“I was wondering when you two were going to come up for air,” Charlie said good naturedly as Roan pulled out a chair for Rivera.
“When our stomachs started rumbling after smelling coffee, we thought it best to refuel,” Rivera replied as she sat down, her cheeks pink but not with embarrassment. Happiness was a good look on her.
Charlie laughed softly. “Well, there’s plenty. So eat as much as you want.”
Roan went to the sideboard and filled two plates, making sure Rivera had a little of each thing. When he was satisfied with the amount, he placed the loaded dish in front of her then put his own at the head of the table. He then went and poured them both a tall mug of steaming coffee, making sure to fix hers the way she liked it. Taking his seat, he handed over her coffee, waiting for Rivera to begin eating before he tucked into his own food. She was. And happily so.
“I’m not much of a breakfast eater, but I am starving.” She grinned around a bit of eggs.
“Now that your fully Lupus, coffee won’t be enough anymore, sweetheart,” he told her after he took a sip of his own coffee. Ah, ambrosia, he thought, savouring the dark brew.
Blond brows scrunched together with confusion. “Why’s that?”
“Your metabolism is much higher now,” Flynn answered. He and Sasha had Tala between them in her highchair, taking turns feeding her.
“Ah.” She nodded, popping a strawberry into her mouth and chewing with a thoughtful expression on her face. “I’ll need to rethink my caloric intake so it works with my fitness regimen. Going on a five mile run with an empty tank would be hazardous.”
“At the least.” Flynn chuckled. “I’ve got all the info you need in my office. Also, I’ll need to do a complete physical in the next couple days.”
Roan could feel trepidation coming from her, even a little bit of fear. He reached out and pat her hand. “It’s alright, sweetheart. Just the standard Post Transformation check up. We’ve all gone through it,” he assured her.
“Yeah. It’s not bad,” Sasha added. “And Flynn’s great. I usually pass out when I get blood taken. Can’t even feel it when my honey here does it. He’s the best.”
Roan couldn’t help but be amused by the blush that stole up his brother’s cheeks.
“Thank you, my love.” He grinned as he gave Tala another spoon full of eggs.
Rivera visibly relaxed at that, letting out a breath. “Oh, okay. That’s good.”
Whether more would have been said on the subject, Roan didn’t know. Tala chose that moment to let them all know she was finished with her breakfast. She also wanted out of her highchair. In fact, she was being quite vocal about it.
Sasha quickly took her out, holding her as Flynn cleaned her up. Sasha was saying soothing endearments to calm her down. Tala seemed to be mollified somewhat but her gaze and chubby little hands were pointed directly at Rivera.
“Well, seems Tala would like to introduce herself,” Sasha quipped as she went over towards Rivera.
Pulling back her chair, Rivera turned it around to the side to face Roan. When Sasha stood in front of her, Tala began to squirm and whine.
“May I?” Rivera held out her arms.
Chuckling, Sasha handed her daughter down. Rivera took her, placing the babe on her lap. For a moment, Tala just gazed up at Rivera, those eyes so much like her parents blinking owlishly at her.
“Hello, little one,” Rivera said.
Tala gave her a gummy grin then reached her little hand up and began to touch Rivera’s face. The babe was intent as she mapped out Rivera’s features. Then, with another smile, she popped a thumb in her mouth, laid her head on Rivera’s chest, and let out a deep sigh. A moment later, she began to purr.
“Is…is she purring?” Rivera’s golden amber eyes were wide with surprise.
“Oh, yeah.” Sasha laughed softly. “Caught me by surprise too. Apparently Lupus babies purr for those they feel safe and content with.”
A becoming blush stained Rivera’s cheeks. “I’ve always loved children. Though I’ve never been around that many.”
“Well, I think this bodes well for any children you and Roan will have,” Flynn said.
He had cleared away the remains of Tala’s breakfast and was now sitting at the table, watching his daughter. Roan couldn’t remember ever seeing his brother so at peace. One day, he thought. One day.
Those cheeks pinkened further. “How’s that?”
“Babies have a good sense for people. Lupus babies have an even stronger instinct for choosing those they can trust. In fact, you’re one of only four females, other than her mother, that can hold Tala,” Flynn explained. “The same with males. Other than myself, she’ll only allow Roan, Dillon, Dane, and Tristan to hold her. She cries with anyone else.”
Golden amber eyes twinkled as Rivera grinned. “That just shows she has good taste. Isn’t that right, little one?”
Tala answered by snuggling closer under Rivera’s chin and laying her small hand over Rivera’s heart.
“You’ll make an excellent mother, sweetheart.”
“Yeah?”
“Absolutely.”
Seeing her holding Tala, Roan could picture Rivera holding their own babes. And seeing as Dillon had announced that twins were in their future, well, he couldn’t wait. He just knew they would be beautiful. Two little boys with her eyes and her strength of will. Oh yes, he couldn’t wait.
“I never thought I’d have children. Just one of those dreams that would forever be a dream, you know?”
“No more of what could be, sweetheart.” He leaned over and tenderly touched her cheek. “Only what will be.”
She nuzzled his palm. “Thank you.”
“No, Rivera. Thank you.” He grinned. “You’ve made my own dreams come true.”
“Then I guess we’re even then, huh?”
He chuckled softly. “I guess we are.”
“Roan!”
The sudden shout caused everyone to jerk with startlement. Tala more so as she sat up in Rivera’s lap, reaching out for her mother. Sasha picked her up and cradled her close, rocking her gently. The owner of the shout stuck his dark head in the doorway, young face animated and hazel eyes glowing dimly with excitement.
“Cole Trelaine.” Charlie’s voice was thick with displeasure as she glowered at Cole.
He had the grace to blush. “My apologies Charlie, Sasha. Roan, Tristan found something you really need to see.”
Roan nodded. “I’ll be there in a moment.”
With a sheepish grin and another apology to Sasha, he was gone.
Rising from his seat, Roan held out his hand to Rivera as she too stood up. Her features showed confusion, topaz eyes full of questions. Then those eyes widened.
“He’s on Dane’s team with Tristan. The one who was invisible in your office.”
“Not invisible exactly. His ability is he’s able to use shadows and light refraction. It’s one of the more rarer powers the Omega’s have.” With everything that had happened, he would need to get her caught up.
“Useful though.” She smirked.
“It is at that,” he agreed with a smile of his own.
“You guys go ahead,” Sasha told them. “I need to change, Tala.”
“I’ll take her, Sasha,” Charlie said as she came around to Sasha’s side. “This is obviously an Alpha thing so I’m sure you’ll need to be there.”
“Are you sure, mom?”
“Of course.” Charlie held out her arms, Tala going right to her. “You and Roan go take care of the Pack while I take care of the next generation.”
“Alright.” She kissed her daughter’s then Charlie’s cheek. “I’ll be up as soon as we’re done.”
“That’s fine.” She smiled then turned away, cooing to her granddaughter as she left.
“Granny heaven,” Flynn quipped, shaking his head.
Roan chuckled as he led them all out the dining room and down the hall to his office. When they walked through the door, Roan couldn�
�t help but let out a harsh breath in shock. It looked as if Tristan had ransacked the Best Buy computer department. There were several laptops, a couple desktops, some printers, and other paraphernalia scattered on every available flat surface. Cole was in a chair using one of the lap tops while Dane was near Tristan using one of the small desk tops. The printer beside him was spitting out copies of something. Just what the hell did he need all this stuff for?
“Christ, Tristan. When I said you could use my office, I didn’t mean for you to take over and turn it into a computer depot.” Roan rubbed the back of his neck.
Tristan was behind Roan’s massive desk. Fingers tapping away on his laptop, his young face was intense as he gazed at the screen. “Sorry, but it was necessary.”
“Necessary for what?” Flynn huffed. “Unravelling string theory?”
Tristan snorted. “Please. I solved that equation a decade ago.”
“See? I told you he wasn’t just another pretty face.” Sasha laughed.
“Damn straight,” Tristan replied, concentration still on the screen.
“Effective though,” Rivera added.
“Focus people.” Roan shook his head. He had a feeling this meeting was going to go down hill. And fast. He hoped he was wrong.
“Just…one…more…there!” Tristan whooped. “I got you now you wily bastard.” His golden amber eyes were glowing with triumph.
“Uh, not to be nosey. But what’s going on?” Rivera asked.
“Sorry, sweetheart.” Roan led her further into the room, making a space on the sofa for her and Sasha. He and Flynn took their spots beside their True Mates. “Later on today, I’ll show you what happened in the clearing so you can be up to date. But for now, your uncle Phillip was showing a strange calmness that night and it set off a few warning bells for us.”
“Hmph.” Sasha snorted. “The guy gives me a bad vibe. Really bad.”
“So Tristan’s been doing some snooping?”
“That and some hacking, niece of mine,” Tristan replied. “And now I have some of the fruits of my two weeks labours.” He tapped a couple keys then turned to Dane. “If you would be so kind, my friend.”
Dane went over to another printer in the corner that was spitting quite a few copies of whatever Tristan wanted. When it was done, Dane gathered them all and brought them to Roan. Looking them over, he saw that they were bank statements. Each from a different bank but they all had the same amount in common. Fifteen grand.
“What did you find?” He handed the papers to Rivera who shared them with Sasha and Flynn.
“Phillip is a very sneaky boy. And I mean very sneaky,” Tristan began. “For the past two centuries, he’s been skimming small amounts of money from the ten families and the main Pack fund. At first, it all went into an account with Lloyds of London. As he accumulated more, an account was opened with the Swiss, then a bank in France, one in Spain, in New York, and lastly, the Cayman’s. When each account reached three million, he would take out a million, put it into savings, and use fifty grand to open a new account somewhere else. He would still keep putting small amounts in these accounts though.”
“Good Lord, why?” Flynn asked with confusion.
He wasn’t the only one. Seemed the ten families had nothing on Phillip when it came to stealing. But then, the ten families thought it their right. Phillip was stealing from them all. But to what purpose? Roan really had a bad feeling.
“Don’t know. But about twenty five years ago, the accounts in Spain and France were closed. The money from those two accounts, fifteen million, was transferred to the Cayman account. All together, that account totalled forty five million dollars.”
“Good grief,” Sasha groaned.
“Oh, but that’s not all.” Tristan grimaced. “On a different day every month for those twenty five years, fifteen grand was, and still is, deposited into six accounts that I’ve been able to track down. Of course, there could be more, but those are the ones so far. Anyway, all are small town banks that have no big affiliates. And from what little I can glean from this end, the recipients are human.”
“Humans? What the hell could he possibly be giving that kind of money to humans for?” Flynn looked just as dismayed as the rest of them.
“I don’t know, brother. But whatever it is, can’t be good,” he replied. His bad feeling just got worse. “Were you able to get any background on the recipients?”
Tristan nodded. “Yeah. Though very little. All these people are married middle class with kids. None have ever been arrested or even have a traffic ticket. Hell, the first guy I looked up is an accountant and his wife is an elementary school teacher. They have two kids, one in college and the other in high school. The man drives a Volvo for Gods sake.”
“Okay, just calm down,” Roan soothed. “You’ve got a good start here.”
Damn, humans. Just what they didn’t need. Roan needed to find out just what Phillip was up to and stop it. Fast. He didn’t rescue the Pack only to have Phillip take it down with whatever scheme he’d been cooking up.
“And that’s all I can get.” He huffed angrily.
That definitely didn’t sound good. “Explain.”
“I’ve hit a wall.” He threw his hands in the air. “Everything I’ve told you is all I’ve been able to find. I can’t go any further. Not with my resources and certainly not without help.”
“You know I’ll get you whatever you need, Tristan.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not so much what as whom,” he hedged.
“And just whom are you referring to?” Though Roan had a good guess.
“Kane and Abel.”
“Damn,” Roan sighed as Flynn began to rant.
“No! Absolutely not! Abel yes, but Kane? Hell no! He’s not to step foot in this house. Not after the stunt he pulled last time,” Flynn snarled.
“Calm down, honey.” Sasha laid a hand on his thigh. “I’m sure Tristan has a good reason for wanting those two here.”
“Look, I know Kane caused a lot of trouble. But him and his brother are the best hackers on the planet. I’m just a novice compared to those two and I don’t say that lightly or easily. I’ve got skills. Those two, off the freaking charts. They could get what we need in days. As it is, it could take me weeks. Maybe months. And to be honest with you, now that the ten families are no longer rolling in it and the main Pack fund is off limits, I’m not sure what Phillip is going to do.”
Before Roan could open his mouth, Sasha growled then jumped to her feet.
“Oh, get over yourself already,” she huffed. “It was four years ago, Flynn.”
“Not too long to forget.” He sat there with arms crossed, expression mulish.
Sasha’s gaze narrowed. “What’s this really about, Flynn? The fact you got off with Kane or that you enjoyed it?”
Flynn jerked back as if he had been slapped. “That’s not fair. I thought he was a female that had crawled into my bed. I never would have done that with a male had I been awake. I didn’t even know it was Kane until after. And then he…he kissed me.” His face was red with the admission.
“And then all hell broke loose,” Roan murmured, remembering that night. Jeez, what a mess. It had been chaos.
“What’s really the problem, Flynn?”
For a moment, it looked as if he wasn’t going to answer her. Then he let out a harsh breath. “I’m not gay.”
There was complete silence as everyone stared at Flynn as if he had grown a second head.
“Of course not. What ever gave you the idea that you were?” Sasha seemed just as confused as the rest of them.
“Well, I…I got off. With a male.”
“For the love of…” Sasha took a deep breath then reached for her True Mate’s hands. “Honey, first of all, you didn’t know it was Kane regardless of what happened between you. Second, unknowingly getting off with another man does not mean you’re gay. You have to be attracted to and want to be with another male to be gay.”
“She’s right
, Flynn,” Dane said. “And while Kane should have said something about his little crush instead of acting on it, the results of those actions in no way mean you’re gay.”
“Of course, beating the crap out of the guy didn’t help,” Cole quipped.
“And he’s apologized numerous times,” Tristan added.
Flynn laid his head back. “Damn. I’ve been an ass, haven’t I?”
Sasha crawled onto his lap. “Maybe a little. But it’s understandable. You were in shock. Upset. Maybe a little out of it. And getting off with another guy maybe made you feel less than a male?”
“No. Not that.” He sat up straight, shaking his head. “I’ve never thought being gay made you less. Quite the opposite really. No, it made me question myself. Have doubts about who I really am. I didn’t like it.”
“Well, I know exactly who you are.”
“You do?” He gave his True Mate a small smile.
“Yep.” She nodded. “My True Mate. My best friend. The father of my child. And the love of my life. All rolled into one sexy Lupus.”
“Sexy, huh?”
“Meet me in the barn later and I’ll show you.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips then tuned toward everyone while still sitting in Flynn lap. “Carry on.”
“Lord love you Flynn, but I’m glad I’m gay.” Tristan laughed.
“Amen,” Cole and Dane said at he same time.
Roan looked at his True Mate. “When did I lose control of the conversation?”
“You didn’t.” She giggled. “They just needed to get some things settled is all. Besides, sometimes it’s best to just sit back and let things unfold. You learn a lot that way.” She winked.
“Indeed.” He took her hand and kissed the knuckles. “Beauty and brains.” He then turned to Tristan. “Get in touch with the twins. I want them here today, tomorrow at the latest.”
“They’re twins too?”
“The first set of Omega’s born for over five centuries.”
Rivera shook her head with an expression of wonder.
“Will do, Roan,” Tristan answered.
“And Flynn…”
“Not to worry, brother. Kane and I will have a talk and clear the air,” he assured.
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