by Becca Van
She would love to have another sex fest like that but they all needed to work. It hadn’t taken her long to catch up on all the accounts, and there was less to do now because all she had to do was maintain them. She was currently in the office in Luc, Rafe, Gabe, and Tessa’s house, and kept yawning every other minute.
She couldn’t understand why she was feeling so tired, because she slept for a solid ten hours after making love with her men. And that was another thing that was bothering her. Chase and Tony had been acting a little strange lately and they weren’t the only ones. Every time she walked into a room the men sniffed the air and smiled at her. She was starting to get a complex about the way she smelled. She showered every day before coming to work so she shouldn’t smell bad, at least she hoped not. Lifting her arm and sniffing her pit, she didn’t smell any sweat or odor other than her deodorant.
What the hell is going on?
“Sara, are you all right, baby?” Tony asked.
“I’m fine,” she snapped. That was another thing bothering her. She was moody and constantly snarling at her men for no reason. She felt guilty every time she did it and immediately apologized, but they just smiled and nodded their head as if trying to placate her, and like they knew what was going on. It was all a puzzle but she was just too damn tired to even try and figure it out.
She’d met more of the pack over the last couple of weeks and hadn’t even realized there were any other women around until Rosanna and Hillary had entered the office and introduced themselves. Sara liked Hillary right away but there was something about Rosanna that got her back up. Maybe it was the way the older woman seem to glare at her whenever their gazes met. Whatever it was she didn’t like it. She and Hillary got on like a house on fire, but wherever she turned she caught Rosanna scowling at her. Sara just hoped that the other woman would give her a chance to get to know her and that they would end up friends like her and Hillary.
When Rosanna entered the office, Sara sat up straighter in her seat and hoped she didn’t look as tired as she felt. The other woman was carrying a jug of water and a glass. She smiled at Sara but that smile didn’t reach those cold calculating eyes.
Rosanna sauntered over to the desk and put the jug and glass down. “Alice thought you might be thirsty. This is the last time I do anything for you, bitch.”
Sara pushed her chair back and walked around the desk, keeping her eyes on Rosanna. She was going to get the bottom of the other woman’s hostility toward her if it was the last thing she did. After placing her hands on her hips, she glared at her.
“What the hell is your problem? I’ve done nothing to warrant your anger or bitterness.”
“That’s what you think,” Rosanna snarled, and bared her teeth at her. “Chase and Tony came to me whenever they wanted to let off a little steam. Now that you’re on the scene they haven’t looked twice at me.”
Sara’s stomach began to roil and jealousy pierced her heart. She knew exactly what Rosanna was getting at. She didn’t need it pointed out to her on a map.
“Rosanna, you know that mates are special. I’m sorry that they have ignored you, but that’s not my fault.”
“I want them back.”
Again Rosanna growled and bared her teeth, and when her eyes began to glow Sara knew she was a werewolf, too. She didn’t want to anger the other woman more than she already was, but they were talking about her men, her mates, and she wasn’t about to step aside so this bitch could have her fuck buddies back.
“That’s not going to happen, Rosanna. They love me and I love them.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. They don’t love you. They’re only with you because they don’t have a choice who they get to mate with.
“I hate all you fucking human women. I would have been queen if it wasn’t for all you bitches. Lucien and his brothers were mine after they dropped that bitch, Stephanie, and until that human slut came along. And then you had to steal Chase and Tony from me. If I had my way all humans would be wiped from this earth.”
“Listen to yourself, Rosanna. You’re crazy.” As Sara looked into her eyes she knew what she’d just said was the truth. Rosanna was batshit crazy.
“They will be mine again.”
“Bullshit!” Sara snapped. “You’re only angry because you don’t have their attention or get to have sex with them anymore. The only reason you’re so pissed is because you’re no longer getting any.
“I don’t care what you say, they love me with their whole hearts and would never turn away from me.”
Rosanna walked toward the door, but Sara was worried because she was so angry her face was red, her eyes were glowing brighter, and she was showing her claws, literally as well as figuratively.
“We’ll just see about that.” Rosanna stormed from the office, slamming the door behind her.
Sara moved back to her chair and sank down into it. She hated confrontations, but when someone needed to face reality, especially if she was involved in the situation, she wasn’t about to back down. She sighed and was pleased when her racing heart and breathing finally came back to normal, but tensed when the door opened, expecting to see Rosanna again. But thank God it wasn’t, because she hadn’t settled from their first little go around yet and wasn’t sure she was up to another verbal sparring match.
Hillary came further into the room, looking worried. “Was that Rosanna in here snarling at you?”
“Yes,” Sara answered. “But don’t worry about it. I think we finally understand each other.”
“If she’s giving you trouble, go and talk to Lucien. He is Alpha after all, and controls the whole pack,” Hillary suggested.
“No. I don’t want to get her into trouble. Besides, I’ve already taken care of it. I don’t think she’ll cause me any more problems.”
“I hope you’re right, Sara, but watch your back. She’s always been a vindictive, malicious bitch.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m used to taking care of myself.”
“Okay, but just be careful.” Hillary sniffed the air and then smiled at her before exiting.
“What the hell is with all the sniffing when I’m around?” Sara muttered under her breath, and then shrugged her shoulders. She always showered and was meticulous with her hygiene, and decided if she smelled bad to them then that was their problem.
Sara covered her mouth as she yawned, filled the glass with water, and drank it down without taking a breath. When she’d finished the water she had a strange, bitter taste in her mouth. Maybe she had a smell to her because she was getting sick. The only time anything didn’t taste right was just before she got ill, but she was still thirsty so she poured some more water into the glass. She’d just taken a sip when she felt sick to her stomach. The glass slipped from her fingers and fell onto the carpeted floor with a dull thud. Her head was spinning and even though she was very cold, perspiration formed all over her body.
She stood up but had to grip the edge of the desk so she wouldn’t topple over. When her vision didn’t clear she knew something was dreadfully wrong. Sara slowly wobbled her way to the door, sweat now seeping from her pores, and as she opened the office door she went down on her knees and fell to her side on the floor.
She heaved and retched as burning pain shot through her stomach, causing her to moan and clutch at her belly.
“Tessa,” Sara yelled as loud as she could between bouts of vomiting, but wasn’t sure it had been loud enough.
“Sara,” Tessa yelled as she ran toward her. “Lucien, call the pack doctor now.”
“Tessa…Rosanna…Water…” She gasped out because the pain ripping through her stomach was excruciating. She was violently ill again and even though she was barely aware of what was happening, she felt her body trembling violently and knew she was convulsing.
What’s happening to me? Am I dying? Did she poison me?
Those were her last thoughts as she sank down in the deep, dark abyss.
* * * *
“She’s been fucking poisoned, I can smell it.” Lucien growled out. “Alice, call the Doc immediately. Tessa, call Chase and Tony, tell them to get their asses back here now.”
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Tessa asked as she disconnected the call.
“I don’t know, little bird.”
Tessa covered her hand with her mouth and started crying. She hadn’t even heard Gabe or Rafe approaching but she was glad they were there. Gabe lifted her from the floor and hugged her tight.
“Oh God, Gabe. What about the baby? She doesn’t even know she’s pregnant.”
“Shh, sweetheart. We’ll do everything we can to save both of them.” Gabe stroked a hand over Tessa’s hair. But she was so worried for Sara and her unborn child she felt sick. She placed her hand over her rounding belly and prayed that both Sara and her baby would survive.
“How far away were Chase and Tony?” Rafe asked.
“They said they’d be here in a few minutes.”
Just as Tessa finished speaking Tony and Chase came racing around the corner.
They both sniffed the air and howled with pain and fury.
* * * *
“Oh God, Sara. Please don’t die!” Chase lifted Sara into his arms and hurried up the stairs to the spare room. Tony rushed past him and opened the door.
Chase carefully placed their mate on the bed after Tony pulled the covers back, and then they began to remove her soiled clothes, tossing them aside.
Melissa rushed into the room and started crying when she saw how pale Sara was. Normally Chase and Tony would hate anyone else seeing their mate naked, but Chase knew they were going to need all the help they could get if they were going to save her and their pup.
“Hold on, sis, don’t you dare die on me,” Melissa sobbed as she held onto Sara’s hand. Damian and Luke came in with a big bowl of soapy water and some wash cloths and towels.
“She’s been poisoned,” Tony snarled. “I can smell it.”
Tessa and her mates hurried in with their pack doctor. Thank God they had a werewolf doctor they could call on when they needed to.
“You need to change her right now. I can’t treat her. Your mate and pup are dying,” Doctor Andrew Stepford said. “It’s the only way to save them.”
“Do it,” Melissa cried.
Chase and Tony knelt on the bed beside their mate and they both called their wolves to the surface, partially changing. Their faces elongated slightly into snouts with sharp canine teeth, and they both bit into their wrists, tearing their skin so their blood oozed from the self-inflicted wounds.
Chase placed his wrist to Sara’s mouth first, turning her head with his hand gently, opening her mouth with his free hand. His blood seeped into Sara’s mouth, and then he pulled back to allow Tony access to Sara. Tony repeated the process, making sure his blood wept into her mouth. They each licked their wrists and the wounds started to heal right away, but that was the least of Chase’s concern. He didn’t take his eyes off of Sara as he prayed for their blood to work quickly and start healing their mate. Chase laid down beside her and pulled her half over his body. He nodded to Tony to cuddle her from behind. They each licked her neck then bit down hard to renew their marks of possession and hopefully speed their DNA through her system.
“We’re all praying she comes through the change with no lasting effects from the poison. If you need anything, just call out.” Lucien ushered everyone from the room except for Melissa and her mates.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Melissa asked in a whisper.
“I don’t know, Melissa,” Tony snapped, and before Chase could say anything his brother took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry for snarling at you.”
“Don’t be,” she replied quietly. “I’m just as worried as you are.”
“Why don’t we leave them alone for a while, Mel?” Damian asked. “They’ll call us if there’s any change.”
“We promise to let you know anything as soon as we do, Melissa. Go and rest. You need to take care of your pup. Sara wouldn’t want you making yourself ill,” Chase said.
Melissa nodded and then reluctantly let her mates guide her from the room.
“We need to clean our mate,” Tony said. “I’ll go and run a bath. We can call for someone to change the sheets and remove her soiled clothes while we wash her. I don’t want her waking up and smelling vomit on herself.”
Chase nodded and held her tight while Tony went into the en suite bathroom. When the tub was ready, he came back to help him carefully carry her into the other room. He didn’t need any help but knew his brother needed to be touching their mate as much as he did. They needed to feel and hear her breathing as well as the beat of her heart. He was sure that it was stronger than before and her breathing wasn’t as fast as it had been. Surely that meant that their mate was going through the change and healing.
Please God, don’t let our mate or pup die.
Chapter Twelve
Tony and Chase kept a vigil at Sara’s bedside for two days. They were too afraid to leave her side. Melissa also stayed by her sister’s side during the day. All the pack members were very worried for Sara, knowing she should have awakened the previous day. And the longer she remained asleep the more scared and worried Tony and his brother got.
Lucien made sure they were supplied with food and drink as they watched over their mate. Alice prepared each meal for them and Hillary brought it to them.
They could see the worry in her eyes each time she looked at Sara, but she kept telling them that she would be all right.
Tessa had told them what Sara had gasped out before passing out, and if it hadn’t been for Lucien taking care of things Tony would have found her and taken her out himself.
Hillary had just entered the room with some sandwiches for them, and after placing the food on the small table near the window she moved over to the bed, picked up the brush from the bedside table, and started brushing their mate’s hair. She been doing that the last couple of days, and because she looked kind of guilty, he and Chase had let her.
Tony’s thought back to the day Sara had been poisoned as the hypnotic sound of the brush running through their mate’s hair faded away.
After they had fed Sara their blood, bathed her, and gotten her into bed, Lucien had called to them using their pack link. “Can you all watch over our mate while we see what Lucien wants?” Chase asked Damian, Luke and Melissa.
“Yes,” Melissa answered, and got up on the bed with her sister while Damian and Luke nodded as they took a seat on the sofa across the room.
Tony hadn’t wanted to leave Sara at all, and from the look on his brother’s face neither did he, but they couldn’t refuse their Alpha. Even if he had asked them to meet him in the office, the question had been more of a command.
Tony reached the door first and walked closer to the desk Lucien was leaning against. He’d never seen his Alpha look so angry. He was even struggling to control his wolf, and the only time he’d ever seen Luc that way was with his own and his brothers’ mate.
Luc pointed to the jug. “Smell that.”
Tony leaned over and sniffed. The bitter scent almost made him gag and the rage coursing through his body nearly consumed him. He moved aside so Chase could also smell the jug and water as he tried to keep his wolf at bay. It was a close call because fur erupted and retreated from his skin several times, as did his claws, and his canines exploded from his gums and retreated several times.
“Poison.” Chase’s voice was garbled as he, too, fought his animal.
“Tessa said the last words Sara said before she passed out were Tessa, Rosanna and water,” Luc said.
“Fuck!” Chase snarled at the same time Tony growled, “Bitch.”
Tony spun on his heel and headed toward the door, but Luc must have rushed after him because when his hand landed on his shoulder he stopped and looked over it and into his eyes.
“Leave this to me,” Luc said. “As Alpha it’s my right to fi
nd out what happened. I can’t do anything until we have proof that Rosanna purposely poisoned your mate.”
“What more proof do you need?” Chase once more snarled his question and Tony nodded in support of his brother.
“Her scent is all over that fucking jug handle,” Tony said.
“That may be, but we don’t know for a certainty that this was all her doing. For all we know someone else could have set her up or helped her to harm your mate.”
“She’s pissed because we aren’t fucking her anymore. You and your brothers had her before Stephanie and then Rosanna turned to us. I think she’s angry because we are all finding our mates and she’s being pushed aside.” Chase sighed with frustration.
“We don’t know that for sure, but don’t you worry, I’ll get to the bottom of this.
“As soon as Tessa told me what Sara said, I sent Gabe and Rafe after Rosanna. Just give me a bit of time to ask around and confirm what we all suspect.” Lucien looked at Tony and then Chase, his body tense as he awaited a response from them.
Tony glanced at Chase and then back to Luc before nodding.
“Thank you. I know how hard it must be for you to step back when your wolves want retribution. Believe me, if I find out that Rosanna did this I’ll rip her fucking throat out myself,” Luc said in a garbled voice as his canines dropped and his claws erupted from his fingertips.
“We want to be there,” Tony stated emphatically.
“So be it.” Luc cocked his head and then met their gazes again.
“Rafe and Gabe have Rosanna out back. Let me question Alice and then we can confront her.”
Tony and Chase followed Luc into the kitchen. Alice looked pale and upset as she bustled about the kitchen. She met their eyes for a moment before looking at Luc.
“Alice, did you see Rosanna in here before Sara got sick?” Luc asked.
“Yes, Alpha.” Alice whispered her reply.
“Did she say anything?” Tony asked.