by RJ Blain
“No,” the three men chorused.
“Why not?”
Alex grinned and sat at the foot of the bed. “First, you were out like a light. While you weren’t in a coma, you were deeply unconscious. Richard would’ve panicked because he can’t be two places at once. Second, the instant I tell him we have Dante, he’s going to lose his shit. Third, I’m pretty certain I have Richard’s problem figured out, and I want to hold it over his head for the rest of his life.”
I couldn’t argue with Alex’s assessment, so I nodded. “Which one of Richard’s problems? He has many.”
“Richard’s always been a bit unstable, especially for a True-born Fenerec,” our Second began, his expression souring. “There’s a reason for it.”
“Richard was born submissive,” my mate supplied before sighing. “That’s the reason. He was forced to take an Alpha role, and no one realized he was a submissive until the damage was already done. So, he’s an Alpha now, but at heart, he and his wolf are submissive. He has all the problems of a submissive wolf but worsened—he can’t afford to submit to just anyone. Desmond typically comes around when Richard’s natural tendencies rear its head, and that’s socially acceptable to Fenerec packs; that’s Desmond’s job. All Alphas submit to him if they know what’s good for them. The problem is a stable submissive usually works the opposite of Richard; they submit first, and they rarely need to dominate someone else.”
My eyes widened. “Richard is a submissive?”
“That’s part of why he’s sometimes sensitive about our puppies; he wants them to be who they are, so it drives him up a wall that we’ve found a balance of letting them submit as is their nature and being able to dominate someone else. Using Richard as a target for their play was pure genius, darling. He’s more submissive than they are, so he got to act according to his actual nature for a change.”
“Richard’s that submissive?” I felt the blood rush out of my head. “And he was forced to be an Alpha?”
The silence answered my question for me, and I didn’t like the misery my mate, his twin, and Alex shared. Finally, Dante sat up, shrugged, and replied, “He’s going to be annoyed when he finds out I’m the poor damned witch saddled with him.”
“You’re Richard’s witch?”
“So Alfred says,” my mate muttered, shaking his head. “It explains so much. I can’t think of anyone better suited for keeping Richard in line. I should have thought of it sooner. Ah, well. It gives me plenty of excuses to build a place in Canada. I’ve been meaning to, especially since Evelyn likes it up there, as does Jacqueline.”
“Does Evelyn know?”
Laughing, Elliot shook his head. “She’ll forgive me, maybe. Dante is not being presented to his mate until he can stay awake for more than two consecutive hours. His best run so far has been one. He’s going to be mobbed as soon as we arrive, and Alfred very specifically warned us we should keep things quiet for both of you for at least a day while you recover. We’ll head to the airport in four hours, and if Dante isn’t a bit more coherent by then, we’ll hide in Yellowknife until he is.”
“I’m perfectly coherent, Elliot. I’m just not coherent long enough for your liking.”
“Alfred said two hours.”
“Do I look like I care what Alfred said? My wife and daughter are in Yellowknife.”
“Elliot, just get the plane ready now before he turns Atlanta into a volcano because you kept him from his family.” I wiggled free of my mate’s arms, crawled onto the bed, and hugged Dante. “I’m betting on triplets.”
“I know how many there are,” my mate’s brother replied, returning my embrace. “You’re wrong, for what it’s worth.”
“How many?” I demanded.
Dante held up four fingers. “I’m going to be a dead man when she delivers.”
I turned to Elliot, widened my eyes, and whispered, “Maybe we should let him rest for a while longer. Soon enough, he’s never going to sleep again.”
“Take this single piece of brotherly advice, Dante. Ask Vicky for help. Please tell me none of them are True-born.”
“None of them are True-born. I need to be there to check on her and the babies.”
“Elliot, just get us on route to Yellowknife,” I ordered. “If I have to call in a pilot, you will live to regret it.”
My mate sighed, pulled out his phone, and started making calls while I got out of bed to take a shower and prepare for a long flight back home.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Dante, true to Elliot’s concerns, slept through most of the flight, and it took me biting my mate several times to get him to stop hovering over his twin. Alex hovered enough for everyone, and I ultimately snarled and drove them both to the back of the plane.
Sleep would’ve done me a world of good, but I was so busy ensuring Dante got rest I went the entire flight without catching a single wink. The weather cooperated, and I appreciated the lack of turbulence. The last thing I needed was Elliot fretting because he feared a plane crash.
Landing bothered him the most, and I had to nip him every time we refueled and on arrival to keep him from fidgeting a hole through his seat. I bit too hard on the approach for Yellowknife, resulting in a second unconscious Anderson male.
Alex laughed while I sighed. “You’ll get the hang of it one of these days. I’ll wake Dante up and get him coherent while you stay with Elliot. You are going to let me wake him up now, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not saying you’re wrong for letting him rest, but he’s going to have a crick in his neck from sleeping on a plane for so long, Vicky.”
I stared at Alex in silence until he went away.
Twenty minutes after I’d bitten him, I finally managed to wake Elliot, and he glowered at me, rubbing at his neck. “What’d I do that time?”
“You fidgeted.”
“Bitches like their mates calm and happy,” Alex called from the front of the plane. “Haven’t you figured this out yet, Your Eminence?”
“Do you think Richard would forgive me if I sent Alex on a few obnoxious missions for the next few years?”
“I heard that.”
“I’m sure Richard would survive, but you’d hear a great deal of whining,” I replied, hauling Elliot to his feet. “It’s probably not worth it. If you want revenge, send him back to school so he can take on more accounting duties.”
“I’ll think of something,” my mate swore. “Dante?”
“Stop whining, Elliot. It’s annoying,” my mate’s twin replied between yawns. “I’d say let’s pit stop for a shower, but it’d take hours to get presentable.”
Alex snorted. “If we had to make you both presentable, we’d never leave the hotel. A few wrinkles and messy hair won’t kill you. Vicky, call the elder Andersons and notify them their sons have safely arrived in Yellowknife. I’ll take care of the travel arrangements. If Sleeping Beauty up here can handle it, we’ll snowmobile; I’d rather not have an overly excited Richard attempting to fly a helicopter today.”
I appreciated Alex’s foresight and common sense, pulling out my phone. “All right. Go with your brother, Elliot. I’ll be along shortly.”
“If you’re going to call our parents, you may as well tell Danielle to tip off the rest of the Inquisition and start our watchdog plan.”
“Watchdog plan?”
“We’re going to spread false information about Dante’s whereabouts; if anyone shows up, we’ll be ready for them. Alfred’s in charge of it.”
I pitied any fool who fell into the sorcerer’s clutches. “Got it.”
Waiting until Elliot joined his twin, I hit the speed dial for their parents’ number, and after the second ring, Elliot’s father yawned and answered, “Hello?”
“It’s Vicky, Mr. Anderson.”
“Shit. Vicky? What’s wrong?” I heard the moment the man snapped awake.
“Nothing’s wrong. I was recruited by the cowards in the front of the plane to call you.”
> Elliot’s father chuckled. “That’s my son for you.”
“Sons,” I corrected. “In plural. Both are accounted for, safe and sound, and at a well-guarded location. While tired, they’re both in good health.”
I waited through the stunned silence, smiling as I imagined the man’s expression. “Dante’s safe?”
“Dante’s safe. It just took us a little while to figure out where he was. He wasn’t in Basin’s hands.”
Laughter rang out on the other end of the line. “Let me guess. My son was that little fox my other son has been doting over? I should’ve known. Elliot’s a sucker for animals, but he was being excessive.”
“Anderson males are typically excessive.”
“I see you’re still as direct as always, Miss Hanover. Thank you for calling. We really appreciate it.”
I half stood, peeking over the top of the seats to confirm Elliot, Dante, and Alex had already exited the plane. They had. “Might I ask for a piece of advice, Mr. Anderson?”
“Anything, Vicky. What do you need?”
“I’ve been informed my mate might be murdered if he attempts to skip an official wedding, which is exactly what he’s contemplating. I wanted to inquire if you might be willing to help me with something.”
“Are you going to be stealing my son, Miss Hanover?”
“I’ve already done that. I’m just legalizing my theft of his person. If you want a wedding, you’re going to have to plan it, and you need to make Richard help so he stays out of my hair. I’m not interested in planning one, but if it keeps Elliot from being murdered, I’ll show up, and I’ll even wear an event-appropriate dress.”
“Has he asked you yet?”
“No.”
“You want me to plan a wedding we don’t even know is going to happen?”
“It’s happening. It’s just not official yet. I’m certain he’ll be appropriately convinced it’s wise to cooperate when the time comes. Set it for sometime in the summer, and have the location somewhere near the ocean. That should make him happy.”
“If you’re aiming for puppies this season, Miss Hanover, I recommend a courthouse if the legalities of your future child’s status concern you. I also recommend you stay close to either Mr. Murphy or Mr. Desmond to ensure there are no issues, although I expect my son will catch onto the knack of his bitch-tending duties the instant he realizes he’s protecting his puppy’s life. We’ll pretend we know nothing of such a possibility. I also recommend planning a kidnapping in order to make certain your mate shows up for his own wedding, especially if there’ll be a puppy on the way. Anderson males, as you call us, have an unfortunate habit of running off and getting inappropriately wed without handling the official ceremony for the enjoyment of others.”
I twitched at my future father-in-law’s eagerness for puppies. “Your marriage was arranged, Mr. Anderson.”
“Doesn’t mean we didn’t do it inappropriately. It vexed my brother, which is why we did it.”
I was beginning to understand where Elliot had learned some of his bad habits. “Interesting.”
“Back to business. Dante’s all right?”
“He had five witches, a sorcerer, and Alex helping him through the shift.” I considered my words carefully before saying, “He hasn’t developed an unfortunate case of lycanthropy as of this time.”
My mate’s father laughed. “Some of the Archeons informed me they were considering encouraging Elliot to take the dive. Should you decide to perform the ritual on your mate, young lady, do get your Alpha’s assistance with the process. I’ve got two witches for sons already. It’s not a far leap to having a pair of witch-wolf boys.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Anderson.”
“Tell my sons we’ll be expecting phone calls from both of them.”
“I will.”
“Good. Take care of my boys. Don’t let them get into any more trouble for a while. They’ve reached their quota of trouble for the next ten years.”
“I agree. Have a good day, Mr. Anderson.” I hung up, got to my feet, and stretched out the kinks, bracing myself for the inevitable chaos.
The weather, thanks to my haywire witchcraft, had dumped so much snow on the region that snowmobiles were the only way to reach Richard’s home without a helicopter. The machines woke Dante up better than anything else, and he beelined straight for the sleekest one.
“Dante,” Elliot complained. “Have you even driven a snowmobile before?”
Dante twisted around to stare at his brother. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“Who owns that snowmobile, Alex?” I asked, foreseeing the machine’s future as Dante’s property.
“Richard.”
I laughed, picked the nearest snowmobile, and sat on it. “Is it a good machine?”
Alex nodded. “It’s his baby for this year. We tricked it out especially nice trying to cheer him up. It didn’t work all that well, but yeah. It’s a really good machine.”
“I think it’s been adopted by Dante. I’ve noticed the Anderson males have issues with vehicles.”
“Just tell Richard Dante’s shipping and handling fee is the sled. He won’t even miss it. When Nicole wakes up, we’ll get her to buy him a new one.”
“Dante?” I looked at Elliot’s twin, cringing a bit at the hope in my voice, wondering what would happen if Nicole didn’t wake up.
“I don’t know what you think I can do, but I’ll try my best,” he replied.
I doubted Dante was capable of doing anything other than his best, so I nodded, turned the snowmobile on, and listened to the rumble of its engine. Grabbing the helmet, I stuffed it over my head, and the others followed my example.
Alex put on his helmet and waited for the others to have their gear on before saying, “I had Frank handle the logistics of getting the sleds here; he recruited some of the older puppies to help drive them over in exchange for feeding them all at his house and taking them to the movies. He claims that he wanted to do something to help boost pack morale.”
“What’s the range of these headsets?”
“One kilometer, so stick close to each other. Vicky, your sled has storage under the seat with survival gear if we need it. I’ve got tools if we bust a sled. There’s a stop on the way for gas if it looks like we won’t have enough, but we should be fine. These sleds have oversized gas tanks to account for the distances we have to take them all the time. Worst case, we call Frank and he’ll run some gas to us.”
“It amazes me phones work here.”
Alex pointed at my mate. “It’s his fault, Princess Victoria. We’d all appreciate it if you punished him appropriately, in private, for meddling in our business.”
I didn’t even need a hint to figure out what Alex had in mind for us. “Why don’t you have a few puppies so everyone will leave me alone for a while?”
The Anderson twins laughed.
“Sorry, Vicky,” my mate said, not sounding sorry at all. “I implemented a ban on pregnant bitches helping with operations. I’m also considering banning the mates of pregnant bitches from ops.”
“You’re going to run out of operatives if you do that,” Alex warned. “Especially if the east coast packs are able to get their acts together and have a higher success rate.”
“I long for the day I don’t need operatives,” my mate replied, and in his tone, I heard his resignation. I doubted the day would ever come, but who was I to put a damper on his dream for the future?
I revved the engine of my snowmobile. “Let’s get these obnoxious males home, Alex. I need to evict someone from their room so I can use the tub.”
Alex laughed. “The guest suite has a nice tub, too. I’ll make sure you and Elliot get it. Assuming, of course, you’re going to invite him into your suite.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Progress has been made, Elliot. Well done.”
Dante turned on his seat and stared in my direction. “Just what sort of progress are you
hoping for, Alex?”
“We were hoping for a puppy, but I think we’re changing our main goal to just getting them to share a room together without Vicky freaking out. She’s very shy, Dante. She’s worse than you,” Alex complained.
Dante stared at me long enough I suspected the earth witch had figured out exactly what I’d been doing with his brother. When his attention turned to my mate, I relaxed. “We’re pack with a bunch of idiots, Elliot.”
Elliot laughed. “Welcome home.”
It took us far too long to reach Richard’s home, and when we did, I staggered. The snowbanks, which were taller than me, seemed so inviting. My mate wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his side. “I think Dante’s in better shape than Vicky is at this point.”
Alex tucked his helmet under his arm and flashed my mate a grin. “She didn’t sleep the entire flight here. Actually, she was stressing defending your brother’s rest. I’m unsurprised she’s tired. I’ll show you to the guest suite, then you can get her tucked into bed and take your turn standing guard for a while.”
“I found him, so I get to present him to Richard,” I said, pulling free of my mate to stomp to Dante, pressing my hands against his back.
He resisted for a moment, sighed, then allowed me to push him along. “Elliot, your boss is pushy.”
“I like her that way.”
“He’s a sucker for punishment. I want to see how long it takes him to figure out you’re you. Elliot, hide behind Alex.”
Dante twisted around to regard me with an arched brow. “You realize I’m easily six inches taller than my brother, right?”
“I didn’t say it would be difficult for him to figure it out.”
“Your bitch is being strange again, Elliot,” Dante complained.
“She’s learned how to bite, too. Just do what the cranky bitch wants so I don’t get bit.”
Alex sighed. “You’re doing this wrong, Your Eminence. We want you to get bit.”
Dante chuckled. “I’m truly impressed you haven’t run away yet with your face redder than Evelyn’s hair, Vicky.”