Creature Comforts

by Creature Comforts (lit)

  How could she defend herself against those accusations? They were true. Every one of them. “If you kill me now, Chase will blame himself. My packbrother, Reggie has no one else. He’ll die.”

  “My warden is mine to deal with.” Diana Weis’s possessive snarl was as good as any Wolven. “What is another stray to me?”

  India chanced a look up into the other woman’s eyes. “He’s an innocent.” Invisible fingers clamped around her throat, reminding India of one of the few movies she’d seen.

  “You’re not innocent.” The pressure increased, proving that sweet appearing Diana Weis, had enough of the dark side in her to do her own dirty work. India worked to keep her hands at her sides. Her vision blurred as she struggled for air. Her skin stung with sharp prickly heat. The need to Change and defend herself clawed at her. She fisted her hands so that her nails bit into her palms.

  “You wouldn’t condemn an innocent to fend for himself,” she gasped. Suddenly, the air rushed into her lungs with burning relief. Her legs flew out behind her and she landed on her back, the weight of what felt like an unseen car on her chest. She felt a cool riffling sensation in her head and the unfamiliar feeling of not being alone inside her mind.

  You’re right. But I do not consider you an innocent. You’ve poached a matebond on one of my males. The Hunter comes for you and yours, not mine. Then there is the matter of the stray following you. More reason I should kill you. But I have another sentence in mind.

  You think to cut the matebond with my warden? Do not deny it. I see it in your mind. India swallowed. If she broke the matebond, Chase would be free. India could take Reggie and leave the Anderson County Pack to themselves. The Hunter might even follow them.

  Do not be stupid. The Hunter is here. He may not be after my pack now. But he won’t be able to let the prize of taking out the memory of Garrick Moser’s sins on my family. The bastard may be dead, but he haunts us still.

  And Chase? I’ll not allow you to hurt him in any way. India got the idea that Diana Weis had already tried unsuccessfully to sever the bond. The image of Chase in pain reminded her of when she passed out during their run. Like now, she’d never felt anything like it. At the time India thought she’d been suffering from exhaustion, the headache and nausea she’d woken with had been excruciating. She imagined her matebonded packmates had felt far worse at the death of their mates. No wonder they’d rather have died than continue.

  You India Demos will honor your intentions with my warden. You wanted a mate. You wanted his protection for you and yours. Then by damn, you will have it. And you will EARN it. Or I will kill you myself. Not with psychic powers, but with my own bare hands. Got it, bitch?

  She got it. The weight lifted from her and India saw the back of Diana Weis as she regally stalked back to the porch. Those standing there moved aside, giving her plenty of room as she pushed the door open and slammed it behind her. India also felt sorry for the Hunter when the Matra Canis got her hands on him. He better pray that the wolven got to him first, because their Alpha female would eat him alive.

  Chase’s booted feet stopped at the very edge of her vision. India turned her head as he crouched and watched as he moved the strands of her hair closer to her head with one long fingered hand. Worry tightened his eyes, leaving fine lines around them that in no way distracted from the strong lines of his face. “Hey. You okay?”

  Somehow, India found her voice. “Yes. I’m just waiting for the rest of my body to get the message that I’m not dead.” She cleared her throat. “Yet.”

  He smiled just a little and held out a hand to help her up. “See? I told you it would be fine.”

  India stared at the hand, then gingerly put her own in it. Her hand looked so small and brown inside his paler one. She tightened her hold and pulled herself up. Possessively, he dusted her off, taking extra care to pick the small pieces of grass out of her long straight hair. Did he know that they were now officially a pair? How would he take it? So far all the signals she’d gotten from him were mixed. Mostly she thought he’d be glad to be rid of her. Would he be angry to find out that his Matra Canis had accepted her and possibly Reggie into their fold?

  Chapter Fifteen

  The inside of the house was nothing what India expected. Warm earthy tones, leather furniture, and thick carpet dominated the main room. Chase’s hand at her back urged India forward into the main area, where what must be the entire pack waited. Wolven pups, looking as innocent as human children stayed close to their parents under the collective protection of the adults. Expressions ran from curious to suspicious. All eyes glanced from India to the Alpha pair and back.

  India stopped, her eyes fixing on the two packmembers she’d met previously. Lifting her chin, India refused to rub her arm where it still ached from where one of them shredded skin from muscle. The twins almost identical brown eyes assessed her with the same detached interest. A male child peered from behind the leaner of the two while a copy of the boy sat across the room, his arm looped over the neck of yellow dog. Some kind of wolf mix, India guessed.

  “Bradley.” Chase steered in the direction of the heavier adult twin, apparently unconcerned with the way she shrank back. India felt overwhelmed, cornered. The wolf in her urged her to run away and hide from these strangers. From their demeanor India pegged the adult twins, Bradley and whoever, and Chase as the Pack protectors. “Where’s Mack?”

  Bradley’s face was grim. His dark brows were a serious slash over his eyes. “Resting.” He shrugged. “I got almost the way to Frankston when Adam gave the Call.” Chase nodded, both males tensed just a bit as the youngsters began roughhousing with the wolf-dog. The young twins giggling, tackled the puppy who yelped. In one swoop, Chase scooped the canine up, cradling the puppy in his arms. His attention never wavered from the other adult’s conversation. “Since I was followed, I was about to turn around anyway.”

  All attention focused on the Wardens while fear for Reggie’s safety weighed like an anchor in India’s stomach. What had she done? The faint tie of their packbond told her nothing about his state. She needed to call and hear her packbrother’s assurances first hand.

  “The Hunter?” Adam Weis, Canis Pater of the Anderson Pack, strode into their midst. Vaguely, India noted the giant blond male was barefoot. While his physical presence took up quite a bit of space, it was the man’s aura. His very Alpha-ness that made it seem as though the room were steeped in the man’s essence and rather than cowing back, his people pressed forward.

  The male, Bradley, frowned and shook his head while everyone’s attention focused on him. “It’s possible. Even fairies have their spies. And we have been a topic in one or two of their courts.” From the sidelines, India felt the wary respect bound together with peace and comfort that many of the old, trenched in Packs had. Even the wolf-dog puppy settled in Chase’s arms. His yellow head nestled against Chase’s neck, while the puppy watched Bradley with intelligent, alert eyes that made India revise her opinion. Not a dog, but a wolven, Changed before puberty.

  The Alpha reached out to run gentle fingers over the puppy’s head, receiving a couple of pink tongued licks in return. He didn’t seem to agree with the Fairy angle. His ice-blue eyes sought and found India’s, sending a chill down her spine that raised hackles. “That dragon still making trouble?” The puppy whined on the word dragon, his ears flattened. The scent of fear rolled off of him. Earning him a reassuring scratch from the Alpha even as a plump freckled woman pushed into the circle. Warning lit a fire behind her wire rimmed glasses, embers banked in the brown of her eyes.

  “Some. Morgan’s handling it. But a few of the Georgia court are still upset about Chase and Mark killing a werewolf in their throne room.”

  The plump female pulled the upset puppy to her chest, glaring at the dark haired twin. “Oh, get the facts right. You and Brandon killed Marcus Cargill, not Mark.” She stopped, pressing a protective kiss on the puppy’s head and leaning into the body of a blond Wolven male that slipped in besid
e her. “All of them deserve what they got. Those dratted fairies are the ones who stole the dragons’ egg. They hired Marcus so they wouldn’t have to dirty their hands with killing and stealing. If those morons would just give Pyr back his egg, the dragon would go back to minding his own business.”

  Bradley’s eyes glowed red as he watched the female. Intelligent calculation measured her until the blond male pulled her and the puppy behind him. At any other time, India may have dismissed him as a frivolous fool. In any pack, hierarchy is a strict thing. From the Alpha all the way down to the Omega, every member knows his or her place in rank. Obviously, the dark eyed, fairy-smelling twin outranked him. Blondie stood his ground, dressed in cargo pants and a garish Hawaiian shirt that covered a lean, muscular build. Longish yellow blond hair fell over eyes India thought might be blue. A faint snarl curled his lip. “I know what you’re thinking. And no, Bailey’s not going to use her gifts to Find the Hunter.”

  “Mark.” Bailey, the plump female touched his shoulder. “It could work, you know.”

  “No.” Mark turned, giving his back to the more dominant male. Something, India would never have seen in her old pack. Absolute devotion on his face marked the female, Bailey, as his mate, the hand that settled into the puppy’s fur, said that this was his family. This is what he would protect. “No. We’ve already talked this over and unless Dad and the wardens need backup, we stay out of the main fight.”

  “But…”

  “Bailey.” Adam Weis’s voice rumbled into the group. Strangely, they’d forgotten about him. Another anomaly. India’s father would never have let his people forget his presence or any perceived weakness. Ever. Instead, Adam set a supportive hand on Mark’s shoulder. “My son is right. I wouldn’t allow the risk to you. Neither of you are fighters.” The hand moved to ruffle the puppy’s head again. Adam’s smile was gentle but firm. “You have little Justin here to think about.” He shushed her when she would have spoken, her open mouth closing with a pointed look. “I know you could use your gifts to Find the Hunter, just as Diana could. But as of now, all the females and pups are going to stay here.”

  “Now wait just a cotton-picking minute, buster.” Diana Weis’s voice broke the females’ groans. Hands on her hips, she faced her mate fearlessly. “We are not going to hide here like a bunch of shrinking Violets.” Back again was the force of the Alpha female. Thankfully this time, she directed it at her mate and not at India. She didn’t think she could handle another round with the woman.

  “Of course you are. Who else would you trust the little ones to?” The blond giant waited, neither one of them backing down, until Diana sighed. Her lips pursed as she tried to find a valid argument. Finally, she reached up, her hands in his hair, bringing the big males lips very close to her own. “Be careful, Adam or I’m going to kick your furry backside,” she murmured before letting go. Only then did he turn away, exiting through a wide hallway. “Bradley, Brandon. Chase…bring your mate. There’s a lot to talk about.”

  * * * *

  India followed Chase into a large office. Or rather, she allowed him to pull her along until the small group entered the room. Then she pulled free, putting some distance between them. Like the front room and the hallway, everything was warm and natural. Lovely wood paneled ceilings contrasted nicely with the textured walls, also paneled halfway down. Here and there, lived in scuffs and an occasional bright crayon mark explained the sense in the decorating scheme. Even the greenish brown color of the thick plush carpet made her think of an inviting den deep in the forest.

  The office itself was wall-to-wall bookcases, family pictures, and childish drawings proudly framed for display. Closer inspection revealed the furniture as well made, but not exactly, the perfect showroom pieces she would have expected. On the opposite side of the room, Adam Weis, leaned a hip against the huge executive sized desk, a very large and obviously haggard human male sat on his right. His arms crossed over his very broad, muscular chest. Every nuance claimed this as his inner sanctuary.

  He motioned to the other big leather covered chair that India’s mother would have called man furniture. Though why, India wasn’t sure. Her father had preferred slick and polished furniture, full of sharp angles. Her mother’s father tended toward bright brocades and his traditional Middle Eastern style. For Adam Weis, the homey effect could not be less perfect.

  She sat, giving wide berth to the human male. Brown and silvered hair covered his head and the lower half of his face. Dark circled smudged under sharp eyes that could have belonged to a Wolven. Their eyes met. Even sitting he was quite possibly the one of the largest males of any species she’d seen. Already on edge, with all the dominant personalities in the room, her hackles refused to lie down. Her teeth practically ached with the urge to stand her ground, to prove she was no Omega in the offing. Instead she sat, tense and prim, her hands together in her lap, ankles crossed. The chair was as comfortable, as inviting as it looked, and yet every muscle was tense.

  Adam Weis took the couple of steps so that he stood in front of her. The Alpha could have continued towering over her, enforcing his dominance with his presence. He crouched, bringing his height lower, his hands rested on the denim covering muscular thighs. His presence was no less intimidating than before. She stared at the carpet and swallowed, taking comfort in Chase’s presence beside her and the hand that settled on her shoulder. Truthfully, she expected no quarter from them. She’d brought herself, Reggie, the Hunter, and a stray into their territory. Adam touched a finger to her chin, drawing her gaze up to meet the pale blue of hers. “India. Tell me about your packbrother and the stray.”

  “Reggie.” His name felt dry in her mouth, as if she were betraying the last one in her trust. She closed her eyes. Should she? What if they just put him down like an unwanted dog? Every Pack had weaker members, but sick ones?

  Unseen, Chase passed an appraisal over Mack, the boss’s second in command, noting the fine tremor in the man’s clenched fist. The pack Beta returned his look, the physical and emotional pain in the Psychic human’s brown eyes telling the Warden that it was bad. Someone was going to die soon. And this time, Mack knew who it was. If it was him, Chase really didn’t want to know. Damn, but the human’s Psychic’s power sucked.

  Hiding behind her closed eyes, India felt the Alpha’s hand go from her chin to the top of her head. The Alpha’s work rough fingers sifted through her hair with the same measure one would when easing a pup to sleep. “We are not meant to walk alone, little one.” Something inside her wanted to huddle in the comforting sound of his voice and stay there forever. “Things will work out if we work together.” The feeling was intimate, yet not sexual. It was the pull of an Alpha. What made Alphas what they were and she would never be. Why she couldn’t hold Darrell and Gail’s trust to keep them safe. But she’d tried and failed too many times. Her every decision had led her and Reggie deeper into trouble. Alphas were caretakers, mother and father to the pack. The few who could both love and discipline powerful supernatural creatures, keeping them in check against much weaker species.

  India leaned into the Alpha’s hand, emotion welling up as a smaller hand touched her between the shoulder blades. Diana’s hand moved in a warm circle that destroyed the last of her defenses. India’s breath shuddered out with all the pent up emotion held back and ignored for the sake of survival. Something fragile built in India’s chest. “Please, please don’t hurt him.”

  Opening her eyes, she reached not for Adam, but clutched at Diana’s hand, pleading with her body language for acceptance. “It was when the first Hunter came. Those that he didn’t kill, just became sick.” India shook her head. “I still don’t know how. We thought silver poisoning at first. But it wasn’t. They—Reggie couldn’t eat or drink.” India sucked in a shuddering breath, caught up in the memory she didn’t realize she projected to the others along the barely there bond. “But I made him do it. He’s the only one left.”

  “Where did you send him?”

  “S
outh. To Tyler.” India closed her eyes again against the betrayal she felt in giving Reggie up. She shook her head in misery. “I don’t know where the stray is. Frankston, maybe. There is a lot of wooded area here. I haven’t seen him since Reggie and I ran him out of the diner.” She frowned, finding and sending a tiny glare at the leaner of the twin wardens. “He was there last night too. When the wardens found me.”

  “The idiot thinks he can take her for his mate.” Chase growled, his hand flexed on her shoulder possessively. “We’ve got his scent, so it’s no problem.”

  The heavier twin, Bradley, cleared his throat, drawing all eyes. Seeing her grip on the woman who’d so thoroughly put her in her place earlier, India let go with a start. Diana glanced down, caught one of her hands between hers and nodded at the warden.

  More than a few pound of muscle pointed out the difference between Bradley his feral twin . Powerful wolven magic and another exotic, almost other worldly kind shimmered around him. For supernatural creatures, magic had a flavor all its own that made it almost impossible to disguise. Even psychic energy had a taste, setting a tiny slice of humanity firmly in the supernatural realm, whether they admitted it or not. “I had to abort collecting this stray,” he shrugged in apology at India’s protest before continuing. “This wolf, Reggie. If you tell me where he was, I can start from there.”

  Sneaking a glance at Diana, India resigned herself to being hopelessly seduced by the lure of being part of a pack again. Of giving Reggie back what he’d lost. Meeting the warden’s impartial dark brown gaze, she gave Betty’s address and that of the garage apartment. As small a place as Frankston was, she’d given everything. Bradley nodded, a triumphant smirk tilting his stern features. The rich otherworldly scent of magic built fast. Light, like a shining star burst into the office, blinding everyone. India hit the soft carpet, Chase’s warm weight and scent enveloping her. When the light went out, Bradley was gone. Stunned silence blanketed the room.