by R. J. Blain
“Richard,” Desmond growled, his wolf pressuring me.
“Desmond, fuck off.”
Shock and surprise wafted from the other Alpha, who stopped in his tracks.
Nicolina whirled around to gawk at me. “Richard!”
William made his appearance, his eyes as wide as Desmond’s. “Richard?”
“You were required upstairs twenty minutes ago, Mr. Brooks,” I replied, punching the code in for the upstairs before tapping in the override to open the second door remotely. “Now.”
He made it three steps past me before he came to a halt, whirled around, and stared at the puppy I was cradling. His mouth dropped open, a strangled noise coming out of his throat.
“I suppose you can take your puppy,” I conceded, handing her over to her father. “Seriously, you’re needed upstairs. Your other daughter needs you even more than your newborn puppies do.”
“Puppies?” he blurted.
“Plural is what happens when there is more than one, which there is,” I replied, smug and proud of William’s bitch. “Easy delivery. Your mate is fine. You will walk up the stairs. No dropping newborn puppies hurrying up the stairs. Human types, such as this little lady, are not as durable as the canine variety, of which you do not have any. Don’t forget to support her head.”
William cradled his daughter, his eyes watering with his tears.
I clapped his shoulder. “Congratulations, William.” I waited until William vanished up the staircase before slumping against the wall. “Sorry, Desmond. Not up for bullshit or games.”
“You reek of silver.”
“Yeah, well. Shit happens.”
“I shot him. It was an accident. I didn’t…” my mate hiccuped, and the tears started again. I sighed, giving her a push in her father’s direction.
“As I said. I’ll let you up to the fourth floor so you can have a long talk,” I said, heading to the staircase leading directly to the top level. I punched in my main code and the override code to unlock the upper door.
Wendy hurried down the hall, took one look at me, and clapped her hands over her mouth. “You’re covered in blood.”
“Childbirth does that,” I replied. “It’s not mine this time, I promise.”
“This time?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.
“Nicolina will explain upstairs. Up, up.”
“We’re going to have a long talk, Richard,” Desmond swore.
I sighed and nodded. “Later, please.”
“Later.” Desmond herded his mate and daughter up the stairs. I closed the door after them and turned. Judging from the number of bodies in the hallway, the whole pack was present.
“Alex is fine, bruised, cut up a little, but still kicking.” I headed to the pool level, unlocking the door and leading them up the stairs, standing aside so they could file into the room and take in the carnage.
“Jesus, Richard. It looks like a war zone in here,” Tully said.
“Simon ate five silver rounds,” I said, crossing to Simon’s corpse. Someone had covered it with a sheet, but it didn’t hide the black blood staining everything. “He was fighting with Alex. Nicolina pulled the trigger.”
“And that explains why you went psycho on Desmond down there. She said she shot you?”
“She had a breakdown afterwards. When I got here with Frank, she was huddled in the corner, shaking, with the gun still in her hands. She wasn’t responding. I decided to risk wrestling the gun out of her hands. She got a shot off.”
“Two, if the hole in the wall is any indication,” Phillip commented, pointing at a hole in the mural covering the window. “Doesn’t look like it got through to the glass at least.”
“That one was me. Hit the trigger when I was getting the gun out of her reach.”
Muttering something under his breath, Tully yanked open my bathrobe as he searched for the wound. Sighing, I shrugged out of it and presented my right arm for his inspection. “Okay. Hollow round I guess?”
“No. They were the real deal,” I said, wincing as Tully went to unbutton my cuffs, discovering the layered shirts.
“Why are you wearing multiple shirts and your bathrobe?”
“Frank removed the bullet and dumped me in the pool to bleed out the silver. Apparently I’m supposed to be lying down, but things happened.”
“Why are you still on your feet?” Tully demanded.
“Huh?” I replied, blinking at him. “Oh. The puppies weren’t waiting, and Amy and I have the most experience delivering little ones.”
“How is a better question, Tully,” Phillip replied, growling.
“Where’s Frank?”
“Second floor guarding Kelsey and puppy number one.” I yawned. “First floor is all yours, I’ll let you back down there and—”
Tully drove his fist into my gut, forcing the air out of my lungs. Slumping over his arm, I groped for him to keep from falling. When I didn’t hit the floor, he kicked my legs out from under me. I hit the ground hard, and Tully grabbed a handful of my hair to keep my head from cracking open on my way down. “Richard, what the fuck did you think you were doing?”
“Tully won the contest to deal with you,” Phillip reported. “All of us backing him against you and Frank. You’re paying for the stunt you pulled out there. Why did you transfer the pack to the Desmonds? They’re fiends.”
I wheezed, struggling to catch my breath.
“He did it because he’s an idiot and was terrified of running wild and taking you all down with him,” Frank announced, slamming the door from the changing rooms behind him. “If you so much as make him bleed a drop, I’ll wipe the floor with all of you, ganged up or not. He’s scheduled for a transfusion and a nap. Amy was about to send me up for him when a blubbering William came up the staircase without Richard, who was supposed to be with the baby.”
“Transfusion?” Kneeling next to me, Tully leaned my head against his side. “How much silver did you have to bleed out?”
“We plugged the hole before he went into circulatory collapse. Most of his blood ended up in the pool, but he’s still got silver in him, seeing as we couldn’t bleed him dry. Amy’s prepping Alex now that Kelsey is in William’s hands. She wants to bleed out the rest of the silver, too. So, lay off. Yell at him in the morning. Trust me, there’s a line to have at him, and I’m at the front of it.”
I groaned, closed my eyes, and relaxed against Tully, groping for the bonds that weren’t there, too weak to steal them back from Desmond. “I surrender,” I stated, hoping my submitting without a fight would shut them up for at least a few minutes.
It did.
~~*~~
I didn’t know who had dosed me with Ketamine and wolfsbane, but when I found them, they were going to die a slow and terrible death. In the fog of blood loss and fatigue, I didn’t even notice I was drugged until my mate showed up in my bedroom, demanding I bake her the batch of cookies I had promised her.
Halfway through preparing them, it clicked I had done it without so much as a second thought. I froze, blinking. “No way.”
“Oh, way,” my mate crooned, her voice suspiciously like a cat’s purr. “You are making me those cookies, and you will give them all to me. Am I understood?”
Under the influence of the drugs, my wolf was as good as down and out for the count. I stared at her with wide eyes. Unable to resist her demand for an answer, I replied, “Yes.”
“I love this. Father said you were mine to torture today. Frank gets you for half of tomorrow, and after that, the rest of your pack will share you until the drugs wear off. He thinks it will be at least four or five days at the minimum. If you behave, you’ll get to visit with the babies later today. Their mom and dad are already tired, because without you or your other really submissive wolves around, they cry a lot. William’s already worn ragged keeping them happy. Frank told me to tell you they both have clean bills of health.”
“How long?” I blurted, paling as what my mate told me sank in. “Did you say four or
five days? Why did they drug me?”
“Because you cause too much trouble,” my brother announced, staggering into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing his eyes. “Finish her cookies, slave. After they are in the oven, you will make me coffee. You may have some, for you are grouchy without your coffee.”
I hated Ketamine and wolfsbane. Growling, I did as I was told, resenting what I was being forced to do despite the orders being something I would have done willingly under normal circumstances.
“He’s not your slave, Alex,” my mate protested. “You’re my slave; I rescued you. It’s traditional; Richard told me so.”
“Don’t blame me,” I begged in a whine, tensing as I watched my mate for any signs of trouble. “About Simon…”
“Richard, I spoke with my father and mother regarding that scumbag. It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” I protested.
“Richard, you will not mention him again.”
“Fine,” I growled, flexing my hands as my annoyance and worry surged.
“Relax, Richard,” my brother chided.
“Slave Two, go get me a glass of milk and explain to your brother he is not permitted to worry about that jerk. I’m fine. He’s the one we’re worried about.”
“I agreed to simple tasks and a general subservience to you, Miss Desmond. You have one mindless slave already. Someone has to stand up to you and your wicked ways.” My brother chuckled, grabbed his mug, and took a sip. “Richard, get her a glass of milk. To answer your earlier question, you were drugged because you started panicking halfway through bleeding the rest of the silver out while we were giving you transfusions. Frank believes you finally reacted to the shock of pack transference. You owe both Desmond and Wendy a thank you. They both donated, as did Frank and Tully. I donated first while Amy was confirming they had matching blood types. Even your Slaver Mistress offered, but she was denied due to shock and stress.”
“I did? They did?” I didn’t remember the transfusions, let alone panicking. “Last thing I remember was Tully using me as a punching bag.”
“Desmond mopped the floor with him after they finished donating. He forced Tully to change to his wolf and dragged him around the floor by his scruff. Funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time. I got it on video,” my brother reported. “You also owe the kids downstairs a lot of cookies, so you’ll be doing a lot of baking today. Between them and the adults, the third level has been sanitized. They did a lot of scrubbing before bed.”
I groaned, slumping over the counter. “I don’t have supplies for that many cookies.”
Snickering, Alex drained his cup and slid it to me in silent demand. “Yes, you do. You would be surprised what those kids will do for your cookies. While the rest were cleaning, a couple of the teens took sleds to the lodge and raided the fridge there. It’s a full house. All of the Fenerec and their mates have taken over the first floor while the Normals are on the second floor, exceptions being Desmond, Wendy, and William, who are on the second floor with Kelsey and the twins.”
“No problems?”
“Not a one. You kidding? After Tully got used as a mop, everyone is on their best behavior.”
I fetched my mate’s milk and made my brother another coffee, which I gave to him. Slithering my way onto a stool, I slumped over the counter. “Okay. I’ll make all of the cookies today.”
“You’re technically on bedrest. Amy’ll be up later to check on you. You had a call from topside, too. Desmond took it.”
“Shit.” I hadn’t thought about the Shadow Pope and his Inquisition when I had transferred the pack to Desmond. “I’m going to be skinned for a rug.”
“Desmond says not. If anything, they’re happy with you for having wisdom and common sense. You’re to get rest and call once the wolfsbane wears off and you’ve taken Yellowknife back. No easily manipulated Richards are permitted on the phone with anyone important. You’re on official vacation, and the Shadow Pope has assigned some of his best men and women to help cover your work. I’m also helping to take care of your work. You should thank me later with a truck.”
“With a truck.”
“Something with chrome.”
“With chrome,” I echoed, narrowing my eyes at my brother. “I’ll consider it next week.”
“Seriously?”
“Consideration is not a guarantee.”
Whooping in triumph, Alex hopped off his stool, circling the counter to pounce at me, hugging me before tearing off down the hallway.
“Go down to the second level where you belong,” I called after him, raising my fist in his wake. “Consideration is not a guarantee!”
I waited until I heard the beep announcing he had gone downstairs. “Who else is on this floor?”
“Just you and me, Mr. Murphy. After I have my cookies, it is my job to make sure you go back to bed and that you stay there until four.” My mate hopped from foot to foot watching the timer on the oven. “Ugh, they’re not done yet, Richard. Make them bake faster.”
I stared at the wall clock, wondering if it was seven at night or in the morning. “Are your cookies breakfast or dinner?”
“Breakfast. Dinner. Both? I think both. It’s morning. You’ve been asleep for five hours. I had three hours, but Alex woke me stomping around complaining your blood pressure and pulse were off. He called Amy up.”
“When was that?”
“An hour ago.”
I groaned. “I don’t want to bake more cookies. I want to go back to bed. Who the hell let the kids go to the lodge in the middle of the night?”
“Father. He recognized the flood of tears from angry children and decided to stem the tide by promising your already promised cookies once you had supplies. When they volunteered to go to the lodge, Father knew he had made a mistake. Talked himself right into a corner. At one point, he threw his hands up in the air and demanded to know how you put up with so many spoiled rotten brats.”
“Who is spoiled?” I blurted.
“Everyone.” My mate laughed, hopping up and down when the oven timer went off. “Cookies!”
I donned my oven mitts and pulled the cookie sheets out of the oven, setting them on the stove. “No touching until they’ve cooled, Miss Desmond.”
Busying herself counting cookies, she ignored me, grabbing a spatula to lift one from the parchment paper. “Fifty-three cookies. If you’re really nice to me, I’ll take this batch down for those who were promised cookies and inform them you woke up long enough to keep your word before you went back to bed. But you’ll have to be really, really nice to me.”
“And how am I supposed to be really, really nice to you?”
“Obey my every command, slave.”
I stared at her, unimpressed with her demand. “You’re asking for what you already have again. Anyway, thanks to the wolfsbane, I have to obey your every command. You can do better than that, Miss Desmond.”
“Oh, I will,” she promised, grabbing my oven mitts so she could dump the cookies into a bowl to take downstairs. “Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”
Of that, I had no doubt.
To be continued…
Index
~~*~~
Volume One
Hunted
Nicolina Desmond should have known that her twin’s overly friendly behavior with the eligible Fenerec males would land her in trouble, but she never expected how far young, single werewolves would go to secure a mate.
The Scent of Guilt
When Richard is invited to hunt Nicolina’s kidnappers with her father, he jumps at the chance. With Desmond lusting for blood and violence, Richard is forced to toe the line between mercy, justice, and revenge.
Firecracker
No matter how influential Charles Desmond is, it’s not enough to stop those who are determined to take Richard’s rank through force. With Nicolina Desmond out on the hunt to kill him once and for all, he’ll need a lot more than luck to survive his stay with the Desmonds.
Glitter
&
nbsp; Richard Murphy has many sides, and Nicolina Desmond is dismayed to discover that he truly has the patience of a hunting wolf and his pranks are just as nefarious as hers. When the bodies of Fenerec turn up in her back yard, however, she might have to kill again, and her target is none other than Yellowknife’s injured Alpha.
Volume Two
Charmed
While Nicolina is relieved to have survived her first quarter at Stanford, there are still a few surprises left in store for her, leaving her with a lot more questions than answers… and an extra mouth to feed.
Crash and Burn
Richard’s worst fears come to pass when Nicolina’s plane crashes, leaving him to control her parents or witness two of North America’s most dangerous Fenerec rampage through a crowded airport.
Wild Wolf
In Richard’s desperation to dominate Desmond and his mate, he has done far more harm to himself than anyone ever suspected. With his human half in trouble and fading fast, it falls to his wolf to find a way to save them both. To make matters worse, it’s Christmas Eve, and Richard’s past once again comes back to haunt him.
Volume Three
The Silvered Wolf
With Richard recovering, there’s some hope of salvaging their normal Christmas rituals, but her father’s plan sweeps Nicolina up into her worst nightmare—one where she’s a bartering chip held by none other than the Silvered Wolf.
The Games Wolves Play
Richard and his wolf are delighted to have Nicolina for their own for at least several days, but when his parents show up, their fun and games take a lethal turn.