Fated Love (Stone Pack book 3)

by Harper Phoenix

  ‘Take him with us then.’

  ‘Brad, I can’t deal with this dipshit.’ He squares up to me. ‘What you gonna do, Brody? Huh?’ I snarl.

  ‘Calm the fuck down, you two. NOW. There’s a guard in the ground floor stairwell. If he hears you, it’s over.’ We both stand stock-still. I hear a door in the distance, which I was too busy arguing with Brody to notice in the first place. Jesus fucking Christ.

  ‘Clear,’ Brad declares, and I turn to Brody.

  ‘We either wait till he’s done or kill him because they will check what’s stolen if they know someone was here.’

  ‘Or we can knock him out and take more than necessary, so they don’t know what we came for?’

  That hadn’t crossed my mind. I nod in agreement and wait for Brad’s opinion.

  ‘Jared’s wearing a hole in the carpet. He said in and out fastest way possible. If it means you have to knock the guy out, do it.’

  ‘Okay, leave the guy to me,’ I tell Brody,

  ‘What are you going to do, punch him in the face? Good at that, after all.’

  ‘You have a better idea, be my guest,’ I tell him. We arrive outside of the lab entryway.

  ‘After this first door, there are double doors, which are all glass, so he will see you coming if he turns,’ Brad warns. ‘Whatever you do, needs to be fucking fast and preferably before he sees either one of you.’

  I push the door slightly, and Brody peeks around the door. The guy doesn’t turn.

  ‘Camera is off.’ With that, Brody rushes through the double doors and before the guy knows what the fuck has happened he’s collapsing in a chokehold from behind. We drag him into a cupboard at the far end. Thankfully, there’s a lock on the handle. I’m sure the cleaning crew will find him if the night guard doesn’t. I grab a bottle of bleach and take to the fridges. I find samples after samples in date order and case by case. All separated. It takes a couple of minutes to find ours and remove them. Then at random, I choose a few more. When that’s done, I open the bleach and contaminate the whole fridge. I feel like shit. Someone somewhere won’t be getting their justice because of me. But this is a matter of life or death for my kind. And that is my priority. It has to be. Brody moves to the lab computer, which is obviously locked. Brad and he go back and forth hacking in and gaining the access they need while I’m at the fridge. Because of the change in situation, we again have to delete more than just our own DNA tags from the system, so it takes a whole lot longer. I ignore the most part of their conversation, until Brad mumbles, ‘Shit.’

  ‘What?’ I ask, about done with this whole fuck up of a situation.

  ‘The guard is back at his station with his T.V. on.’

  ‘Where’s his station?’ I ask, but I know already.

  ‘Right opposite the fucking lab.’ He groans.

  ‘Facing toward or away from it?’

  ‘Away, thank fuck.’

  Brody ties up what he needs too. We don’t have to worry about fingerprints because we both have on latex gloves, so no clean up is necessary. We just need to get the fuck out before the guard pays attention to the camera being off.

  ‘Okay, we need you out of there as quietly as possible, but as fast as you fucking can,’ Brad states the obvious.

  ‘No shit, Sherlock,’ I whisper.

  As soon as the outer door swings open I realise what Brad hadn’t. The guard is listening to his T.V. wearing earbuds. The chance of him hearing us at all is slim. I can hear the commentator screaming in his ears. I sigh in relief and so does Brody as he too, realises we’ve been given a reprieve. It takes us another fucking hour to get out unnoticed though because Brad has to loop each camera in turn. When we do get out front, we find Jordan, sitting in wait for us with the engine running.

  ‘Shit, that was intense, and I wasn’t even in there,’ he says wide-eyed and scared shitless. I have to admit, it was fucking close to the bone. But I remain silent. All our animosity seems to have disappeared for the time being, but I don’t think it will take them long to realise I’m still a bastard and they hate me. At the moment they are both pretty buzzed.

  We get back to the house, and everyone is waiting in the kitchen for us. The only person I see though is Willow. Her eyes are brimming with unshed tears, and she comes right into my open arms as I cross the threshold. It’s right around that point that both Brody and Jordan remember that they hate me. Do I give a fuck? Nope. Jared slams a bottle of whiskey down on the table and a shit ton of shot glasses. He pours, and before Brody storms through to the hall, he stops him and hands him a glass. The glasses get handed around, and both Willow and myself get given one at the same time. Taking it, she smiles up at me.

  ‘Cheers,’ she says clinking her glass to mine.

  ‘A toast,’ Jared yells over everyone’s chatter. ‘To a job well-fucking done!’

  Everyone downs their shot and slams the glasses on the table. Music starts from somewhere, and Zoe leaps up on the table to dance, followed quickly by Maiya. It’s stupid o’ clock in the morning. The sun is starting to rise, and here we are celebrating. I smile as Willow’s hips start to sway and her arse rubs up against my dick. Certain she knows what she’s doing. I turn her to face me.

  ‘You teasing me, female?’

  ‘Dance with me?’ She beams, and her face is a picture of pure joy. How can I say no?

  ‘I’m more of an observer than a dancer sweetheart. I’ve got two left feet.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter. I’ll do the moving, you can just hold onto me, looking all handsome.’ She grins sliding her arms up and around my neck. ‘Thanks for bringing him back in one piece,’ she whispers against my ear. I just squeeze her close to me. Glad as fuck I’m here and not stuck in some police cell. The morning dawns, and everyone who pulled an all-nighter with us eventually heads to bed. When I stop at my door, Willow stops, and I see hesitation in her eyes.

  ‘You want me to come in or?’ I frown at her.

  ‘Of course I fucking do. You may as well get used to this room, cause I ain’t moving into that one,’ I say pointing down the hall toward hers.

  ‘Moving in?’ She smiles, and then hiccups, the alcohol clearly taking its toll.

  ‘Do you think I’m going to have my female sleep in a different room to me?’

  That starts fits of giggles. ‘Your female.’ She smiles. ‘I like that.’

  ‘So do I, now get in my bed, woman.’

  IT’S LATE AFTERNOON, and I am starving because we slept all morning. Howard went down to get us a late breakfast while I showered, insisting he would take care of me, and I didn’t need to leave his bedroom. I’m dry and laying on the bed when he swings the door open, juggling a tray and a mug of coffee. I melt a little at the sight of him taking care of me. But all too quickly I realise he isn’t alone. Howard’s stony face speaks for itself. Brody is following behind. I quickly cover myself although I’m dressed perfectly well.

  ‘Hi.’ I smile hoping I will get the same reception and he’s here to put an end to the issues he has.

  ‘Hey.’ He smiles meekly. ‘Wondered if you would come out for, I guess dinner, later with me?’ Howard shows nothing on his face when I look at him as he puts stuff from the tray onto the side table beside the bed.

  ‘Yeah, we could do dinner right?’ I ask Howard who says nothing at all in reply.

  Instead, Brody speaks. ‘Just you and me sis.’

  ‘Oh, okay sure,’ I answer a little disappointed. I’d been hopeful, but I guess he just needs time.

  ‘Great. At seven then?’

  ‘Seven is fine. I’ll see you then,’ I tell him, feeling a little uncomfortable with the two of them not speaking at all. I roll my eyes when he doesn’t say anything else, just looks at Howard’s back like he wants to say something. Howard turns before I open my mouth.

  ‘Anything else you want or you just trying to piss me off?’

  ‘Doesn’t take much and that’s what I’m worried about.’

  ‘Brody—’

/>   ‘What are you trying to say, dickhead? Be a man and speak your mind. I fucking dare you.’

  ‘Brody,’ I try again, only to be cut off this time by Brody.

  ‘Okay, I think you’re a moody motherfucker with anger issues, and I don’t like that around my baby sister—’

  ‘BRODY—’

  ‘YOU CHEEKY FUCKING CUNT!’ Howard yells and moves, getting right in Brody’s face. ‘You implying I’d lay a fucking hand on her?’ He snarls down at him. Brody doesn’t back down, and I decide to move fast before this gets out of hand again. I push myself between them and placing my hands on Howard’s chest, I plead with my eyes for him to step away. Thankfully he does. Turning away from Brody, he goes straight into the bathroom and closes the door. I look Brody straight in the eye.

  ‘Now you listen and listen well, Brody. I am not your baby sister anymore. I am a grown ass woman, and he is my bonded mate. You need to deal with whatever this shit is you have because honestly, I’m over it!’

  His lip curls minutely. ‘I’ll be in the kitchen at seven. Don’t be late.’

  I sigh, shaking my head.

  ‘Fine, but we are discussing this, and you will accept it, Brody.’ He doesn’t utter another word—simply swaggers out of the door like he didn’t just hurt me. I head straight for the bathroom and find Howard splashing cold water on his face. I can tell he’s upset more than angry. I move to his side and kiss his shoulder.

  ‘You okay?’

  He dries off his face and turns to me. He looks almost tormented. ‘I spent the first six years of my life watching my father beat the shit out of my mother, and I couldn’t do fuck all about it. He eventually killed her.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Howard’

  ‘You don’t say sorry for that bastard. He’s dead. I just wish I’d been old enough to be the one who put him to ground.’

  ‘You were too young.’

  ‘Yeah, but it doesn’t stop the dreams I have about killing him.’

  ‘Yeah, I know that feeling.’

  ‘You do, why?’

  ‘Every time I’d pray that I had the strength to take on the Phoenix pack when they came. They’d beat me as punishment to Brody when he stepped out of line. Despite wanting me as his, the alpha didn’t give a shit about what condition I was in, so long as I could bear his kids when the time came. That was the only reason I wasn’t raped.’

  ‘Makes my fucking blood boil—wish I’d wiped the whole fucking pack out.’

  ‘Well, I like to hope they weren’t all like that.’

  ‘Yeah, well we wouldn’t be faced with this bullshit now if we’d just killed the lot of ‘em.’

  ‘Is it always like this? Tit for tat? You killed their alpha, so they want your head?’

  ‘No. Usually when there is a power struggle like that and an alpha is taken out, the wolf that makes the kill becomes alpha. Unless challenged by the alpha heir. But in most cases, the alpha position is passed on through the family ranks. Our pack, for instance, has had a Stone alpha for centuries. Which is why we go by the name ‘Stone pack’ instead of our country.’

  ‘Oh, I didn’t realise that.’

  He turns to face me, leaning back against the sink. His t-shirt is crumpled on the floor.

  ‘Yes, we’re notorious around the world as a pack that shouldn’t be messed with, but you always get some clever arsehole with a massive ego who thinks he can take the pack on.’

  ‘I guess with a reputation like that you will attract power-hungry wolves.’

  ‘Yeah,’ he says shrugging his shoulders. ‘We’ve been tested many times and won though—part and parcel of being male in a pack—goes with the territory.’

  ‘What does, fighting to keep power?’

  ‘Fighting for what’s ours, to keep our female’s safe, our elderly, our kids.’

  ‘It sounds so sexy when you talk like that,’ I tell him honestly.

  ‘I’ll kill anything and anyone to keep you safe, sweetheart, believe that.’

  I smile, putting my arms around his neck.

  ‘I believe you,’ I tell him, grinding my pelvis against his. Right at the moment, my stomach lets out an almighty growl.

  ‘Food. Now.’ He admonishes. Sighing, I take the hint and go through to eat breakfast in bed. When we’ve eaten, I ask if he will take me out for a while before I meet with Brody. He gets his phone out.

  ‘Brad, you fancy taking Maiya into town for a couple of drinks?’

  ‘Yeah if she’s game I am, who’s going?’

  ‘Gonna ask Jared and Harrison now.’

  ‘Excellent, it’s been too long since we partied.’ Howard laughs.

  ‘Just a few drinks, Brad, not a fucking party.’

  ‘Oookay, party pooper.’ I giggle at Brad’s childish tone, as Howard hangs up and dials Jared. Everyone agrees to go out including Zoe, Maiya, and Devon, which means it’s a great chance to get to know them better. I’m still kind of getting used to the fact that Maiya is human and yet lives among us. But I do really like her. I notice we have a few extra guys with us too. Howard admits that since we are officially on lockdown, we need to stay safe at all times. And so that he and the guys can kick back a little, they need that extra security. Brody has to stay behind to man the security room, along with a brood of other unknown-to-me wolves. We arrive at a pub, which is on a street of many. This one has several pool tables, which Howard tells me is one of the guys’ pastimes. I sit in the far corner, watching with the girls.

  ‘So, how is being bonded to Howard?’ Maiya asks with a smile on her face. All the girls seem close. Except Imogen—she seems quieter, older and more inclined to stay around the house.

  ‘Really good.’ I smile biting my lip.

  ‘Oooh, come on, I know that look, and that is not a look of ‘really good’. That’s a look of ‘fucking amazing’. Come on, you can trust us.’ Devon winks.

  ‘He is pretty amazing.’ I smile rolling my eyes, embarrassed that I’m actually having a girl talk.

  ‘He and I didn’t always get along you know,’ she continues. ‘In fact, I punched him in the face the first time we met.’

  I turn, shocked with wide eyes. ‘Really?’

  She nods, and I laugh so loud I attract attention from the guys. Howard looks at me and smiles, and I think my ovaries explode.

  ‘Well, first time we met, I held a knife to his balls and threatened to cut them off.’ The laughter erupts, and I can’t help but join in.

  ‘Oh my god. I can just picture that,’ Zoe squeals. ‘He really needs to work on first impressions.’

  The conversation flows with them so easily, and before I know it, it’s time to head home.

  ***

  I meet Brody in the kitchen. Jordan is there, and there are a few other guys waiting out back. I say my goodbyes to the girls, and Howard takes me out to the car.

  ‘I think I’m going to come and tag along,’ he tells Brody. I wasn’t expecting it at all, but I’m okay with it. Brody, on the other hand, isn’t.

  ‘Howard, she’s my fucking sister, what do you think is going to happen to her?’

  ‘Well, considering what you allowed to happen in Phoenix, I’m not so fucking keen on leaving her in your hands.’ I gasp at Howard’s words, and I’m a little bit offended for Brody. He did his best to protect me after all. Brody is just glaring, his eyes huge and his teeth clenched.

  ‘Howard, I’m more than safe with Brody, besides I can handle myself.’ He ignores me and looks straight at Brody and then the others in turn.

  ‘A fucking hair on her head! A single fucking one. I’ll kill you.’

  Brody sighs, rolling his eyes. I turn and kiss Howard, forcing him to look at me and stop the death stares.

  ‘I don’t fucking like you going out without me.’

  ‘I don’t like being treated like an idiot who can’t defend herself either, so I’m going to pretend this conversation didn’t happen, okay? Now give me a kiss please?’ His eyes soften a touch as his lips meet mine.
His hands slide around my back, and the kiss quickly becomes quite inappropriate considering my brother is just a foot away. Brody clears his throat, and I hear Jordan cough. My arms are wrapped tightly around Howard’s neck, and I wish he were coming with us. But all too soon the kiss ends, leaving him with a cocky smile on his face.

  ‘You got your knife?’ he whispers in my ear.

  ‘Always do.’ I smile.

  ‘Good.’ He nods as I get in the car. His phone rings as the door closes, and I wave, telling him it’s okay. He walks back into the house.

  Before we leave, Brody looks at his phone and tells Jacob, who is in the back with Jordan, that Jared wants him to run guard on the perimeter. Jacob grunts his okay, clearly hoping for an easier job—going out with us. As he gets out of the car, Brody pulls away and down the long drive. We don’t speak much on the way there, and I feel a little awkward with Jordan in the back, knowing he is attracted to me and I’m now bonded with another male. I almost feel a little mean. But it is what it is. We arrive at a place called Frankie and Benny’s. Looks like an Italian-American, and it’s nice when inside.

  Jordan stays outside. I text Howard to let him know we’re here. We wait to be seated, and a tall blonde woman comes over with two menus and asks where we would prefer to sit, pointing to the busier part of the restaurant. Brody shakes his head and points to the aisle of booths where no one is sitting. The waitress doesn’t look happy about it but agrees with a smile. Brody dictates which booth we sit in and sits opposite me. The woman hands us the menus and takes our drink order. I scan the pages and honestly don’t know what to choose—it all sounds so good.

  ‘You do understand why I want to see you alone right?’

  ‘Brother and sister bonding?’ I ask smirking, knowing full well what he means.

  ‘Smart ass.’ He laughs. ‘Seriously, Will, I just want to make sure… that you’re happy… you know… Howard can be a little intense and an asshole—’

  ‘He can also be sweet and caring and nice.’

  His eyebrows shoot up.

  ‘Don’t look like that. I see a side of him that no one else does.’