He pushed his head into Lucky's hand, and laughingly she petted him, he liked it and lay on his back for more petting. "Don't think that you are going to laze all day while I stroke you."
Lucky had watched the transformation with amazement, the picture on his back was impressive but did not compare at all to the reality. Lucky got up still laughing and followed as Ben led her through the forest in his wolf form. The strength in his body was obvious, he was actually big, nearly as tall as her in wolf form, she didn't realise how powerful he would be. She picked up a stick and threw it while telling Ben to catch; he was not happy with this and sat down before shifting back. Lucky was laughing at his pout, but was disappointed when he shifted back fully clothed; he must have noticed her looking at him.
"The magic of the changeling allows us to command clothing at will, this must be the first time I have ever been upset to come back clothed, and I DON’T play catch."
As they wandered back to the house, she could see the sun setting through the trees. She could hear the girls squealing with laughter, and even she had to admit being with Ben here at his home felt pretty nice. Unfortunately it was time for them to leave.
"I've enjoyed today, I don't know what's happening between us Ben but it feels nice. I need to talk to the girls and take a couple of days to process everything."
Ben was surprised at how relieved this made him feel. In fact as Lucky put her hand in his, and their fingers joined together he felt lighter than he had in years. There was no way he was letting her stay away for long, letting her leave today was a short term plan only.
Chapter 13
That Bitch how dare she interfere in my life again? It seemed that her little hints didn't work; it was time to get more serious, time to make the message clearer. She thought of sending her minions to do her bidding but she didn't trust them to get it right. She needed to send the right message.
Sat in the car with the heat blasting in an aim to warm up her exposed skin, she planned her attack. After waiting to make sure that the bitch had left before making her move, she wandered through the house she realised that she hated her, so much so that if she thought it would work, she would just kill her. Unfortunately that would probably make things worse and she would lose too much, she could actually lose everything, meaning that even in death Lucky would still keep what she wanted for herself.
Given a choice she liked to deal with obstacles permanently and as painfully as possible, only this time she didn't really have a choice which pissed her off even more. Opening the pouch of crushed herbs she had sprinkled over herself and through the house, she ensured her path was lightly dusted with them. She was not worried about the herbs being seen in the house, Lucky may be more susceptible to feelings but she was still human, with human eyesight. Just to be on the safe side she had a distraction all prepared, a big enough distraction to take the focus off her having been in the house.
Looking from across the street at the family home, she grimaced at the manicured lawn, the upper windows with pink curtains next the window of burgundy curtains, curtains to a master bedroom. With a knot of resentment building up, she decided to wait in the shadows and watch the excitement? That would be fun; the thought of Lucky's fear was making her feel all warm inside, in the worst possible way. Unfortunately the decision to watch the ensuing aftermath was soon taken out of her hands when her cell rang; she took a deep breath preparing a sweet voice.
"Hello darling, how are you? Mmm…Oh good, of course I will pick up food, see you in a few." Time to get out of here, disappointment settled with the knowledge that she would miss the main attraction, but there was no doubt that she would hear all about it in the morning.
Chapter 14
The girls were chatting with excitement the whole way home, it seems Ben and his family were a hit. Even Ellie was warming to the idea of her mating to Ben. It turns out that the edge of pack land bordered onto the same school that Ellie and May went to. A couple of the pups went there and apparently they drove the quad bikes there leaving them until they finished school, this certainly worked for Ellie and where one went the other followed, so May would also be happy. It certainly was a small world.
Claire loved the horses, she used to have lessons until she hit puberty when life fell apart, and all semblance of the child formerly known as Claire left, and moody teenage Claire took her place. She still did her volunteer work at the local Rescue Centre, she loved animals and until two years ago they had a Labrador dog, when he died she had been distraught and distant. Now, well their potential new home was going to kick the ass out of that and bring living with animals to a whole new level.
The only concern Lucky had was the nightmare called Beth, tonight she spent most of the time with her eyes popping out, and Lucky had actually worried that she would fall off her chair when Nicky walked in. It was a potential nightmare, but one she was sure could be manage with Ben's help.
As they arrived at the home Lucky and Phil bought fifteen years ago, she wondered whether she was going to be able to leave it behind. There were so many memories in this house; the girls had come home to here from the hospital, taken their first steps here, their first everything.
Pulling into the driveway Lucky noted that the street light was out, making it much darker. Suddenly something didn't feel right, she wasn't sure why, the night seemed eerie. Taking a moment to breathe, she couldn't feel anyone else around but something wasn't right, the night felt as though it was a predator coming to get them.
Lucky checked her phone and made sure that she had the keys in her hand, unable to shake the feeling of danger. But where was the danger, outside in the street, or near the car? She thought about turning around but to go where, to do what? In her other hand, she took the bottle of mace out of her bag. Looking around Lucky couldn't see anything wrong or out of place, damn how jumpy was she, her heart was pounding? The girls were getting out of the car and talking about the afternoon, so at least they hadn't noticed. Maybe her imagination had gone wild, but she had always trusted her instincts. Her eyes darted in all directions, to no avail, she couldn’t identify her discomfort.
Going into the house with the girls behind her, she looked around. It wasn't right, the kitchen door was closed; even though she had left it open. She had just finished washing the floor before they left and she distinctly recalled leaving it wide open. Lucky looked up the staircase her gaze drawing back to towards the dining room where she noted that one of the chairs had been moved. Ellie had left a sweater on the back of the chair closest to the door; Lucky remembered moaning at her about it when they were on the way out, it was now on a different chair.
Looking into the lounge room she noted the window locks; everything was in place, no movement, nowhere for anyone to hide. The lights suddenly went out pitching them into darkness. She heard May whimper and saw Claire gather the twins to her.
Taking her phone out of her bag, she handed it to Claire. Moving three steps forward, she slid both of Ellie's baseball bats out of the alcove under the stairs. She handed one to Beth, keeping one for herself, before removing three golf clubs from Phil's old bag (thank god he never got around to picking them up). She handed them to the girls just as they heard an almighty crash from the garden area and a cat squealing. Her heart jumped into her throat, they were in complete darkness; Lucky knew someone had been in her home, she could feel an ominous threat to her and her girls. Suddenly she felt helpless and utterly terrified.
Whispering while trying not to alert anyone who may be in her house, her only thought was to get the girls to safety. "Beth, can you take your sisters in the lounge, put the sofa against the door and barricade yourselves in, stay away from the windows. Do not come out until I tell you to, I mean it; stay there no matter what you hear. Phone the police and stay put."
She quickly quietened the girl's protests, wanting them safe so she could focus her energy on protecting them, not arguing with them. "Do as I tell you now! Beth you need to make sure they listen, and t
rust me."
Lucky stood waiting until she heard the sofa being pushed against the door. She tried the door, thankfully she couldn't open it but she could hear murmurs through the door. Claire was phoning the police, she just hoped they hurried. Hearing another noise near the back door, she crept down the hallway trying not to make any noise as she turned the handle on the kitchen door.
Lucky could feel her heart hammering away in her chest, to her ears her heart had become the beat of a tremendously loud drum. The quieter she tried to be, the louder the thrumming of her heart beat became, reverberating through her entire body. Normally she was fine in these sorts of situations but normally she had a more than capable partner, and her girls weren't hiding in another room. She waited for what felt like an hour before moving; even though she knew it was closer to a minute it didn’t make her feel any better. Lucky was trying to take it slowly; in no rush to move through to the kitchen where the noise was emanating from. With the girls in the other room, she had no intention of tackling anyone or anything unless she absolutely had to.
On tiptoes she pushed the door open slowly, the creak screamed through the silence of the dark house. The curtains at the window were open; with the noise was coming from the actual door. Looking towards it, she could see a silhouette in the frosted pane of glass. Only this time it was the deep growl that scared the hell out of her, and resulted in her almost jumping out of her skin, this was it, the threat was here and she didn’t know what to do, she was lost in a vast sea of fear.
She felt hands grab her, with one of them coming across her mouth. If she could have screamed she would have, and then self-preservation kicked in prompting her to lift her leg with the intention of fighting her attacker, until the voice in her ear silenced her.
"Shh it's me Lucky, stay quiet. I have a wolf going round to the back with Darius."
She felt herself sag against him, relieved and reassured by his presence. How did Ben get here so quickly?
"Lucky where are the girls?" His voice was a whisper, though this time it was tinged with anxiety.
"I told them to barricade themselves in the lounge." She heard footsteps going up the stairs as the lights came on flooding her eyes as the fear seeped from her, reassured by the ability to see even though she was still skittish.
"Don’t worry, it's Darius."
Ben turned her around wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Sh it's going to be okay you are safe now." God she felt as though her heart was going to explode, an intruder wouldn't need to kill her; her heart would do that for them. Her girls, she needed to see the girls.
"The girls, Ben I need to tell them to come out. What if someone's outside?" Her confidence had diminished at this intrusion into her home, her sanctuary.
"No-one is out there, well not anymore. I have two other wolves round the back, Darius is doing a sweep upstairs, I promise you are safe."
Lucky told the girls to come out, as soon as they saw her they wrapped their arms around her, and she felt the tension inside of her lift when she saw them safe and sound, just as Nicky came in through the front door.
"Hey is everyone okay? There was a timer switch attached to the fuse box, I have no doubt magic was involved, opening the front door set off a 45 second timer that threw the electrics out. Theo's outside, it's a mess out there," nodding towards the girls Nicky continued. "I wouldn't let anyone out there."
"What's out there, I need to see?" Someone had violated her home, her children's home; the fear was giving way to anger. Ben had taken charge and she was pleased that he was all Alpha, now it was time for her to take control.
"First things first, girls can you go and pack a few things you will need? Blondie can you pack some things for your mom. I don't want to rush things but you have ten minutes and then I want all of you out of here. Nicky, Darius is upstairs already but can you go as well just to be certain?"
"Ben, I need to see what is outside." Heading towards the back door Lucky went into professional mode; there was no sign of forced entry, no damage inside of the house. Nicky said there had been evidence of magic use with the fuse box, but none of that prepared her for opening the door.
If she had opened the door while still on her own and terrified, she would have freaked out. Shit she was freaking out now, literally hanging from the door jamb was a puppy, with a noose around its neck; the pup was pure white which only emphasised the large slit running down its stomach. The dog's entrails were hanging out, leaving blood dripping on the grey stone step. Lucky's instinct was to step back with the rising nausea, but this was her home and she was a damn good police officer.
'Someone's been in the house. The dog was not killed here, there isn't enough blood."
Nicky nodded, adding. "There were three cats out here when we arrived, each pushing the other out of the way."
She couldn’t take her gaze from the stone where the blood continued to drip, her home had been tainted, violated and now it was dirty and sullied. "What's that green matter on the floor?" Lucky could barely see it but it was there.
Ben looked to where she was focussed, hot damn, how had she seen this? Even with his eyesight he had missed it. Picking it up he tried to get a scent from it.
"Herbs, but I can't work out which ones."
He went back through the house, now that he knew what he was looking for he could see little traces of the herbs everywhere. He sent Theo to scour the neighbourhood, checking the yards of the neighbours for any signs of danger or forced entry.
"LUCKY, LUCKY!" She could hear the panic in his voice as Phil came running through the house.
"In here Phil." Her voice was weary, Phil would not react in the way she needed to, he would try to take control yet Ellie would be more capable of managing this than Phil.
When Lucky told Phil and Amy what had happened, the reality hit her the shock turning her legs to jelly, and suddenly she felt short of breath. Ben was beside her in an instant, catching her before she fell. Her job was dangerous, but that danger had never tainted her children.
"Hey sit down here." He manoeuvred her to the bottom of her stairs, where she saw more of the finely ground herbs, and although she was listening, she wasn't following anymore. She was pretty sure that Ben introduced himself to Phil and Amy, and then she stopped following the conversation as the waves lapping against her ear drums forced her to switch her senses inwards as she tried to calm the near panic rising in her.
Ben watched the girls come bounding down the stairs, with Darius following. He sensed that Lucky had switched off, but that was fine, he needed to get her out of here and somewhere safe, somewhere that would allow her to digest this.
"I am going to take Lucky to Silvers with the girls until we find the bastard that did this." Ben was adamant and angry, his voice was laced with steel, not even Lucky would argue with him right now.
"Woah with all due respect I don't know you, and I am not sure I am happy letting Lucky and the girls go with you, they can come to my house." Lucky watched as Phil stood his ground, she felt sorry for him knowing that next to Ben he looked like a boy, what a time for Phil to grow a pair.
"I get that and if things were different we could make this nicer, but the fact is Silver's is the safest place for all of them. We have extra security and our skills will keep them safer than any civilian location."
Lucky could feel Ben and Phil's anxiety and anger, though it was Ben's anger that was without a doubt the most predatory as she felt the need for violence coming off him in waves. Darius was just as angry but Phil knew and trusted Darius who decided to help Ben out.
"Ben's right, Silver's is a nightmare to get into unless you are invited. I will be there as well as the rest of the pack. It is the safest place for them to be."
Surprisingly Amy actually agreed with Ben, even telling Phil he needed to let them go, if it meant the girls were safe.
By the time they arrived to Silver's the girls were slowly relaxing, all of them except Ellie who was coiled like a snake ready to bite
. The four guards on the gate also went a long way to reassure them of their safety, as did the sight of Sylvia and Leyland were waiting for them, and helped the girls settle into the bed rooms. Lucky had made sure they were all safe by checking windows and giving extra hugs; she was more upset than they were, but thankfully they hadn't seen the mess that had been left for them at the house.
Chapter 15
Ben found Lucky stood in his bed room window, coming up behind her he put his arms around her. He could smell her; feeling both her warmth as well as her fear, holding her tight he took in her scent as he squeezed her soft skin in gentle comfort. Ben admired how she had kept herself calm and realised it was her fear for her girls that had scared her so much.
"I know it's a stupid question but are you okay?"
She was looking out at the night; the darkness had never felt so threatening. "I am starting to get pissed off, whoever did this to my girls will pay for it. It's one thing to focus on me, but the girls that's going too far."
"What do you mean focus on you?" She ignored the question, and he let her, for now.
As Ben stroked her hair she leaned into him. "How did you know that I needed you Ben?"
"Red called Darius but I had already left. I knew you were scared, I felt it here." He took her hand and placed it on top of his chest. It was then that Lucky realised, Ben was not only the real deal but she was already a little in love with him, a realisation that hit her full in the face with his next statement.
"I have never feared a fight, I have always prided myself in my strength but when you left here tonight, I knew I didn't want to let you go. Then when I felt your fear, I thought I was going to be physically sick and at that moment I felt completely helpless, I couldn't run fast enough. I was scared I would be too late. I don't want to feel that way again. As I was running to you, I realised that I was running to the girls as well. It never occurred to me that when I found my mate, I would be this scared or this happy."
Silvers Alpha (The Silver Series) Page 12