MoonlightBundleSet

by Moonlight Protector, Hero, Guardian, Champion (mobi)

  Glancing at him in the mirror she asked, “Am I moving too slow? I wasn’t sure what time we needed to leave.”

  “No, you’re fine. We don’t have to leave for at least another thirty to forty-five minutes.”

  After putting the finishing touches on her make-up, she quickly brushed out her hair. It would be slightly wild later, but she decided to let it dry naturally. Having naturally wavy or curly hair was both a blessing and a curse at times.

  Following Cole into the bedroom, she stepped into the closet to select her clothes for the day. She noted the slacks and shirt that he had laid out for himself. Deciding to take her cue from him, she selected her new pants outfit and her ankle boots. Once they were both fully clothed, they walked down to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat.

  When they entered the kitchen, the first thing Cole noticed was the note on the counter. He picked it up and skimmed over it. Gabriel had woken up early and was already at the garage, but would check on Michael throughout the day. Glancing toward the stove, he saw that Gabriel had indeed been busy, as there was a plate of freshly made cinnamon rolls.

  Grabbing two plates from the cabinet by the sink, Cole placed two cinnamon rolls on each one. After he deposited the plates on the table, he poured a glass of orange juice for both of them. As he joined Marin at the table, he noted her far off expression.

  “Anything wrong?” he asked.

  Startled from her wool-gathering, Marin responded, “No. I was just lost in thought I guess.”

  “I have to admit, I’m glad that you’re going to work with me today… even though Stefan is out of the picture.”

  Marin smiled at him. “I had wondered if you would still want me hanging around you so much now that we know it’s safe for me to be alone.”

  “Why wouldn’t I want to be around you?”

  Marin shrugged. “I don’t know. Just foolish thoughts… I’m happy to be going with you today.”

  They finished eating in silence and drove to Sabin Bio-Med in Cole’s truck. On the way there, Marin still looked deep in thought. Cole wondered what she could be thinking about, but obviously asking her didn’t do any good. She’d been acting a little strange ever since he had mentioned house-hunting to her. Could she be anxious over buying a house? Or was it something more? Was she, perhaps, rethinking their engagement now that she could go where ever she wanted and do whatever she wanted without fear hanging over her head?

  Not realizing the distress she was causing Cole, Marin was lost in her own little world. This was the first morning of the rest of her life. It was the first time that she knew things would be okay. Cole was a good man and she loved him dearly. While she was a little nervous over her job interview, she was also excited that she would be spending the day with Cole. Okay, so maybe not necessarily with Cole, but at least she would get to see him throughout the day and have lunch with him.

  Cole pulled into the parking garage at Sabin and heard Marin sigh. Okay, enough was enough. Obviously something was bothering her and they were not leaving the car until she told him what it was!

  As he parked the truck, he turned to face her. “Out with it.”

  “Excuse me? Out with what?”

  “You’ve been in a weird mood since last night. All morning long, you’ve looked deep in thought, but when I asked about it you said it was nothing. Then on the way here, you had the same look. Obviously something is bothering you.”

  Marin wasn’t quite sure what to say. “Nothing is bothering me. Actually, I was thinking about how great my life has turned out. I have the love of a wonderful man who wants to marry me. What could possibly be wrong?”

  Cole relaxed. “So you aren’t thinking of calling off the wedding then?”

  Marin was shocked. Was that what he had been thinking? “No! Of course not!”

  “I’m sorry. I guess I was just a little worried that you might feel differently about staying here now that Stefan is gone.”

  “No, Cole. I want to stay here with you. My life is here now.” She gently ran her fingers down his cheek. “Don’t you know that my life would be empty without you?”

  He leaned in and kissed her. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  ***

  The rest of the day flew by. Marin had, of course, aced her interview and had started work immediately… well, after the onslaught of what felt like hundreds of documents that were required by Human Resources. She had spent the first part of the morning familiarizing herself with the company, office locations, and so on. While she hadn’t had a chance to meet many people, the Human Resources department had assigned a ‘guide’ to her for her first day. So far, the woman was borderline rude. Marin didn’t realize that her guide, Amy, had been infatuated with Cole for some time. Had she known this, she might not have been quite so quick to judge her rude behavior.

  As it neared the lunch hour, Marin decided to extract herself from Amy. “Thank you for all of your help this morning. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to see if Cole is ready for lunch yet. I don’t know about you, but I’m starved!”

  Amy eyed the petite woman standing next to her. “I’ll walk up with you, just in case you get turned around.”

  As they rode the elevator up to Cole’s, and now Marin’s, floor, neither woman spoke to the other. It was as if they had an unspoken agreement to not like each other. Marin wouldn’t have had a problem with Amy if the woman had just been a little nicer to her.

  Cole was standing near Marin’s desk talking to another co-worker when he heard the elevator doors open. He was happy to see Marin as she walked toward him. Unfortunately, he noticed that Amy was with her. He stifled a groan and decided to just be as nice as possible to the woman. She had made a nuisance out of herself for the past year or two. Cole had told her time and again that he wasn’t interested, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. In that respect, she reminded him of Kari. Both of them were relentless in their pursuit. Being a natural predator, the role of prey didn’t sit well with Cole… and that’s exactly how the women made him feel.

  “Hi, Cole,” Amy said, as the two women approached him.

  “Hi, Amy. It’s nice of you to show Marin around today.”

  Amy glanced at Marin and back at Cole. “Well, you know I like to help out where and when I can.”

  Cole had to refrain from rolling his eyes. Looking at Marin he asked, “Are you ready for lunch, sweetheart?”

  She smiled at him. “Yes, just let me grab my purse.”

  Walking around Cole and Amy, Marin went to her desk and pulled her purse out of her desk drawer. Behind her, she could hear the two of them making small talk. She detected the strain in Cole’s voice and realized that he really didn’t want to talk Amy. It made her smile inwardly, glad that he didn’t like the woman’s presence anymore than she did.

  Stepping back over to Cole’s side, Marin looped her arm through his. “I’m ready if you are.”

  Looking at Amy he said, “I’ll have her back in an hour.”

  “I don’t think we really have any more training to do today. She can just work at her desk when she gets back.” Turning on her heel, Amy stomped back over to the elevator.

  Deciding to let Amy go down by herself, Cole waited a moment before walking to the elevator. The last thing he wanted was to be boxed in with the crazy woman. Besides, he’d missed Marin this morning and was looking forward to some quality time with her… even if it was just for an hour.

  As they climbed into Cole’s truck, he paused and looked at Marin. “I didn’t think to ask what you wanted to eat for lunch. Do you have a preference?”

  “Not really. I don’t know which restaurants are nearby and which ones we have time for. Why don’t you pick?”

  Thinking about it for a moment, he decided to take her out for Chinese food. There was a small family owned place around the corner from Sabin. The best part was that it wasn’t usually busy during lunch; they did most of their business at night so it made it an idea
l location for a quick bite to eat.

  After being seated, they perused the menu, deciding on what to eat. Everything looked good and Marin had a hard time selecting something. Finally, she decided on sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. She’d found that it was rather hard to screw up sweet and sour chicken. No matter which Chinese place she ordered from, it tasted the same. Cole ended up ordering the orange chicken with fried rice and a side of egg rolls for them to share. It didn’t take long before their order was ready.

  A half hour later, they were finished with lunch and heading back to Sabin. Marin sighed. She was full and happy at the moment. Her day was even brighter when she remembered that she was free of Amy for the day.

  “Cole, can I ask you something?”

  “Sure, ask me anything you want.”

  Marin pursed her lips, thinking of how to word her question. “Amy was rather rude to me for most of the morning. I was just wondering if there had been anything between the two of you.”

  Cole glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. It appeared that his sweet, docile Marin was jealous. Maybe his little kitten had claws after all. He grinned and answered her question, “No, there has never been anything between me and Amy, although, she wanted there to be… I told her I wasn’t interested.”

  Marin pondered that for a moment. It was ridiculous for her to feel jealous of the woman. After all, Cole had just confirmed that he had never dated her. However, the fact that the woman wanted Cole made her jealous and angry. Marin hadn’t felt angry in a long time. For that matter, she hadn’t felt much of anything since her parents died. Cole was the first person she’d truly felt love for since that time and this was the first time she could remember being well and truly angry.

  Noting her silence, Cole asked, “Everything okay? You got quiet on me.”

  “I’m fine. Just thinking is all…”

  “Hmm. Well, it’s been my experience that a woman that deep in thought is usually thinking something dangerous. Care to share?”

  “I don’t like the fact that Amy likes you, but apparently there are a lot of women out there who want to be with you… not that I can blame them! It’s just… you’re mine, but that doesn’t seem to stop them from wanting you.”

  Cole shook his head. “Now you know how I feel.”

  Marin looked at him perplexed, “How you feel?”

  “Every time a man so much as looks at you, I want to rip his eyes out. Do you have any idea how many men take notice of you? All you have to do is walk into a room and half the men stop to look your way.”

  Marin blushed. “Now you’re just being ridiculous.”

  “No, I’m not. I’ve tried really hard not to be jealous, but it’s been an up-hill battle… and quite frankly, it’s one I feel like I’m losing.”

  Before Marin could respond, they were pulling back into the Sabin parking garage. Apparently, their conversation would have to be put on hold until after work. Marin wondered if Cole was only jealous over her or if this was something that had always been a problem for him. While it was flattering that he would find her so beautiful that he thought all men wanted to be with her, it could also be a problem if it got out of hand.

  The two of them walked back into the building in silence. As they entered the elevator, Cole reached over and took her hand. Marin smiled and leaned into him a little. The elevator doors slid shut and Cole leaned down to brush a quick kiss across her lips.

  “I’m sorry that I get jealous so easily. Honestly, I’ve never had this happen before. You’re the first woman I’ve ever felt jealous over… and I know that I don’t have a reason to feel that way.”

  She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. “It’s okay. Maybe you won’t feel that way after we’re married.”

  “I’m hoping that will be the case. One way or another, I’m going to get a grip on this. I refuse to let my feelings run my life… especially unfounded feelings.”

  The elevator doors slid open and they both stepped out. They had barely taken a step when Cole noticed their boss, Dave, motioning for them to come to his office. According to Cole’s watch, they had been gone exactly one hour so he knew they hadn’t been out too long.

  “It looks like Dave wants to speak to us. Better not keep him waiting,” Cole placed his hand at the small of Marin’s back and guided her toward Dave’s office.

  When they entered Dave’s office, he closed the door behind them. Sighing deeply, he motioned for Cole and Marin to have a seat.

  Perplexed, Cole asked, “Is something wrong, Dave?”

  “I’m not sure how to tell you this… the police called while you were out to lunch.”

  Beside him, Cole felt Marin tense. Considering that Dave looked rather stressed and upset, Cole figured the man had received bad news. He reached over and took Marin’s hand, hoping to give her strength for whatever news they were about to receive.

  “This morning there was a fight at the jail. At the time, the guards didn’t think much of it, but apparently it was a smoke screen. While the guards and warden were trying to break up the fight, Stefan managed to escape.”

  Cole softly cursed under his breath. Pulling Marin closer to him, he wrapped his arms around her. “What did they say? How long has he been out?”

  Dave shrugged. “The fight happened around nine o’clock this morning. They didn’t realize that Stefan was missing until almost eleven. According to the police chief, they have the entire force out looking for him.”

  Glancing out his office windows, Dave noticed they were drawing the attention of everyone on their floor. He quickly got up and drew the blinds closed. “I’ve already contacted the front desk and told them that no one is to go beyond the lobby without proper identification. Even couriers are being stopped at the desk.”

  Cole nodded. “Thanks, that’s good to hear. At least we won’t have to worry about him entering our building.”

  Marin looked at Cole. “What about your brothers? He might go after them.”

  Dave quickly reassured her, “The police called the house and garage first. One of your brothers gave them your work number. When you didn’t answer the phone, the police called back and asked to speak to your boss… me.”

  “I assume they are going to post someone outside of this building, the house, and my brothers’ garage?”

  “I’m honestly not sure. They did mention sending someone to watch the house, but they didn’t really give me a lot of details. I guess they figured they would just give me enough to warn you and Marin not to leave the building unaware that Stefan could be lurking nearby.”

  All three of them jumped when someone knocked on the door. Dave answered it, surprised to find Cole’s older brother on the other side.

  Gabriel stepped into the room with a wolf in tow. If at all possible, the wolf was even larger than Gabriel was when he turned furry. It was solid white and had piercing blue eyes.

  Closing the door behind him, Gabriel looked down at the wolf before addressing the people in the room. He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this one, especially with Cole’s boss standing with them. It was hard enough to explain to his brothers!

  “A cousin of ours, Colin, decided to help out in our time of need. He’s loaning us his, uh, dog for extra protection. Apparently word spread to our family in California that we were in need of reinforcements, so to speak, and they sent Colin out to check on us.” The moment the words left his mouth Gabriel knew they sounded lame.

  Cole looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a ton of questions. To his knowledge, they didn’t have any cousins, or any other family for that matter… much less the kind that turned furry. He wished his brother could speak plainly so he’d know exactly what was going on.

  “Well, that’s awfully nice of cousin Colin,” Cole said, with a pointed look at the wolf.

  Marin wasn’t sure what was going on, but she could feel the tension in Cole. It was obvious to her that the wolf was their cousin. Why did that seem to bother Cole though
?

  Dave could feel the tension in the room and decided it was an excellent time for a coffee break. This was, after all, family business. “Why don’t I let y’all have a few moments to yourselves and I’ll just run and get some coffee?”

  “You don’t have to do that Dave! We can always go to my office,” Cole responded.

  Dave waved him off, “No, really. Have a seat and take as much time as you need. I need a break anyway.”

  As Dave left the office and closed the door, Cole and Gabriel both looked at Colin. They couldn’t take a chance on Dave coming back in and finding a naked man in his office, so Colin would have to remain in wolf form for now.

  “So… where did you say cousin Colin was from again?”

  Gabriel sighed. “Apparently Mom had a sister she never mentioned. Our Aunt Martha was the black sheep of the family and moved to California when she was sixteen. The family wrote her off and never spoke of her again.” Glancing at Colin, he continued, “Colin is her son. He also has a twin, Connor.”

  That startled Cole for a moment. “Is his brother here, too?”

  Gabriel shook his head. “No, Connor was still at home, in Los Angeles, when Colin started heading our way.”

  Cole was still confused. “How did he know we were in trouble? Not even the Atlanta pack knows what we’ve been through lately.”

  This was the part that made Gabriel really uncomfortable. “Um, well … Colin and Connor have other special cousins on their dad’s side. It seems that one of these cousins is psychic to some extent. She dreamt of our problems here and notified Colin and Connor, who immediately confronted their parents about having cousins they knew nothing about.”

  “So it wasn’t one sided then… their mom didn’t tell them just like ours didn’t tell us.”

  “Right.”

  During the conversation, Colin had moved closer to Marin. He could tell she was Cole’s mate just from her scent, which meant she was the one in the most danger. Wanting to make sure Cole understood he wasn’t making a move on Marin, he looked at his cousin before rolling over in submission. After all, he was in their territory.