Bree cried out his name as he pounded into her and within seconds she was spiraling over the edge into euphoria induced oblivion. She felt him stiffen and pulse inside her just a moment later as he found his own blissful release. He held her body tightly against him until he too came down from his high.
“That was amazing … and quick.” he smiled as he held her close and leaned in to kiss her again. They took their time and made love again slowly and Bree cried as she always did when it was sweet and slow, her emotions on high alert. They showered together and lay down on the bed, just holding each other, happy and content and Bree thought she was the luckiest woman on earth to find her soulmate.
Nate groaned as he glanced at his watch and she knew it was time to get back to reality and get dressed for dinner. She rolled over and padded back to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face.
Clean faded jeans and a white lace cold shoulder top were fine for dinner with family and close friends, shifters rarely stood on ceremony. Bree put on a little makeup and quickly curled her now shoulder-length hair and Nate was sitting up on the bed already dressed waiting for her in jeans and a navy-blue t-shirt that stretched taut across his broad shoulders.
She could hear the others in the kitchen as they approached and she pulled Nate's hand and leaned in to kiss him again before they opened the door.
Everyone was already there except Seann. Imogen stood up to go find him when he appeared right behind them and Bree knew instantly something was wrong, her brother's face was grim. Liam and Garrett immediately jumped up from their places and took a protective stance at each door.
“Sit! I do have news but we are in no danger here.” Seann barked and Imogen went to him and put her arm around his waist. He took a deep breath and already her presence was calming to him. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm his wolf.
“What happened? Garrett asked.
Seann’s eyes went to Liam and his heart sank.
“Is this about Rob Danvers?” Liam asked but he already knew the answer.
“I’m afraid so, Liam. Finn says he knows where he is and is on his way here to fill us in on the details. He will get here within the hour so everyone should eat now, it could be a very long night.”
Liam's face was a mask of fury and Kandis reached for his hand and held it tightly. Bree knew that as long as Liam’s half-brother was alive, their pack wouldn’t be safe. It was time to take this into their own hands and deal with him. She glanced at Liam’s face and her heart ached for him. Despite his anger and the fact that they didn’t know each other, this bastard was still his brother. Even worse for Finn as he and Rob had grown up together.
Garrett patted his friend on the back before they all took their seats again. He knew better than anyone how awful families could be and Liam wasn’t responsible for the asshole his father had sired. Finn, his other half-brother seemed like a decent guy and he and his sister Alexis were close, although Liam had yet to meet her. She was recovered from Rob’s attack and was spending all her time with their mother who was now in psychiatric care after seeing two of her children shift into wolves.
The many dangers of mating with a human but Liam knew his father didn’t think about that when he married her, it was only for her prestige and how much money he could make off his in-law’s name. They also put him in the Senate but not before his real estate business took off and made him a very rich man. Liam hadn’t seen his father for years before he died but he had left him a huge sum of money that he hadn’t touched. Liam guessed it was more out of guilt for abandoning him and his mother rather than out of love. Rob had been the blue-eyed boy in his father’s eyes and was every inch his father's son.
Bree helped Roisin put the steaming plates of food on the table and everyone quickly filled their plates with large portions of chicken pie, baby new potatoes and sliced carrots.
“I made some extra chicken gravy,” Roisin said, putting a large jug on the table and a basket filled with rolls and bread. “Imogen made the bread fresh this afternoon, eat it up.”
“It’s amazing as usual Roisin, you spoil us,” Seann said and she blushed as she took her seat at the table beside Jay. Anjelica and Sophia were babysitting the kids in Roisin’s cabin and were having fried chicken for dinner that one of the teenagers had brought from town. Bree thought it was for the best that they were all next door with what Seann had just told them.
No-one was in the mood for dessert but Roisin urged them to eat something anyway and Bree took a cupcake from the plate and nibbled on it while they waited on everyone finishing up second helpings of chicken pie.
“We don’t know a whole lot until Finn gets here so why don’t you fill us in on any news from the mountain while we are waiting for him,” Imogen suggested and Bree knew she was doing it to distract Seann, but she told them everything she knew anyway.
Kandis had updated her master sheet and she passed it to Seann to have a look while Bree and Nate gave them a condensed version of everything that had happened with Leo and Cassie too. Seann was non-committal when she said that Leo wanted to stay with his sister, despite being human and Bree wondered if he was even listening to her.
“Cassie is on the mend and Kandis and Liam are already in the process of buying the cabin they are staying in. They are perfectly capable of looking after themselves as long as we are around to see they come to no harm. Leo is working part-time for Kandis at the moment but at some point, he will have to go to school and Cassie is looking for a job among the pack members, she is willing to do anything to bring in some money.”
He was saved from answering when the guard called from the gate to say Finn Danvers was on his way up to the house. India and Roisin cleared the table while Bree made a fresh pot of coffee for their visitor.
Turning the dishwasher on Roisin said she would check on the babies but Jay would stick around to find out what the hell was going on. Imogen put a selection of treats on a plate and they carried the tray into the living room as the truck pulled up in front of the house and Finn got out of the truck, he had another man with him..
Liam went to the door and ushered him inside and Bree was again taken aback by the family resemblance once more. There was no mistaking that he and Liam were brothers.
She felt Nate's arm come around her waist and she smirked at the possessive move and covered his hands with hers as Finn introduced the other man.
“This is Lukas Alexander, he has been helping me track down my brother for months and he finally got a good lead on him a few hours ago, but we need to move quickly,” Finn said as the other man shook hands with everyone.
“What’s your interest in him?” Liam asked bluntly.
Lukas turned his dark gaze on Liam and Bree could sense the underlying fury emanating from the large wolf, even before he clenched his fists at his side.
“He terrorized my sister so badly that she went on the run from him. I had one frantic call from her saying she was going into hiding and no-one has heard from her since, that was two years ago. She has certain gifts that he thinks will be useful to him and he will stop at nothing until he finds her. He had her locked in a cell for four long months, but she continually refused to help him and she eventually escaped. It’s the same reason we believe he wants your daughter and your mate, he knows Imogen is a white wolf with special gifts of her own and that your daughter may have inherited them,” Lukas said.
Bree saw Seann glance briefly at India, who with a single nod of her head told him that Lukas was being absolutely truthful.
“But he sent Carla for my daughter, not me.” Imogen creased her brow, “And Everly is just a baby, even if she does have any special powers it will be years before it manifests. What good would she be to him now?”
Lukas' gaze softened as he turned to look at Imogen.
“If you have passed your gifts onto your daughter then she could be a very powerful conduit for blood magic rituals among the most heinous of supernatural beings. Her blood
is pure, untouched by the ravages of time and could be used to magnify my sister’s gifts, giving Rob Danvers an extremely powerful weapon. He wants both of you, but especially the child.”
“How do you know all of this?” Kandis asked.
“By piecing together my sister's last call to me and finding out who he really was. She told me his name was Robert Courtney and it took me a while to trace it back to Robert Danvers. I contacted Finn and he agreed that this could be the same man.” Lukas explained.
“Courtney was my mother’s name before she married my father and I knew this had Rob written all over it when Lukas approached me and told me what he knew,” Finn said.
“Where is he now?” Garrett demanded.
“According to the tracking, his phone hasn’t moved for weeks and is in my mother’s house. My mother’s phone however has been on the move, we have been watching it for days now and it matches people and places he would frequent, but it looks like he is laying low and he is surrounded by other people. I have a group of friends watching him around the clock and as soon as he is on the move again we will go after him.”
There was a moment of silence and then Imogen shook her head.
“I still don’t understand how a baby could be used for, what did you call it, blood magic?” she asked Lukas directly. Bree shivered as she saw the pained look on Finn Danvers face as he glanced at Lukas and then Seann before he turned back to her.
“It doesn’t matter, I promise you that he will never get anywhere near you or her again,” Finn said, but Imogen wasn’t going to be placated so easily.
“Tell me!” she demanded and Bree instinctively took a step backward and clutched Nate’s hand as Imogen walked toward the two men, her eyes flashing brightly.
“We have no way of knowing his exact intentions, but in the dark ages, a human sacrifice would be made to transfer the power in the blood to another,” Lukas said, his face a mask of pain at the hurt he was inflicting on her.
Imogen gasped and her eyes widened as his meaning sank in and she turned on her heel and flew across the room. She pushed open the door and ran with India hot on her heels and Bree knew she was going to get her daughter from Roisin’s house, there was no point in trying to stop her.
Bree had never seen her brother so furious and when Seann let out an inhuman roar and shifted in the living room, shredding his clothes in the process, she knew that Rob Danvers days were definitely numbered.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Nate
The guards had been doubled and on Seann’s orders and a few new ones posted around the Den. Garrett, Liam and their families had moved in temporarily too, Imogen wanted her sister close and it made guarding them so much easier if they were all in the one place. The entire pack was on high alert and Garrett’s brother had called to say he would send some more men to help. The house was pretty crowded but Nate was confident nothing larger than a fly was getting in here tonight.
He was sitting on the front porch with Liam, taking his turn watching over the house while most of the house caught up on some sleep. Garrett and Jay would relieve them in a while and he would be able to crawl into bed and hold Bree closely. He shivered at the darkness and evil that had surrounded them tonight, it was a part of belonging to the supernatural world but this was a level of evil that he had yet to encounter in his life.
Seeing Seann Donovan shift in his living room was something else too. His wolf was huge anyway, but he looked like he could take their heads off with one bite and for a split-second Nate thought he might. Not that he could blame him, what kind of sick bastard was this Rob Danvers anyway, Everly Donovan was just a baby for god's sake.
He felt a pang of pity for the man sitting beside him, no one could choose their family as Nate knew well enough. His own family were not in Danvers league, not even close, but he was better off staying away from them just the same.
The screen door opened and Kandis came out onto the porch, sitting beside Liam on the porch steps. He figured she wouldn’t be asleep, not as long as her mate was awake and hurting.
“Why don’t I keep Liam company out here for a while and you can get some sleep, Nate.” she smiled as she tucked her arm into Liam’s. “I am wide awake anyway and you can take a turn on guard duty with Bree later on.” She leaned her head on Liam’s shoulder as they watched two young wolves dash through the woods to check the perimeter of the compound.
“Thanks, I think I will,” he said as he yawned and went inside and quietly upstairs to Bree’s old room. The door to the nursery was wide open and the crib was missing, he guessed Imogen had the baby in her room, keeping her close to her.
Bree was still awake as he suspected she would be and he shed his clothes and climbed in beside her, pulling her close to breathe in her comforting scent. They both needed to try and get a few hours’ sleep because who knew what hell the next few days would bring down on their heads. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes and Nate lay in the dark just holding her and wishing they were back on the mountain with none of this horror facing them.
It took some time but he eventually felt his eyelids grow heavy and he succumbed to the darkness and joined his mate in a troubled sleep until he heard a wolf howl in the early morning, long before the sun came up.
He slipped out of bed, showered and dressed, leaving Bree asleep and went downstairs in search of strong, hot coffee and any news of Danvers whereabouts. Roisin was already busy at the stove and poured a tall mug of coffee for him and put it on the table beside the sugar and creamer.
Seann and the others are out on the porch,” she said with a gesture of her hand and he knew he was being kicked out so that she could get on with making breakfast.
“Thanks, Roisin.” he grinned and snatched a hot pecan and maple syrup pastry from the cooling rack on the countertop and darted out through the door before she could object to him taking one before they were even cooled.
Liam and Kandis were gone but Finn Danvers and Lukas Alexander were there with Garrett and Seann. He could tell by the frustration on Seann’s face that they had no news yet but he asked the question anyway.
“Nothing yet,” Garrett replied. “I have added you to a group text so that you will know as soon as we do, Nate.”
“Imogen barely slept a wink, she lay awake watching Everly all night long and we were supposed to make an announcement at dinner, but we got distracted with all of this.” he waved his hand around and then pinched the bridge of his nose as if to ward off the inevitable headache.
“That's understandable, she just wants to protect her baby,” Nate said, feeling utterly useless to help him.
“ Since Imogen is pregnant again, the last thing I want is for her to be even more stressed out than she already is, but I need to do something to keep her away from Rob when we find out where he is going. She is pedantic and won’t do a damn thing that I ask her to, so I need a plan to keep her on the compound while we go after him.
“Good luck with that,” Garrett chuckled and Seann threw him a sour look.
“Good luck with what?” Bree came out onto the front porch to join them with her coffee and sat on Nate’s lap. Her hair was still damp and she smelled of raspberries and vanilla.
Garrett repeated their conversation to her and Bree smirked as she watched her older brother scowl.
“Seann, she wouldn’t be Imogen if she was such a pushover, that’s just part of her many charms.”
“This is different, Bree. I need her to take care of herself and our daughter so that I can go after the bastard that’s trying to harm them. I would worry a little less if she would just do as I ask her one fucking time.”
The front door closed with a bang and they all turned to see Imogen standing there, glaring at her mate, hands folded across her chest.
“I’m not a child and you don’t get to make decisions for us Seann, we make decisions together when it affects our family. You may be pack alpha but you don’t rule this house single-handedly. I want to meet the ma
n who thinks he can hurt my daughter and neither you nor anyone else is going to fucking stop me, so get used to the idea.” she turned on her heel, her eyes flashing fury and slammed the door again behind her.
“Fuck!” Seann said rubbing a hand over the stubble on his face and Nate had to suppress a smile. He bet there wasn’t another person on the planet who would get away with speaking to him the way Imogen just had. Not that he could blame her, her life and that of her child was in danger and they still didn’t know where or how they were going to catch him.
India stuck her head out the door and gave Seann a sympathetic glance before announcing that breakfast was ready and they all filed back inside.
The table was laden with pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs and they each took a chair and tucked in. Liam and Kandis came into the room and she had clearly just woken up and was yawning as she sat down beside Imogen. Anjelica took Kali and the babies into the living room to play while the adults ate breakfast and India encouraged her sister to eat.
“You will be no good to anyone if you don’t keep up your strength, Imogen, you need to eat something. Do it for the baby.” India scolded her.
She knew her sister was right and put some pancakes on her plate and covered them with syrup and munched her way through the stack and drank two cups of tea.
“When we have to leave to follow Rob’s trail, I would like to leave Addison up here with you and the other kids,” Kandis said. “My Mom and Dad would take her, but I would feel safer if she was being guarded with the security team up here.”
“The Den will be guarded around the clock, no-one will get through,” Garrett assured her and Kandis nodded. Nate thought she still seemed a little anxious about leaving her daughter behind and who could blame her after Danvers had tried to take Imogen's baby. But as far as he knew, little Addison didn’t have any additional powers and that fact alone would probably keep her safe.
Finn's phone chirped and he snatched it from his pocket and opened it, reading the message quickly before facing the others.
Children of the Moon: Book Four Page 11