Protect her.
Love her.
“I know a few families of El’s standing. There are always threats,” he told them both blankly.
“Yeah, I know. But those threats are spread around. Plus, she’s not even the most vulnerable target anymore. There are grandkids. Kids are always targets. But it seems like El’s in danger more than her nieces and nephews. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Shawn shook his head. “El’s the richest. Plus, and she doesn’t know this, but her father has a soft spot for her. She doesn’t think he does, because hell, that single soft spot doesn’t a great dad make, but he cares. Seriously cares.
“He wouldn’t have called me in over his sons’ wives, for example. It’s because Ryan is marrying El. His sons’ security team would have passed on their reports to the chief, and he’d have given a very brief report on their suitability. Or lack thereof. But that’s it. Joseph never talks to the field agents. Never. Even me.
“Yet, this time Joseph wants me to dig deep into Ryan’s past. Make sure everything’s copacetic. You see the difference?”
“Why do you think that is?” Marc asked. “Why is he more protective of her?”
“I don’t know. It’s not because she’s the only girl, it’s just… It’s how it’s always been. I know he was angry when his father told El she could live with him when she refused to go back to school. That anger was more than just irritation with a kid for not doing as they’re as told. He was hurt.
“I remember because Annabel was bitter at the time. Said Joseph wouldn’t have given a damn if their sons had done the same. But everything was different because ‘precious El’ had pulled a tantrum and won.”
Trip frowned. “She called her that?”
“Yeah.”
“How’s her relationship with El?”
“More than strained. They don’t get on well.”
“Any reason for that?”
“Aside from the fact El is young and beautiful while Annabel is getting old?” Shawn snorted. “Yeah, as superficial and insane as that sounds, it’s the truth. Annabel’s the kind of woman who has traded on her looks all her life, and can’t cope now they’ve faded. El’s still being in her prime doesn’t help. She should never have had a daughter. But, saying that, she’s jealous of her daughters-in-law too. The woman’s batshit.”
“Wow, she’s definitely a piece of work, right?”
At Trip’s words, Shawn snorted. “Right.”
Marc, though, shook his head. “What else? Is she jealous of the attention her husband gives El?”
“I guess,” Shawn murmured, “But I don’t always see that. Like today, we went to the kitchen. I don’t always see what happens when they’re together, but I bear the brunt of the fallout. It’s rare for her not to be upset over something her mother has said to her. I think Joseph has stopped trying to curb Annabel’s tongue. From what I can make out, it makes her mother worse.”
Trip frowned. “What are you thinking, Marc?” he asked. “I can see you’re cogitating over something.”
The other Lion rubbed his chin. “I think it’s interesting, that’s all.”
“What is?” Shawn demanded, wondering what the other man could see that he was missing. Because, from the faraway look in the older man’s eyes, he’d definitely read into something Shawn had said.
“I wonder if El isn’t Annabel’s.”
Shawn’s eyes widened. “Why the fuck would you say that?”
“I could be wrong,” Marc immediately retorted. “I’m only going off what you’ve said, and El’s reaction to the interaction with her mother. But…”
“But what?” Trip demanded, his frown having morphed into a deep scowl.
Marc released his safety belt and turned in the seat so he could better see Trip in the back and Shawn behind the wheel.
“Okay, let’s just suppose I’m right. I could very well be wrong, but let me just work on this hypothesis. Agreed?”
Shawn frowned but nodded.
Trip, warily, murmured, “Where are you going with this, Marc?”
“Let me explain, okay? Just bear with me?” When Trip nodded, sighing all the while, Marc murmured, “Let’s say Joseph had an affair a long time ago. One that yielded El. For some reason, he took on the baby rather than let the mother care for her…”
“Which would be more than likely in that kind of situation. Rich men have kids out of wedlock all the time. They don’t keep them in the family. They pay the mothers to keep quiet,” Trip argued.
“Yeah. That’s my point,” Marc murmured. “He didn’t do that because, for whatever reason, he loved El’s mother and wanted the child to be raised in the family.”
“Why would he want that?”
“What if El’s mother was his mate?”
Trip snorted. “This is more than a hypothesis. This is a fucking fairy tale.”
Marc grunted. “I told you to bear with me. You said that he treats her differently to the rest of his kids?”
Shawn, scowling, nodded. “Without a doubt.”
“Why would he do that, Trip? The man sounds like a narcissist from what El’s told me. And she’s so certain he’s only interested in the money she has, but what if he genuinely cares? It sounds like his third degree on Ryan came as a shock to her.”
Shawn nodded. “It would be. He’s known about her other relationships, but has never grilled into them. Granted, he’s never had the opportunity. She’s never brought anyone home.”
Marc drummed his fingers on his lap. “Look, I know this sounds insane, but I’m positing this as a reason for her being under threat when none of the others are.
“Somehow, the family managed to gag the impossible—news that El is the richest of them all. Sure, it spread a little, but it hasn’t spread far. We didn’t know about it, for example, did we?”
Trip sighed. “No, but it’s not like some rich human’s inheritance would be of interest to us.”
“No, but we still know that back in the day, Britney Spears shaved her fucking head, right? We balance on two worlds, and we know what’s important. Something like that, the world’s richest heiress, would have gone full scale out there. We should have known, but we didn’t. Which tells me that it’s really not common knowledge. So, when kidnappers should be targeting the youngest, most vulnerable, generation, they’re targeting her for a reason.
“That reason could be she’s Shifter.”
Silence fell at his declaration, then Trip snorted. “You’re reaching, man.”
Marc shook his head. “I’m not. Think about it. Think about what just happened back then. When she freaked out, Ryan could control her. Without the bond in place. He’s good, even with non-Shifters, but that good? Plus, her reaction to Shawn’s… sorry, buddy, but betrayal…?” Shawn winced at that. “Didn’t you feel her rage? It was like a physical entity in the damn car.”
Trip frowned, but there was a haze of doubt clouding his eyes that had Shawn studying him with interest in the rearview mirror.
“You think there could be something to what he’s talking about?” Shawn asked him softly, turning around to look the other man in the face.
“I didn’t, but he’s right about El’s reactions. They were powerful. More powerful than a human’s would ordinarily be.”
Shawn frowned. “What do you mean?”
Trip ran a hand through his hair. “When she needed to get out of the car, did you feel the charge run through the air?”
Shawn thought back to that hellish moment when he’d admitted to having slept with her mother. “I-I guess, but I was just focused on her. Not her reaction and how it affected the atmosphere.” He scoffed at his own words. Jesus, the last thing he’d been thinking about was the goddamn atmosphere.
Trip wriggled his shoulders. “No. Why would you? But still, I noticed it. And Ryan did calm her down easily.” To Marc, he declared, “We need to talk to Ryan about this.”
“Hang on a minute,” Shawn demanded. “Even if we suspend realit
y for a minute and her dad did have an affair with a Shifter, and she can shift too, what does that have to do with the kidnapping threats?”
Marc sighed. “Look, females are precious. They’re not rare, but still, when one pops out to every three males, we value and cherish their uniqueness… especially if a daughter begets another daughter. That’s even rarer. Usually, female children are born to a Triad. I don’t know why, and it’s weird, but it’s just how it works.”
“Are females reared from other female Shifters more powerful or something?”
Trip nodded, but he looked uneasy. “They’re stronger. Ryan’s mom is incredibly strong—it’s why he’s a young leader. All his kin are powerful.”
Marc winced. “Any Pride would want that child within its confines. Especially if Joseph stole El from the mother or something like that.”
“You can’t be serious?”
Trip sighed. “I thought you were off your head, Marc, but the abductions are… they’re more than just about the money. You’re right. It’s personal. They want her. And they keep on trying.”
Shawn shook his head, refusing to let them overreact and slide down this particular slippery slope. “You have zero evidence to back this up. None at all.”
Trip shot Shawna look. “Get a DNA sample from Annabel, and we can easily discern if she’s El’s mother or not. Once we know the truth, we can work from there. Either scrapping Marc’s idea totally, or leapfrogging onto it and trying to figure out a way to stop anyone from coming after El again.”
Though all of this was crazy, Shawn pinned El, who was some distance away now and only visible because he had great vision, with a look. “We’re talking about wrecking the foundations of her life.”
“For her safety. And she needn’t know. Not if Annabel is her mother.”
At Marc’s persuasive tone, Shawn blew out a breath. Starting the engine, as he pulled out onto the road and began the short drive back to the compound, he murmured, “I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 13
“Can that be fast tracked?”
As Shawn walked into the office the two days later, Ryan and the others caught the tail end of his conversation.
Aware of Marc’s hypothesis, Ryan was sitting firmly on the fence until they had more information.
“I hope that was to do with the DNA sample you sent off?” he asked, having been made cognizant of the situation and wanting Shawn to know it.
Shawn had asked Anita for a hair sample from Annabel’s hairbrush. Because the maid was devoted to El, she’d complied, but Shawn had grumbled, saying the old woman wanted to know why they were asking for hair samples—she was an avid fan of NCIS, apparently.
“Yes. They’re hoping to get it to me by the end of the week.”
“Not a moment too soon, either,” Trip grumbled. “The sooner we can put Marc’s theory to bed, the better. I don’t like this. Not one bit.”
Marc snorted. “Because I love having these whacko ideas, right?”
Trip merely rolled his eyes. “I’m just pissed that she’s elected to sleep with you these past two nights. Again. What’s with that?”
Ryan snorted. “Because you didn’t fuck her the other night? Shawn and I haven’t had a chance to get close to her at all!”
Not that it was about the sex. Although, it was a little bit. They were guys, and there was no escaping that.
Marc shrugged. “She feels safe with me.”
“She should feel safe with all of us.”
Trip’s grumble had Ryan sighing. He was feeling the pinch too, but there was no way to make sense of a mate bond. It manifested how it manifested. “You know that’s not how this works.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care that it’s not how this works. It still sucks.”
Marc snorted. “Yeah. Our mate, sobbing in my arms as she falls asleep, sucks.”
Shawn dragged in a shaky breath. “Christ, if I could take it back, I would.”
“I don’t think it’s just you, Shawn,” Marc tried to appease. “I think it’s more the whole situation is wearing on her. Now I understand her past and how vulnerable she is when it comes to being in bed, it makes a lot more sense.”
Ryan felt the familiar rage flush through him. Whoever the fuck had kidnapped El had more than just stolen her from safety and made her realize that she was constantly vulnerable, but also, they’d robbed her of genuine, deep, and peaceful rest.
Sleep was a person’s most vulnerable time. Those moments where their total defenses were down and they were in danger without even really being aware of it.
For El, sleep was no longer the welcome haven it had once been. Bed wasn’t a comfort after a long day of hard slog. It was a place to be feared.
He wanted to kill whoever the fuck it was that had targeted his mate, but as the threat was years old, the scent no longer about to trace, he couldn’t do a damn thing. Something his Lion railed at in frustration. With a sigh, he murmured, “Shawn, you did what you did when you were a different man. She can’t hold it against you forever.”
“If it was any other woman, then I’d agree. But it’s her mother. A woman she hates.” He shrugged, misery coating his features as he whispered, “I’ll be lucky if she ever talks to me again.”
Trip shot Ryan a look, and clearing his throat, changed the topic. “What time’s the ceremony starting?”
Like he didn’t know already… Jesus, Trip’s segues were getting worse. Could he be more obvious? “Four.” He eyed the clock. “A couple more hours until we need to change clothes.”
Shawn frowned. “I still don’t understand why this is a big thing.”
“That’s because you’re not Pride,” Marc told him without heat.
Shawn rolled his eyes. “You don’t say.”
“We spend more time looking for our Triad brothers than we do for our mate, Shawn. Think about that, then think about how even though these dicks piss me the fuck off, how important they are to me.”
“Said like a true poet,” Ryan retorted, hiding a grin at Trip’s bluntness.
The man in question flipped him the bird, then continued, “It’s just officiating something they already know to be true. Until we do this, the Pride doesn’t recognize the Triad. If the Pride doesn’t recognize the Triad, they won’t recognize the mate bond when they eventually find her.”
“So, until all three of you got together, you knew there was no point in looking for your mate?” At Ryan’s nod, Shawn frowned. “But surely you fell for people over the years? You’re all fucking old enough to make me feel like a kid.”
Marc sighed. “You humans. You always focus on the negative. El asked me that the first night. Like those loves could, in any way, compare to the love we feel for her.
“Of course we fell for others. We loved them with all we were capable of feeling. At that time. But the Marc of that period is as different as you are to the one who slept with Annabel Forsythe-Drew.” Seeming to sense he’d touched a nerve, Marc paused at that, let it sink in, and continued with, “What you have to understand is that the past is the past. It makes us who we are. Eventually, El will come to see this too. Your past, even if it involved some unfortunate interludes with her mother, forged you into the man you are today. There is no crime in that, no need for you to be punished for past mistakes.”
Ryan, in full agreement, murmured, “El’s very young, Shawn. That’s why she’s holding onto this hurt. She’s questioning things she doesn’t realize don’t need to be questioned.
“Neither of you understand the uniqueness of the link you have.”
“A uniqueness which only adds to my belief that she’s Shifter.”
Marc’s interruption had Ryan scowling. “Don’t go on about that. We’ve already got Shawn investigating Annabel’s DNA. You agreed to keep quiet about it until we have the results.”
“I will, and I am, but I’m trying to make a point.”
“Point made, otherwise I’d have told Shawn to back off the investigat
ion.” Ryan wasn’t dumb. Marc’s hypothesis held merit, a merit that made no sense, but still, a lot of things weren’t making a whole lot of sense at the moment. “As I was saying, the mate bond is something that’s beyond question. You have that with her, just as we do. There is no hiding from it. No shying away. But again, I reiterate… she’s young. She will make mistakes, and you have to accept them. Even if those mistakes will make her cry.”
Trip grumbled, “Try not to make too many though, eh? Not if it means we’re all locked out of her bedroom.”
Ryan snorted. “Stop thinking with your dick.”
“But it’s so intelligent,” he teased, and Ryan, chuckling, got to his feet and murmured, “Who’s going to go get her?”
Shawn said, “I’d like to, but I think it should be either you or Marc, Ryan. She seems to react differently to you guys.”
Trip scowled. “I think I’m offended.”
Ryan snorted again. “Don’t be, dumbass. She’s calm with Marc, and she recognizes my dominance. The two of you just have to figure out how she responds to you, and you’ll have your own unique bond with her.”
For himself, he wasn’t particularly enamored of the fact that she sensed his dominance, and was cowed by it.
That was the last thing he wanted of his mate. But the truth was, it was why, when Marc had explained his beliefs as to her maternal heritage—entirely unfounded beliefs, at that—Ryan could almost begin to believe it.
El’s reaction to him, to his Lion, was something he’d not discussed with the others, but something he’d sensed from the very beginning. When he’d shifted and struck Jamie Pantera, something integral to El had flared in response.
That flare was what had him murmuring, “I’ll go and get her.”
The others nodded their understanding, but Trip looked set to argue. He shot him a look, one that he rarely used among his Triad brothers because he didn’t want them to loathe him, and headed out the door well aware that Trip was bristling at his display of dominance.
As he headed out of the study, Adam was there, waiting.
“What do you want?” he asked rudely, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked toward the outer door. “Can’t I leave my fucking study without you hovering?”
Finding Luna: A Lion Shifter Reverse Harem Romance (PRIDE Book 1) Page 18