by Jana Leigh
Romy asked her if she had a boyfriend. She had replied no and then offered to open a private chat with them. In there they could talk without others seeing. She hinted to them that she was lonely and would be interested in meeting them. Of course, she said for friendship, but they had read between the lines. They hoped that she really meant it because they were seriously thinking that she might be their mate.
The screen flashed as The Master posted a question for Jordan. It asked her for basic information she was looking for. Jordan was not on yet so they waited for her to log on and answer. They hoped she gave him the brush off so they could chat with her, but if she was busy, they would wait.
Finally, Jordan"s name popped on the screen. They smiled again at one another and waited. The Master could see that they were in the site also, but he had not directly asked them anything.
Jordan responded politely to the man and then a small screen popped up on both of their screens. „HI," Jordan said with a little smiley face.
They laughed and responded. She asked how their day was and she told them about hers, all the while she answered questions from The Master who was still logged on. He had begun providing information to her and she was recording and responding.
Romy frowned when he read the latest posting. “Larkin, did you see that?”
“Yeah, what do you think?” Larkin said and re-read the post. The Master asked her if she were aware of the New Council"s search.
Jordan responded that she was aware of it. Of course, they knew that her brother was mated to two of the Chosen, and that she was well aware of the fact they were searching for the rest of the Chosen. Both of them frowned when The Master began to ask some personal questions.
Jordan dodged them easily but Romy didn"t like it. It seemed like whoever this guy was, he had another agenda. He typed in their private chat. „J, DOES HE SOUND A LITTLE
OFF TO YOU?"
There was a pause before Larkin added his two cents in. „FEELING THE SAME WAY, BE CAREFUL."
Jordan typed a smiley face and then resumed talking to The Master.
“I don"t like this guy; look at what he"s writing. He says that he has done research too and thinks he knows where one of the Chosen is. Now he"s asking if she knows how to contact anyone from the New Council.” Romy said.
“Yeah, look at her reply, she says that she knows someone but will not give out information in a chat room.” Larkin said. “If she opens a private chat with him, he will be able to find where she is. That"s what we did.” Larkin and Romy knew how to look up IP addresses and they had wanted to see where she was. They were happy when they saw she was in the same town as them. It would make meeting her much easier. But if she didn"t know that they could do that, she could be a sitting duck for this psycho.
Larkin frantically typed into their private chat a warning for her. She was caught up in a conversation with him and it took her awhile to respond. Romy had gotten up and began pacing. He was the worrier of the two, Larkin loved him for being so concerned, but he was driving him nuts.
“Honey, stop the pacing or I will cut your legs off.” Larkin said and smiled at his mate.
“You know though, right? How innocent she is, from all the chatting we have done.
Hell, she said last night that she was looking at taking a cooking class so she wouldn"t starve. She has never been to a night club, never had a hangover, FUCKIN" A, and never had a one night stand. You know for her to tell us that, she trusts us. We can"t let her down. She is going to get hurt.” Romy said and waved his arms around.
“Hang on,” Larkin said and began typing again. “She said that she knows there is something weird. She is asking for him to tell her where he got the information.” Romy ran back to his laptop and sat down. Now he felt like a creeper reading what they were writing like a voyeur. But she wanted them to stay; she said she wanted to talk when she was done with him.
Larkin was starting to get antsy, they knew where she lived, and they had just never invaded her privacy. It had been like a little secret that they shared. They also knew that her father was the Alpha of the Northern Pack. She would be a great person to use against her father.
“Look, this asshole is telling her that he knows something about her past.” Romy said.
“What the fuck is he talking about? She never used her name anywhere, shit; it took us weeks to find out who she was.”
Larkin nodded and felt like it was time to chime in. He wrote on the private chat.
„JORDAN, HOW DOES HE KNOW YOU?"
“DON"T KNOW, BUT GOING TO ASK. I DON"T KNOW MY NATURAL PARENTS, WHAT IF THEY TRACKED ME DOWN AND WANT TO MEET ME?" She wrote. They could almost feel the excitement come off her.
“This is going to be a cluster fuck,” Larkin muttered and Romy grunted in agreement.
The Master wrote that he knew that she was adopted, and that her parents have been hiding her from her real family. Real family? “Not good.” Romy said grimly. I"m telling her we are coming over. She should not be alone.” Larkin nodded and shut down his computer. He watched as his mate typed into the chat room that they wanted to come over to her house for support. There was a pause and they waited, holding their breath. Finally, she typed in her address and said „OKAY."
They clapped and jumped up. They were going to meet her finally; she was going to know that they were mates. Because if she was, there was not a question whether they would be together.
Chapter 2
She was going to be his. All he had to do was dangle the carrot and she would come running. He did know who her parents were. They had worked in the Alpha"s house.
No one suspected that they would have been a part of this Prophesy. A human? They did not belong in the shifter world. At least that is what he thought until recently.
Now he knew that she was destined to be his mate, so did Lacy. But those two bears had gotten in the way. He had a plan to get rid of them. But first, he would get one of his mates, and then he would worry about the other one. If he missed this chance, then he would have to change all of his plans. That was something that would piss him off.
When he saw her at the elevator, he knew she felt the connection. She had shivered.
That is what mates do when they first meet each other. But his mate was a lady; she had politely smiled at him, looking at him under her eyelashes, flirting. He knew she wanted him. But he would do this right. So there would be no questions.
If he mated with Jordan, he would have the perfect in to the New Council. He would be able to get Lacy eventually too. But first he needed to be in the inner circle. Oliver refused to share with him the stuff he knew. There had been a time the asshole told him everything. He had been his sounding board. He had been the one he turned to when Jo was kidnapped.
Now, he was treated like a regular Pack member. They said it was because the Old Council was retired. He was rewarded for his years of service by being allowed to stay in Milliken and eventually become an adviser to the New Council. Him. The Master. They were asking him to retire. No way. He was in charge.
The Master looked back at the computer. There had been a few other people in the chat room when he arrived. They had remained silent until just a few minutes ago when one of them left. Good, she was supposed to be paying attention to him. Now for the most important part, he would turn her against her family. She would know the truth, no matter who it hurt.
„YOUR PARENTS WERE KILLED IN EUROPE. THEY WERE SERVANTS OF THE
OLD COUNCIL. WHEN OLIVER"S FAMILY WAS KILLED, HE WENT MAD AND
KILLED THEM. YOU WERE TAKEN BY A FRIEND OF YOUR PARENTS. THEY
WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE YOU TO YOUR GRANDPARENTS WHO LIVED IN
WASHINGTON. YOU NEVER ARRIVED. THEY SEARCHED FOR YOU."
The Master waited a few moments to let that sink in. He wanted her hanging on the edge of her seat for this.
„WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" She wrote, hooked her.
„YOUR REAL PARENTS. THEY WERE KILLED BY THE OLD COUNCIL ALP
HA.
THEY WERE INNOCENT. THE PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT YOU HERE WERE
HUNTED DOWN BY HIS PEOPLE. THEY MEANT TO KILL YOU TOO. THEY HID
YOU FOR A SHORT TIME AT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE. THEY WERE SUPPOSED
TO GO BACK AND GET YOU BUT OLIVER'S MEN CAUGHT UP WITH YOU. THE
PEOPLE WHO RAISED YOU WERE TOLD THAT AS LONG AS THEY NEVER
TURNED YOU, THEY COULD KEEP YOU." The man wrote.
If he could keep this up, she would willingly come to him anywhere and meet him. She would be begging him to get revenge on Oliver. Just what he needed. To turn one of the Chosen.
„NOT TRUE, YOUR INFORMATION IS MISTAKEN. MY PARENTS TRIED TO
CHANGE ME. DID NOT WORK." She wrote.
He smiled and then flexed his fingers. Now he needed to set up a meet. She was ready.
„I HAVE PROOF. I HAVE A PICTURE OF YOUR PARENTS, YOUR BIRTH
CERTIFICATE AND ALSO YOUR GRANDPARENT"S NAME AND ADDRESS." He wrote it was not a lie; he did have all of that. Quin and Jaden were going to be pissed at Oliver when they realized that he knew where she was this whole time. The Master had just told one little lie. Oliver never knew who Jordan"s parents were; he only knew that one of the humans in his compound had given birth to one of the Chosen. The Master had told him it was another child after he had killed her parents and sent her off with other servants. The arrogance, Oliver never questioned him; he thought the other family who had actually given birth the day before had been the parents of one of the Chosen. He had paid well for that secret, money and threats. If the dumbasses had only put the baby on the firehouse stairs like they were supposed to. But no, those dumbasses figured the construction site next to the fire house was close enough. They had not wanted to be seen, and when they arrived, the fire truck had just returned from a fire and they were unloading.
He had been pissed. It took him many years to figure out who actually took her in.
There had been nothing in the paper, nothing in the news about a baby found. And he had killed the idiots just for being stupid before he had the exact location where they left her. That was the last mistake he made.
Now he had found her and she was going to be his. Jordan didn"t know it yet, but she was just as special as her family. She was a Chosen one. When she met her mates and was claimed, she would have the same extended life as them. But she would not have the ability to shift. Her gift is that she could not be changed. She would always be the impartial one of the Council. Well, his impartial person on the Council. She would do his bidding for him. One last nail in the coffin and she would be his.
„YOUR ADOPTIVE FAMILY KNOWS, JUST CALL AND ASK. THEY HAVE KEPT YOU
FROM YOUR DESTINY. YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN A PART OF THE COUNCIL
SINCE THE BEGINNING. NOW YOUR BROTHER IS ON THE COUNCIL AND HE
REFUSES TO ALLOW YOU TO VISIT OR COME TO COLORADO. DID YOU EVER
WONDER WHY?"
Still no response. He knew she was still there, he could feel her. He would bet she was calling her parents and brothers right now to find out the truth. When they admitted that they knew about her past, they would be kicked out of her life. He knew Jordan; she would never stand for being lied to like that. Then he would be the one to pick up the pieces.
Chapter 3
Jordan sat and stared at the screen. Who the hell was this guy, how dare he try to turn her against her family! They would never have kept something like this from her. They knew how upset she was when she had not been able to be turned. They would never betray her like that.
She heard a knock on her door and looked around. That was quick; she thought to herself and went to open the door. They must live close by. After chatting with them online, she knew that they liked the same places. She figured they were in the same city, but not this close.
Jordan stood at the door and said, “Hello?” Shit, what if it was the weirdo? Maybe the guys were right, he had found her.
“Jordan?” She heard a voice say. “It"s Larkin and Romy.” She sighed with relief and then opened the lock on the door and peaked out. She gave herself a chance to slam the door again. What she saw amazed her. There were two large men standing in her doorway. They were gorgeous. Both of them had the same jet black hair, one had green eyes and the other blue. The taller of the two stepped forward, held out his hand, and said, “Hi, I"m Larkin.” He was ruggedly handsome, and the one with blue eyes. His hair cut short and smooth, it lay in perfect place. His facial features were angular and sharp. His nose long and thin, made him seem like a King.
The other one stepped forward and said, “Hi, I"m Romy.” He had green eyes and softer, rounder features. His hair was longer, fell over his collar, and was a little unkempt. She longed to run her hands through it. When he smiled, his face was transformed. She could read every emotion the man had.
Wow, they were hot. She smiled shyly and then stepped back and let the men into her living room. It was a small room, and they seemed to take all the space. Her computer was sitting on the kitchen table and both of them went to it directly. Larkin turned the screen so he could see what The Master had said.
She opened her mouth to protest, but Larkin turned to her and frowned. “What is he talking about?”
Jordan blushed and looked at the men. She had shared with them a lot about her past while on the computer, but it was different when they were face to face. She was unsure of how much to tell them. She should speak to her parents and brothers first, but for some reason she wanted to share everything with them.
“I really don"t know. I know that my father found me at his construction site when I was a baby; they brought me home and adopted me. But they would never keep something like that from me. I know my parents and brothers, they wouldn"t. Also, I have no idea what he is means about my natural parents. When I was younger my mother offered to try and find them, you know for medical purposes. She narrowed it down to several women; none of them was from Europe. They were mostly teens who got pregnant. I told her it didn"t matter so she dropped the subject.” Larkin nodded and looked at Romy. She could feel the communication between them and frowned. “Hey, none of that mind talking thing. My brothers do that and it drives me crazy when I can"t hear what you"re saying.”
Larkin turned to her and smiled. “Of course, I was just saying that we were going to have to plan how to keep you safe, since you are our mate and all.” Jordan squeaked and looked at the men. She felt like she knew them, from all the chats they had over the last few months. But mating, she was a human. “What the hell?” she whispered and frowned when they laughed at her.
“Baby girl, surely you suspected it. When we were chatting on the computer, didn"t you feel the connection between us? We could, we were talking about asking you for a date this evening anyway. It was time to make sure our suspicions were correct. When we walked into your apartment, we knew. You are our mate.” Larkin said.
“Both of you?” Jordan whispered and looked at the men who were nodding and smiling at her. She could not believe it. Jordan had dreamed of the day that someone would tell her that she was their mate. Of course, it was always a wolf. Shit, her parents were going to freak. Cats and Black Panther shifters at that. Dogs and cats don"t mix; she knew she was going to be in for a bumpy ride with this one.
Jordan began to laugh as she remembered the conversation she had just had with her brother. “I really am going to be a cat lady.” She whispered and Larkin and Romy frowned at her.
“What was that?” Romy said stepping closer.
She laughed and said, “Nothing.” Shit, she forgot how good their hearing was. “So, um, mates. Are you sure?”
Jordan looked at the men who were standing in front of her. She was not convinced that she actually was their mate. It was crazy. She had hoped for so long, and then to have these two totally out of the blue say they were her mates, kinda scared the shit out of her. She was going to have to take this slow. Jordan wondered what would happen when they found out that she could not be changed.
&
nbsp; “What about that guy on the computer?” Jordan said instead. She had to figure out what the hell he was talking about.
Larkin frowned and looked back at the computer. He watched the cursor blink at him like it was calling him closer. He thought for a minute and then said, “Maybe we should question him more, find out what he knows, and then call your family.” Jordan looked uncomfortable and then smiled at them. “Are you going to stay with me?”
Romy stepped closer, took her hand, and brought it to his lips. He kissed the top and then turned it over and kissed the palm of her hand. Taking a deep breath and inhaling her scent. If there had been any question before whether or not she was their mate, he just answered it. Her scent smelled like springtime, fresh and clean. He paused again and then growled. He wanted her. He wanted his mark on her now.
Jordan looked at him wide-eyed and then pulled her arm away and laughed nervously.
“I guess that is a yes. So what should I say?”
Larking nodded to the screen and said, “Do you have any clue who he is?”
“No.” she frowned and sat down in front of the screen. “But he gives me the creeps.”
“Yeah, I"m getting some strange vibes off him.” Larkin said and leaned over her shoulder and kissed her on top of the head and then continued. “I think maybe you should act like you want to know more.”
Jordan nodded and then sat for a minute thinking of a way to draw more information out of the mysterious stranger.
„HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT I AM THE ONE THAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT? MY
PARENTS HELPED ME SEARCH YEARS AGO FOR MY BIOLOGICAL FAMILY, WE
FOUND NOTHING."
There was a pause and Jordan thought for a minute that he had left the chat room. She then saw that he was typing and breathed a sigh of relief. She thought maybe she had waited too long to respond and he had left.