by Lisa Oliver
“I can sense there’s something wrong,” he said, hoping Scott would tell him what he and Shawn had been talking about.
Scott looked up at him and Damien was struck again with just how handsome his mate was. Scott’s eyes were a brilliant blue even though the anxiety Scott was obviously feeling shone through as well. Damien realized that was something else he really appreciated about the man in his arms. Scott was so open about how he felt, but when Damien tried to access their mind link to try and get a handle on what was upsetting his mate, he noticed that Scott was blocking him again.
“There’s just a lot going on,” Scott said, “and that gives us so little time to get to know each other. I have a problem dealing with that side of things sometimes. It’s nothing for you to worry about. You have enough on your plate as it is, at the moment.”
But Damien was worried. If Scott had any doubts about their mating and was talking to Shawn about it, then there was a good possibility that his mate would leave. And just the thought of being without the man in his arms, for even one day, was enough to make Damien’s heart ache with a loss he couldn’t describe. Fuck. Was this what it is like to be in love?
Suddenly a huge surge of possessiveness surged through Damien. His wolf was clamoring to get out - to hunt down and kill any possible person that could tempt this man away from him. To savagely tear apart anyone that might convince Scott to leave. Trying to forestall that line of thinking, because really Damien couldn’t in all good conscience go into his living room and wipe out the Cloverleah pack, even if his wolf thought it was a good idea, the man bent his head and gave Scott a crushing, bruising kiss, as a growl threatened to burst out of his chest.
Long minutes later, Damien lifted his head to see the half lidded look of lust on his mate’s face. Damien’s wolf eased back, content this was a lot better look on Scott’s face than the worry that had been in his eyes before.
“I’m not leaving you, lover,” Scott gasped quietly, obviously reading Damien’s reason for being possessive correctly. “I told you I wouldn’t leave you. I give you my word that I won’t. Although if that is the type of response I get every time I have a bit of a problem with our mating, I might not be inclined to sort it out.”
So there was a problem! Damien knew it and from the look on Scott’s face now, eyes open wide and an ‘oops’ on his lips, Scott had realized he had made a slip up as well. Damien quickly put a smile on his face and made a motion to the door. He hadn’t let go of Scott and he didn’t think he was likely too for very long time.
If he kept the man tightly in his arms, then any problems Scott thought they had could be sorted. Damien and his wolf agreed on that tactic even as Damien said teasingly, “and as much as I would like to follow through on what was definitely a promise of more, we do have a meeting to attend. But we will talk more, mate of mine, I can guarantee it.”
Tilting his head to the side, Scott looked up at Damien, but let the man lead him out of the room. As they neared the living room, Scott tried to wriggle out from Damien’s embrace, but Damien wouldn’t let him go. He might have even growled a bit at Scott’s efforts to get free, because Scott stopped wriggling and wrapped his arm around Damien’s waist. Satisfied, Damien prayed to the Fates that the problems with his pack could be solved quickly. Because then he could apply some serious brain matter to the concept of love - something Damien had refused to feel for another person in well over 100 years, but could very well be feeling now.
Chapter Twenty Three
When they entered the living room there was only one chair left unoccupied - Damien’s own big easy chair. Damien led Scott to it and indicated he should sit down and Damien perched on the arm of the chair, his arm draped casually across Scott’s shoulders. As Damien looked around the members of the Cloverleah pack as well as some of his own pack members - namely Malacai, and four of his enforcers, Josh, Noah, Paul and Ron, he was struck by the differences in the men in front of him.
The men from Cloverleah were more relaxed with each other. They laughed and joked quietly among themselves. Griff had Diablo draped across his lap, although Diablo was a tall man himself. But the long haired, blond cat shifter didn’t seem to mind and indeed had his own arm firmly around Griff’s neck. Shawn of course, was sitting on Kane’s lap and Kane was whispering something in Shawn’s ear that was making him smile. Troy and Dean were sitting on a loveseat together, both looking at Troy’s laptop and animatedly discussing something that Damien couldn’t pick out.
In contrast, the men from Damien’s pack were sitting stiffly and not talking at all. Whether or not they were nervous having the Cloverleah pack in their midst, or whether they were just on edge because Damien had arrived, Damien wasn’t sure. But for just one minute Damien wished he could have the same level of camaraderie with his men that Kane enjoyed with his pack.
Of course, Kane only had six pack members now Scott was living with Damien. Although Damien had heard that some men from other packs had applied to join Kane’s little group and Troy’s mate was due to arrive from wherever he was in a matter of a few short weeks. Damien had over 150 pack members and that wasn’t including the 39 women and over thirty children that were also part of the pack. It just wasn’t possible to have the same degree of casualness that Kane seemed infused with, even though he was an Alpha.
Looking at Kane, Damien knew the man was a powerful wolf, although not as powerful as Damien. But then, when you were mated to a Shifter Guardian like Shawn, Damien guessed that Kane didn’t have to worry about any threats to his leadership. Damien had heard the tale of how Shawn had died in wolf form during the Alpha challenge he had to go through with his uncle. Lucius and Vincent had come home and told of how it was Kane and his love that had bought Shawn literally back from the dead. At the time Damien had dismissed the story, because to him it just sounded like nonsense. But seeing the two men together, first at Cloverleah and now here in his own living room, even Damien who was a novice at love, could see how strongly the two men felt about each other. Maybe it was love that made the Cloverleah pack so strong?
Realizing the room had gone quiet as Damien had been lost in his thoughts, Damien looked up to see everyone looking at him. Scott’s hand rested on his knee and Damien gave him a small smile before looking around at all the others.
“Okay,” he said. “Firstly, I want to thank you Kane and the rest of you from Cloverleah for coming to help us. Your help has been invaluable today and I won’t forget it.”
Kane nodded in his direction and Shawn gave a small smile, but no one else said anything.
“Scott and Shawn, as you all know, have been talking to the females of this pack. It seems that the stolen children are just one of the problems this pack has been having, and after the meeting I would like to talk to you Kane and Shawn, about what myself and the Alpha Mate here can do to help make things a bit better within this pack. But the most important thing at the moment is restoring the seven boys that were rescued from the fire yesterday, by our Alpha Mate, to their parents. So perhaps you can start Diablo. Griff said you had some information to share.”
“Wait a minute,” Troy spoke up from where he was still working on his computer. “What do you mean rescued by the Alpha Mate? We weren’t told anything about Scott rescuing the stolen boys from any fire.” Troy threw an accusing look at Scott, who ignored him although his face started to turn an interesting shade of pink.
Wearing what could only be described as a smirk, Damien replied, “I see my mate didn’t tell you. I wonder why. Yes, it was Scott who first noticed one of the boys escaping from a burning house, and it was Scott that then went into the basement of that same burning house, to rescue the other six children that were kept in cages down there. It seems your brother has a reckless streak no-one warned me about when we mated.”
“You could have been killed,” Troy said accusingly at Scott.
“Yes, he could have been,” Damien agreed.
“But I wasn’t and there is no need to get s
narky at me,” Scott snapped back. “Damien has already let me know what he thinks about my so-called reckless behavior, in no uncertain terms.” Scott was blushing even more as he spoke and when he wiggled in the chair, Damien wondered if it was because Scott was remembering just how Damien had punished him for his heroic acts. Scott’s cute ass was clear of the heat it had worn the night before, but obviously the memory was still very clear in Scott’s head.
“That was a brave thing to do, Scott,” Kane said with a smile. “And yes, Damien, Scott can be reckless, but his heart is always in the right place.”
Why Damien thought that Kane’s comments were a dig at him eluded Damien for the moment, but he knew it was something he would dwell on later. He guessed that Shawn and Kane had a strong mind link and Kane probably knew what Scott had been talking to Shawn about when they were alone in the office. The fact that Damien didn’t even know why Scott was mind-blocking him, was frustrating enough in itself, without having Kane sitting smugly across from him, apparently knowing all to well what Damien was doing wrong.
Refusing to allow Kane to make him feel inadequate, Damien said sharply, “Now perhaps we can get to the matter at hand? The children? Diablo, what did you find out?”
Diablo pulled some notes out of the pocket of his jeans. How he even managed to get anything into those skin-tight pants was beyond Damien, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Diablo’s stunning looks and graceful physique did nothing for Damien, although he had to admit to himself the man did have a strong hint of velvet in his voice, which would be erotic to some ears.
“From what Dean found out, after talking to the children directly, you have seven wolf shifter children here. They are aged from between 7 and 15 years of age. None of them are affiliated with any one known pack. Two of the boys live with their mother’s and the other five live in two-parent family units, but none of the boys mentioned living in a pack situation.”
Diablo looked up from his notes. “This is not a pretty situation, Damien. The boys were all taken before they would have gone through their first shift. Argon, the oldest boy has been held for more than two years. At the time they were taken, none of the boys would have been aware of their sexual orientation and yet from the bit that Dean was able to tell me, all of the children have been subject to sexual abuse by at least one adult male; in some cases more than one. All of the boys were being trained in being proper submissives and this made it really hard for Dean to get them to talk at all. They are going to need therapy for years, to counter what has been done to them here.”
Damien felt his gut wrench and tears hit the back of his eyes. He was the first to admit that he had nothing to do with the children in his pack - he didn’t even know how many children exactly, there were living in the compound. But to think that any male in his pack could not only steal children from their lives and families, but then systematically abuse them, tore at Damien in a way he had never felt before.
“Were any of the children able to tell who else was involved in this?” He asked, his voice coming out harsher than he intended. Damien felt the pressure on his leg from Scott’s hand increase and he took a deep breath and laid his free hand over Scott’s - his other hand was resting on Scott’s nape. At the moment it seemed like Scott’s touch was the only thing that stopped Damien from going out and killing someone.
“Argon was able to give us the most information,” Diablo said. “Probably because he has been held the longest. He had only turned thirteen when he was taken, and he was the first apparently. But this Jacob fella felt that Argon was becoming a risky investment, which was why his cage was so securely locked when he was found. Argon’s not by nature a submissive wolf, and he apparently fought hard to get Jacob to release him when he was taken. Jacob threatened the health of his sister and mother, and repeatedly told Argon that if the boy did escape, then Jacob would hunt him down and find him. He threatened to kill not only Argon, but his whole family, if Argon didn’t comply with his demands.”
Damien could feel his anger grow as Diablo continued. “Argon said that he had been expected to service three other men in your pack, as well as Jacob, who does appear to be the ringleader. Levi, Drake and a man called Simon.” Diablo looked up at Damien, “Argon said that he hadn’t seen Levi or Drake in a little while and we all know why that is. But apparently this man Simon had been with Argon within the last week. Is he still in the pack?”
“He is. I’ll go and get him Alpha,” Malacai said, standing up and indicating to Josh and Noah to come with him. Damien nodded his assent as Diablo waited before going on. It was as though the cat shifter knew how devastating this news would be to Damien. Damien felt that if he stopped to think, he would go insane with anger. Two of his fucking enforcers were in on Jacob’s scheme. Two men, who okay had turned on him, but up until they had gone to Cloverleah to chase Bruce, Damien had thought both men were loyal to him and the pack. The thought of those ugly brutes violating someone as small and defenseless as Argon and the other boys was sickening. Damien started to wonder if he really knew anyone in his pack at all. His anger was reaching boiling point and he struggled to control himself.
Kane spoke up, the anger on his face just as tangible as Damien’s. “Damien, I know you are angry right now, we all are. But it might be an idea if you hold off killing this Simon guy until Argon has positively identified him as one of the abusers. You also might want to hold off until you find out whether or not this Simon has any information on where Jacob might have gone.”
“You’re right Kane, I know you are,” Damien said in a tight voice. “But it doesn’t make it any easier, when all I want to do is kill the men responsible for this. Those poor fucking kids.”
Damien broke off, not trusting his voice to say anything more. Scott was openly rubbing his leg now, trying to soothe Damien, but Damien wondered if he would ever feel right again. Had he really been that insensitive as an Alpha, that he missed all of the problems his pack was having? Fuck, maybe he should just step down as Alpha and let someone else deal with all of this. But even as he thought it, Damien knew he could never do it. Yes, he might have let problems develop under his very nose, but Damien had cared for his pack from the day he had come into it. He just needed the strength to make things right again.
“We’ll get through this, mate of mine. You’re not dealing with this on your own.” Damien heard Scott whisper quietly enough for his ears only. “We’ll make the pack a safe place for everyone here, I promise.”
“From a police perspective,” Diablo continued once he knew Damien was under control, “We’ve had some luck. All of the boys had been reported missing with their local police departments. But on the plus side, from a pack perspective, all of the children come from Texas so there is no interstate jurisdiction going on with any other law enforcement agencies. In every case, even the seven year old, the police thought that the boys had simply run away and very little work has been done on any of the cases, from what we could dig up. So approaching the families personally and keeping the police out of the whole situation might be a workable idea, if that’s how you want to handle this, Damien.”
“I can’t have human police hanging around the pack,” Damien growled, “and there is no amount of human justice that is going to make up for what these boys have been through. I owe it to the parent’s of these boys to make sure the men responsible will suffer before they die, and I intend to see to that personally.”
“We don’t know why the parents of these children have left their packs, and they are going to be suspicious of any approach by you and your pack, Damien,” Shawn said. “Maybe I can use some influence here as a Shifter Guardian. Approach the affected families. Talk to them. Find out their situations. Perhaps you can offer to pay for therapy for the kids, or offer the families a place in your pack, or something like that as part of the retribution package.”
“I will do everything I can to help these kids, you know that Shawn. Whatever you can arrange with the parents, I will agree
too. I want those kids looked after and their families as well, regardless of their background.”
Damien appreciated the practical help Shawn was offering, even though he knew it would be putting his friend, and Kane of course, out considerably by helping sort out this mess. But Shawn was right. Damien was too well known in the shifter world as a powerful Alpha from a huge pack, and without knowing why the families of the stolen boys were alienated from their home packs, his presence could more of a problem than a help.
The door to the house was flung open and Malacai came in followed by Josh and Noah who were carrying a squirming, yelling Simon by his arms and legs. It seemed that Simon wasn’t keen to speak to his Alpha, but Damien definitely wanted to speak to him. Right before he killed him of course. But first Damien needed to get a positive ID on the man, from Argon. No matter how angry Damien got, he would never kill anybody without justification.
It seems Scott was thinking the same thing. “Do you want me to go and bring Argon in, Damien?” Scott said.
“I’ll go,” said Dean as he jumped up off the seat he shared with Troy and sprinted down the hall. Damien barely had time to wonder why the slender young man was in such a hurry to get out the room before Simon started yelling at him.
“Alpha, what’s the problem? Why have you had your bloody enforcers drag me in here like I’m some common mutt?”
Damien ignored the man for a moment as he looked across at Shawn. “Can you immobilize him if Josh and Noah let him down?”
“Gladly,” Shawn said. “I can gag him too if you want.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Damien said drily, “but for now I need the man to speak. Put him down guys,” he said to Josh and Noah. The moment Simon’s feet hit the floor, Shawn waved his hands and a blue stasis field surrounded the man.