Brandi

by Donna McDonald

  “Just so you know how things are, I can make your fangs descend any damn time I want,” Gareth whispered.

  Brandi righted herself in her seat. “I thought we agreed not to swear in front the children.”

  She saw Gareth glance to the back and wink at one of them—maybe all of them. What the hell had happened while she slept?

  “Hey Kent. I think we have rule number one for your list already,” Gareth declared.

  Brandi heard a mass of giggling from the back seat. She glared at Gareth. “I can’t believe I slept so soundly while you filled their heads full of nonsense. Did you drug me?”

  “Yes, I did. I made you feel safe and content when I helped you figure out how to take care of the children,” Gareth declared, picking up his book again. “Get used to it, Agent Jenkins. The deal you made for them is by far the most dangerous mission you’ve ever signed on for in your life. Finding and collecting bear hybrids is going to seem like a piece of cake compared to raising three children who are smarter than both of us.”

  “Gareth.”

  “Brandi.”

  More giggling from the back had her rolling her eyes. She heard Stewart getting excited and breathing hard.

  “Can we all watch you fight this time? We’ll be really quiet. Kent was the only one who got to watch last time. The guard wouldn’t let Aggie and me climb up to the top where Kent was.”

  “Gareth and I are not fighting, Stewart. We’re having an adult discussion. No more fangs will be shown. No more threats will be issued. He and I get along just fine. Don’t we, Gareth?” His evil snicker earned him a hard hand shove to his knee. He was not helping. “Stop laughing.”

  “Brandi Jenkins… I’m falling more and more in love with you every day. You’re definitely going to have to stop trying to kill me now. We have important things to take care of, even if they do like to watch us fight.”

  Brandi put her head in her hand when pealing laughter rang out from the back of the plane. This was not going like she planned.

  Chapter 12

  Brandi released her breath slowly, ordering her body to relax.

  Ariel and Matt had accepted her story about Sheldon Crane without doubting a millisecond’s worth of it. Yet now they looked over at the children in stunned surprise. The shock went both ways because she couldn’t get the kids to come any closer to the Alphas.

  Aggie and Stewart were so scared they reeked of adrenaline. Kent wasn’t as bad, but she could tell the boy was frustrated at having to deal with yet another situation he couldn’t do anything to fix. He stood with his arms crossed, staying near the other two, which would have made the hardest heart melt. She’d have been lying if she said she didn’t respect the little sucker’s protective urges.

  Truthfully, it was like watching recent history repeat itself, except Aggie and Stewart were both as helpless as Heidi. Kent wasn’t exactly helpless, but he was still emotionally fragile, which Brandi knew from experience could be just as incapacitating. The bottom line was all three were babies who hadn’t been allowed to remain young or innocent.

  She turned and looked up at Gareth. “Will you go talk to them while I finish explaining to Ariel and Matt? Try to get them to see our Alphas as good guys. Kent’s attitude isn’t helping the other two feel any safer. He’s acting tougher than he feels, so watch his ego… and tell him to uncross his damn arms… but don’t swear while you lecture him about it.”

  Grinning at her detailed orders, Gareth saluted. He nodded to Ariel and Matt before striding over to the children. Brandi watched him kneel down to get on their level. When they instantly moved closer to him, her stomach did some sort of clutching thing. She suddenly wanted to get close to him too. She had to shake her head hard to distract herself from the compelling urge to join the little intimate group.

  “When you left, I envisioned everything from your death to Gareth’s death to the possibility of losing both of you. But in my wildest imaginings of your fate, I never saw you returning with children in your care. I’m so shocked my brain is blank. You’re such a badass. I saw you kill a man barehanded and in cold blood. What the hell are you doing with children?”

  Brandi ran a hand through her hair. “I know. I never imagined this either, but I just couldn’t leave them there as prisoners. They deserve more out of life than to be an experiment. When I bargained for the three of us to be left alone, I bargained for them to be set free. They’re considered test subject failures because they can’t shift into wolves. What I didn’t count on was Shitty Sheldon being like some grandfather figure to them. When he made them my charges, he threatened my life if anything happened to them.”

  Ariel chuckled, even when Brandi gave her a well-deserved glare. “Sorry—I am trying to be serious. I’m not laughing at the situation as much as I am at the nickname you gave him. Everyone would agree the children deserve their freedom, but they’re so young, Brandi. What are we supposed to do with three orphaned toddlers? Even if they are as self-composed as you say, they still need to be cared for like regular children.”

  Brandi reached up and scratched her head. She looked at Gareth who had put all of them at ease but Kent, who was still watching a smiling Matt closely. That boy was indeed going to be a handful if he didn’t learn to tell the good guys from the bad soon.

  “My thought was to see if I could maybe find them real parents. They’re like their own little pack in some strange way so I don’t think they would handle being separated well. Gareth’s arranged for Jesse and Marilyn Calder to watch them until we get back. I hadn’t planned on getting them before we’d finished the assignment. Shitty Sheldon blindsided me and put them on the plane before Gareth and I arrived to board. He’d sedated them. If I’d had time, I would have looked him up and kicked his sorry ass for it.”

  Matt rubbed a hand over his face. “At least you picked great babysitters. Jesse Calder is one of the toughest men I know. He won’t let anybody hurt them while you’re gone. I’ll ask Ryan and his brothers to keep an eye out as well. But Brandi… I don’t know of anyone in the pack who’s going to want to raise three mostly human children, even if they are wolf-like in some ways. There are biological reasons humans and werewolves don’t share living quarters very often. The occasional human mate is taken, but those relationships are not stable and they don’t produce children. I’m sure they’re great kids like you say, but adoption of someone else’s pups is a lot to ask of werewolves. My stepmother’s acceptance of me was a rare exception.”

  Brandi drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. If no one here wants them, I’ll take them to Reed’s pack and try there. By the time I get back from my assignment, I should have paperwork naming me their legal guardian. I’ll be able to make their adoption legal at least… or I’ll figure out some sort of foster care scenario. Hell… I don’t know what I’ll do. I was reacting to seeing them with an armed guard for a caretaker. I cracked.”

  While Brandi stared at Gareth making the children giggle, Ariel exchanged a look with Matt who nodded. She put an arm around Brandi’s shoulders. “Things have a way of working out when your heart is in the right place. I wouldn’t have left them there either.”

  Brandi shook her head. “No. You wouldn’t have. And you probably would have killed Shitty Sheldon before he got around to telling his story. Randall Crane made them Ariel. They were his experiments before us. He was trying to start the process from scratch… or nearly so. They were three when he started. They’re all four now, but they sound like teenagers already.”

  Hearing the distress in Brandi’s voice, Ariel put both arms around her and hugged.

  “Lately I’ve been nearly as needy as they are,” Brandi said quietly. “I think my badass days might be ending.”

  “Needing a hug won’t affect your ability to shoot bad guys or do what needs to be done. Trust me. I’ve learned that lesson. Take your hugs where you can get them,” Ariel counseled.

  Brandi sighed. “Even if they come with strings and complications I d
on’t need?”

  Matt laughed at Brandi’s complaints about his Beta. “I’m going to go over there and tell the little squirt to stop eyeballing me before he starts a confrontation. He can’t go around challenging full werewolves at his age. Someone will eat him.”

  “Thanks. Thanks a lot for the damn mental picture, Matt. Anybody who tries to eat those children will answer to me. Make sure you put that word out. Those three are under my protection and not just because Sheldon Crane ordered it.”

  Brandi glared at Matt’s grin as he walked toward Gareth and the kids. Off to the side, Fallon and Lars watched silently. They were in sphinx mode again, probably nervous around Matt… and rightly so. The Alpha didn’t trust or like them. He was just being polite because of her and Gareth.

  Ariel snickered as she hugged Brandi again. “Relax. Matt wouldn’t hurt a child. He wants to knock me up with some. I hope like hell that never happens, but I guess I’ll deal if it does. By the way, I met Mark Lafayette. He’s a very good-looking guy. You should check him out—see how he hugs. Might balance you out.”

  Brandi snorted. “No, I can’t. It’s not safe. My fangs have started coming down every time I get sexually excited. I don’t know what that means exactly, but I have a sense it could be dangerous.”

  Ariel dropped her arms, stepped back, and put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

  “What?” Brandi demanded. “Why are you laughing at me?”

  “Does it happen when Gareth growls in your ear?”

  Brandi grabbed her with both arms. “Yes. So it has happened to you. Tell me. What does it mean?”

  “I really don’t think it’s my place to explain this to you. Ask Gareth to explain it.”

  Brandi let go and stepped away. “No. I don’t think so. If you won’t say, it must be bad, which means I’m really not ready to know. What can I do to stop it from happening until I can deal with it?”

  Ariel sighed. “I have no idea. Nothing I did worked. Only one thing brought relief. The mating urge is a powerful motivator. What’s happening to you is how werewolves choose each other for life partners.”

  Brandi sighed too as she looked at the children now looking up at Matt, who was smiling down at them all. Even Kent was nodding his head. He’d uncrossed his arms and crossed them back. She could tell the boy was working hard to control his reactions. She wanted to tell him he was doing the right thing. Hopefully she’d remember to say it to him later.

  “Kent is going to need the most help,” Brandi declared.

  Ariel nodded. “According to Reed, Alphas typically do. Although I’m questioning that assumption looking at you now. Becoming a werewolf has changed you more than I suspected it would.”

  Brandi nodded absently. “Maybe. I lose a lot more arguments these days. I also let myself get tranquilized again when I went to see my old handler… who I found out left me with Crazy Crane on purpose. Going back there made me realize I’m losing my edge all around. I’m seeing my entire previous career very differently.”

  “If you gave it up tomorrow, you wouldn’t lose anything not worth losing,” Ariel declared firmly. “You’re gaining edges and reasoning you’ve never had until now. You’re acting from compassion instead of duty. I can see why that would feel more dangerous to someone like you, but in my opinion it’s an improvement. Killing in cold blood, no matter who’s paying you to do it, is still not a reasonable way to live.”

  “Maybe you’re right, but I’m not the only one who’s been on the wrong payroll. Turns out Gareth is a retired agent. The bastard turned me in and never gave me any say in the matter. I can’t forgive him for that, Ariel. It forced me to make a horrendous deal to save us… and them,” Brandi said, inclining her head to the kids.

  “Yes. Gareth made a huge mistake in not telling you everything. I’d be pissed over that too.”

  “Would you kill him over it?” Brandi asked. “I’ve come close a couple of times, but couldn’t bring myself to finish him off.”

  Ariel snickered. Her respect for Gareth doubled with the story. She wondered how close the close calls had been.

  “I suppose sparing his life would depend on how good he was in bed. That seems to be some new rationalization I’m personally using with men since our conversion. Matt obviously made the cut, but I can’t say as he has never done anything bad to me. He’s just annoying, overly possessive, and thinks he’s always right. Sometimes he gets in my way. So far we’ve managed to find ways to work it out.”

  “What would you say if I admitted Gareth was the best man I’d ever been with in bed?”

  Ariel snickered again. “I’d say you have my sympathy. I’d say Mark Lafayette would be so much easier for you to manage and you might want to give him a trial run before making any commitments. Gareth is always going to be a problem in one way or another. He has a deep, murky pool for a personality.”

  “Deep murky pool? That description definitely fits him well. Other than the whole betrayal thing, I mostly like him though. He’s a creature of habit like I am. Living with him so long, I discovered our OCD issues meshed well. Ironically, I was coming back to him before I knew what he’d done. He took away the best damn illusion I ever had about a man. That’s more than half of the reason I’m still pissed. I thought my judgment had improved for once.”

  Ariel nodded. “Since you haven’t killed him yet, I assume you’re on your way to forgiving him. The only piece of advice I have left is to tell you to watch out for the man’s teeth. Being marked is like getting a cattle brand no matter how many times they tell you differently. Don’t buy that shit for a minute. There are some amazing benefits too, but… well you’ll have to decide for yourself if your relationship gets to that point.”

  Brandi’s gaze swung to her Alpha’s. “Are you saying you think Gareth and I really are meant to be mated?”

  “No, I’m not inferring anything,” Ariel said carefully, biting the inside of her cheek. “I would never tell you or Heidi what to do about the men in your life. But I do feel it’s my duty to warn you about what might be coming. I don’t regret my permanent arrangement with Matthew, but I haven’t lived with the kind of sexual freedom you’ve allowed yourself. My bottom line is that Matt and I suit each other. I don’t know if you and Gareth do or not, but the two of you definitely are putting out vibes right now. Anyone spending time in your company will know his intentions… and your feelings on the matter.”

  Brandi swiped a hand through her hair. “Sorry ass bastard… so he’s right then?”

  “About what exactly?” Ariel demanded.

  “That he can make my fangs come down any time he wants.”

  Ariel nodded slowly, fighting not to laugh at how upset that one simple fact made her Beta. “Given what you’ve told me about how your relationship is progressing, my guess is yes, Gareth is right.”

  “Damn it. That’s not fair,” Brandi declared.

  “Your sexual connection to him does give Gareth a certain measure of control over you. There are ways of taking it back, but male werewolves have ways of acquiring your submission to their will when they want it badly enough. I’ve not come to any harm yet from Matt’s aggressive tendencies. Of course, Matt is the only male I don’t have to regularly fight the urge to kill. I think you’re going to have a bit more trouble with your urges.”

  Brandi closed her eyes and swore softly under her breath while Ariel laughed beside her.

  Chapter 13

  After dropping off Fallon and Lars at the healing center, they headed out of town to the Calders who owned land tucked among towering spruce trees. The boys were sitting between her and Gareth in the seat of his truck. Their eyes were focused out of the windshield taking in the tall evergreens lining the road on both sides. Since there wasn’t enough space, Aggie had volunteered to sit on her lap and was currently leaning back on her shoulder. Her arm tightening around the little girl every time they hit a pothole had her lap child giggling in pleasure.

  Brandi sighed over the oddn
ess of their little group, but refused to let her brain do any more analysis. Her priority list was clear. She needed to deliver the children to their babysitters, complete the assigned mission, and then she’d come back to Wasilla and work things out properly. When she sighed a second time, Aggie reached up and patted her cheek.

  “It’s okay. Stewart said the bears are not going to eat you. They don’t eat people. The wolves here are way more scary. They do eat people, even though I don’t think they’re going to eat us. Kent is not completely sure though.”

  Brandi turned her head and gave Kent a direct look. “No one is going to eat any of you, Kent. They know I’ll kill them, if Ariel or Matt doesn’t do it first. You’re under pack protection. Matt’s word is law here. You’re safer than when you were in Grandpa Crane’s cage.”