by Jana Leigh
“Why?” she demanded.
Tripp explained what happened when he met her and also that she was a human. Also, Cloe had given him a brief rundown a few minutes ago when she came downstairs. She hadn ‘t wanted to tell him i n front of the whole Council . His mother gasped and began to cry when he told her of the abuse she suffered.
“I need to come up now. Forget all the stuff, my daughter needs me,” h is mother said briskly.
“Hang on; let me try to talk to her. We haven ‘t had a chance to talk at all. Things are moving too fast. I ‘ll call you tom orrow and tell you when to come, ” Tripp said quickly. He did n ‘t want his mother up here right now. He needed to get a grasp of what was going on.
Finally, after a lot of convincing , she agreed to wait. Tripp hung up the phone , and wondered if she would actually listen to him, or if she showed up in the next hour or so. Probably should tell the front gate to expect her. If he knew his mother, she would stew on it for a few minutes and then just come.
His phone beeped and he looked down. It was Cami. She told him that she ordered clothes for his mate. Text ing back , he told her that he would pay for them. He was going to take care of his mate, even if she didn’t know it yet.
Finally, he saw the Council members beginning to flow into the house. Quin and Jaden were already in t he room with Argus and Devon, the Beta. Turning off his phone, so he would n ‘t be distracted, Tripp walked into the Council meeting room.
It was huge, and held places for each of the Council members and their mates. Tripp went to the corner and stood, waiting for Qu in to call the meeting to order. He watched as everyone looked around for Cami. Her best friend , Jo , was looking at the Alphas with a raised eyebrow.
Jo was a White Wolf. They held the power to feel every member of the Pack . He could tell she was trying to find Cami, and when she did, her eyes widened as she felt the emotions the Alpha female was having.
Cloe walked through the door and paused before coming to him and patting his arm. “Pull up a chair,” s he said and tugged him to where her mates were sitting.
Quin spoke finally. “We have a situation,” he said, and the rest of the Council settled down into their chairs. Quin formally announced that a human asked the New Council for sanctuary. Tripp looked around to see if any of the Council was going to protest. But all of them had curious looks on their faces.
“Caterina has come to us for help. Before we get to deep into the specifics, let Cloe explain what she knows.”
Cloe stood and began to tell Caterina’s story. By the time she was done, the women were outraged and the men growling and hissing.
“What shifter did this?” Lacy said. She was the protector of the mates.
“He’s not her mate, although he claims to be. I ‘m her mate,” Tripp said quietly, which drew all the attention to him.
Lacy frowned, and then said, “Can I verify t his?” Lacy had the power to see the true mates ‘ connection. He knew she would be able to tell that Caterina was his mate.
Quin held up his hand. “There ‘s more ; this was not a shifter. The man who did this was a Vampire .”
There was silence in the room as everyone digested the news. Jordan was the first one to say anything. “Like ‘I vant to suck you r blood’ Vampire s, or like the happy teen version that we have all come to know and love?”
Argus rolled his eyes and stood up. “We ‘re looking into it. I just received verification that there are clans of Vampire s. They have been secluded and have not made themselves known to us. Apparently , a large c lan in Italy has requested an audience. So far , here ‘s what I know. They are traveling at night, so I assume that they are the traditional Vampire s. We are going to have to figure out accommodations for them. Also, I have my people researching them, but they have donors who give them blood. We don’t know much more right now, although Caterina may be able to fill us in since, she was kidnap ped by one. We need to find out who this guy belongs to before the Vampire s get here.”
They heard a gasp from the doorway, and Caterina stood frozen in her steps with Cami putting an arm around her. Cloe jumped up and ran to her side, whispering into her ear. Tripp fought the need to go to his mate, but he knew she was in the throes of a panic attack and approaching her now would be disastrous . But his wolf disagreed and began clawing his insides to get up and do something. He felt his fingernails begin to grow, and knew his wolf was trying to take over. Lagon, the dragon, noticed and stood, then ca me over to him and said quietly, “Maybe you should stand up, and walk just a little closer to your mate before you shift.”
Tripp nodded and stood up slowly. Caterina was shaking between the two other women, and her face had gone so pale. She looked like she was going to pass out again. Cami saw h im out of the corner of her eye and motioned at him to come closer. He walked closer and finally stood before his mate. She was wearing a new pair of jeans and a soft looking pink shirt. He was glad the clothes arrived before she had come down. He hated to think that she had nothing to wear but those ratty sweats.
“Don’t freak out yet, listen to what we ‘re saying before you panic, “ Cloe was whispering.
“But Vampires, here? They ‘ll attack; I know it. You don’t understand , “ Caterina cried and stepped backward.
“No one will harm my mate,” Tripp said firmly and then stepped closer. “I promise you with all that ‘s in me; you ‘ll be safe. If, for some reason, you are not, I will fight to the death to protect you.”
“I don’t want anyone else to die for me,” s he whimpered and looked up at the handsome face she had earlier been thinking about. She felt the pull towards him, just like before, but this time, there was no panic. Something inside her told her he would protect her and keep her safe. She just had to let him.
Caterina fought the instinct to lean forward into him; she needed to think. This was all going too fast. Her feelings for this stranger were getting out of control. This was the second time she had been in his presence that she felt something. She just didn’t know what it was, she was human.
“Please, Caterina, come in and listen. If you don’t like what you hear, I swear, we ‘ll leave and go into hiding , ” Tripp said and held out his hand.
He heard the small intake of breaths from everyone around the room. For a wolf to say he would leave his Pack was huge, and for Tripp, it was much, much more . He dedicated his life to the Pack . For all to hear, he was stating his mate meant more to him already. He would not let anyone close that w ould harm her.
Cloe whispered, “I will help too. I promise.”
“Me too,” Cami said, and turned to her mates and frowned. They had not told her of any visit. “Start talking , big gu y, we need to have some reassurance about what the hell is going on around here.”
Jaden shook his head and looked at the rest of the room. The tension was thick. They needed to settle down and fast. He slammed his hand down on the table, making everyone jump a nd look at him and then smiled, “I vote if we don’t like what we hear, we beat the shit out of Dalton . Everyone who agrees, raise your hands.”
The group sat stunned and then slowly they all began to raise their hands. Caterina watched as the group began to laugh when the tall , good-looking man flipped Jaden off.
“Okay, I get it. We needed a little tension breaker there. Sorry, Caterina, please come in and talk with us. We will not make any decisions until we hear what you have to say.”
She stepped into the room and held her head up high. For the first time in a long time, she refused to run anymore. Cloe and Cami were on her side, and she could feel Tripp’s strength pushing her to stand up and fight.
“You can‘t trust any of them,” she said firmly and allowed Cloe and Cami to pull her farther into the room. She could sense the tension rising again, but she refused to back down. “I experienced firsthand what they will do to you.”
Chapter 6
Quin and the rest of the Council actually listened to her. She felt a sense of relief when t
he meeting was over. They had agreed that since they knew nothing about the Vampire s, they would have to double the security and find a place for them to stay.
Devon suggested refitting the basement of the Pack house with dark rooms, that way they would be able to guard them, as well as make sure none of them were roaming the streets of Milliken . Caterina felt uncomfortable about being in t he same house as them, but Tripp assured her that he would be with her at all times, and no one would get close to her if she did n ‘t want them to .
They discussed the ways to kill a Vampire. Caterina explained how she witnessed Adolfo do it so many times with a stake. Argus and the rest of the Council agreed that the Vampire s would be guarded heavily until they found out their intentions. Finally, Cloe noticed that Caterina was going to fall asleep at the table. She got Tripp’s attention, and he excused himself and helped her guide Caterina out of the room.
“Hey Cat, let’s get you up to bed,” Tripp said softly, and she looked up at him in surprise. No one had called her by her nickname since her siblings were alive. They used to love calling her Cat. “What?” he asked and kept her moving.
“Nothing, no one has called me that in a long time, that’s all,” s he whispered.
“It will be my own name for you, my own Cat,” he said and winked. She felt the tension leave her from having him so close. She knew he would be true to his word and not hurt her. Cloe opened her suite door and then stood back.
“Go, I have to go back to the meeting, but here,” she said and pulled out a small device and handed it to Cat. “Push the button if you need me. It’s connected to my pager; I took it from my mate. I can be back here in seconds if you need me. I won’t be far. My mates and I are going to move in across the hall for a few days until you ‘re comfortable.”
Caterina felt the tears gather in her eyes. She felt such a kinship to Cloe. She hugged her new friend and said, “Thank you, ” in her ear.
Tripp nodded to her and then held open the door for Caterina to go into her room. She should not have been surprised when Tripp followed her into the room.
“I’m going to sleep on the couch; that’s all. I want you to feel safe, go; we will talk when you are more rested. I p romise you will be safe tonight, “ Tripp said and just walked over to the couch and sat down.
Caterina didn’t know what to do, but finally, she realize d that the man was not going to leave. She walked to her bedroom and shut the door, making sure it locked —not that it could keep a wolf out, but it made her feel better.
Suddenly exhausted from the day, she walked to the bed and laid down fully clothed and pulled the comforter around her. In her hand, she gripped the small device that linked her to Cloe. Relaxing, she fell into a heavy sleep for the first time in days.
***
She woke to the smell of bacon. Wow, she was hungry, Caterina thought, and then rolled over on her back and sighed. She stretched and felt amazingly good. She opened her eyes and sat up straight in the huge bed, how could she have forgotten where sh e was? She slept so deeply. Caterina looked to the clock beside the table and noticed she slept for almost fifteen hours. Oh my, she had never slept that long before without waking. It felt great.
She looked down and saw the rumpled clothes she slept in and groaned. Cami had gone to all that trouble, and she had slept in t he jeans and shirt she gave her yesterday. Remembering Cami said something about another change of clothes; she stood up and walked to the wonderfully huge walk-in closet she discovered yesterday after her shower. Inside, there were rows and rows of new clothes. She stopped and stared with her mouth open in surprise .
As she moved closer, she saw the tags, all in her size, all brand new. She walked back out of the room and pulled the drawers open on the dresser that held a full mirror on it and laughed. There were underwear, bras, and nightie s all in her size. Any color you could think of. She felt herself blush and wondered who put them away.
Grabbing a comfortable looking pant suit and clean underwear, she showered quickly and then went to the door. The device Cloe gave her was held tightly in her hand.
She wondered who would be on the other side of the door. Tripp was the only one who was in the suite when she left; she could hear t he soft murmur of conversation through the door. Caterina pushed her head against the door and then let out an impatient sound. She needed to stop acting like a fraidy cat and get out there. This was her suite now.
Slowly, she opened the door and then took a deep breath and walked down the hallway. Tripp was sitting at the table t alking to Cloe, and an older woman was bustling around the kitchen , making what smelled like an amazing breakfast .
“Look who finally decided to rise and shine,” Cloe said and smiled at her.
Tripp jumped up and came to her side and said, “Cat, I hope you don’t mind that Cloe, and my mother are here. They showed up an hour ago saying they were going to cook breakfast and wait for you.”
Caterina nodded slowly and looked at her friend and then the woman who stood quietly in the kitchen waiting for an introduction . She saw the kindness in the woman’s face, and wished for a brief moment her mother was still alive. Tripp’s mother was tall and full figured. She had soft brown hair that was tied up in back of her head. She would have loved Cloe and this other woman, she thought; her mother made friends so quickly.
“Cat, this is my mother, Tara, ma, this is my ma te , Caterina, or Cat for short,” Tripp said and waited while Caterina smiled and walked toward the woman with her hand outstretched. His mother smiled and then pulled her into an embrace instead of shaking her hand. Caterina relaxed in the woman’s embrace and smiled.
“It’s nice to meet you, daughter,” Tara whispered and Caterina felt the tears gather in her eyes. It had been so long since she felt that connection with anyone. This woman made her feel like she would truly be getting a mother back.
Caterina cleared her throat and released the taller and larger woman. She smiled up at her. “Thank you.”
“No thanks to family; now sit down and let me feed you,” t he older woman said and Caterina saw the glimmer of tears on her lashes. When Tara turned around, she saw her wipe her eye discretely.
Cloe smiled and held out her hand. Caterina went to her and s at down next to her and smiled. “Good morning .”
Tripp helped push her chair back in, and his mother looked over her shoulder in approval of his manners. She wanted to laugh, but then he sat down next to her and pour ed her a cup of heavenly smelling coffee, and she wanted to kiss him.
“So how did you sleep?” Cloe asked and pushed the creamer and sugar in front of her.
She poured a little of the creamer in her cup and a half a spoon full of sugar and stirred. Tripp took note, of how she drank her coffee, so he could get it for her the next time.
“Great, I don’t think I have slept that well in years,” Cat erina said softly .
“Good, Tripp and I want to take you around the compound so you know where everything is,” Cloe said casually .
She looked at the man next to her and nodded, “That would be nice .”
Tara placed a heaping plate of bacon, eggs, and home fries in front of her and said, “I expect you to eat every bite.”
“Uh, I don’t think I can; besides, my waistband wouldn ‘t like it, ” Cat said and laughed to herself.
Tripp frowned at her and said, “I don’t want to ever hear you say you need to l ose weight. You are too skinny; you need a little more meat on your bones.”
Cat laughed and said, “Right, like you really like that.”
Tripp leaned into her and whispered into her ear and said, “I love to have something to hold on t o, don’t doubt that.”
Cat blushed and leaned back and looked at him while he grinned at her and began to eat his food his mother place d in front of him. Cl oe laughed and patted her arm. “Shifter men, gotta love ‘em,” she said.