by Morgan Wylie
“All right, well what I wanted to ask is along those lines, but slightly… stranger,” Mather inferred.
“Ok, try me.” Poppy perked up in the face of a new challenge. She was full of spirit especially when it came to her work.
“I wasn’t”—Mather sighed out his frustration and ran a hand through his disheveled hair—“I wasn’t able to get a scent off the letter as to who sent it or even anyone that might have touched it except for the guard who delivered it.” Mather began to pace in the small space near the door.
“What are you thinking, Mather? I’ll help if I can,” she encouraged him.
“I’m not getting a scent, but I’m getting a lack of scent,” he stopped pacing and raked both hands through his hair this time backward, making it stand up taller than it already was. He growled. “That doesn’t make any sense, I know. But I’m getting something that is either blocking the scent or has removed it. But whatever it is…”
“It has its own scent—or maybe signature, is that what you mean?” Her eyes lit up with the possibility of what he had discovered.
“Yes, that’s it.” Mather turned toward her, happy that she understood what he was trying to say without him having to explain it more. That was a huge relief to him. He had practiced the whole way back from his run, hoping it wouldn’t sound ridiculous. “Is that something you know how to do or can figure out?”
Poppy cocked her head, thinking. “I don’t have anything ready to go, but I think I might be able to create something that could work. The foundation is similar to the print deciphering technology, so I think I can tweak it a bit, maybe with the help of a little magic.” Poppy winked at him and began jotting some notes down on a scratch piece of paper she had next to her.
“It could be a huge lead, Poppy.” Mather paused and looked awkward. Not in the way his jeans tucked into his half-laced clunky brown boots. Or how his red plaid flannel hung open and lopsided over his white t-shirt. Overall, he was handsome as hell sporting his rugged Northwest-man look. However, the shy little boy who hid behind his eyes and only came out on rare occasions rendered him awkward. “Thank you.” His words held more than a simple gratefulness for her assistance.
“So are we skipping the part where we talk about the elephant in the room and going right into professional work mode?” Leave it to Poppy to get right to the point.
“That would work for me,” Mather said flatly, locking away the momentary lapse in vulnerability.
“But does it really, Mat?” Poppy faced him fully. Her green eyes locked on his. Their hypnotic gaze shot directly to his soul. She had a grip on him, and he didn’t even know when it happened. Slowly, she moved toward him, giving him time and room to move away. Her hips swayed as she walked confidently and seductively in his direction.
Mather gulped. “Doesn’t it work for you? Everything back to the way it was before?” He watched her moving closer. He couldn’t take his eyes off her—they roamed from her eyes painstakingly slow down the curves of her chest defined by a loose brown blouse then down her long thin legs barely covered by animal print leggings met by brown ballet flats.
“No. Not anymore. Being…” Poppy’s expression pinched for a moment then she looked back to Mather. “Being away from this place, from the team, from you… I realized what I would’ve missed if I never came back—it was you, Mather. It’s always been you,” Poppy spoke quietly, but honestly and with deep emotion. She moved in close enough to touch him but didn’t. The heat between their bodies could be felt in the air, the tension electric.
Mather held himself back. His wolf clamored to get out and to claim this female standing before them, practically giving herself to them. His breathing escalated as he watched her chest move up and down with her own rapid breathing. He could hear her heart beating at a rapid rhythm. Her eyes were pleading with him, but there was also a part of her he saw wasn’t ready. He wanted to, but…
Mather reached behind him and gripped the door handle, wrenching it open in one fast motion. “Poppy, I need to go. I… I’m sorry. Um, thanks for your help?” Mather practically fell out the door and scrambled away from Headquarters. He could hear the door being slammed behind him. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Poppy, but he didn’t know what was happening—well, he knew what was happening, but it was happening too fast. His wolf wanted Poppy more than he had ever wanted anything. It’s not like he hadn’t had relationships and hook ups in the past, but something about hooking up with Poppy felt different—it would be more, and Mather wasn’t sure if he was ready for that or if he even deserved that. Memories of long ago surfaced and left him with a soured expression and an attitude sharpened by the edges of time.
Passing the hall headed toward the Den, Mather heard raised voices behind the door that belonged to Alana’s room while she adjusted to life at the Lair. Mather didn’t know why Rylen bothered giving her a separate room. She spent most her time in his room anyway. Rylen’s voice was most dominant through the walls. The walls around the Lair were built extremely thick with sound proofing board, but the shifters could still usually pick up stuff if the noises were loud enough. Some of the sounds he’d rather not hear when various members would hook up, but this was different. They were arguing. Mather didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t help what he heard when it was shouted.
“Alana, how could you keep information from me, even after I had asked you?” Rylen questioned.
“He’s still my father, Rylen—as much as I may wish he wasn’t at the moment. I won’t help him, and I’ll do what I can for you, but I don’t want to be a pawn in the middle of your war. Please don’t ask me to be,” she replied a little softer. Mather could understand where she was coming from. Family. How did you separate that? The punishment must be met, but she didn’t have to be involved. He would remember to tell Rylen his thoughts when they had the chance.
“Alana?” Rylen shouted. Mather stopped in his tracks. That didn’t sound like a lover’s spat. “Alana! What’s happening?”
Mather wrapped on the door twice. “Mat get in here!” Rylen could scent him as he was walking by, he was sure. Rylen’s were-cat senses were just as strong as his. Mather didn’t wait, instead busting into the room. Alana was in Rylen’s arms almost on the ground as if she had fainted.
“What happened?” Mather asked.
“I don’t know. We were talking as I’m sure you heard, and then she looked funny and just fell. I barely caught her.”
“I’ll call for Doc.” Mather grabbed his cell out of his pocket and hit the button that was connected to the intercom system within the Lair for emergencies just like this. “Doc to Alana’s room right away.” He threw his phone on the bed and knelt down next to Rylen. Rylen held Alana protectively and hissed through his teeth, his eyes turning a feral greenish-yellow.
“Back down, man. Get your beast under control. Doc is going to have to take her from you. Be ready if you want to help her,” Mather directed, taking over. Shifters could be extremely protective of what was theirs, including their mates— especially their mates even when it came to friends and those they trusted most. Protocol was always to get the beast under control so they didn’t stir up more trouble than what was called for at the time.
Rylen nodded, and his eyes turned back to his strange heterochromatic ones: one gray and one green. “Thanks, man,” he breathed. “I just found her, I can’t lose her now. What could be wrong?”
“I don’t know.” Just then, Doc came busting through the door followed by Lucius and Gracie. Her eyes were spinning with the myriad of colors like they did when she was receiving a vision. Perhaps their little Oracle would know something.
“Gracie,” Rylen breathed with relief even more so than when Doc came in. “Do either of you know what’s happening?”
Doc got down on the ground and began to check on Alana, feeling her pulse, opening her eyelids to check her pupils—Rylen growled but took a step back from Doc to let him do his work. Mather stood next to Rylen in cas
e he needed to restrain him. Lucius stood back by the door, not entering into the small and now even smaller space filled with tension. He watched Gracie after he sat her down on the bed. She hadn’t said a word, but he could tell she was seeing something in her hypnotic state.
“She seems to have simply fainted, but I do not yet know the reason why. She will wake up, most likely sooner than later. I have some smelling salts that could raise her from her slumber.” Doc stood and went to his bag he dropped by the bathroom door. The small room was laid out similar to a motel with a small main space and a bathroom off to the side. “What was she doing before it happened?”
“We were… arguing,” Rylen admitted. “She was angry and then sad. Then she just fell.” Rylen looked lost, like a small child unsure what to do with himself.
“It must have something to do with the energy fluctuations she experienced in such a short span of time. She is not yet fully adjusted to her magic or to its properties. It will take some time I’m afraid,” Doc explained.
“She doesn’t have that much time,” Gracie spoke ominously from the bed.
“What?!” Rylen croaked. “What are you saying, Gracie? What are you seeing?”
“She is fading. Her time is almost finished on earth,” Gracie said with a lone tear rolling silently down her face. “This cycle is ending.”
“No!” Rylen roared. “That’s not supposed to happen. We mated… she found her magic, the cycle is supposed to be broken…. She said it would be broken.”
“Who?”
“Widow. She explained that Alana has lived lives over and over again, each different and beginning as a small child. But she only ages until her twenty-first birthday. Then she simply fades if she hasn’t found her counterpart that would release her magic and make her whole.” Rylen fell down to his knees with his hands upon his head in defeat. “This was supposed to be broken. Why isn’t it?” His desperation was so strong it could choke the entire room. “What do I do?” he whispered desperately.
“Her time is not today, Rylen,” Gracie expounded. “It is coming unless she gives herself to her magic and her role. She is still holding back—is still bound by the dormant tendencies of her magic. It has to be fully alive sparking within her to keep her alive long enough to surpass her twenty-first birthday. She is not yet gone but is beginning to fade. There is still time.”
Rylen hung his head, leaned down, and touched Alana’s forehead with his own. “We will figure this out, love,” he whispered for her ears alone.
Doc gave him a moment and waited for the go ahead. Rylen looked up to Doc from under his hooded lids with eyes of desperation and exhaustion. He nodded and leaned back marginally. Rylen tilted her head up. Doc leaned down and opened a small brown vial under Alana’s nose.
Alana stirred and her eyelids flickered with life. She coughed and tried to sit up as she opened her eyes. Widening them, she looked for Rylen. Upon seeing him, she relaxed momentarily then spied the others standing around in her room, all eyes on her. “What… what’s going on, Rylen?”
“You fainted, love,” he explained.
“That’s weird, I don’t think I’ve ever fainted before.”
He helped her up to her feet, unwilling to let go of her while she found her balance. “We’ll figure it out, Alana. I promise you that,” Rylen said fiercely enough to have her question his statement.
“It’s the curse, isn’t it? It’s not broken?” Her voice hitched, and her eyes shifted with panic.
“Yes and no.” He looked deep into her eyes, helping her to calm down. “We will figure this out. I will not lose you now.”
“I believe you.” Alana’s gaze swept her room and those still standing there with her. She spotted Gracie sitting on her bed, a small smile encouraging her to believe. “Thank you.”
“We need to bring everyone in on this. I know you wanted to keep it between us, but I’d like any input anyone might have. Ok?” Rylen asked her. Alana inhaled slowly then nodded. Rylen brought her into the shelter of his embrace and held her close, kissing the top of her head. Inhaling her scent, his eyes glowed with a sudden passion that his beast needed sated. He needed his mate, needed to know she was safe.
“Everyone out,” Rylen growled as he kissed her forehead then her cheeks, moving his mouth down, capturing hers in a hungry eruption of passion. He cradled her in his arms, picking her up, and placed her on the bed. He kissed her as if her life depended on it, and for all he knew, perhaps it did. She returned his kiss just as passionately. Her hands ran up his neck, pulling him closer so there was no air between their bodies. Rylen heard the click of the door as it shut. “They’re gone, love. I need you now,” Rylen barely got out between his staggered breathing. He was fighting the pull of his beast and the intense passion to consume his mate. Rylen reached down and gripped the edges of her shirt and pulled it over her head in one swift motion, removing his lips from her mouth just long enough to get it over her head.
“Rylen…” she breathed. She helped him by unlatching the front clasp of her bra and sliding it down her shoulders, baring her skin to him.
“Alana, you’re so perfect.” Rylen’s voice held the highest form of awe it could. His gaze slid over each breast followed by his hands as he cupped and caressed them, worshipping them each in their own time. His mouth captured one and he took his time sucking and nipping her tight bead with his teeth, one hand working the other breast while his other hand slid across the band of her leggings dipping beneath its edges to the hidden places he longed to be near.
“Rylen I need to feel your skin on mine,” Alana pleaded as she leaned away from the work his mouth was accomplishing and sighed at the brief separation. She pulled her shoes off quickly, throwing them haphazardly across her room. Then she stood to remove the rest of their clothes. Alana moved forward with a mischievous spark in her eyes and smile. She reached forward and tugged Rylen’s shirt out from his pants and tried to pull it up his chest, but she just wasn’t tall enough. She giggled at her inability, and he took over, crossing his arms and pulling it the rest of the way over his head, baring his tanned muscular chest to her hands. They felt their way over his pecs and twisted the few hairs he had, giving them a slight tug.
“You little minx, come to me,” Rylen purred as she moved in close to him, pressing her breasts against his chest. She sighed at the skin contact, and they remained there for a few mere moments. He ran his hands down under the backside of her pants and gripped her ass in the palms of his hands. “Take these off,” he whispered into her ear as he playfully nipped her lobe. She pulled away with another giggle and slowly slid her pants down her creamy smooth legs, teasing him as she went. He growled through his teeth and reached down, roughly ripping his pants down his legs only to get caught at his boots. “Damn boots.” He tugged them off one by one, kicked them to the side, then completed the removal of his pants. His dark blue boxer briefs left nothing to the imagination as his excitement bulged firmly inside. She darted forward and skimmed her hand lightly over his erection, teasing him further. His purr grew deep in his chest, and it made her shiver with delight. “Pants off. Now.” His words were broken and held back with great struggle.
Alana shed the last of her clothing, quickly revealing all she had left to him. Rylen did the same and stalked her backward toward the bed, his eyes inflamed with want. He gripped her arm, pulling her into his body before she fell back on the bed. “You’re mine, you know that?” he asked, his voice heated with both desire and desperation.
“I am. And you are mine,” she reminded him. She smiled, her love shining in her eyes as she took in his face. “I believe you’ll help me figure this out. I can’t leave you now,” she whispered, her voice turning sad and desperate. She pulled his head down to hers, taking his mouth hungrily, practically clawing her way up his body. He gripped her thighs and pulled her around his waist. She broke away just long enough to gaze into his eyes. “I love you, Rylen.”
“I love you too, Alana. I love the way yo
ur skin feels on mine.” He trailed his hand down her spine, eliciting shivers. “I love the way your mouth feels on mine.” He kissed her mouth slowly, tasting her, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. “I love the way you embrace me… all of me,” he said with a devilish smile on his face as he sunk his manhood into the very depths of her being. She gasped and threw her head back in pleasure waiting for her body to adjust around him. “And there is nothing on this earth that will keep me from you. I will not let you fade away from my touch.” His words were his promise, and his love was what secured it as they spent the rest of the night locked in each other’s embrace as if it was their last.
Chapter Five
In the Den the next morning, Rylen and Alana walked in to find everyone already waiting for them, watching them as they entered. “Well, this is quite unexpected. Good morning everyone, did you already have the meeting without us?” Rylen joked.
“Nope, just really excited to be here bright and early this morning,” Enock said sarcastically as he pulled an ankle up to cross over his opposite knee then leaned back into the couch.
“Then, why are you?” Rylen returned with a chuckle.
“Miss Mai, here, thought it would be good to get drills in before the ass-crack of dawn,” Lola yawned and flung her head back on the couch whipping it in Mai’s direction.
“It was good for you,” Mai countered.
“Yes, it is. Good job, Mai,” Rylen affirmed. “Next time, take Alana with you, too. She could use the extra practice.” Rylen’s face fell for the briefest moment then returned to a smile as Alana squeezed his hand. “Right. Take a seat, love. Let’s get started.” Mai grimaced but tried to hide it under the curtain of her hair.
