“So where is he now?” Resa asked.
Macie rolled her eyes. “The grumpy man. Keep up. They left on a mission to look for Grandpa.”
“There’s, um, something you should probably know, Kano,” Killian said.
I cringed because I knew what was coming. Was I ready for it? I was still struggling to believe it wasn’t all just a dream.
“What do I need to know?” He looked back and forth between me and Killian as if he just knew it was something to do with Baine.
“Tell him,” Killian said.
I glared at my brother. Now was not the time. I didn’t know if I wanted the entire clan to know yet.
“Fine. You need to know that Baine isn’t just Macie’s father—he’s also Olivia’s true mate,” said Killian.
Resa gasped.
“No,” Tori said as her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she searched mine for answers.
Felix shrugged. “Is it really that surprising? His bear probably knew before hers even surfaced. I’m guessing that’s why he couldn’t stay away from you even though he knew he should.”
“Really? I always just thought it was my irresistible charm.”
Resa laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure that was it.”
Baine
Chapter 11
The ride down the mountain felt like it took an eternity. The further away from Olivia I got, the worse I felt. It physically made me ill and my anxiety spiked like never before. My leg bounced up and down. Tarron stared at it and shook his head.
“Another mating male. When will we ever catch a break around here?”
Painter grinned. “Jealous much?”
Tarron grimaced. “No way. I’m never going to take a mate. I like my freedom.”
“Bullshit.” I coughed.
“It’s not. I don’t want to be tied down. Plus, it’s dangerous in this line of work. You guys are all just a bunch of idiots. I’m not falling for some female.”
“Pretty sure you already have,” I pointed out. “Nonna.”
Tarron laughed. “That’s not the same thing.”
“No, it’s worse. You’re a whipped Grandmama’s boy. What woman would even want that?”
Tarron rolled his eyes and I knew he wasn’t going to engage. I should have probably thanked him for the distraction though. I knew I could be a danger to the team if I didn’t find a way to get my head in the game.
Ben slapped me on the back. “It really does get easier after you seal the bond.”
“I hope so, because this sucks.”
We rode mostly in silence for a while stopping for the night. I wanted to call Olivia just to hear her voice, but I didn’t think that would help matters any. My bear was already on edge with the distance between us. It was a long night of tossing and turning. I felt terrible the next morning.
“You look like shit,” Silas said.
I just grumbled as I got back into the vehicle.
It was more of the same as we headed down the mountain, up another, and down one more. On the edge of the city, we finally slowed to a stop. Grant pulled over to the side of the road next to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. We all knew that was classic M.O. for the Raglan.
“According to Archie, this is it,” Silas said.
Painter and Ben both pulled out binoculars and started sweeping the area.
“There’s no sign of life on the outside,” Ben finally said.
“I concur,” Painter confirmed.
“This is getting ridiculous. We can’t keep walking in blind to these things. Have all of you forgotten what happened last time?” I reminded them.
Painter groaned, clearly remembering how he’d been shot in the last blindside we’d faced off with the Raglan. We thought we had the upper hand that time too, but a cute little bunny shifter had infiltrated us, and we’d walked right into the trap they’d laid.
“What we need is a man on the inside,” Taylor said. “I didn’t bring all of my gear, but I can do it.”
“No,” Grant said. “Who knows how long you’d have to be in there? It’s too big of a risk.”
A few days ago, I’d have called him a pansy and teased him for preferential treatment to his mate, but now, I got it. I couldn’t stand the thought of Olivia ever being near the Raglan. In my opinion if this was one of their new bases it was entirely too close to my family. I had no idea how Grant dealt with it all. Leaving them behind had been hard, but knowingly endangering Olivia or Macie would never be acceptable in my book.
“He’s right. Besides, I’d be shocked if they didn’t have full intel on all of us by now,” Silas pointed out.
“We really need an inside man,” Painter agreed.
“I know a guy,” Ben said.
“I’m sure we all know a guy, Shay, but they aren’t as stupid as we’d like to believe. I’m sure they have found the genetic differences by now and would test for that,” Silas pointed out.
“That’s the great thing about my guy. He’s human.”
Silas snorted. “What good is a human to us? He’ll just freak out when he finds out what’s in there.”
“Nah. That’s the thing. He already knows about shifters.”
“Verndari?” Painter asked. “We can’t even trust the Verndari right now.”
“Nope, not Verndari. He’s a Ghost.”
“No human would ever be recruited into the Ghosts,” Silas pointed out.
I knew the Ghosts were an elite military unit. We’d recruited Ben from there.
“You’re telling us they let a human into the Ghosts?” I asked.
“Yeah. It was on accident. I trained him myself. He’s one of the best conmen you’ll ever find. No offense, T.”
“None taken.”
“He’s perfect. He’s human. He’s pro-shifter. Hell, he’s my brother.”
We all knew Ben didn’t mean his actual brother. He had a couple of those, but they were all much younger. Twins, maybe? I couldn’t remember for sure. It wasn’t my job to keep up with everyone else’s family. Sometimes I had a hard enough time just keeping up with my own, and until today, I’d thought that consisted of one—me.
“I say go for it,” I said. “What do we have to lose?”
“How soon can he get here? We’re blind, guys. I’m willing to try almost anything,” Silas admitted.
“Anything?” I asked. I was so ready to blow something up.
“We’re not blowing shit up right now,” he grumbled. “We at least need to identify Pike Murphy. If our intel is off and he’s not here then it’s a pointless mission and we’re back to the drawing board.”
“Guys, I have Jake on the phone. He’s interested,” Ben said.
Grant looked at him like he was insane. “We can’t just pull someone in like this. He needs to be properly vetted. You don’t know what he’s been up to since your discharge.”
“Dude, we talk nearly every day. Would you just trust me on this? He’s the best there is.”
I shrugged. I knew there wasn’t going to be a vote on the issue so my opinion didn’t matter. Silas would make up his mind one way or another. He’d run it by Patrick O’Connell and have Archie clear him first. Or so I assumed.
“Do it,” Silas said.
“What?” I asked. “You’re for real?”
“They wouldn’t just let anyone into the Ghosts. He’s already been cleared even more than we go through,” he admitted.
“They don’t just let humans into the Ghosts either,” I pointed out.
“He has skills. He got mistaken. I’m telling you, I trained him myself. He’s legit,” Ben insisted.
“We could use all the help we can get on this one. We have to confirm they have Pike and that this is even a Raglan center.”
“Why are we suddenly so concerned with this guy? I mean I know we came to help, but it feels like there’s an urgency here now too.” Rarely did Painter ever challenge or even question Silas’s orders.
“Dumbass here was kicked out of the Clan. W
e return and suddenly he has a true mate which happens to be the daughter of the Alpha and the sole reason he got expelled to begin with. That’s going to raise some concerns and cause potential problems for all of us. Getting their Alpha back quickly and in one piece will go a long way towards goodwill and not having to blaze a trail out of there when the time comes.”
“It doesn’t matter. Kano already assumed Alpha. Pike can’t take that back. Kano is younger and stronger. His father will most definitely know that. Kano’s okay. I mean I still haven’t forgiven them, but I’m not dumb enough to stir up shit now.”
“You mean like taking your mate and your freaking daughter back to San Marco?” Silas asked.
I started to speak and then shut my mouth. There was no way in hell I was going home without Olivia and Macie. It wasn’t gonna happen.
“And that’s what I thought,” he said smugly.
Times like this I wanted to smack that smirk right off his face, but I heard him loud and clear. This mission had become personal to lessen the blow of my departure with my family. Essentially, he was covering my ass and the rest of the team’s by default.
“We’ve got movement,” Grant announced. “While you guys argue, I’ve actually been doing my job.”
“Technically that’s Ben and Tarron’s job, babe,” T said sweetly.
“Whatever, give me those.” Tarron grabbed the binoculars away from Grant. “He’s right. And bingo. Someone confirm, because I do believe that’s not only our guy, but Trevor Daniels himself has him.”
“No way.” I grabbed the binoculars from Tarron. There was Pike being dragged by two large men out of the building and into a maroon SUV. Trevor Daniels calmly walked beside them talking away. “He’s hurt,” I observed. “Badly from the looks of it. That’s definitely Pike. We’re going to have to step in and do something quickly.”
“Not so fast,” Silas said. “They’re on the move. We need to know where and maybe we can determine why.”
“You think they know we’re here?” Grant asked.
Silas shrugged. “It’s possible. We can’t be too cautious when it comes to Trevor Daniels, or his father. Keep your distance.”
Grant fired up the vehicle and waited until they were nearly out of sight before slowly following behind. They didn’t go far though, just around the corner to another building in the same fenced in complex. We watched as they dragged him out of the car and into the new building.
My bear roared in my head. My mind understood he was no longer my Alpha and hadn’t been for a very long time, but my heart didn’t seem to get that point at all.
“It’s okay. We’ll get him,” Silas said. “Shay, I need you to get your guy here asap. I’ll get on the line with Jacob Winthrop to get him a cover.”
“Winthrop?” Painter sounded alarmed. “I’m not sure we can really trust him.”
“I’m aware, but he’s the best chance we’ve got at this. Your guy better be as good as you say, Ben. In the meantime, we have the evidence we need. Pike’s alive and in the hands of the Raglan. We’ll head back and wait for our next move.”
“What? That’s it? He could barely walk. You saw them dragging him. We need to get in there and get him out before they kill him,” I demanded.
Silas shook his head. “I know this is hard on you, but you’re being emotional.”
“Damn right I am.”
“Emotions will only get us all killed, and you know it. We need to be methodical about this. Getting Pike back isn’t our only goal here.”
He didn’t elaborate any further. I didn’t have enough explosives on me to get in and get him out without a high probability of getting one or both of us killed. The rational part of my brain understood that, but it was small in comparison to the rest of my brain screaming to do it anyway.
“And he’s starting to freak. Can we please just get back up the mountain quickly?” Tarron asked. “I’ve seen this enough with the rest of you fools. This man needs his mate and he needs her now.”
Olivia
Chapter 12
Having everything out in the open with my family was somehow healing. I didn’t even realize I had needed to heal, but in hindsight I knew I had been broken since the second Baine had left without ever having said a word to me.
I understood now that it had been because of my brothers and my father. Hearing Baine tell me he still loved me had been more of an affirmation than some big news. My heart had always belonged to that grizzly bear.
Two days had passed since he left with his unit. It was impossible to keep it all a secret from the Clan because Macie proudly announced it to anyone who would listen. Baine and I had been the talk of the town, quite literally.
My daughter had even held court with Mrs. Young. I thought the woman was going to have a heart attack from all the exciting juicy details that kid of mine gave her.
She was growing up, that much had become painfully obvious. Macie was far too aware of everything around her. I’d always known it, but it was glaringly apparent just how observant she truly was as she recounted every detail of the brief time she’d spent with her dad.
Kano and I had to sit her down and explain why she shouldn’t go around telling people that Baine was here to find her grandfather. She had understood and to the best of my knowledge she hadn’t uttered a word about him to anyone. That just meant her sole focus was on me and Baine.
I hated being the talk of the Clan, but my father had raised me to believe the Clan needed to come first, always. When he vanished, it left a hole that Kano has tried desperately to fill. The strange circumstances around his disappearance brought up so many questions and concerns.
I knew Dad would never just abandon us like that. Everyone knew it. It left a feeling of unease and uncertainty amongst the Clan. Kano did what he could to dispel their concerns, but we all knew he wouldn’t just leave which meant something terrible had to have happened to him.
Now, the theories of hunters having killed him while in his bear form, or him falling down a ravine were far better than the actual truth. Someone had taken him from us.
Not very many humans messed with us bears. It was almost as if they could sense the power we barely concealed beneath our skin. We lived in a small remote area high up in the mountains. I couldn’t even remember the last time a human had stumbled into our town.
I still struggled to believe Dad was alive. It hurt too much and I was more of an avoidance type if I were being honest with myself. Pushing things down and refusing to deal with them was how I’d survived Baine leaving in the first place.
My heart ached at the thought of him. It still felt like a dream more than reality. If it wasn’t for Macie constantly peppering me with questions about him then I would have convinced myself I’d just imagined it all by now.
He’d been gone for only a short time really, but with each passing hour I began to worry if he’d ever return.
“He’ll be back,” Tori insisted.
“How can you be so certain?”
“Because he’s your true mate and now that his bear has confirmed that, I doubt there’s anything that could ever keep him from here,” Resa pointed out.
“She’s right you know,” Felix admitted. “And you know how much I hate to say that.”
Resa nudged him hard but Felix just grinned.
“You three don’t have to babysit me all day. I’m fine.”
“Oh, we know, but Kano excused us from work until Baine returns if we keep an eye on you,” Resa confessed. “We’re not going anywhere.”
She spun around in one of the empty chairs in my salon as she grinned up at the ceiling. I groaned.
“He’s just worried about you,” Tori assured me.
“Their worry is what caused him to leave in the first place. I know his heart’s in the right place, Killian’s too, but left to them, they’ll just screw things up even more.”
I loved my brothers, I truly did, but to them I was some fragile porcelain doll that had to be protec
ted. They never really gave me credit for all I’d done. If you asked Killian, he’d say he practically raised Macie. While I appreciated his help and allowed him all the time he wanted with his niece, I’d never once asked him to do that and I stubbornly refused to rely on any of them.
My daughter was my responsibility. Period. I was proud to be her mother and took it more seriously than anything else in my life, not that I was one to be a slacker to begin with.
“They mean well,” Felix said defending his cousins.
I sighed. “I know they do.”
“So have you given any thought to what you’re going to do?” Resa asked.
Tori shot her a look that screamed shut up.
“Thought on what exactly?”
Resa looked uncertain. Tori shook her head.
“If you take Baine for a mate, he’s going to want you and Macie to leave with him and move to wherever it is he came from,” Resa blurted out.
“What?” I hadn’t even really thought that far ahead yet.
“Stop worrying her,” Tori fussed.
“I-I don’t know what’s going to happen,” I stuttered out.
The thought of leaving this place, my home, made me physically ill. I’d never been anywhere outside of our Clan territory. I wasn’t one of those people that longed for something different. I loved it here. I loved being surrounded by family and friends where everyone knew me and I didn’t have to worry about Macie wandering around on her own because each and every clansman would protect her with their life.
All sorts of things started overwhelming me at once like thoughts and situations I’d never even considered before. Could I do it? Could I pack up and leave the only place I’d ever known? Was I brave enough to go? Would Baine be willing to stay? Could he?
I realized I didn’t really know much about his job and the people he worked with. I didn’t really know much about him anymore either.
Tori sighed. “I told you she was just going to stress about it if you brought it up.”
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