Fallen Protector

by Tl Reeve

  “Hey, Dani,” Gabriel said. “Am I bothering you?”

  “No.” Her soft, husky voice soothed away his tension. “What can I do for you?”

  “This-this is a little complicated to talk about,” he murmured. “I’m not even sure if I’m on the right track or if I’m overthinking it.”

  Danielle laughed. “Spit it out.”

  “Éviel,” he said. “Can it bind to the person’s body? Er, what I mean is, can it be used to harvest, you know, sperm and eggs?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I guess what I’m asking is, can it be used to restart the reproduction program PBH once ran?” He swallowed hard before pushing forward. “We’ll use my dad as an example. Did Hazel and Simon use the drug to procure samples to use for IVF or whatever?”

  Danielle didn’t answer him right away. For a minute, he thought his question had been stupid and maybe she’d muted the phone to laugh at his ridiculousness. “Who have you told your hypothesis to?”

  “You,” Gabriel answered. “No one else. Why?”

  A door closed on Danielle’s side, followed by papers being shuffled. “It’s possible. I believe it explains how Hayden and Bodhi came to be and in some ways, why your father suffers through the aftereffects worse during the full moon.”

  “Is it? Would it be like that for everyone who took it?” he pressed. “If PBH administered it, could they be doing so to collect samples of exotic shifters and the like?”

  His aunt made a non-committal sound. “It’s hard to say. I think it all depends on the amount given and how quick they worked. You have to remember your father was tortured for a long time. Long enough for Bodhi and Hayden to be born. That amount of Éviel in his system could change anyone on a cellular and metabolic level. Plus, viable samples would have to be put on ice almost immediately. What you’re talking about would take a team of scientists.”

  He grunted. “If the amount of the drug is given to a person, i.e. my father, would it have any effect on his children?”

  “Like you or Bodhi?” Danielle asked. “Or Hayden?”

  “Yes,” he answered without hesitation.

  “Oh, Gabriel. You’re worried aren’t you? I’ve wondered how long it would be before you asked me these questions. I guess this case really brought it to the forefront, huh?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, you can say that.”

  “Do you worry there might be other Raferty kids out there who don’t know our family?” she murmured.

  “Yes.” He sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know. Éviel is a horrible drug, any number of children can be out there not ever knowing who they really are. Hell. What if they were experimented on and killed? What if–?” His breath hitched. “What if?”

  “Shh...” Even though they were over two thousand miles away, his aunt soothed away his fears. “Start from the beginning and tell me what’s going on. Maybe we’ll figure it out together,” she urged.

  The words poured out of Gabriel. His fears when he watched his father. The need to protect everyone from having to deal with the same. The idea Rafe could end up like Jase, and the fact Aurin and Bain were tortured before their death and how Gabriel had experienced it as well. Then he told her about what he thought PBH could be trying to accomplish. “What do you think?”

  “Hmm...” Danielle sighed, “maybe. But, I think the idea of a designer drug like Natalie said is more realistic. Can it be used to for procreation? Sure. I think in the long run that might be what they’re going for. Think it through, Gabriel. It is used to lower inhibitions. It leaves anyone who takes it vulnerable.”

  Making it easier to capture forced copulation. “So, they’re still trying to make their super soldiers all these years later?”

  “Maybe,” she answered. “Remember, it’s always been their main objective—create a being stronger, faster, and more intelligent than a normal soldier for the government. Using them in a combat situation would destroy the enemy.”

  “But at what cost? When do we or whoever uses them, become the enemy?”

  “And therein lies the great conundrum.” She sighed. “Do you believe your new friend, Rafe, will suffer long term like your father, or are you projecting your fears onto him? Or, better yet, does he remember it?”

  Fuck. Gabriel scrubbed his face. “He might not remember any of it, but I see it in his eyes, Dani.”

  “What do you see?”

  “Everything,” he replied. “I see everything.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Can you get me a blood sample?”

  “I can do you one better. Lix, one of Rafe’s team members, ran an analysis on his blood. I can email you the results.”

  “Good. Get me those.” She paused. “Gabe, you can tell me to butt out, but is he your mate?”

  He sighed, allowing his head to drop forward. “Yes.”

  “Oh, Gabe,” she whispered. “Can I give you a little advice?”

  “Sure,” he answered.

  “Talk to Blake. If anyone can help you through this, it’s your dad,” she said.

  “I thought about it,” he replied. “I hate bringing things up, though. Éviel has brought nothing but pain to our family for as long as I can remember.”

  “It has,” she agreed. “Your parents have had to traverse your father’s quirks for years. However, trying to navigate this problem without guidance will only end up hurting you and your mate. Tell me, does he know?”

  “About being a mate?”

  “Yes,” she replied.

  Gabriel snorted. “No.” More specifically, he’d lied to Rafe. In his own way, Gabriel had tried to protect Rafe from the truth. Now, given the short time they’d been together, he wondered if perhaps he’d only complicated it more.

  “Are you sure?”

  He exhaled. “No.”

  Danielle laughed. “You are a Raferty through and through. You boys like to muddle everything.”

  “I didn’t want to come off as trying to take advantage of a horrible situation. He—Aunt Danielle— He was raped. I— This family has been through hell and back again. I couldn’t do it.”

  “There’s the sensitive boy I love,” she murmured. “I understand. We all do. Still, don’t project your fears onto him. Give him the truth, and let him dictate how things go.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” he muttered.

  She chuckled. “Stubborn, to boot. I swear, in all my years being part of this family, some things never change.”

  He smiled. “Thank you, Dani.”

  “You never have to thank me. All I ask, is that you talk to your dad. Tell Blake about your worries and your fears and allow him to guide you through this.”

  “I will,” he replied, before saying his goodbyes and hanging up. “Well, shit.”

  Gabriel tossed his phone aside then went to Halo. She still slept so peacefully. According to the paperwork Kalkin sent him on her, she was only a couple of months old. Yet, like with Hayden’s newborn daughter—Zora, she was on the small side. A well-known Raferty trait for girls. What if she’d been part of his father’s get?

  Stupid. So fucking stupid. The place was destroyed. Didn’t means samples weren’t taken. Gah, he could drive himself insane with all the fucked-up thoughts running through his brain. Halo sniffled in her bassinet then opened her eyes. Big fat tears clung to her dark lashes before washing down her cheeks, and her bottom lip trembled. The cry she let loose with along with the smell coming from her had Gabriel taking a step back momentarily.

  “Boy, for such a pretty little thing, you have the smelliest booty.” He grabbed a diaper and the things he’d need to change her then set to work. “One of these days, we’ll teach you to shift, so you can shit in the woods like a normal wolf does; saving me from cleaning messy diapers.”

  She gurgled and babbled then grinned as if agreeing with him.

  “Yes. Then we’ll teach you to use your wings, so you can fly and shit on the cars of people we don’t like.” He chuckled, affixing the closure to the front of the
diaper.

  Halo giggled, and for a minute everything felt normal. Gabriel tickled her belly then placed kisses to her damp cheeks. He inhaled her soft scent and for the first time, understood why his aunts and mother enjoyed the smell of baby. Fuck, there you go. Getting all mushy. “Come on, little girl. After that monster poop, you’ve gotta be starving.”

  He went to the cooler delivered earlier to retrieve one of the packs of milk then picked up a clean bottle. He dipped the pack into the holder before placing it in the microwave. As he waited for it to warm, he went over everything his aunt told him. In a lot of aspects, she’d been right. He couldn’t project his fears on a man he barely knew. He also couldn’t continue to allow his feelings to get in the way. Rafe had to make his own decisions.

  When the microwave dinged he took out the bottle and tested it. “Chow time, little girl.” He placed the bottle to her lips, and she attacked it. Dainty as she was, she had a big appetite. A soft knock came at the door connecting the rooms, drawing his attention from Halo. “Come in.” He glanced up as he headed back over to the small couch in their room.

  “Hey,” Haley said, with a wave. “Do you need any help?”

  “Uh...” Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Natalie in a while. “Have you seen Natalie?”

  The raven-shifter shook her head. “I heard Halo cry, that’s why I came to ask.”

  Gabriel frowned. “Hmm... Do you mind?” He glanced down at the little girl in his arms.

  “Not in the least,” Haley answered. “She’s so pretty and so tiny.”

  “She is. I think it’s the angel in her,” he answered as he transferred Halo over to Haley.

  “She’s wolf, too. How do you think that happened?”

  Gabriel shrugged. “I’m not sure. I planned on asking Rafe, then everything kind of devolved into the mess we’re all in now.”

  “I bet you it was PBH. No way an angel would just make a kid and leave,” Haley murmured staring down at Halo.

  “Maybe,” he agreed. “She might go back to sleep when she’s finished. If not, we have a mat for her to lay on and play. I’m going to try to find Natalie. If anything should happen, call me.”

  Haley grinned. “Of course, but we’re just fine.”

  “Great. Thanks again.” He grabbed the key off the table then with a final wave, exited the room.

  Since they’d arrived in Salem, Natalie had been a little more flighty than usual. He chalked it up to the mission, but Rafe’s words bled into his subconscious. What if her mate was Shax? Just the thought pissed him off. They all exuded some form of asshole-ism. However there was more, he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what irritated him the most. The smug condescendence or the way Shax stared at Natalie like she was a piece of meat and not as a person.

  It also didn’t help she was his twin.

  Gabriel stepped into the elevator and hit the L button for the lobby. Maybe it was his own projection due his situation with Rafe. The guy did have a point, Natalie should be happy, but could she be happy with someone like Shax? A-a fallen angel? What the fuck did that even mean? When Shax called Halo a Nephilim, and then said they were fallen angels, neither he nor Rafe expanded on it. And, stupid him, he never asked, either.

  Another way to keep yourself separate.

  Fuck, he hated the voice in his head, because the damn wolf knew Gabriel way too well. He’d kept to himself for far too long, because everyone always called him the son of freaks. The son of triad. The son of a father who couldn’t control his urges. The son of a father who cried himself to sleep. Gabriel, despite outward appearances, carried the weight of the Raferty name more so than even Hayden and Bodhi or Natalie and Bay for that matter. Their burdens were different. In some ways, he believed it to be harder on them. Like with Adrian, Hayden and Bodhi would always be connected to the woman who tried to kill Keeley and Danielle. They’d always be connected to PBH. They’d always have the cloud of uncertainty over them.

  Sure, they’d proven several times over, they were Raferty through and through, but he’d also seen his older siblings at their weakest. If they could see you now. Yeah, if they could. They’d probably tell him to suck it up and stop being a pussy about it all. They, like their uncles, were more apt to be blunt than sugar coat anything.

  When the door to the elevator opened, Gabriel glanced out toward the lobby and found the area empty. He first headed down the hall to one of the places he’d found Rafe smoking the other night. He didn’t know how long he’d stared from the shadows, watching the fallen angel, but it gave Gabriel time to really look at him. Rafe’s golden-blond hair had fallen over his forehead in waves and his blue eyes were filled with determination, but also fear and sorrow. For having the body of a God, he didn’t carry himself with that much confidence, but who could blame the guy? After what he’d been through, it would take a while for Rafe’s swagger to return, if it ever did. Gabriel also couldn’t control the way his body had responded to the man. The attraction there was undeniable. Keeping his distance as he’d been, only made the longing to touch Rafe worse.

  What the fuck am I supposed to do?

  Gabriel ran his fingers through his short curly hair, as he came to the end of the corridor. No use in dwelling on it now. They had too much shit to worry about, anyway. He turned his head to check the hall to the right before stepping outside and found Natalie standing next to the double doors leading to the gym area. Gabriel narrowed his eyes. It wasn’t like his sister to just gawk or spy. However, when he peered into the workout area, shock jolted his body. Rafe, Shax, and Lix were lifting weights. The spit in his mouth dried up as he traced the hard planes of his mate’s body. Rafe’s wide back tapered at his narrow waist. His skin was the color of baked honey and covered in sweat. However, the biggest thing he noticed before everything else had been the black tattooed wings that filled his, and the other men’s backs. Also, where Halo had slits for her wings to emerge, Rafe’s shoulder blades had been sealed. The angry, red keloid scars stood out against the ink in stark relief.

  I wonder if it hurts still. Sure does look like it.

  As abruptly as the idea of Rafe being in pain filled Gabriel’s head, he banished it all. This wasn’t about Rafe or any of the men, particularly. It was about Natalie, and her watching them. She’d been openly ogling Shax. She had no shame. The irrational anger coursing through Gabriel’s veins cooled the embers of his arousal.

  “What are you doing out here?” Gabriel snarled.

  Natalie jerked before peering up at him. “They left over an hour ago. I thought I would follow them.”

  “To the gym?”

  “Yeah.” She sighed.

  “Natalie,” he let out a breath, “this isn’t healthy. You shouldn’t be following that man—” He pointed to Shax— “around. He’s dangerous, and I don’t like how he looks at you.”

  Natalie spun around to face Gabriel. Her face had been screwed up in a scowl. Anger vibrated through her. “I am twenty-five. Like you. In fact, I am older, Gabe. I don’t need you telling me what I can and can’t do. We’re not kids.”

  “But, he stares at you like you’re meat or prey, and I can’t fucking stand it.”

  “You mean the same way you stare at Rafe when you think no one is looking?” She arched a brow.

  “No I don’t.” Had he?

  She laughed. “Liar.”

  “Him, though?” Gabriel motioned to Shax.

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” he asked. “Of everyone you could have picked, why him?”

  “You have spent your whole life protecting me. I appreciate it; however, I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “He’s mine.” The growling bite of her words surprised Gabriel. “You have a lot of nerve picking at my choice of men when you can’t even keep one.”

  Ouch. Her words stung. “What the fuck, Nat?”

  If she felt an ounce of sorrow for tagging him with a low blow, she didn’t sh
ow it. “It’s the truth. You and I both know it. It’s easier for you to slut around and allow people to use you than let anyone in to see you.”

  “Me? What about you?” he snarled. “You don’t date. You don’t have sex. You don’t even talk about what or who you like.”

  “Because I hadn’t met him.” She pointed to Shax who’d been running on a treadmill. “He’s mine.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I just do,” Natalie said. “The same for you and Rafe.”

  “It’s—”

  She held up her hand. “No, it’s really not.”

  “How do you know?” he yelled. “You don’t get to tell me anything.”

  She smirked. “Pot meet kettle.”

  He growled in frustration, running his fingers through his hair. “Damn it!”

  Chapter Nine

  Gabriel was avoiding him. Rafe knew it. For the last three days, Gabriel had been holed up in his room with Halo, working. If it’d been anyone else, Rafe wouldn’t have minded, but knowing what he did about the other wolf and how the attraction building between them was getting to the point of explosive, it irritated the fuck out of him.

  They were mates. Gabriel could say no all he wanted to, but the wolf inside Rafe had already claimed the guy. It’d been why he asked Gabriel about having a mate, to gauge the situation between them. Instead of giving a truthful answer, his mate decided to lie. The acrid stench burned Rafe’s nostrils and sat bitterly on the back of his tongue. Yet, Gabriel had done it to protect him. Deep down, Rafe understood the hows and whys of it. It also filled him with a sense of pride.

  He appreciated Gabriel giving him space after everything he’d gone through, and yes, Rafe understood Gabriel’s apprehension and not wanting to push him when he couldn’t remember what happened to him while on Éviel. But, that was just it. He couldn’t remember. For all Rafe knew, he’d had a blast. All of it was consensual—minus the drug, of course. Or maybe he had consented to the drug. Shit, sometimes he was more fucked up than he realized. And, then again, maybe he was trying to rationalize it all to reclaim a piece of his control.