by Tigertalez
Nix directed his anger at the man. “Get on your feet!”
Before the man sat up, Slate, in his lion form, leaped into the tiny clearing and slid in the mud to a stop. Dultyn heard Bronya gasp next to him. “Do not worry, that is Slate. He is part of our pack and won’t hurt you or Nix. The shifter on the ground, however, might get a little roughed up if he isn’t careful.”
Bronya didn’t respond, but she slightly relaxed. She remained silent as they watched the offending shifter slowly rise, keeping his neck exposed the entire time. Popping joints and ligaments added to the sound of the rain as Slate shifted.
Looking down at the wolf, Slate addressed the beta, “Matteo stayed in the room waiting for us.” The wolf nodded his head, then nipped at their prisoner’s heels to get him moving. “Why aren’t you shifting?” Slate asked.
“Because he knows how pissed off it would make me for someone else to be naked in front of my mate,” Nix bit out irritably. Dultyn saw his jaw twitch as he clinched his jaw and the look on his face mirrored what his own had when he had seen Havana undress and stand naked on the porch the night before.
Slate looked around and nodded his head towards Dultyn and Bronya. Then looking back, he raised a brow at the irritated falcon shifter. “I’m mated, thus I don’t want her, so get over it.”
Enzo snorted his amusement, which sounded funny in his wolf form. They started trekking back to the hotel.
Slate and Nix couldn’t walk bare footed on the pine needle and rocky sod, so they were forced to shift back into their animal forms. Dultyn walked beside Bronya, continuing to shelter her as they made their way past the trees, across the road, and then sprinted through the field behind the hotel.
The room was on the bottom floor on the far end of the building. Since it didn’t have a back door, they were forced to have to enter in the front. Dultyn guessed she had escaped out a rear window. He ducked as he entered the room.
Matteo greeted them from the mess of blood and dead bodies as Enzo, Slate, and Nix shifted and dressed. “I already called Alphy and reported. He’s organizing a clean-up crew for this mess.” Matteo indicated the area amongst the strewn furniture, bedding, and bodies.
Enzo dug around for his cell. “I’ll call him and give him an update.” Finding his cell, his finger slid over the screen until he had who he wanted, and he put the device to his ear. “Alphy. Yeah, we’re all right, Dultyn helped. Although, now Nix needs to explain some things to Bronya. Uh-uh. No. yeah, just one, where do you want him?”
Dultyn wasn’t paying attention to the phone call or he would have heard what was being said on the other end. He had turned and faced out the door, watching for any threat or witnesses even. Given the time of night it was, and with the sound of the rain, he believed they were pretty secure.
After getting off the phone he heard Enzo speaking. “Bronya, the best place to keep you protected is at the pack house. We would have had you there to begin with, but with our secret, well, I think you may understand why we didn’t take you there. Now that you know, would you allow us to take you there?”
Dultyn turned to see Nix take her hands in his. “You won’t be cooped up so much while you’re there. There are many of us there, including some of the other mates who you could talk to. There is room to move around and have some privacy. Please come back with us.”
Bronya didn’t say anything—she hadn’t since Dultyn first met her—but she nodded her head in answer, which brought out a relived sigh from Nix, who no doubt wanted to keep his mate safe and close.
An old truck pulled into the parking lot and parked beside the pack’s car. Slate appeared next to him. “Their pack. They’ve come to clean up this mess. More should be arriving any time.”
“Nix, go ahead and take Bronya out to the car,” Enzo instructed. Nix nodded and steered his mate outside. Dultyn moved aside for them to pass. Enzo grabbed a couple bags. He stopped and looked up at Dultyn before heading out to the car. “Slate and Matteo have things in hand here. Go ahead and fly back to the house.”
Dultyn nodded and watched the beta load the bags in the trunk of his vehicle. Looking back into the room, Dultyn saw pack members cleaning up the mess. The dead bodies were being readied and wrapped to be taken away. Slate was forcing the prisoner to help scrub the blood of his co-conspirators off the walls. There was nothing left for Dultyn here. Turning back into the rain and making another look around, he leapt into the dripping air and headed for the pack house.
He reached the house before the others. Entering, he could still smell the lingering scent of his mate, and a heavy dose of despair still hung with it. Substantial regret pulled a growly groan from his aching chest. Causing that despair wasn’t intentional. It was regrettable that fleeting moment caused her so much anguish.
“Dultyn.” The quiet greeting filtered through his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Alphy.
“Alpha, I ask for forgiveness for my actions earlier and rest assured I will make it right.”
Alphy looked like he understood. “I am curious what do you plan to do?”
“Claim her. But I need to talk with her first. I don’t want to wake her if she’s asleep, so I was going to leave a message for her to wake up to. Uh…” Feeling self-conscious that he was falling short, he asked, “What do you think?”
Alphy seemed to ponder it for a moment before answering. “I’m relieved to hear you decided to mate her. I’d go with claiming first. She would still welcome it, so don’t feel shy. You can talk after you get the bond in place. She was in a bad place, compounded when you left instead of talking with her.” Alphy held up his hand to stop Dultyn from saying anything,
“I also know about your clutch. Bogdan and Stelios told a us a little bit, and though I don’t know everything that you had to endure during that time, I can understand why you mistakenly thought keeping your very young mate safe from that was the way to go. I know I’ve done some pretty bad things while in the military, that sometimes haunt me, and I wouldn’t want my mate to know those things for those same reasons. However, when it interferes with your relationship with your mate, it needs to be faced. Understand it isn’t your past that had her on her knees in pain tonight. It was you turning your back on her. She’s a tough girl, so she won’t stay down about this. I know she made a poor decision that hurt you, but just remember that you’re a team destined by fate. So long as you are beside her, she can handle anything and vice versa.”
Their talk was cut off by the sound of a vehicle pulling up. Dultyn excused himself and headed off to find paper to write a note for his mate. If he couldn’t claim her tonight, at least he could put her mind at rest that he planned to, just as soon as he woke from roost. He certainly didn’t want her in any more pain, or to have any more misunderstandings.
“Oh, Dultyn.”
Dultyn looked back at Alphy to hear what he had to say.
“That package you’ve been waiting for finally arrived today. It’s in the office.”
“Thank you.” Dultyn felt excitement flood him. That package was his birthday gift to his mate. Now would be the most perfect time to give it to her.
Heading into the office, he was careful not to disturb a sleeping Ryker. The package was very large but also right next to the door. After getting a piece of paper and a pen, he had no troubles picking up the large, crated box.
He headed to the dining room. Just as he entered the room, his two fellow gargoyles entered it as well. “Would you like help with that?” Stelios asked.
“Yeah, sure.” Once Dultyn removed the gift, he set it against the wall and stood back to look at it.
“Wow, that’s pretty amazing,” Stelios said, and Bogdan agreed.
Alphy, Enzo, Nix, and Bronya made their way into the dining room. All stood around the gift and admired it.
Alphy gave a whistle of approval. “She’s going to love it beyond words, Dultyn. You did good, man.”
With similar comments from the others, Dultyn felt pride slightly warm his chest, pushing out dou
bt that she wouldn’t like it. After sitting at the table and writing his letter, he took the gift and letter up to Havana’s room. With a bow, which he had ordered with it, adorning the gift, he leaned it against the wall and inserted the letter into the strap of the bow, and silently crept out. He had debated to kiss her at least on her head, but he didn’t want to disturb her. All could wait just one more day. With a final look to the woman he had loved since he met, he closed the door quietly and slipped back out to the barn.
Obscured by clouds or not, he could feel the pull of the sunrise. With it being so close, he wouldn’t have time to do what he wanted to do to her, and he didn’t want to rush it.
With the sun rising, his change began. He made sure his pose froze in the only way he could think to convey all the different feelings he had for her and his promise for their possible future as his skin hardened and greyed. Slipping into his daily hibernation, his final thought was of hope that she would visit him today while he roosted.
****
Saturday morning
The first thing Havana noticed, before she even opened her eyes, was the smell of her mate lingering around her. He was in my room! What warmed her further was the scent she sensed wasn’t anguish or even anger. It was the super sweet smell of extreme love and adoration. The knowledge of this sped up her heart, and a thrill of excitement heated in her veins.
Opening her eyes, she surveyed her room, hoping that perhaps Dultyn roosted in here instead of the barn. The stab of disappointment at his absence was interrupted when she spotted a huge black and white picture by one of her favorite graphic designers. Black lines swirled and streaked across the canvas in the detailed design of a bear that she thought looked artistically like hers. Havana’s breath caught in her lungs. She had to let it out slowly to calm herself to keep the tears collecting in her eyes from falling.
Seeing a letter attached to the bow, Havana slowly sat up. Reaching over, she retrieved it. She took another moment to let her eyes fully take in the full view of the picture before opening the letter and reading its handwritten message.
To my heart and soul,
Please forgive me for mistakenly believing I was protecting you. I love you with everything within me. As the artist said, “Only your heart can break your heart.” If you could ever forgive me, I won’t hesitate to claim you any longer. Fate has perfect timing. Just as knowing this gift was meant to be for your birthday, with it being late has given it so much more meaning. Fate brought us together at this time in our lives. Now is the perfect time for us.
Yours forever,
Dultyn
A deep warmth ached through Havana’s chest. I really owe him an apology for my embarrassing behavior. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes as she admired the beautiful picture. She was never a sappy sort of girl, but she had to suppose that being an adult now would bring on a few changes, and to add to that, if anyone could elicit pesky sappy feelings, it should only be your true mate. Warm salty tears wet her cheeks as she held the letter close to her chest. She reached over for a tissue when her nose started to run. Yeah, she’d only ever let her true mate bring her to this. Anyone else she would kick their ass, or better yet, allow my mate to kick their ass and stand back watching his backside.
With an overly cheerful feeling, she quickly did her morning routine and started to head down the stairs. Before she got to the stairs, she passed the bathroom once again and stopped when she heard someone retching. Shifters, or most paranormals rather, didn’t really get sick, so she leaned into the door and took a small sniff to scent who was in there. Smelling Slate’s pregnant mate, Katie, she relaxed a bit. Still, she knocked lightly and spoke through the door. “Katie, are you all right?”
She waited patiently as she heard the toilet flush and the sink come on. Soon the door opened, revealing an unmistakably nauseated Katie. The acrid stench of her bile, though flushed, still wafted through the air. The scent caused Havana to uncontrollably crinkle her shifter sensitive nose.
With Katie looking shaky, Havana wordlessly wrapped her arm around the smaller woman and helped her back to her room.
Easing her in bed, Katie looked up at her and gave her an apologetic look. “Thank you. I’m not feeling well.”
“Psh, well yeah, that’s more than obvious. You have morning sickness times three. Where’s Slate?”
Now lying on her side and holding her stomach, Katie answered, “Another meeting with the inner circle. There was an attack last night by the herd beta, on Nix’s human mate, at the hotel.”
“Please tell me they killed the bastard and Nix’s mate is all right.”
Katie sleepily shrugged, “I haven’t been able to keep up. I feel so sick.”
“I’ll send Seamus up to take a look at you. Even if it is just morning sickness, you know he’ll want to keep an eye on you.”
“He’s so over concerned. I’m sure it’s just the normal thing.”
“Yeah well if he doesn’t, your mate would be down there in his face ordering every test anyways. Why not just save your mate the embolism?”
The desired effect played out as Katie laughed at her quip. “Yeah, ok, send him in.”
“Anything else you want me to get you?”
With a shake of her head, Katie’s eyes slowly closed as Havana quietly exited the room. She trotted happily down the stairs and nearly tripped when her mind suddenly took her to wondering if a gargoyle’s mate had babies like a normal pregnancy or eggs, and how would that work?
Was she already thinking of having babies with her mate? She hoped not, because she may be mating seriously young, for a shifter, but she didn’t want any kids anytime soon. Then again, if Dultyn wanted them right away, she didn’t think she could deny him. Damn it! Stupid mating pull! Then again, if he had that much power over her, then she had just as much over him. That could be lots of fun!
Entering the kitchen where several people were already seated at the breakfast bar, and seeing Seamus, she skipped up to him with a giant smile. “Good pleasant morning to you, Doctor blood-be-gone.”
Standing next to him, Ryker spit his drink back into his glass and choked. Seamus had to pat his back to relieve his coughing. “I’m late for the meeting. Laters,” Ryker hurriedly said. She smirked at him as he grabbed a muffin and retreated down the hall to the meeting.
Seamus turned his attention back to Havana. “Good morning, Havana, it’s good to see you feeling better. What can I do for you?”
“Katie has a brutal case of morning sickness, and I told her, to save her mate from an embolism, that I would send you up to run the thousand and some-odd tests that you like to keep yourself busy with.”
Seamus chuckled and nodded. “That would be just about accurate. I’ll head on up there.” Slipping off the stool, he walked around and retrieved a plate full of toast, a small amount of scrambled eggs, and a glass of apple juice before heading upstairs.
Looking back at the dark skinned human woman at the other end of the breakfast bar, sitting next to Gale, Havana smiled. “Hi.” Sticking her hand out to the new girl, Havana introduced herself. “I’m Havana. You must be Nix’s mate.”
The woman took her hand and comfortably shook it but didn’t speak. Gale introduced her. “That is correct. This is Bronya, Nix’s mate. They were attacked last night, and she got a rude eye-opener to the paranormal world.”
Havana cringed. “Eww, Nix hadn’t had time to tell you yet?”
Bronya kept quiet but shook her head. Again, Gale spoke. “Bronya, Havana is Dultyn’s mate.”
Havana noticed a show of some recognition on the woman and a surge of jealousy sparked through her, but before she could say anything, Gale, seeming to read her ire, quickly explained. “Dultyn was nearby when they were attacked. From what Alphy told me, Dultyn flew in to her rescue just in the nick of time. He saved her life.”
Havana calmed just a little bit, enough to notice the plate of food being placed in front of her by Connie. Mumbling a thank you to the mother
ly woman, she sat down. “Sorry, Bronya.”
“She understands. I’ve already had to explain several other things to her while Nix is in the meeting with the others,” Gale responded.
Havana’s brow knitted. “Not that I mind you, Gale, but how come you keep answering for Bronya? Can’t she answer for herself?”
“She’s still in a little bit of shock from the reveal. She only got a few hours’ sleep, and with so much to absorb, she…”
“Ah, I gotchya. No problem, Bronya. Take all the time you need and if you need anything, just holler.” After shooting a wink to the silent woman, Havana turned to enjoy the hearty meal.
“So Havana, puhleez tell me what it was that Dultyn got you for your birthday. I was here when it arrived yesterday all crated up. Alphy wouldn’t even let me peek.” Gale pouted.
Havana chuckled. Gale was only a year older then she was, so they were both pretty big on dramatics. “A print from one of my favorite artists. I’ll show you after breakfast. You can help me hang it on my wall.”
“Sweet. Ok,” Gale chirped.
The working crew started to arrive and helped themselves to finger-foods like muffins and bananas. Gale introduced them to Bronya. Before they left, Kace emerged from the office.
“Mornin’, guys. I heard you being introduced to Bronya. The attack last night was orchestrated by that beta, Damon. We think they possibly followed Enzo to the hotel after he left here last night. Damon wasn’t part of the group that attacked, so he’s still out there and we think he isn’t alone. Keep an extra close eye on your surroundings. I’ll be joinin’ you out there when I can.” Kace then refilled his coffee cup and headed back into the office where the meeting continued.
Havana thought about the part her mate had in the rescue. She smiled to herself as she thought about her mate being a hero. She smiled even more as she let her mind think over the letter he had written her. She decided today she was going to wait in the barn until her mate actually came out of roost. But first, she had to help with the dishes. She reminded herself, like she did every morning, not to complain. There are so many jobs that are worse.