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  Gabriel chuckled. While his cousins left to get their belongings, he turned and walked over to the pantry to make plans for dinner. Cole and Marin walked upstairs.

  “Why don’t you start the water for your bath while I check on Michael,” Cole said.

  “Okay.” Marin gave him a quick hug before stepping into their bedroom.

  Cole cautiously opened Michael’s door. Peering inside, he saw that his brother was asleep. Not wanting to disturb him, Cole quickly closed the door.

  When Cole entered his room, he heard the water running in the bathroom. Since Marin was still getting acclimated, he decided to see if she needed anything.

  Opening the bathroom door, he found her undressed and pulling a clean towel out from under the sink. His breath caught in his throat. It still amazed him that the magnificent woman in front of him was his mate.

  Clearing his throat, he asked, “Do you need anything?”

  Startled, Marin spun to face him. “You scared me! If you keep sneaking up on me, I’ll have to put a bell around your neck.”

  Cole laughed. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I think I found everything.” Giving him a coy look, she asked, “Care to join me?”

  Smiling, Cole shook his head. “That’s probably not the best idea with four other werewolves in the house; keen sense of hearing, remember?”

  Marin sighed. “When did you say that appointment was to look at the house?”

  “It was set for Wednesday, but with this being your first week at Sabin I asked Matt to move it to the weekend.”

  “If this mess with Stefan is cleared up before then, do you think we could go after work one night?”

  Cole nodded. “I’m sure that can be arranged; or you could always go look at some with Cassie on Friday when you’re off work.”

  “Okay. I’ll try to be patient,” Marin said, a resigned look on her face.

  Cole brushed a kiss across her forehead before leaving the bathroom. If he had stayed a moment longer, he may not have been able to resist her. Cole decided to stretch out on the bed and read a book while he waited on Marin. He would go downstairs to help Gabriel with dinner, but he didn’t want to leave Marin. Besides, the cousins had offered to help; surely it didn’t take four men to make dinner.

  Chapter Eleven

  The next morning Cole and Marin woke to the sound of the alarm clock beeping. The night had passed without incident and it was time to begin a new day. Cole briefly tightened his arms around Marin before releasing her and rolling out of bed.

  Marin wasn’t ready to leave the comfort of the bed, but she knew it was time to get ready for work. Tossing back the covers, she slowly stretched and got out of bed.

  Following Cole into the bathroom, she started to get ready. While Cole turned on the shower, Marin brushed her teeth and her hair. Allowing him to shower first, she went back into the bedroom to select her clothes. Deciding to wear her other new outfit, Marin laid everything out on the bed before returning to the bathroom.

  Cole was stepping out of the shower as Marin opened the bathroom door. As she watched the water drip down his torso, she stepped closer. Before Cole could dry off, Marin leaned in close; her tongue darted out to catch a drop of water as it slid over his nipple.

  Cole groaned and grabbed a handful of Marin’s hair, not sure if he wanted to pull her closer or push her away. “If you don’t stop that, we won’t make it to work until noon.”

  Marin grinned, pleased with his reaction. Placing a kiss on his chest, she said, “If it weren’t my first week at Sabin, I think I’d take you up on that offer.”

  Cole shook his head at her. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

  Marin immediately sobered, “Let’s hope not.”

  “Aw, honey, you know I didn’t mean it that way. We’ll find Stefan. I promise! Between the pack and the cops, there is no way that man is escaping this city.”

  Marin looked at him with troubled eyes. “As long as he doesn’t find us first; otherwise, things could get ugly. Look at what he did to Michael!”

  Cole wrapped the towel around his waist and pulled Marin into his arms. “Why don’t we just take things one day at a time? Right now, we’ll finish getting ready for work and head downstairs to see what the plan is for today. As for Michael, you heard what he said… he was distracted. If he had been focused when Stefan attacked, then I’m sure it would have ended differently.”

  Marin nodded. “I need to take a shower before I can get dressed. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  Cole gave her an incredulous look. “You don’t honestly think I’m going to leave you up here alone do you? I said we’d take care of Stefan, but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving you alone between now and then.”

  Marin looked exasperated. “Michael is right next door. Don’t you think that between the five werewolves running around here with super hearing that someone would hear Stefan enter the house? I think I’m fairly safe taking a shower without a babysitter.”

  Cole had to hide his grin. One of these days he’d have to tell her how much it turned him on when she acted tough. “Humor me, please? I’ll feel better waiting for you up here.”

  “Fine. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

  Turning from him, Marin stripped off her nightgown and panties and stepped into the shower. Since Cole had left the water running, it had cooled down a bit. Marin didn’t mind; maybe it would soothe her anger. It wasn’t like her to lose her temper, but she was tired of being scared and tired of being protected all the time.

  Quickly washing and rinsing, Marin turned off the water. When she stepped out of the shower, she noticed Cole had left. Drying off, she wrapped the towel around her body before detangling her hair. Once that task was finished, she opened the bathroom door and stepped into the chilly bedroom. It didn’t surprise her to see Cole sitting in the chair in the corner of the room. Having already laid out her clothes, it didn’t take her long to get dressed.

  “Give me just another minute to dry my hair and put on some make-up, then I’ll be ready to go downstairs,” she told him.

  “Take your time. We don’t have to be at work for almost another hour.”

  Without responding, Marin turned and walked back into the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, Marin leaned against it and sighed. She honestly wasn’t mad at Cole for wanting to protect her, if anything it made her love him even more. Truth be told, she was mad at Stefan for screwing up her new life. Why couldn’t the bastard have just stayed in jail where he belonged?”

  Pushing away from the door, Marin walked over to the sink. She picked up her brush and hair dryer and began the tedious task of drying and styling her hair. Once that was finished, she applied a light layout of make-up to her face. Looking at her reflection, Marin was pleased with what she saw. Somehow she’d replaced the scared woman of a few days ago, with a more confident one.

  Honestly, she was still scared to death, but she hoped she was hiding it well. Cole worried about her enough as it was. Not to mention that she could do without the pitying looks at work. Maybe if she acted like things were normal, they might actually feel that way.

  Marin opened the bathroom door and stepped back into the bedroom. Cole had been watching for her and he stood as she walked over to him.

  “I’m sorry I’m so crabby this morning. I guess I’m just a little on edge,” she told him.

  Cole smiled at her. “It’s okay honey, we’re all on edge. The only difference is that you don’t turn furry when your fangs show.”

  Marin laughed. “You have a point.” She looked at him from under her eyelashes. “Speaking of furry, I haven’t seen my favorite wolf lately.”

  “Is that a subtle hint for me to shift later?”

  “Maybe. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to, but I do kind of miss your furry self.”

  Cole brushed his fingers across her cheek. “I think the wolf can manage to make an appearance tonight. Right now though, I think we’d bette
r go downstairs and check on the others.”

  Cole didn’t tell her, but it pleased him to no end that Marin loved Cole the wolf and Cole the man equally.

  ***

  Downstairs, Gabriel, Colin, and Connor were gathered around the kitchen table. Cole joined them while Marin crossed the kitchen to the refrigerator. Glancing at the clock, she saw that there was enough time for a simple breakfast.

  Marin pulled out two dozen eggs, a package of bacon, and two cans of biscuits from the refrigerator. Pulling out the baking sheets, bacon press, and skillet that she would need, Marin began preparing breakfast. She put the biscuits in the oven first, placed the bacon in the microwave, and began scrambling the eggs. As she was cooking, she caught snippets of conversation going on at the table. From what she gathered, Colin would be trailing her in wolf form today. Connor would keep watch outside of Sabin while Marin and Cole were at work. Gabriel was going to open the garage and would rely on the police to keep an eye on the house, and therefore keep an eye on Michael.

  Marin finished cooking and set everything on the table in bowls. Rummaging through the cabinets, she found a pitcher and filled it with orange juice. Once the table was completely set, she joined the guys for breakfast.

  “You didn’t have to fix us breakfast,” Colin told her.

  Marin smiled. “I know, but I wanted to. Since we all need to eat, it just made sense to eat here instead of on the run.”

  As they ate, Marin asked Colin and Connor about their plans. “Are you only staying until Stefan is caught? Or do you plan on staying in Ashton Grove longer?”

  Colin and Connor glanced at each other. “Well, we were thinking of settling into the area.”

  Truth be told, their psychic cousin had pretty much told them that their futures were in Ashton Grove. When they had left home, they both knew it was for the last time. Once they were settled, they’d have to send for the rest of their belongings, but for now they had enough to get by.

  “We would enjoy having more family around,” Cole told them. He had missed having a big family. Granted, between his brothers and his parents he hadn’t exactly been alone, but he envied people that had large families with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins.

  Gabriel would also be happy to have them join their pack, but it wasn’t as simple as just picking up and moving. “You’re more than welcome to stay with us during your transition. If you’ll tell me who your alpha is, I’ll give him a call and get clearance for you to remain in Ashton Grove as part of our pack.”

  Colin suddenly found something very interesting on the table and dropped his gaze. He knew this moment would come, but he had hoped it would be later, after Stefan had been dealt with. Things could possibly get ugly in a few moments.

  Connor looked Gabriel straight in the eye. “I’m the alpha at home.”

  Gabriel was a little surprised. It was typically unheard of for an alpha to leave their pack. Even stranger was that Connor hadn’t mentioned his alpha status when he had arrived. Protocol said they should contact the alpha of the area they will be visiting prior to arriving.

  “How do you propose that we handle having two alphas and therefore two packs in the same town? Especially a small town like Ashton Grove?”

  Connor shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I was told that I was needed, so here I am. Honestly, I’m not the territorial type so I don’ think we’ll have a problem. If we need to join our pack with yours, that’s fine with me.”

  Connor had never been the type of alpha to lord his status over the others in the pack. He made sure they toed the line and followed the rules, but other than that he let them lead their own lives.

  Gabriel mulled the information over. If he remembered correctly, Matt had recently bought a small town just outside of Ashton Grove. He mentally shook his head over the fact that their family friend could literally purchase an entire town. It was mind boggling. Most of the town had emptied out when the jobs started to fall through. Quite possibly, he and Matt could come up with a scheme to get the town back on its feet and it would allow Connor and Colin to have their own territory in order to remain a separate pack. At the same time, they would still be close enough for family visits.

  “I may have a solution, but we can discuss it later. Right now, it’s best if we just concentrate on catching Stefan. I think things will begin to fall in place after that,” Gabriel responded.

  Cole and Marin finished eating and carried their plates to the sink. They rinsed their dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

  “It’s time for us to go to work,” Cole informed his brother and cousins.

  Colin quickly finished shoveling food into his mouth and took his plate to the sink. “Give me a sec and I’ll be ready,” he said, as he darted out of the room and up the stairs.

  As Colin was shifting into his wolf form, Marin and Cole gathered their things. Cole opened the front door and turned to Marin, “Why don’t you wait here a minute? It’s a little cool outside today and I’d like to warm up the truck before we leave.”

  Marin smiled at his thoughtfulness. “I guess it’s about time for me to get a winter coat.”

  “Hmm. It looks like we’ll be doing some more shopping this weekend.”

  “I’d much rather we do a different type of shopping,” she replied, thinking of their discussion to begin house hunting. Marin was anxious for them to have a place of their own.

  Cole grinned, happy that she wanted to move out of the Victorian. While he had called it home his entire life, it was time to move on and start his own family. “I’m sure we can squeeze in a few houses as well as the mall.” He kissed her quickly. “Wait here while I start the truck.”

  The front door had barely closed behind Cole when Marin felt Colin brush up against her leg. She looked down at the wolf and smiled. Considering that she wasn’t really part of the family yet, Colin was being a good sport. She knew he preferred being in human form, whereas Cole seemed content in both of his skins.

  ***

  It wasn’t long before the trio arrived at Sabin. Connor had declined a ride, preferring to make his way to the building on foot. He had hoped that he would cross Stefan’s scent on the way there and be able to track the man before a surprise attack could be launched against the family, or worse, Marin. Unfortunately, he didn’t pick up on the scent until he had almost reached the building.

  Shifting into his wolf form, Connor prowled around the building. He was about to give up when he located Stefan’s scent, it was leading him into the parking garage. Slipping past the attendant unnoticed, Connor continued to follow the trail. He growled in frustration when the trail ended at the door on the second level.

  How had Stefan managed to get inside? The door required a personnel key card for entry into the building. Had he somehow convinced, or forced, someone to let him in the building?

  Dashing back outside, Connor quickly located his clothes. After he had shifted and gotten dressed, he walked into the lobby at Sabin and headed straight for the security desk.

  “Excuse me. I’m here to see my cousin, Cole Andrews. Could you please let him know I’m downstairs?”

  “Sure,” the guard responded. “And your name?”

  “Connor.”

  The guard placed the call. When he hung up, he informed Connor that his cousin would meet him outside of the elevator upstairs.

  Connor nodded and walked over to the elevators. Entering the first one he same to, he pressed the number for Cole’s floor. When the elevator doors slid open, his cousin was pacing nervously in front of the elevator.

  “Since you had planned on tracking Stefan outside, I’m guessing your presence in the building isn’t a good thing,” Cole told him.

  Connor shook his head. “No, I’m afraid it isn’t. I tracked him to the parking garage. The trail died outside of the door on the second floor.”

  Cole froze. “He’s in the building?”

  “It seems so. I have no idea how he managed it as the door didn’
t look like it had been forced open.” Connor watched his cousin’s worried face. “Is Colin still with Marin?”

  “Yeah,” Cole responded, shaken and worried.

  “Good. He can protect her while we track Stefan down. This building isn’t all that large. Between the two of us and the security guards, we should be able to find him in no time. I don’t think it will be hard to find his trail from the inside of that door.”

  “We should go notify my boss and the security office. Maybe Dave can help keep an eye on Marin.”

  “Let’s go to your office to start making the calls. Gabriel should be notified as well.”

  Cole led Connor to his office. Along the way, he motioned for Marin and Colin to join them. It would be best if they told her immediately so she could keep her eyes open for Stefan and be prepared for a possible attack. If they were lucky, all of this would be over within the next hour or two.

  After the last person had entered the office, Cole closed the door. “Now that we’re all here, I’m going to let Connor tell you what he discovered.”

  Connor didn’t want to scare Marin, but he knew that she would be better off knowing that danger was in the building. “I located Stefan’s scent outside and followed it into the parking garage. I had hoped to corner him down there, but the trail ran out at the door on the second floor of the parking garage.”

  Marin’s eyes widened slightly and she absently stroked Colin’s fur. Cole had to clench his hands into fists to keep from reaching out to her; not only to give comfort, but to stop her from petting his cousin.

  “So, he’s in the building?” Marin asked.

  Connor nodded. “Yes.”

  Marin looked at Cole, frightened and yet comforted by his presence. She knew that he wouldn’t let any harm come to her.