by Stormy Glenn
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Moon said, “but I did it to save you.”
Logan watched Love’s chest heave as he breathed in then out. He looked like he was trying to take everything in and process it. Logan just hoped that Love understood and forgave his mother. He also had a relationship to build with his father.
Finally, Love looked up. “Are you really my father?”
Cáel smiled and nodded. “So your mother says.”
Moon blushed and elbowed Cáel. “Butthead.”
Cáel laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Logan was shocked when Moon leaned into Cáel’s body and Cáel kissed the top of her head. They looked like old friends. He couldn’t help but wonder why fate had decreed they were not mates. It didn’t seem fair.
“Are you sure you two aren’t mates?” Logan asked.
“While I enjoyed the time we had together,” Moon said, looking less joyous than she had a moment ago, “our destinies do not lie in the same direction. Cáel’s mates will find him when the time is right.”
“Mates?” Cáel sputtered. “Have you lost your mind, woman?”
Moon laughed, and Logan suddenly saw what caught Cáel’s interest all those years ago. She may have been a few years older than Logan, but she was still a beautiful woman that glowed with life.
“Honey,” Moon said as she cupped her hand around the side of Cáel’s face, “you don’t get a choice. Fate decides what is best for us, and they have decided you get two mates.”
Logan pressed his lips together to keep from laughing at the astonishment on Cáel’s face. He reached over and grabbed Love, pulling the man into his arms. He didn’t like being away from his mate any further than he had to.
“Are you doing okay, baby?” Logan asked through their bond as he nuzzled the side of Love’s neck.
“I guess,” Love replied. “This is all just a little weird, you know?”
“Somehow, Love, I think weird is going to be the norm in our life.”
“Right?” Love laughed. “It’s ridiculous. Whatever happened to mundane and boring?”
Before Logan could reply, a loud blaring noise filled the room. Logan tensed for just a moment before turning to look at Cáel. “Call Asher and find out what’s going on. I’ll call the front gate.”
Cáel nodded and pulled out his phone. Logan did the same. He quickly dialed the front gate. The phone rang and rang and rang. Logan started to get worried when no one picked up. He glanced up to see Cáel talking, so he hoped the man got through to Asher.
Logan snapped his phone closed and waited for Cáel. “Well?” he asked when Cáel hung up. “What did Asher say?”
“We’re under attack.”
Chapter 15
Love paced back and forth in front of the huge steel door of the bunker and wrung his hands together. He hated being down inside the dark windowless bunker but knew it was for his safety.
No matter how much he had protested, Logan refused to let him be anywhere else. When orders hadn’t worked, Logan had played on Love’s instinct to protect his mother and friends. It had worked. Love agreed to go to the bunker and keep them safe.
He just couldn’t stand the idea that he wouldn’t be there to protect Logan. His mate was outside somewhere keeping the band of coyotes that attacked the compound from getting to the bunker full of elderly, women, and children.
“Have you heard anything?”
Love turned to see Matt standing behind him. His friend’s face was pale white. His hands looked like he had been twisting them together for hours. Love shook his head but tried to look positive with a small smile.
“Logan is pretty busy right now. He needs to keep his mind on what he’s doing, not alleviating my fears.” Love shrugged. “Besides, I think I would know if something happened to him.”
Matt nodded. “You would have. Mates always know when the bond is broken.”
Love figured the same thing, but he hated Matt putting his fears into words. It didn’t make him feel any better about Logan fighting for their lives. The possibility of his mate being killed was very real. Love wasn’t sure if he liked this new world he lived in. It was a scary place.
“So, I guess you won’t be coming back to school, hmm?”
Love chuckled at the disgruntled look on Matt’s face. “No, I don’t think so. I might finish my degree someday, but I think I can learn more from Darren than I can in a medical school.”
“Probably.” Matt nodded. “He knows a lot about treating our kind.”
“Our kind?” Love laughed as he shook his head. “Boy, has that statement taken on a whole new meaning in the last few days.”
“There’s something that has puzzled me about all of this. If you’re a half breed, then why haven’t you shifted?”
Love blinked. “I can shift?”
“Duh, you have wolf blood in you. Anyone that has wolf blood can shift.”
Love stared at Matt for a few minutes then looked past him, scanning the room for one person that might be able to answer his question. “Darren, can we talk to you for a moment?”
Darren looked up then nodded. He set the small child in his lap down beside him and hurried over. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“Can I shift?”
“Hell if I know.”
Love rolled his eyes. “You are so not helping here, doc.”
Darren shrugged. “How would I know? You’re the first half breed I’ve ever met. I’m used to dealing with dogs and wolves shifters.”
“So, who would know?”
“Asher.”
Love felt like banging his head against the wall. “Asher seems to be a tad busy right now. Anyone else you can think of?”
“Sorry, dude, Asher would be the first person I would talk to.”
“Love.”
Love swung around to see his mother standing behind him. “Hey, Mom.”
“You shifted as a baby, Love.”
Love’s mouth dropped open. “I shifted as a baby?”
“Yes, you were about a year old. I left you playing in your crib.” She smiled. “Imagine my surprise when I came back to check on you and found a puppy instead.”
“Have I shifted since then?”
“No, only that one time.”
“Can I shift now?”
“I don’t know,” Moon said. “Can you?”
Love stared at his mother then stared at Darren and Matt, tilting his head slightly as curiosity overcame him. “How do you shift?”
Matt started laughing hilariously. Darren chuckled then quickly covered his mouth. Even Moon started laughing. Love could see the humor in the situation, but he also wanted to know how to shift.
“Guys.”
“Sorry, Love,” Matt said. “I didn’t mean to laugh, but that just caught me funny.”
“Cool, glad I could amuse you. Now how do I shift?”
“Love, you really need to wait until Logan is here to help you,” Darren said. “Shifting for the first time can be dangerous if you don’t know how to do it.”
“I’ve already done it once.”
“True, but do you remember how you did it?”
“Well, no, but if I did it once, it can’t be that hard to do it again, can it?”
Darren shrugged again. “I can’t say, Love. I’m human. My first inclination would be to wait for Asher and Logan. They know a lot more about this than I do. I’d wait.”
“Fine.” Love rolled his eyes as he heaved a heavy sigh. “I’ll wait, but I want to know if I can shift as soon as things get back to normal.” Love realized his mistake the second Matt and Darren started laughing. “You know what I mean, when things are normal for us.”
Darren reached over and patted Love on the shoulder. “We know what you meant, Love. But you have to admit, normal is not in the wolf vocabulary.”
Love chuckled. “Yeah, okay, I guess I can see that. I certainly haven’t run across anything normal since the moment I met Logan.”
“It hasn’t
all been bad, has it?” Matt asked.
Love smiled. “No, but—”
Love jumped and spun around when he heard a loud crash outside the large steel door. He saw Matt run to the door and start sniffing, which was really weird. Darren shooed Moon back toward the others in the back of the bunker.
“What is it?” Love asked when Matt turned back to him, his face whiter than Love had ever seen it.
“Coyotes,” Matt whispered.
“Shit!” Darren started pacing. “How’d they get this far into the compound?”
Love squeezed his eyes closed. “Logan, are you there? Logan?”
The seconds seemed to tick by at a snail’s pace as Love waited for Logan to reply. As more time went by and Logan didn’t answer, Love began to grow concerned, then worried. Outright panic was starting to set in when Logan finally replied.
“I’m a little busy, baby,” Logan said. “Can I get back to you?”
“There are coyotes outside the bunker door.”
“Outside the bunker door?”
“Yes.”
“How in the hell did they get there? Asher and I have them all rounded up.”
“Matt sniffed at the door.” Love opened his eyes and glanced over to where Matt was still sniffing around the door. “He says they’re coyotes.”
“Okay, keep away from the door. Asher and I are on our way. And no matter what you do, don’t open that damn door.”
Love gestured at Matt with his hand. “Matt, Logan says to get away from the door.”
Matt’s nose was wrinkled up when he turned back to Love as if he had smelled something rancid. His fingertips had turned into claws and long canine teeth slipped over his lip. He turned back and growled at the door as he slowly backed away from it.
A loud pounding started on the door. Love knew whoever was on the other side of the door was trying to get in. He glanced behind him at the people huddling together at the back of the room. The fear was evident on their faces.
“Are there any weapons in here?” Love asked when he turned back.
“No,” Darren replied. “No one is supposed to be able to breach the bunker once the doors are closed from the inside.”
Love gestured to the door. “Tell them that.”
“There’s a hidden escape route, though.”
Love perked up. “A hidden escape route?”
Darren nodded. “Asher showed it to me. It’s in one of the back rooms.”
“Show me.”
Love followed Darren across the room and through the small crowd of people. They both gave reassuring pats to many of the people they passed, whispering words of encouragement.
Love suddenly realized that it was part of his duty as the beta-mate, to care for the clan in Logan’s stead. It was odd, but not something Love hesitated to do. These were his people as much as they were Logan’s.
They walked past the people and through a doorway into a large dorm looking room. It had a rack stacked with blankets on one side of the room. Cots were neatly stacked next to the rack.
One the other side of the room, Love could see an industrial sized kitchen area complete with cafeteria style counters and serving section. There was a stack of folded tables and chairs near the wall at the end of the kitchen area.
“This is the main room,” Darren explained as he waved his hand around at everyone. “It doubles as the cafeteria and sleeping dorm. It can house two hundred people.”
“Asher had this built?”
Darren nodded. “He had this entire facility built. Well, sort of. It was an old military base from World War II. He bought it in an auction and retrofitted most of the buildings to fit our needs. This bunker was already here, but it was set up for army personnel. Ash needed to make it work for us.”
“I think he accomplished that.”
“There’s also shower rooms, an infirmary, and a command center.”
“There’s a command center?” Love stopped walking suddenly. “If there’s a command center, why in the hell aren’t we in there? We could see what was going on.”
Darren’s face flushed. “Asher forgot to give me the keys.”
Love rolled his eyes. “The command center has keys?”
“Well, it wouldn’t do for just anyone to be let in there.”
“No, I suppose not.” Love glanced around the room. “So, where is this escape route?”
“Oh.” Darren turned around and headed into the kitchen. “It’s back here behind the fridge.”
“The escape route is behind the fridge?” Love took in the large industrial sized silver fridge and winced. “How are we supposed to move it?”
Darren grinned. “Ash put it on wheels.”
“Nice.”
Love stepped forward and grabbed the side of the fridge. Along with Darren, they slowly pulled the heavy fridge out of the way, revealing a hidden doorway. Love was panting by the time they stopped.
“There’s not keys for this thing, is there?”
“God, I hope not.”
Love chuckled. “Where does this lead?”
Darren tilted his head slightly. “You know, I don’t have a clue. Ash just told me to use it if we got into trouble while in the bunker. I never asked where it came out.”
Love pushed his hand through his hair, stopping when he started to push his ears off his head. He quickly righted them and then glanced around the room. He was hesitant to use the escape route if they didn’t know where it came out, but he also didn’t want to have everyone in the bunker in danger if someone broke through the door.
“Ideas?”
Darren pressed his lips together and shook his head. “We can’t leave these people in here unprotected. If someone breaks through that door, everyone’s life is in danger. Ash and Logan left us here to care for them.”
“Don’t fool yourself.” Love snickered. “They left us here to keep us out of trouble.”
“True.” Darren chuckled. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a responsibility to care for the clan.”
“No, I get that.” Love rested his hands on his hips and glanced around the room as he tried to figure out what the best thing to do was. If they left the bunker, they could run into trouble. If they stayed, they could run into trouble. Either way, they could be screwed.
“You’ve been here longer than me,” Love finally said to Darren. “What do you think we should do?”
“Fight.”
Love blinked. That was the last response he expected from a human in the middle of a shifter fight. “You want us to fight? We don’t have any weapons.”
A chill spiraled down Love’s spine when Darren grinned and waved his hand around the room. “We have an entire kitchen full of weapons.”
Love glanced around the industrial kitchen and slowly began to see what Darren saw. While it was a kitchen, it was full of sharp knives, pots and pans, utensils, and other items that could be used to protect one’s self.
“Okay, I see what you’re getting at.”
Darren laughed. “Remind me to tell you what I did with a set shish kabob sticks when this is all over. I actually made a wolf shifter pee his pants, and I barely touched him.”
Love arched an eyebrow. “That had to be interesting.”
“You have no idea. I think that shifters tend to forget that we have a brain because we’re human. They look at us and just see someone that is physically weaker than them. They forget we can be just as devious.”
Love crossed his arms over his chest. “I like the way you think, doc.”
Darren chuckled. “Yeah, well, it tends to get me into trouble on occasion, but Ash seems to like it. Well, after he gets over his initial shock, that is.”
“Right.” Love moved toward the knife rack. “So, how do you want to do this?”
“We need to get everyone unable to wield a weapon into a safe zone and then set up a series of obstacles and armed people between them and whatever is outside the door.”
“What if we put the ch
ildren and elderly in the escape tunnel and close it up, put the fridge back into place?” Love asked. “We could arm everyone else. In the worst case scenario, if the bad guys get through, hopefully they won’t find those we need to protect.”
Darren clapped his hands together. “That’s a fabulous idea. Let’s go get everyone and bring them in here. We can have Matt stay and watch the door, let us know if the coyotes are starting to break through.”
Love nodded. Together, they ran back through the dorm and into the other room. Love stopped at the entrance to the room and wondered if people would listen to him and Darren. It wasn’t like they were full-blooded wolf shifters, after all.
“Listen up, everyone,” Love called out. “Darren and I have come up with a plan. We need you all to move into the main dorm room.”
Love grimaced when people just sat there, looking from him to each other. He clapped his hands together. “Move, people!”
No one moved. Love rolled his eyes.
“Move!” he shouted mentally.
Several people grabbed their heads and groaned. Babies and small children cried out. A few others looked at Love in fear. He suspected no one had experienced someone like him before.
“I am the beta-mate, and I have told you to move,” Love said, trying to look as fierce as he could. “Do as you were told or I will inform the alpha and beta. We’re trying to save your lives here, folks.”
One by one, people began to stand and shuffle past Love into the dorm room. Many looked at Love as if he had two heads. Still others scooted by him, making sure they didn’t touch.
When the last person moved into the dorm, Love glanced over at Darren. “Well, that went well.”
“While they may recognize you and know you are the beta-mate,” Matt said, “Logan hasn’t formally presented you to the alpha and the clan. Until that happens, they will be hesitant to follow your orders.”
“That’s stupid. They know who I am.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Darren said. “Until Logan presents you before Ash and the clan, they won’t accept your mating. Believe me, I know. I went through the same thing myself.”
“Yeah, this looks like another one of those laws Asher needs to change because this is ridiculous. It’s not always possible to be presented before the clan right away. That doesn’t mean I’m not mated.” Love rubbed the back of his neck. “I have the damn teeth marks to prove it.”