by Talyn Scott
“That and far too much attention has been drawn to her.”
Archer started to respond and then slanted his head to the side. “Hey, Molly, Ail, Heath was called out to track.”
Molly rubbed her bulging belly as Jude dropped his head and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, but Heath already texted me. Stays in touch constantly.”
“Considering Molly’s delicate condition,” Jude explained to Kalen, “Heath’s a wee bit overprotective.”
“There’s no wee about it,” Molly corrected. “He’s a nervous wreck when I leave the house, or even leave the bed.” Pregnancy sure didn’t make her clumsy, though. Molly balanced quite easily on an impressive pair of sandals, not that the five inch wedges brought her any closer to Kalen’s height. She held out her hand to Kalen. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Welcome back to crazy town and to our even crazier family.”
Kalen shook it. “Nice to meet you, Molly.” She dropped Molly’s hand and gestured between Archer and Jude. “I guess we were — ”
“Already fighting?” Ail interrupted as he pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. “I need a moment, Molly Ballbuster. Seeing true love bloom right before my eyes disintegrates my balls, leaves me all sappy and shit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand, shooing her to an adjacent door with the other. “Go on in and see Jenny without me.”
Molly’s perfect smile twisted into a snarl. She pointed an accusing finger at Ail’s chin. “Since you’re so intent on dodging Granny today, you can sleep in the marsh tonight!”
Ail dropped his hands to his sides, fisting them, no signs of crocodile tears on his face. “Why do I always have to be the buffer between you and Granny?”
“I’m playing the pregnancy card here.”
“Play it with Tatum,” he challenged. “It’s our weekend to babysit that old bat, and your sister’s not letting us out of it!”
“You called Tatum over this?”
Ail huffed. “Someone had to be the voice of reason.”
“Listen,” Molly whispered, “you’ll still get laid if only you — ”
“I know I’ll still get laid,” Ail said with an evil chuckle, opening his arms wide over the glory of his chest. “It’s not like you can resist this. I’m more concerned with Sunday’s game.” He grew serious. “Granny takes over my man-cave, planting her wrinkly ass in my favorite chair and bitching every time I man-up and take charge of my remote control.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“You should hear her!” He brought one hand up, miming a yapping mouth with his fingertips. “Turn off that football game, you hooligan. My hearing aids are ringing.” Ail looked disgusted. “I don’t know what a hooligan is, but it can’t be anything good.”
“She’s just an old lady.”
“That you’re afraid of,” he accused. “But I don’t blame you, Granny’s lethal with her walker. And I don’t believe her innocent ‘I’m sorries’, either, so don’t even go there. That lump on my shin from her last visit still hasn’t healed.”
Molly’s foot started tapping the tile. “Ail Ruyter, there’s no lump on your shin.”
“Sure is, and I’m thinking I better go find Mason, so he can take a look at it.” He bent down and rubbed his leg. “I should be back by the time you’re finished.”
The door opened and a strawberry blonde walked out with fury lining her face. “We. Can. Hear. You,” she said through gritted teeth. The baby boy in her arms was the size of a five-year old, but his face was babyish, his eyes matching those of Archer. When he caught sight of Archer, he squealed in delight, clapping his hands.
“Come to your favorite uncle, Ardan,” Archer rumbled, lifting the boy from her arms and tossing him in the air a few times. Jude ruffled his hair as Archer brought him to Kalen. “This is my nephew, and this is Tatum, my sister-n-law. Tatum this is my mate, Kalen.”
“Nice to meet you, Kalen.” Then Tatum opened the door fully. “Come on in, Jenny’s been talking about you nonstop.”
“I wanted to come this morning, but her physical therapist changed her schedule.”
Molly looked at Tatum, her eyebrows rising. “She stopped physical therapy at least a week ago.”
Tatum nodded. “Around that time, yeah.”
Kalen stayed quiet, ignoring Archer and Jude’s curious stares. Why was Jenny lying?
Gently, Ail gripped Molly’s upper arms, pulling her in nice and tight for an explosive kiss. When he lifted his head, his eyes glowed. “I changed my mind. I’ll go in first and wear Granny down for you. You can compensate me by going naked for the rest of the week.”
Tatum shook her finger at Ail. “No males allowed today, except Ardan.”
“That doesn’t seem fair to the little guy,” Archer said. “I’ll keep him safe out here.”
“All right, Mike and Bren are down the hall. You males should go say hi.” Tatum kissed Ardan’s forehead as Molly shot through the door.
Kalen’s stomach lurched at the thought of finally facing Jenny and her array of injuries. Vampire attacks were nothing short of brutal. Kalen should know, she’d seen so… A sharp hunger pain hit her stomach. She fought it, didn’t want to make a scene when Jenny was waiting, and this certainly wasn’t the time to feed. She took a deep breath, trying to ride it out.
Jude kissed the top of her head. “What’s wrong?”
“Just a little…um,” words died when Kalen caught Tatum watching her closely. “It’s a headache.”
Archer rubbed her lower back with his free hand. “Do we need to head back home?” Though he was really asking, if she needed to go somewhere and feed.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Jude flashed canines. “If needed, I know an excellent doctor.”
Tatum giggled. “I think you want to play doctor, Jude, or at least watch while Mason examines her.”
“I am male.” He crossed his Highlander arms. “I do no’ deny it.”
Kalen’s attention on Jude fell away when she caught sight of Jenny. She practically ran across the room, her arms opening wide, her heart clenching. “Jenny, I’ve missed you.” Kalen brought her in for a fierce hug, but she immediately let up on the pressure when her cousin tensed. To Kalen’s horror, she felt lines on Jenny’s back, beneath the thin fabric of her blouse. Scars? Fighting tears, she braved a good front and pulled back with a smile. “I wanted to be here last night but, well, it’s a long story, and then this morning — ”
“Don’t worry about it.” Jenny tucked her ebony hair behind her ears. “I heard Gryphs were here this morning anyway.”
Kalen grew still, thinking of the winged vampires coming so close to Jenny. Was this why she’d lied? “Why would you continue to stay where Gryphs come and go?”
Tatum put in, “The Gryphs that attacked our compound were rogue. The ones who come and go here are part of the vampire faction, the Coven.”
“Don’t worry,” Jenny assured Kalen. “I don’t see them anyway.” A smile lifted her full lips, her werewolf-blue eyes sparkling with eagerness. “Now, tell me all about last night.”
“Who told?” Apart from what Kalen felt on Jenny’s back and her nervous fidgeting, she appeared healthy.
“I talked to Mason.” She lifted her hands, clapping much the way baby Ardan had for Archer. “Jude, Mason, and Archer? Holy shit! You took three of our best off the market.” Then Jenny sobered. “If anyone deserves such a blessing, it’s you.”
Yet all Jenny had wanted was Ail, and sitting right next to her was Ail’s mate. Not that it was Molly’s fault. “I always heard good things come in three.” Kalen rubbed her throat, her need for blood setting her aflame. “And your time will come when you’re not looking. Just wait and see.”
“Oh, you’re not flipping this convo back to me,” Jenny exclaimed. “This mating couldn’t have come at a better time. To think, I was hoping you’d come back home for good, and here you are.”
“Who did she mate?”
Kalen turned to the weary voice and f
ound an old woman scowling from a nearby chair. This must be Granny. “I haven’t mated anyone yet, ma’am.”
“I don’t see any mark on her neck,” Granny grumbled to Molly. “Males these days don’t know how to do anything right.”
“Stay out of it, Granny,” Molly pleaded. “When or if Kalen is marked is none of our business.”
“And Mason, Archer, and Jude know what they’re doing.” Tatum crossed her legs. “You have three to handle, like me.” She smiled apologetically at Kalen. “You can handle them, too, I’m sure, so don’t worry.”
If they only knew what Kalen was really worried about, they’d all go running out the door, even the old lady. Her blood-hunger had taken a turn for the worse. All of them were looking at her expectantly, so she grasped at what to say. “Mason, Archer, and Jude are worthy males. I’m honored.” Freaked out was more like it.
“I was wondering though,” Kalen ask Granny, “how you could see that I wasn’t marked.”
“I’m a pureblood,” Granny replied as she put away her knitting, a blue baby’s blanket she guessed was meant for Molly’s baby. “I can see marks where you mixed-bloods can’t.”
“I see.” But why was she aging if she was a pureblood?
“Because,” Granny answered her unspoken question, “I gave up my immortality for a human.”
Kalen pressed her fingertips to her temple. “If you gave up your immortality, how can you still read minds?” Very few werewolves in existence could read minds at all.
“I can’t but that’s what you were thinking, right?”
“Yes.”
“Granny never mated,” Molly filled in, “and although as a pureblood she could have lived forever, she met Grandpa and gave it all up for him.”
“I didn’t want to watch him die of old age,” Granny explained, “but I managed to outlive him anyway.”
Kalen worked the pieces together. “A Druid spell, you traded your immortal soul for that of a human?” Meaning there was a non-immortal or a mixed blood out there who would live forever, unless killed by immortal means.
“Let’s put it this way: I gave it all up for love,” Granny admitted, “though I almost backed out at the last minute.”
“I can’t imagine,” Kalen whispered, her hand finding Jenny’s and squeezing gently. “To an immortal, shortening to human life expectancy is nearly the same as immediate death.”
“It’s better to share love, even in the short term,” Granny explained, “than to know nothing of it for an eternity.” She looked Kalen straight in the eyes, her pupils going from black to opal. “Don’t run away from something because you think you’re not ready. Have courage or you might be sorry one day when you can’t have it back.”
Kalen gasped.
“Granny, cut that out,” Tatum warned.
Granny smiled then, continuing her story, “By a miracle, I gave birth to a halfling son. My only disappointment was when he married a human.”
“Well, that’s kind of hypocritical,” Jenny offered.
“Not because she was human,” Molly interceded, “Granny just hates Mom in general.”
“In Granny’s defense,” Tatum said, “we refer to Mom as The Warden.”
Kalen laughed. “I got it.”
“Because of that woman,” Granny went on, “I got stuck with these brats.” She gestured with arthritic hands to Molly and Tatum. “There’s another one, Renee, but she’s too busy to join us today.”
“Renee is mated to Mason’s brother, our Beta.” Tatum explained. Then to Granny, she said, “And you can’t blame Renee for becoming a practicing nurse. We haven’t enough medical help inside Pack as it is. We need all the hours she can throw our way.” She tapped her chin with a thoughtful fingertip. “But maybe Renee will join us tomorrow at Sven’s, if we do a half day.”
Molly brightened. “Kalen could meet her then. How about a spa day? If you can discount the fact that the spa is located between Six Feet Under and INKS, Sven’s is by the finest dress shops here and a French bistro that serves the best beignets and hickory coffee this side of New Orleans.”
Kalen wondered how she could work this to her advantage, finding her father had been derailed the moment she’d discovered her three mates. “How’s the area around Six Feet Under in the daytime? Mason said a shifter and two vamps trailed us from the bar last night.”
Tatum’s eyes widened. “You don’t ever go near that bar at night. That’s when the hungry come out to play. Daytime is docile, the place mostly filled with humans then.”
Kalen nodded, satisfied. “How about it, Jenny? Want to get polished and primed, maybe pick up some clothes while we’re down town? My treat.” Kalen would buy her anything, if she would only leave this place.
Tatum looked pleadingly at Jenny. “We’ve been trying to coax Jenny into joining us every week, but she won’t leave this place.”
Jenny tensed. “I don’t need a spa.”
Molly leaned back, stretching her legs. “Even though Sven offered to exfoliate you with his house sugar scrub personally?”
Jenny stayed quiet, creating an awkwardness Kalen didn’t know how to save, so she said, “I would love to go tomorrow, so maybe I can spend some alone time with Jenny now.” She moved to the bed, gently wrapping her arm over her cousin’s shoulders. She wondered what horrors were hidden beneath Jenny’s clothes, but she refused to ask Mason. Instead, she’d allow Jenny her privacy, and wait until she was ready. “And I’ll bet Jenny will make the next trip, so please ask again.”
“Oh,” Tatum said, “we will.” She stood, helping Granny with her stuff. “After Granny’s last hairdresser quit, for reasons we won’t name, we started taking her to Sven’s once a week, too.”
Molly saluted Granny. “The bigger the hair, the closer to God. She blew a kiss at Jenny. “See you later, sweetie.”
“I hope so.” Jenny’s eyes glistened. “All of you, thanks, really, for visiting me.”
Hours later, Kalen left Jenny’s room weary and thirstier than anything remotely quenchable. What was worse? She was no closer to coaxing Jenny into leaving the complex. Why would her cousin stay in such tight confines? She was a werewolf! And unlike vampires, who preferred to live beneath the earth’s soil, werewolves needed to run free, especially in the night air. It was essential to their existence to run beneath the moon. And since the Joint Faction Facility was below ground and Jenny was now well enough to leave, none of this made sense.
Kalen rubbed her neck, pacing on the other side of Jenny’s closed door. “I’ve got to figure this out,” she muttered. There was more to this, but what? “There’s got to be another reason Jenny’s staying here.”
Chapter Ten
Archer and Jude were walking down the corridor, heading straight for Kalen. Unfortunately, Commander Syon reached her first.
“Another problem?” he asked.
She faced Syon. “I have a bad habit of talking to myself.”
He tilted his head, his smile tight. “I hear congratulations are in order.”
“For?” Kalen didn’t have to turn around. She could feel Archer and Jude at her back, and somehow she knew Mason had joined them.
Syon took in the scene behind her, his eyes dropping to the sets of strong hands finding their way around her shoulders, arms, and waist. “Your mating,” he explained. “I noticed you’re still unmarked, however.” He studied the curvature of her throat, his fangs darting down in response. “What’s the holdup?”
Kalen wondered at his hostility. Had Syon’s invitation meant more to him than the protection and blood exchange he had offered her? “So many questions you ask, Commander, yet you’d refused to answer any of mine at Six Feet Under.”
He completely ignored her comment. “I’m sure you’re thrilled to discover not one, but three mates to lead you into eternity.”
What an asshole! “Lead me? When were you born, 1 BC?”
Archer’s hand slid around her stomach, pulling her back. “Syon, you will stay away fr
om my female.”
Syon laughed. “I didn’t know mating was such a forbidden subject for her. It’s as though Kalen’s unhappy about the whole deal.”
“It’s time to go,” Mason said softly as he stepped to her side.
“You’re not staying for our emergency meeting, Doctor?” Syon inquired, his gaze darting between Mason and Kalen, his lips tipping in challenge.
“Archer and I will attend,” Jude said to Syon.
Syon lifted Kalen’s hand, patting the top in something near to a conciliatory handshake. “As long as someone keeps an eye on Kalen.”
Jude took a step toward Syon. “Do no’ touch her again.” Syon dropped her hand. “And while we are on the subject, our female’s protection is none of your concern, vampire.” Jude sneered the word vampire like he’d stepped in dog shit.
Syon took a measured step toward Jude. “What I am concerned about, however, is the fact that two murders have occurred since the night Kalen flew into Southwest Florida.” His eyes cut to hers. “I’m growing curiouser and curiouser.”
Archer had Syon against the wall so fast that Kalen’s hair blew all around her face. Another pounding wallop sounded, a body hitting the concrete wall repeatedly. Next the echo of tearing fabric and ripping seams met her ears. She shoved back her windblown hair, trying to see what was happening, and found Archer and Jude huddling over Syon in mid-transformation, their werewolves shimmering over the surface of their massive bodies.
Three breaths in, one slow exhale.
Then doubled.
Three breaths in, one slow exhale.
When she tried to move, Kalen realized her feet were dangling over the floor. That Mason held her suspended, one side of his body leaning forward while his opposite arm kept her high as though she weighed nothing. In that moment, it shouldn’t have surprised her that Mason could lift a hundred and eighty pound woman effortlessly with one hand, but she did a double take before she found her voice. “Make them stop, Mason.”
“You are my concern, not them,” Mason said in his most-human voice. He hadn’t gone into mid-transformation, instead, allowing Jude and Archer to take on Syon while Mason kept her safe. She wondered if they had every possible scenario planned ahead of time, or if her three males could communicate mentally the way Beta’s and Alpha’s communicated with certain Pack members. He spun around, gently hefted her on his shoulder and walked her down the corridor and away from the action.