Marcus quietly walked in, coming up to Waverly’s side. “How are you, baby girl?”
Waverly looked up at her father and smiled. “Better, Dad. How is the pack?”
Marcus frowned and shook his head. “Always thinking about others. The pack is fine. They call constantly asking about you. You are very loved, baby girl.” Waverly teared up as her dad spoke softly to her.
Kane woke up as Waverly spoke to her dad. She noticed he was awake and staring at her. “Did we wake you up, Kane?” Waverly asked concerned.
“No, sweetheart. It was time for me to wake up.” Marcus tilted his head at Kane calling Waverly sweetheart. He noticed she didn’t cringe or act as if it bothered her. He watched as Kane moved and stood beside her bed. “Are you hungry?”
“Starved. I think I could eat a cow.” Waverly smiled.
“Well let me go to the kitchen and get you something to eat. Be back in a few,” Kane said and walked off ignoring the Alpha. He only had eyes for Waverly and getting her well.
*****
Vander woke up feeling his hand being rubbed by the softest feather. When his eyes finally focused he observed Waverly rubbing circles on his hand as he had slept. She didn’t even realize she was doing it.
“Breakfast is served.” Kane brought in a big plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. He sat the tray across her legs then raised her bed so she was sitting up. “Ahh, you see I remembered this time.” He smiled at Waverly as he pushed the button so she could sit up. Waverly smiled then looked over at Vander who shyly smiled back at her. She released his hand so she could eat. This breakfast had her name all over it. Vander and Kane watched as their mate consumed her meal. She even licked her fingers before she pushed her tray away. “Now I need to go to the bathroom and get a shower.” Waverly informed everyone in the room. She felt they would probably tell her she shouldn’t but she couldn’t stand it anymore and needed a shower or long bath.
Waverly was about to throw the sheet off her when she realized she was nude. She looked up as Vander and Kane watched her movements. They knew she was nude but was smiling as they watched her realize it. She knew how to handle this so she scooted up and wrapped the sheet around her body, then smiled back at them. Marcus was about to come around to the side of her bed and help her up but Vander and Kane were already there. He watched how delicately they were with her. Vander picked up the end of the sheet and carried it so she wouldn’t step on the end of it. They slowly walked to the bathroom but Kane couldn’t stand it so he swept her up in his arms and carried her into the bathroom. She loved the feel of his arms around her but she couldn’t let him know that. She wasn’t ready for him yet. Vander walked in the bathroom first and looked at the Jacuzzi tub and the shower. He knew she probably needed to get in the tub so she didn’t fall. Vander walked toward the tub and turned on the faucets getting it ready for her.
As the tub filled up Vander looked back at her then asked, “Can you do this by yourself?” Vander and Kane waited for her answer.
“Yes. I may need some help getting out, but I can bathe myself.” She grinned knowing where they wanted to go and that was in the bathtub with her.
“You can put me on the side of the tub, Kane.” Vander watched Kane snicker and instead of putting her on the side of the tub, he placed her in the tub with the sheet floating around her. “Kane, what are you doing?” Waverly quickly asked. There was no malice in her speech, but she saw the smile on Kane’s face.
“Nothing, just making sure you don’t fall. Now hand the sheet over, mate, so you can relax and take a bath,” Kane said softly.
Waverly tilted her head and shouted, “No.” Vander looked back and forth from Kane and Waverly. Neither was playing now. He knew Kane was used to being in charge and thought his mate would never say no to him.
“Waverly, I said to give me the sheet so you can have a bath,” Kane gritted out through his teeth.
“And I said no and that is what I mean,” Waverly snapped.
“Damn it, Waverly,” Kane bristled.
“Don’t cuss at me, I am still healing,” Waverly yelled.
Kane rolled his eyes and said, “It is not like we haven’t seen that before.”
“Well you haven’t seen mine, so go away, and let me deal with this,” Waverly said.
Kane narrowed his eyes. “Please, just let us take care of you.”
“Fine,” Waverly said and let the sheet fall off her.
Vander looked down and could see everything his mate had to offer. Kane just stood with his mouth open; she was beautiful. The bruises were almost gone and the cuts were healing. Kane’s mouth tightened, the sight of his mate's injuries pissed off his wolf and he nodded, turned, and left the room.
“Give him time, he wants to fix everything,” Vander said.
“He doesn’t have to fix me, I am fine,” Waverly said firmly. “I can take care of myself.”
“You don’t have to anymore though,” Vander said softly.
*****
Kane slammed the door muttering under his breath as he stopped in his tracks. Marcus was sitting in the chair beside Waverly’s bed. The nurse was finishing making Waverly’s bed as he came out. Marcus stared at Kane like the predator he was. He had his legs crossed and arms sitting beside him. He looked calm but he wasn’t. He was an Alpha and there was many sides to him, one was staying calm under pressure. Kane was about to walk out of the room when Marcus stopped him. “Kane! A word.”
Kane swallowed hard, then turned back around and went and stood before the Alpha. He felt like he was in front of the principal and getting in trouble for being bad. And he was being bad. He wanted to help Waverly but she wasn’t letting him and it pissed him off. He was an Alpha male and his word was always followed.
“Sit, Kane. I won’t bite…yet,” Marcus muttered.
Kane sat down and waited for what the Alpha needed to say. He probably was going to tell him to leave her alone and to leave. The Alpha had another thing coming if he thought he was going to do that.
“Kane, I like you. I think you and Vander will be good mates to my daughter. She is strong willed and she is like my Beta and her word is followed too.” Kane was still back at the ‘Kane, I like you’ comment.
“I think you give up too easy. She is testing you most of all. You are a wolf and she knows how dominant you can be, but she doesn’t trust males. Her biological father who was supposed to love her had to stop coming around to see her because it was confusing to the young child with me adopting her. She feels betrayed. I have loved her like she was my own flesh and blood and I always will, but she is testing you and you are failing. Stop telling her what to do and find a way to go around her, making her want what you want. Love her and show her love, not a dominant male. She knows you and Vander are Alpha males, but she is an Alpha too, my friend, and you have to learn to turn over the reins to her some too. Don’t always give in to her, but you can’t always get your way with your mate, son. Stop the fighting and start loving her.” Marcus stopped talking then got up and walked out.
He sat there in shock. “Did he just call me son?” Kane said aloud.
“Yes, he did. Sounded like good advice to me. You know since I’m a female and all,” the nurse smugly stated as she picked up the dirty sheets then walked out closing the door.
*****
Vander started taking his clothes off without saying a word. Waverly’s eyes got bigger and started stuttering. “Wh-what are y-you doing?” Vander still didn’t speak but as he pulled down his underwear, she knew exactly what he was doing and she wasn’t ready for that. Waverly started to get up out of the water when Vander placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’m just going to wash your back and that is all. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do. Okay?” For some reason Waverly knew she could trust Vander so she nodded and scooted up in the tub so Vander could slide in behind her.
Vander grabbed the faucet handle and turned the water pressure on more, then he turned the nozzle to
ward her hair as he told her to lean back. Vander let the water soak her hair then he opened the shampoo and started washing her hair, using his fingers to scrub her scalp. She moaned as he washed her hair. Waverly closed her eyes as he continued to scrub her hair clean.
“Lean back so I can rinse it.” Waverly did as Vander instructed her to do. She tilted her head back so Vander could rinse all the soap out. Then he put cream rinse in her hair. She relaxed back into him and could feel his erection pointing against her back. For some reason Waverly knew he wouldn’t touch her if she didn’t want him to.
Vander knew he couldn’t stay like this long without sliding into her from behind. He wanted her too much. He took the washrag and squirted the liquid soap on it then started washing Waverly from top to bottom, staying away from her breasts and between her legs. “Here, you can do the honors of your private places.” Waverly turned sideways staring at him.
“Who are you, Vander?” she asked innocently.
“Just a man who knows his limits and if I touch you, then I will fuck you in this water and you’re not ready for that. In fact…” Vander stood before Waverly could protest and exited the tub. “You clean those spots, then I’ll pick you up and dry you off.
“I think Kane has been punished enough.”
Waverly smiled. “You think so?”
“Yes I do. He cares about you and only wants to do stuff for you, Waverly. He has helped in this investigation trying to find you. He is a good wolf and only wants to help.” Waverly felt like her mate had just chastised her and she felt guilty for it. She knew he only cared, but they would have to come to some kind of understanding about the bossing thing.
As Vander finished drying off, Waverly had finished washing her face, neck, and all her private parts. She could still feel Vander touching her. She wanted both of them, but she started feeling tired again. She dropped her head down toward her chest rubbing the hot rag across her shoulders trying to loosen them up.
She felt his warm hand touch her shoulders, then he started to massage them. She looked up and Vander was staring at her across the room. She turned her head and Kane was massaging her neck. She could tell he was ready for another round, but she didn’t say anything and lowered her head back down so he could finish massaging her. Nobody spoke as Kane continued to rub her shoulders, back, and neck area. She could feel herself slipping off to sleep when she felt herself being picked up by Kane. She inhaled a deep breath smelling of her mates’ scents. Vander dried her off then Kane sat down in a chair while Vander plugged in a hair dryer and started drying her hair. She couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer with the heat and being held safely in the arms of one of her mates.
Chapter Seventeen
Diane dropped the knife in the bucket, then went in the bathroom and washed her hands. As she walked out the two idiots were playing video games. She walked right past them into the end bedroom. The woman’s arms were still tied to the bed. She was curled up in a ball when she heard her enter the room. She couldn’t even hold her head up to scream. She wanted to die and hoped that death would take her now. The woman wouldn't be so lucky; they had plans for her.
“See the change isn’t so bad, now you are stronger, faster.” Diane laughed.
They had changed the female with their injection. Diane knew her mate would be happy. Once a weak and helpless human female, she was now part of the pack.
“Why?” the woman moaned.
“Because you had talents before. Flynn didn’t know how lucky he was having a mate who had the sight. Now, you are so much more. A wolf with the sight. You will be the Redeemer’s right hand man, so to speak, his adviser. You will be able to tell him if there is danger to his leadership,” Diane said.
They had gotten so lucky when the woman stumbled into town. She had been searching for Flynn and another man, looking for the men who haunted her dreams, instead she found Diane at a gas station. When she overheard the woman asking for directions, she had been friendly and offered to help. However, instead of leading her to the Atlanta Pack, she brought her to the Redeemer, never knowing what prize she had secured.
The first time they had seen the woman go into a trance for the first time years ago, they had known they were going to keep her. It was the Redeemer’s idea to hold her until they could change her. She would be powerful.
At first, they had just held the woman prisoner, treating her like a queen, making sure she told them everything they needed to know. They had been smart; they threatened to take her sister in order to make her do what they wanted. It had worked, and now they needed more. She needed to help them take what was theirs. The Atlanta Pack.
The plan was simple, they would give the woman to the pack, letting her think she had escaped and she would work from the inside. They would never know what hit them.
“So you know what you have to do?” Diane said. “They are all meeting tomorrow, you will arrive then.”
“They will know,” the woman groaned.
“No they won’t, Flynn will never suspect it. Or he had better not,” Diane said.
Chapter Eighteen
Vander and Kane waited as their mate was released from the hospital. It had been almost three days, Vander working during the day and then spending his nights at the hospital with his mates getting to know one another. They had yet to discuss the actual mating, just allowing themselves to know one another.
They had finally been given the chance to get to know one another without interruption. It had been driving Kane and Vander mad when her father kept showing up at the most inopportune times. Tonight, they were taking her back to Vander’s home.
“Marcus is pissed.” Kane smiled and looked to where the Alpha stood waiting.
“He should have known she wasn’t going to do what he wanted. Hell, she had been telling him for days she was going to do what she wanted,” Kane said smugly.
“What did the therapist say?” Vander asked. Waverly had spoken to a therapist every day for the last week. Her nightmares had seemed to decrease, which was good. After the first night without meds, Waverly scared the shit out of the men. They were speaking quietly when she let out a blood-curdling scream. Both men had jumped and held her down as she tried to rip out her IV.
“She said that it will take time, Waverly knows what to expect,” Kane said. “So do we. One day at a time.”
Vander nodded. “Good. We need to find out who in the fucking pack betrayed her. It is the only way to find Josh.”
“Ret, Jewel, and Lex are having a meeting with Marcus in the morning. They are going to set up whoever is their leak. I don’t know the details, no one does, the Alphas want it that way. I only know that I am to be there with you and Waverly,” Kane said.
Vander nodded, since his mate had been hurt he had been in touch with Ret and Lex only a few times. They insisted he take care of his mate and the investigation on the police level. They were dealing with the pack, and soon they would be able to put it together.
Waverly stepped out of her room and rolled her eyes at the nurse who stood waiting to take her to the car. “Really?” she said warily to her father who nodded.
“Doctors orders,” Marcus said and Waverly folded her arms over her chest.
“More like Alpha’s orders,” Waverly muttered. “I think I can walk, father.”
Marcus began to argue until he saw the firm set in her jaw and then nodded reluctantly to the nurse. Waverly smiled and kissed her father’s cheek and then whispered something in his ear. Kane and Vander watched as her father frowned and then slowly withdrew and kissed her on the cheek before stepping back.
The powerful older wolf swung his gaze to Vander and Kane and then he growled. “I expect you to be there tomorrow at ten am for the meeting. We have a lot to discuss.”
Waverly grinned and looked at Kane and Vander and laughed. “Yes, father, I am pretty sure we are all going to enjoy the meeting tomorrow.”
Kane and Vander led their mate out of the hospital to the car Kane ha
d arranged to drive them to Vander’s house. They had security. It was the one concession they made to the Alpha, but they had agreed it would make them safer.
They nodded to the Protector who was driving them home as they got into the back. Once Waverly was settled in between the two of them, they all relaxed.
“Finally,” Waverly whispered. “I really thought that dad was going to follow us home.”
Vander laughed. “He is worried.”
“In case you didn’t realize, he is a bit overbearing. I am the only one he has, and he is protective. I understand, although it drives me nuts, I understand.” Waverly sighed.
“Well, I get it,” Kane said quietly and took Waverly’s hand. “I imagine it is hard to watch your little girl go off with not one man but two. I don't know if I would handle it any better in his shoes.”
"Yes, I guess. Not that I am agreeing with you or anything," Waverly chuckled when Kane frowned at her statement.
Vander was silent as he thought about what was to come. Would his mother finally show her face in the midst of all the chaos? She was here, somewhere, Jewel had confirmed it. The Redeemer remained silent on how she was involved in his plan. Thank god, his mates didn’t blame him for that part. When he had explained it to them the other day, they had both assured him they didn’t blame him for her actions, whatever they may be.
They pulled up to Vander’s house and he snapped out of his thoughts and grinned. Finally, they were all coming home. His place was bigger than Kane’s and the other wolf had already moved his stuff in here. Waverly’s possessions were going to be delivered tomorrow. Then they would all be home.
He opened the door and Waverly grinned when she saw the charming house he had been working on. It was secluded, and close to pack land, which is the only reason Vander bought it. Even then, he had to have known in his heart, his mate was close.
Jana Leigh & Bryce Evans Page 11