by Avery Gale
She felt Trev’s arms come around her from behind and his warm breath against her ear, “Baby, we’ll always be right beside you.” She felt herself melting back into his embrace and wanted nothing more than to curl up between them and sleep for a few hours. But she also knew she wouldn’t really rest until she’d told everyone her story and listened to what her mother and grandmother had to say. But truthfully, it wasn’t a lack of desire to help, it was just she couldn’t get her feet to move down the stairs and if they had decided to try, Kit was fairly certain her legs wouldn’t be on board anyway. Her entire body felt as if the energy had been siphoned out of it.
She hadn’t even realized she’d closed her eyes until she felt Jameson smooth her hair behind her ear. His touch was so gentle she leaned into his calloused palm. When she opened her eyes, she felt a sudden surge of electricity race through her entire body. It was as if their souls had suddenly been welded together by the arc. In that moment the decision was made. She wanted to be their mate and the sooner the better. Just as she opened her mouth to speak the words, Jameson slammed his mouth over hers. And that is when she heard him for the first time as his voice sounded clearly in her mind. ‘Mine! You belong to us, kitten, from now until the end of time.’
When he finally came up for air, he leaned down and scooped her into his arms before starting down the stairs. “Kitten, the next time you need to be cared for—in any way—Trev and I will expect you to tell us. Your failure to ask for our help will not be allowed…ever. Now, let’s get this meeting done, because as I’m sure you just heard, brother, we have a mate to claim tonight.”
“Baby, the next time you don’t ask for help when you need it, you’re going to get a paddling that will definitely help you remember it in the future.” Kit had no idea why Trev’s words sent a flood of moisture to her suddenly swollen sex, but they certainly did.
“Fuck, Trev. I think our mate likes that idea because her scent just went over me like a tsunami. This may be the shortest meeting in history.” Jameson’s words soothed her, because it was obvious he wasn’t surprised or upset that Trev’s words had elicited such a strong response. For the first time she didn’t feel like she was on the outside looking in when it came to men, as it had been the case so often in her very limited dating experience.
When she looked up at Trev, she noticed he was grinning at her like a loon. “You’re puzzled about your body’s response to my promise to spank your bare ass until it blushes a beautiful hot pink aren’t you, baby?” When she nodded, he continued, “Once we start training you, we’ll require you to always use words to answer, babe. But right now, I just want you to know that my brother and I consider your sweet body’s response to be absolutely perfect.”
They’d reached the door of their office and Jameson set her gently on her feet. She sent him a grateful smile for not carrying her into the meeting. No matter how exhausted she felt, she knew she needed to walk into the room on her own. It was important to her the members of their pack respect her because she instinctively knew everything she did or said from this point on would be a direct reflection on both Jameson and Trev. And there was a part of her that suddenly cared very much about pleasing them.
Entering their office she was surprised to see how many people were already seated in the spacious room. Jameson moved to his large, leather office chair behind the massive carved oak table he used for a desk. He pulled a chair close to his own before seating her in it then taking his own seat. Trev flanked her on the other side, keeping his hand on her shoulder. “Thanks for coming on such short notice everyone. I want you to all know how much I appreciate it. Trev and I have already provided Tristan a detailed report and I know he’s combined that with his own and sent that to all of you before we came in. So, let’s get Kit’s eye witness account and then we’ll work from there.”
When he turned to her, she saw nothing but warmth in his dark eyes. “Kit, please start at the beginning and tell us exactly what happened with as much detail as you can, please.” She felt him slide his large hand around her smaller one and she hadn’t even realized how tightly she’d been clenching her hands together until that moment. The warmth of his fingers seemed to melt the cold in her fingers just as it was melting her fear of their mating. She couldn’t ever remember feeling as cherished as she did right in this moment.
Feeling Trev move his arm so he was drawing soothing circles slowly over her lower back helped Kit focus and she appreciated their support more than she knew how to tell them. She drew in a deep breath and then told everyone everything she could remember. While she’d been speaking, her mother had been pretending to study a small sculpture on the fireplace mantel, but when Kit mentioned the man had been trying to speak into her mind, she saw her mother’s attention jerk to her.
“What? Kathleen, you should have started at this point in the story. Tell me exactly how his voice sounded to you and precisely what his words were.” Kit was instantly annoyed with her mother. How dare she reprimand her in front of her mates and their pack.
Kit felt her whole body stiffen and then heard Jameson’s voice in her mind, ‘Kitten, it’s okay. Everyone in his room appreciates having each piece of the information and you have done exactly as I asked you to do.’ When she jerked her eyes to his she felt like she was suddenly falling ass over teakettle into their dark depths. ‘Shifters can speak telepathically when their bonds are strong, so everyone in the room that I’m allowing in is able to hear my words to you. And to answer the questions I see in your eyes, no your mother is blocked, but your grandmother is not. I have not blocked your father either. And yes, Trev can hear and speak to you already as well.’
Kit looked up and smiled at her grandmother and father who both subtly nodded their heads at her. She was suddenly almost overwhelmed with feelings of belonging that she’d never before experienced, but had always longed for. That same look of acceptance was reflected in the faces of the others in the room, most of whom she hadn’t even actually met yet. She tried to push her thanks through her mind and could only hope they had all been able to hear how grateful she was for their support.
Looking up, she met her mother’s gaze head on. “I have done exactly as Jameson asked me to do, Mother. Now, as I was saying, the man seemed to be trying to recruit me. I can’t remember his exact words, because it was more like he was trying to get inside my head and change my way of thinking. And for some reason I had the feeling he felt the plea would be more persuasive before I mated.”
Kit let her eyes track ever so briefly to her grandmother and noticed her almost imperceptible nod. Kit returned her attention to her mother and saw her wrinkled brow. “Kathleen, tell me exactly how you reacted and how on earth you managed to shatter bulletproof glass with your little fit of angry magic.” The sarcasm dripped from her mother’s words, and they also seemed laced with jealousy. It was certainly a side of her mother Kit had never seen before.
“I don’t really know exactly how it happened. I knew he was going to hurt my mates. I saw his hand raised and the wand in it pointed at the door I could hear being unlocked. I raised my hand to block his action and there was a huge flash of light then I heard glass shattering. The next instant the man evaporated. It was if he just blew apart into a mist that slowly drifted away.” She remembered wondering how a body could just vaporize into something that looked like a dense fog but she’d let it go, because when she considered that he’d been floating in mid-air, anything after that seemed inconsequential.
Kit watched as her mother paced back and forth in front of the fireplace for what seemed like several minutes. No one made a move to stop her and no one spoke to her either. It was if everyone sensed her need to process the information Kit had given her. Just when Kit was getting ready to speak again, her mother spun and looked at her own mother. “What do you think? Is it possible he got through the lock we put on the portal gate? Goddess, it was the strongest one we’ve ever done. I didn’t think he’d be able to breach it for another century
at least.”
Kit watched in wonder as the timid, elderly woman she’d always believed her grandmother to be shifted right in front of her into a stunningly beautiful woman. Everyone in the room gasped at the transformation and Kit saw the corners of her father’s lips twitch at the annoyed look on his wife’s face.
“Very dramatic, Mother, now if you wouldn’t mind answering the question it would be most helpful.” Kit heard the frustration in her mother’s voice and if she wasn’t mistaken, that had been exactly what her grandmother had been going for. In her entire life, Kit had never seen her grandmother in her “witch’s finery” as her grandfather had always referred to it.
Just thinking about the grandfather who had filled her life with such joy sent a sharp pain of loneliness through her heart that nearly stole her breath. When Trev moved his hand to her waist and pulled her close, she felt herself being brought back to the moment and she appreciated the fact he’d known she needed his connection. “Baby, we’re with you every step of the way and I’m sure that sweet grandfather of yours is looking down on you and beaming with pride. Hell, he had a hot wife and granddaughter.” When Kit looked over at him he waggled his eyebrows at her making her giggle, and Goddess she loved him for it. Loved? Oh wicked wands, where had that thought come from? His and Jameson’s laughter told her that she had evidently been thinking at full volume.
Ruby Stone’s voice moved through the room like a choir of angels, and Kit couldn’t remember ever hearing her grandmother sounding so resolute in her incantations. The protection spell she cast was one Kit had heard many times but she’d never seen her grandmother’s true power as a witch before this moment. As the spell ended, eddies of glowing glitter seemed to swirl through the room before surrounding Kit and her mates. Once the sparkles had finally subsided, Kit looked at her grandmother and raised her brow. When the witch merely shrugged her shoulders, Kit almost burst out laughing. Here was the woman she always thought stood in her own daughter’s shadow but now, Kit knew her grandmother was, in fact, clearly the stronger of the two witches. And with casual nonchalance she was acting as if what she’d just done was nothing more than baking a batch of cookies for the neighborhood kids.
Immediately Kit felt a lightness all around her and an infusion of energy that could only described as electric. She didn’t feel drained as she had just a few minutes earlier so she knew the spell had probably been infused with some kind of energy boost as well. When she looked at her grandmother, Kit saw the twinkle in her eye, and then her wink had confirmed Kit’s suspicions.
As if on cue, Ruby turned to her daughter, “I’m not entirely surprised he managed to find another way out. And Kit’s magic is much stronger than any of us imagined, so she has set him back several years by scrambling his molecular makeup so to speak.” Her words were met with chuckles from around the room. “What we don’t want to do is let our guard down, because I can promise you…this is not over. It may take them a few months to re-group because Damian isn’t really dead.”
Kit saw the confused looks on the faces of the others in the room and figured they weren’t much different from her own. She was grateful her grandmother continued her explanation without pause, “Oh he’s been set back for sure. And personally I’m thrilled that he so grossly underestimated Kit’s abilities…serves the asshat right.” Her devious grin warmed Kit’s heart and she found herself moving to her grandmother and pulling her into a hug.
Kit whispered against her grandmother’s ear, “Thank you…for believing in me and for showing me this side of you. Grandfather always told me this woman was just beneath the surface and that I’d see her when the time was right. I want you to know how much I love you.”
When Ruby pulled back, she moved Kit’s hair over her shoulders just as she always had when Kit had been a little girl and the gesture brought back a flood of sweet memories of all the time she’d spent with her grandparents. “Kit, your magical abilities are so far advanced of your mother’s and mine that I have every confidence you’ll be fine as long as you always stay on the this side of the light and avoid dark magic at all costs. I want to caution you that resisting it isn’t as easy it sounds. Don’t ever scoff at the dark side’s ability to trick you or to temp you with promises that appeal to desires even you didn’t know you harbored.”
Her grandmother pulled her close and Kit saw her raise her hand and with a flick of her wrist they were both encased in a swirling cloud of sparkling white. It was the most amazing thing Kit had ever seen. On the inside everything was clear and eerily quiet, but the glittering white cloud encircling them was buzzing softly. Ruby laughed and said, “The quiet spell I used on your mother isn’t going to last much longer, so we need to wrap this up. I wanted to tell you that your men’s hearts are golden. They are your true mates and the sooner you are formally mated the safer you will be. Even though this mating was foretold, they did not know that, and it plays no part in their desire for you.” The feel of her grandmother’s fingers along the side of her face was so comforting, Kit wanted to close her eyes and just lose herself in the sensation. “Trust your instincts, Kit. And trust your mates. Always remember I’ll be here to teach and guide for as long as you need me, but then I’m planning to join your grandfather on the other side of the veil. He’s waiting for me.” Suddenly the sweet elderly woman that Kit knew as her grandmother was back and she winked at Kit, “We have plans you know, it’s not just you young people who enjoy sex.”
While Kit was still lost in everything she’d been told, the swirling mist dropped like a heavy fog and there was nothing left but a few sparkles of glitter around them on the rug. When she looked up both Jameson and Trev were coming toward her with intense looks on their faces. She wasn’t sure if they were angry they’d been shut out or worried about what had taken place, but their desire to assure themselves she was all right was evident.
Jameson reached her first and pulled her tightly against his chest. “Are you okay, kitten? That was an amazing cocoon your sweet granny created. And later I want you to tell us all about it. But right now, my brother and I have other plans for you. We’ll wrap this up quickly and then we’re going upstairs.” Kit shivered as Jameson’s last words were actually more growled than spoken.
Trev echoed his brother’s concern, but his smile told her that he was equally impressed. “Your grandmother is one hot chick when she shifts, baby.” Despite his teasing tone, Kit could hear the concern in his voice and she turned into his arms, wrapped her arms around his waist, and just drew upon his strength for long seconds. When she finally pulled back and looked up at him, he asked, “We need to make you ours, baby. Are you ready for that?”
As she nodded her head she remembered their earlier admonishment that she needed to answer using words so she spoke her assent quietly but clearly, “Yes, I’m ready. I belonged to both of you from the first moment I met you. And even though I was trying to avoid finding my mates, I’m awfully glad fate had other ideas.” Right now there wasn’t anything she wanted more than to have Jameson and Trev claim her. She no longer feared belonging to them.
Just as they stepped out into the hallway, Libby ran up to her and hugged her tight. “Holy shit on the Schmidt house, Kit. Do you know these people are shifters? It is totally fucking cool. And you’re sleeping with the two leaders? You go girl.” Libby gave her a fist bump and winked at her. Kit knew her tiny tornado friend was one of the smartest people she had ever known, and certainly the most loyal friend she’d ever had so Kit wasn’t worried Libby would spill the beans back at the university. She did however worry about the interrogation each and every member of the Wolf’s pack was about to be subjected to.
“Do you know how long it took me to figure this out? Good God that hottie your Jameson glued to me...seriously, they should call him Elmer. Well, he wouldn’t let me out of his sight long enough for me to work it through until I finally persuaded him to let me at least go to the john alone. Damn, that window out of the shower in my room is fucking hig
h I tell you, took every towel in there to boost me high enough to shimmy through. Luckily there is a nice walkway that runs around this massive place they call a house…on all the floors and I learned a lot of interesting things strolling by various windows before Elmer found me. Oh, Peeping Tom has nothing on me sister…not a thing…nada.” Good God, Libby was in rare form tonight. Kit was starting to giggle at her friend’s exuberance. She wondered what she was going to think when she had all the facts. And Kit didn’t doubt for a single moment that Libby Wells wasn’t going to rest until she knew each and every minute detail.
Chapter Nineteen
Watching Kit smile at her pint-sized friend as the little blonde chattered a mile-a-minute, Jameson’s heart warmed. Not only was their mate smart and gorgeous, she was kind and that made her a thousand times more attractive in his book any day. He was going to enjoy teasing Charlie about losing Dr. Libby Wells, but then again, he wasn’t sure their very best security could have contained the determined young woman. Jameson used his telepathic link to let Charlie know it was time to distract his exuberant charge so they could get Kit upstairs. The young man blushed, but quickly nodded in understanding.
When he and Trev finally closed the door of their suite, Jameson was almost ready to come out of his skin his need to claim her was so great. “Kit, it’s important that you understand exactly what’s about to happen—neither Trev nor I want there to be any secrets between us and that starts right now.” He could hear every beat of her heart and knew she was close to losing the last of her control. “And as much as we both want to strip you and claim you before we even walk across the room, we want what is best for you even more.”
Trev stepped up to stand beside him and nodded. “That’s right, baby, claiming is really a two-step process. Well, the actual act is one step, but there is a formal part that will occur at midnight on the next full moon.” Jameson watched as Kit’s eyes widened and he knew they needed to handle this next part carefully.