guess. Why don’t you all sit at the table, and I’ll get some coffee. Maybe, if we’re lucky, Jana, the housekeeper, left some of her baked goods for us. She knew I was coming today, and she always knew what a sweet tooth I had.”
Kianna and Her Three Alpha Wolves [Featherstone Pack] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 3
