“Good enough,” Kaid answered.
Chapter 11
Bane threw his leg over his bike and sat Janie on the seat in front of him, turning her into his chest, facing him, her legs around his waist and crossed behind his ass on his bike seat. He cranked the bike, shifted it off its stand. “Hold onto me, Janie. I’ll get you home.” She buried her face in his chest and held on tight. Nodding her understanding of his instructions. She was vaguely aware of the sound of more bikes being cranked as they rounded a corner and drove away.
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“Daniel, why don’t you come with me and Vince? We are going to go take care of the situation Janie’s mom left in her kitchen. Bam and Mav, ya’ll can go ahead to the house, let everybody know we got Janie, and we’re all good. We’ll be there soon,” Kaid said.
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As Goldy and the women pulled up in the drive and parked in front of the main house, Sadie took her time getting out, her arms still wrapped around herself, as she looked around. “This is the main house, Sadie. My house is the one over there on the other side of the clearing. You can see the lights through the door from here,” Avaleigh pointed toward the cabin she and Daniel shared. Sadie followed her point and nodded when she saw the lights across the way. Avaleigh continued, “Bam has a shop and an apartment above it over through the trees in that direction,” she pointed again.
Sadie again looked in the direction Avaleigh pointed. “Bam?” she asked, “He’s Bane’s brother, right? He seemed really nice.”
“He is, he’s the sweetest man you’ll ever meet,” Avaleigh answered. “That turn off back there as we came up the drive, that goes to his place. Bane stays there with him most of the time. But he started building a home halfway between here and Bam’s place a few days ago.”
Sadie’s head spun back to Avaleigh, “For Janie?”
“Yes. He was hoping that she would accept him and live there with him.”
Sadie nodded sadly and looked off toward the woods as though she could see the house through the darkness. “This is the main house; at some point or another most everybody crashes here. Goldy, Kaid and Mav live here full time. There’s plenty of room for you to stay here too, if you want to.”
“I don’t want to impose, I’ll find somewhere to stay as soon as I know Janie is okay.”
Goldy, who had been standing quietly by until now, spoke up, “No, you’ll stay here. There’s plenty of room like Ave said, and we wouldn’t want you any other place.” Sadie looked like a deer in the headlights as she struggled to find some reason to reject Goldy’s offer. Avaleigh had been trying to make her feel more at ease by showing her where everything was located and explaining the way they all belonged here. But the big man was coming across pretty forcefully, and she wasn’t sure how to deal with it. She’d had enough of doing what any man told her she had to do. Avaleigh stepped up to her and placed her hand on Sadie’s shoulder, “Come on, Sadie, let’s get you in and get you cleaned up. It’s most likely going to be a while before they get back. And Goldy’s right, you are welcome to stay here. We’d certainly prefer it if you would, but you don’t have to, so don’t feel like you have no choice. If you prefer, we’ll help you find somewhere in town.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, as she followed Avaleigh up the steps of the porch and into the house. Avaleigh showed her where the bathroom was and gave her clean towels and washcloths. “I’ll run home and get you some clothes to change into. You take your time and get cleaned up.” It only took a couple of minutes before Ave was back and knocking on the door, “Let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll hand you the clothes.” Sadie hadn’t gotten in the shower yet, so she opened the door a little and reached for the bundle that Avaleigh held. Avaleigh kept her grip on the clothes as Sadie reached for them. She’d decided to tell Sadie a little about Goldy, and she needed to do it without him in the room. Now seemed like the best time for a quick word to try to put her at ease, “I know that you’ve been through a lot, and any man is the last thing you need to have on your mind right now. But Goldy has decided that he is supposed to protect you. He’s gruff, kind of a bull in a china shop, but he’s a good man. He’d cut off his own arm before he ever caused you a moment of unease. So please don’t let his gruffness put you off of him. He’ll never let anything bad happen to you. I just wanted to say that because living here with these men, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt, they have no clue of how to be subtle, and I didn’t want you to feel intimidated in any way. They are all good, good men.” Sadie smiled at her and nodded her understanding, “Thank you, Avaleigh. I appreciate all you and your family are doing for me and Janie.” After Avaleigh and Sadie returned to the living room, Goldy and Avaleigh spent the better part of the night trying to calm Sadie. Assuring her that their clan would be back with her daughter. When no amount of words worked, they’d decided to tell her the truth about the guys. After all, she was Goldy’s Mate. She listened intently as they’d explained that they were shifters. She calmly allowed them to explain which beasts they could shift into and the dynamics of the clan. They explained that Kaid was their Alpha, and that they all respected him as such. They explained about Mates and how a Mate would give his life for his or her Mate. And they explained that Janie was Bane’s Mate. That they’d be back with her, that there was no other option. Avaleigh explained that she and Daniel were Mates, and how sacred the Mate Bond was. And how blessed they were, because many shifters never found their One. Sadie was able to keep a straight face until Avaleigh told her that Daniel was a Dragon, and when he shifted a storm of grey clouds swirled around his body. It was at that point that she’d burst into hysterical laughter. Leaning over holding her belly as she laughed like she hadn’t in years, “You guys are great!” she told them. “It’s been so long since I laughed. And you certainly got my mind off everything with your stories. Thank you for that.”
Avaleigh and Goldy looked at each other, then Sadie. “We’re not kidding, Sadie. They are actually shifters,” Avaleigh tried again.
“I’ve heard of shifters. Some people write about them in books, right? But, really, do you think I’m going to fall for that? There is no such thing,” Sadie answered them.
“Yes, there is. And they are people just like you and me, but they have animals inside. They are good people. They are just stronger than humans. Have more heightened senses than we do.” Avaleigh sat across from her, leaning forward as she spoke, leaning on her elbows, propped on her knees.
Sadie looked from Avaleigh to Goldy, “So you’re telling me that you’re a shifter, too?” she asked him.
“Yes, more or less.”
“What do you mean more or less?”
“I’m a Lion shifter, but because I have more human blood than shifter, I can’t shift. I’ve got the strength of a shifter, the heightened sense of smell, eyesight, all of it. I just can’t shift.”
“Well, you certainly look like a Lion, what with the reddish hair and the beard.”
He smiled at her and opened his mouth, ready to try to convince her, then he heard the sound of a bike. He could hear it well before it turned onto the road that led to their property. “They’re coming, at least one of them is,” he said to Sadie and Avaleigh. Sadie jumped up and ran toward the windows, looking for any sign of whoever it was. She silently prayed that it was Bane and that he had Janie with him. Goldy walked up beside her slowly and put his hand at the small of her back to show support, again slowly, so that she could see what he was doing before he did it, “Let’s go out on the porch; we can watch ‘em drive in.” Sadie looked at the big red-headed giant and tried to offer him a smile as she nodded in agreement. She knew she failed miserably at the smile, but he didn't remark on it. He was a kind man, she thought. But she was aware that she had thought that before, too. “What if they didn’t find her? Are you sure it’s only one of them?” Sadie asked, the hitch in her voice giving away her fear.
“Trust us, they found her,” Avaleigh said. “And they are fine. They�
��ll all be here soon. They are a lot stronger than you think,” she said as she winked at Goldy.
“Yes, because they are shifters, right?” She did smile this time. She thought it was sweet they tried to keep up their story to distract her. A few minutes later the headlight of one bike came into view. Goldy stood near Sadie and kept his arm around her shoulders as they watched it come up the drive. They couldn’t see much it was so dark out, so Avaleigh leaned into the front door and flicked on the porch light. “It’s Bane,” Goldy said. As he approached the house, Sadie let out a high-pitched squeal as her eyes fell on her daughter, sitting in front of Bane, on his bike, with her legs wrapped around his waist. She was sleeping, and he was keeping her steady with one arm as he drove with the other. He had completely let off the throttle to coast to a stop. As he came to a stop, he scooped Janie up in his arms. Goldy, having rushed down the stairs, took over his bike and balanced it while Bane swung his leg over and stepped out of the way. Goldy made sure that it was pulled over to the side and turned off properly. Bane paused briefly on the porch so that Sadie could run her hands over Janie’s hair and satisfy herself that she was truly here. She lifted her eyes to Bane’s, a question there. Bane knew instantly what Sadie needed to know. “She said no, that one of the males there protected her. She wasn’t violated.” Sadie’s eyes filled with tears, relieved ones now, and she covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at her sleeping daughter. She lifted her eyes to Bane’s, “Thank you,” she whispered to him. He inclined his head, hugged Janie closer so he could nuzzle her with his cheek, and continued on into the house to get her settled in his bed.
Avaleigh ran ahead of him and pulled back his covers to allow him to place her in his bed, but he stopped, his Bear whining out loud a little. “What is it?” Avaleigh asked.
“She smells like the other males, and smoke, and fear,” Goldy said as he inhaled again, “and something chemical too,” he answered her as he walked into the room. Bane looked like he couldn’t possibly lay her down in this condition.
“Is she sleeping?” Avaleigh asked.
“I think so. She was in shock, but the shivering stopped,” Bane told them as she nuzzled the top of her head, “so I think she’s just sleeping now.”
Sadie was standing in the doorway, “Could we draw her a bath and get her cleaned up?”
“Great idea,” Avaleigh answered as she squeezed through them to get the water going in the bathroom.
“Are you sure she’s okay?” Sadie asked.
“I can hear her heartbeat; it’s steady and strong. I think she just couldn’t take anymore,” Bane told her. He looked so sad that Sadie didn’t hesitate to reach out and place her hand on his shoulder. He met her eyes and didn’t even try to smile. His heart was breaking. His Mate thought he was a monster. He wondered if she’d even allow him to hold her like this if she was awake. At that thought he snuggled her even closer. Glad for the opportunity to hold her for even a little while.
“I’ve got the water going. Bring her in, Bane,” Avaleigh called from the bathroom. He stepped into the bathroom and sat down on the toilet lid, Janie still in his arms. He leaned her against his chest as he started to slowly remove her clothing. Avaleigh took the items from him and dropped them into the trash as he handed them to her one by one. Once they had her stripped bare, Avaleigh stood back out of the way as Bane knelt beside the tub and gently lowered her into the warm water. Janie roused a little and started to protest, but still not even opening her eyes. “It’s okay, my Mate, I have you. Just gonna get you cleaned up a little. I’m not letting go. Just relax.” At the sound of his voice, Janie relaxed back into his arms, into the water and let him bathe her as best he could with one arm while the other held her. After he had her mostly clean, Avaleigh knelt next to him and washed her hair as he held her steady. Goldy tried to come in to see if everything was okay, and Bane snarled so loudly that Janie jumped in his arms. Goldy quickly exited the bathroom, “She’s good,” he told Sadie, “they’re almost done.”
Avaleigh handed Bane a towel, and he lifted Janie from the water and wrapped it around her. He carried her back to his room, kicking the door closed behind him. He laid her on his bed and went to his dresser to get something to dress her in. He heard the door open behind him and turned snarling. The snarl died in his throat when he saw it was Janie’s mother. He couldn’t very well keep her own mother away from her. She waited until he nodded at her and then hurried over to the bed. Bane met her there and laid out the clothes he’d pulled out for Janie. He ran the towel over her body, then handed the towel to Sadie and lifted Janie up as Sadie moved the towel underneath her head to catch some of the water still in her hair. He put a pair of his boxers on her and then one of his t-shirts. Her mother was busy drying her hair with the towel as he moved her underneath his covers and pulled them up to her chin, tucking her in. Her head lying on his pillow, tucked in his bed, wearing his clothes, this should be one of the sweetest of times for him. But it only made his heart shatter a little more. Sadie stood back watching him. Watching the way he touched her. The way he took care of her. “You truly love her.” She stood next to the bed watching as he sat beside Janie.
He didn't even look up; he just kept watching Janie, smoothing a piece of her hair away from her face. “More than my life,” he finally answered.
“Then why are you so sad? I’ve already explained that she didn’t want to let you go. That she loves you, too.” She didn’t think he was going to answer, but then he brokenly whispered, “That was before.”
“Before what?”
“Before she saw me tonight. Saw my brothers. She was afraid of us. She said we were monsters. She doesn’t want us.”
So many things he said sent up little warnings in her brain, confused her, so she focused on the one that was the most obvious to her, “You said us. Us who? Don’t you mean you?”
He did look at her then, “No, I mean us. Myself and my Bear.”
Sadie’s mouth hung open. Either these men were really shifters, or the whole damn group of them was delusional. Bane assumed that Goldy had told her about them since Bam had said that she was Goldy’s Mate, but from the look on her face, he wondered if they’d not gotten around to it yet. And, honestly, he really didn't give a damn. “Will you stay with her? Make sure she has anything she needs?”
“I planned to, but aren’t you going to stay, too?”
He reached out and ran the backs of his fingers against Janie’s cheek. He didn’t answer her; he just shook his head, got up and walked out of his room, pulling the door closed behind himself. As he walked through the living room, Kaid and the rest of the clan had returned. Avaleigh was sitting on Daniel’s lap, his arms wrapped around her. The rest of them were all involved in telling Goldy the story of all that happened while he woman-sat. They stopped talking as he came into the room, but he ignored them all as he walked through and straight out of the door. Bam got up and rushed outside after him, “Bane?”
“I need some time, Bam. I just can’t. I’m hurting too bad to even try to fake it right now,” he threw over his shoulder as he kept walking toward the trees. Bam let him go, his own heart hurting at watching his brother suffering.
Chapter 12
“So you just dragged him into the back yard, and Daniel incinerated his ass?” Mav asked?
“Yup. Then we all pitched in to clean the blood in the kitchen. Daniel did a little scorch in there to hide the traces we couldn't get up, we locked up, and left,” Kaid answered as he shoved more of his leftover cold pizza into his mouth.
“And there’s a little pile of ashes in the back yard now?” Mav said.
“Well, there was when we left, but my storm might have blown them around somewhat,” Daniel answered as he and Avaleigh walked into the kitchen through the back door.
“That is some cool shit! I want a storm when I shift, too,” Mav said, whistling as he swirled around the kitchen making windy noises. “Shimmer, I have a fucking shimmer when I shift. What about
a shimmer screams Wild, Uncontrolled, Dangerous? Not a damn thing. Just saying. Why the hell did he get a storm, and I got a damn shimmer?”
“Because I am all that is awesome! And you are a sweet little puppy dog,” Daniel answered with a grin, flicking Mav on the ear on the way past him.
Kaid just shook his head at their antics, glad to have them finally getting along. It had been questionable for a while after Daniel had claimed Avaleigh, but it was good now. Mav no longer felt like Avaleigh was being forced into a mating she didn't want. It was apparent to anyone with eyes that she adored Daniel, and Daniel lived for Avaleigh.
Turning his attention back to Avaleigh, “Ave! Baby! Make us some French Toast? Please? At least something hot and fresh, anything,” Kaid begged as he tossed the cold hard pizza back onto the table.
This was the conversation that Janie heard as she was waking. It made absolutely no sense to her, so she assumed she had misheard some of the words. She lay there trying to wake a little more, trying to figure out where she was. She hugged the pillow that she had her arms wrapped around and smiled. Bane. It smelled like Bane. She didn’t know why she smelled Bane, but she knew he was with her. She opened her eyes, expecting to see Bane lying beside her, and instead saw her mother lying there quietly watching her sleep. “Mom!” What are you doing here?” As she looked around the room, she realized she had no idea where here was. She sat up slowly trying to gain some bearing as to what the hell had happened for her to end up wherever it was that they were now. Then it all came rushing back. Her kidnapping, the fire and her rescue. And the shifters that had been there. How afraid she’d been. Then the memory that Bane was one of them. She’d called them all monsters. They’d saved her, and she’d insulted them simply because she was overwhelmed and finding out about shifters was the cherry on top of the what-the-heck-is-happening-now cake. She slapped the heels of her hands against her eyes as she flung herself back onto the pillow.
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