by Moxie North
Harlow didn’t deserve whatever was going to happen to her. And more importantly, Eden didn’t want these assholes to hurt anyone else.
Zion came around and tried to get in front of the car. They swerved but hit the big bear, skimming off him. Zion roared and barely flinched as the car rocked. Zion’s dark-haired bear was easily a thousand pounds of bulk. It wasn’t easy to miss him. A loud pop echoed in the night as the front tire blew after Zion’s claw made contact.
The car rocked crazily and Eden took advantage and jumped up on the trunk, her bear’s weight denting the metal. She pounded on the top of the car as it skidded to a stop. Zion clambered up beside her, his huge weight tipping the car as he climbed up. Zion let out a loud roar as the car was swarmed by a few wolves and a number of men and women ran towards them.
Eden jumped down and used a huge paw to pry the car door open. She was furious and she felt like she could tear the top off the car with very little effort, like a can of sardines.
Odal’s members pulled the men out of the car as Eden stayed close. She growled loudly to keep the men twitching and scared. One of the men was whimpering and she focused in on him. The man from the hospital was almost sneering at her. That made her want to bite him.
“You animals!” he shouted as his arms were restrained by members of the Clan.
“Shut up,” one of the men said, his growl echoing a large canine.
Eden walked up to the man slowly, towering over him even on all four paws. She got as close as she dared before growling long and low. She bared all her teeth and her hot breath blew his hair back.
“I’m not afraid of you people!”
Beau and Kellan came running up behind them.
“Dr. Wilson?” Kellan barked, his voice full of anger.
The doctor that seemed to have taken such good care of him glared back. “If you’d just died we wouldn’t have had to go to these lengths. It was very inconvenient. If you’d died we’d have just been able to move on. But you were much more resilient than I thought.” The man wasn’t scared, and he didn’t even seem concerned by the fact he was surrounded by Kindred and very angry humans.
“Sorry I didn’t die, doc. Why’d you let me live?”
“I wasn’t about to lose my position by not taking the best care of you I could. It wouldn’t help my future plans.”
“Which are?” Beau asked.
Dr. Wilson just smiled, the grin more of a threat than anything. “Well, now, why would I tell you that?”
Chapter 23
Eden left the whimpering man and turned back to her mate. Approaching him slowly, she watched his eyes get big when he realized it was her.
“Eden?”
She chuffed at him and bumped him gently with her head. Kellan put a hand on her head and petted over her fur. Her black shawl was draped over his arm. She nudged it with her nose and he followed her to the car where she let the change morph her body back to skin and bones. Kellan held up the large cloak to give her some privacy. When she was standing on two feet again she wrapped the cloak around herself.
“Thank you for thinking of that.”
“No problem, I’d rather not share you with anyone,” Kellan said, his eyes twinkling. “You might need this too, although I’m happy to hold on to it for you.” Kellan was holding her Clan knife in his hands.
“Keep it safe for me?”
Kellan gave her a nod and pulled her into his arms. She nuzzled her face into his neck and placed a kiss there before asking, “How is Harlow?”
“The ambulance is here. We should go see if she’s going to be okay. These guys aren’t going anywhere.”
Beau followed them as they rushed back to the mansion. The Clan would keep the criminals under guard until the police came. If they were very lucky, they wouldn’t end up too roughed up. An attempt on a Clan member’s life was basically an attack on the Clan itself. Every member was affected. They wouldn’t be giving the men any leeway.
As they approached the mansion, they saw the flashing red lights light up the high columns of the entryway with the mass of first responder vehicles. And aid car, a fire truck and another emergency vehicle were all parked in the main circular driveway. There were people rushing around, some of the Clan outside that earlier had been busy shooting daggers at Kellan. Now they had something else to occupy them. Eden wondered how many were still even thinking about him when one of their own was unconscious.
As they ran inside, they saw Harlow on a stretcher with Ritch standing over her petting her head. The so-called fiancé was standing to the side looking bored. Ritch’s body was tense as he leaned over his daughter, the anger showed in his face as his eyes glowed yellow and his fangs dropped, but he was still talking quietly to his unconscious daughter.
The general feeling in the room from the Clan was worry, not the resentment that had previously occupied everyone’s attention. No, Eden’s first instinct was that when a pack member was down, Clan Odal would do the right thing. She only knew a little history about the family, but it sounded like Harlow had been raised by the pack more than her father. To many she was probably their little girl, too.
“Is she okay?” Eden asked. Harlow’s skin was pale and there were dark shadows under her eyes.
Ritch looked over his shoulder with a growl, “No, she’s not fucking okay. Why does she smell like that?”
Eden recognized the scent right away now. “I’m guessing it’s the X141, just like they used on Kellan. The men we just caught outside included the doctor from the hospital. Kellan remembers him as someone that held him down in his office. He was in on it, and the woman he remembered is representative Helena Mathers. Kellan is sure she was there too. She’s anti-Kindred.”
“Fuck, they came after my family? Why?” Ritch ground out. The paramedics were getting Harlow ready for transport and he had to force himself to move away from his daughter’s side.
Eden could hear the girl’s sluggish heartbeat—it wasn’t a good sign. “They weren’t just after Odal. They were after the Kindred. Kellan was just their way in. They wanted to hurt you for some reason. They obviously wanted to hurt your family, if not the entire Clan.”
Ritch looked between them then sighed. “Kellan. I’m sorry for what I said, and for what I put you through. I was trying to be strong for my Clan. You aren’t responsible for this. Clearly, we are being played, and I’m not fucking into getting played. This isn’t going to go unpunished.”
“I’m sorry I was a way for them to get in,” Kellan said earnestly.
“No, I was trying to look strong in front of the Clan. I should have trusted that this was bigger than you. You’ve never betrayed our trust before. I may not be able to accuse Helena Mathers of this, but I’ll damn well be keeping an eye on her now. I want those men that were detained kept under human and Kindred guard until we get some answers.”
“Thank you, Ritch, but right now we need to make sure that Harlow is okay. I don’t know if they’ve tested the serum on Kindred.”
“I want Harlow watched, I don’t trust that hospital,” Ritch said to Eden.
Behind them, Zion ran up wearing some borrowed clothing. “I’ll go.” He stepped between the gurney and Ollie, effectively blocking his view of the man’s fiancée. He almost looked relieved that he could put his attention elsewhere.
“Thank you, Zion. I’ll bring you some clothing,” Eden said. “Ritch, I’ll contact the hospital security. He seemed to be willing to work together.”
One of the paramedics slung his bag over his shoulder and said, “We need to go.”
Zion followed the group of medics out, his hand helping to push the stretcher. No one was going to come near Harlow now that Zion had taken responsibility for her.
“Beau, settle things here before you come to the hospital.” Ritch was following the stretcher as he shouted over his shoulder.
“I will,” Beau said before turning to Kellan. “I don’t understand. Why did they go after Harlow?”
“Th
ere’s more at work here than we can see. I have a feeling that this is bigger than any of us may know,” Eden said, patting him on the shoulder. “We’ll protect Harlow.”
“How? They got to her in our home! They didn’t even care that they were in the middle of our Clan. They still tried to harm my sister.” Beau was upset and angry. Eden wanted to hug him, which was a completely abnormal reaction for her. Matehood was getting to her. “Kellan, hug him,” she directed her mate.
Kellan grabbed his friend and pulled him into a strong embrace. “KSI won’t let anyone else get to her. Now we know how serious they are. I was their test subject, I can see that now. Your sister? That was personal.”
Eden patted Beau on the shoulder, figuring that was a comforting enough gesture. “This isn’t over yet. We’re still here. KSI will help if your father wants us to. At least now the human police can be involved. They can get them on attempted murder. Maybe they’ll give up who they work with to save themselves. This wasn’t just their doing. That much money, the theft of the drug, this may just be the beginning.”
Kellan let go of Beau and took Eden back into his arms. She squeezed him, she loved that he was so forgiving. For all his worries the last couple of weeks, his concern switched to his friend and his sister. They really were his family.
The wolf next to her was furious. Beau’s gaze kept switching between where they’d taken his sister out and her fiancé on his phone. No love lost there. “I hate that guy,” he growled low.
“Do you think he’s part of this?” Eden asked quietly.
Beau shook his head. “No, I just think he’s an asshat. No law against that.”
He took his attention from the fiancé and reached for Eden’s hand. “Thank you, truly, for what you did. I don’t know if we would have been able to get those guys without you and Zion. I’ll take care of things here. You two should head home. We’ll be in touch,” Beau said, before releasing her hand and giving Kellan another quick hug.
Kellan looked at Eden and she could tell he didn’t want to leave his friend in that state, but he was surrounded by his Clan and with his father away at the hospital, people were going to be looking to him for guidance.
“I could use a change of clothes,” she said to Kellan, trying to break him away from his train of thought.
Kellan looked her up and down and seemed to remember that she was naked under her cloak. “Let’s get you back to the apartment.”
After speaking to King and following up with Zion, Eden was disappointed to learn that there was no change in Harlow’s condition. There was nothing any of them could do but wait. Eden showered and changed into comfortable clothes, and when she came out, she found Kellan staring out the large windows down to the street.
“I can’t leave them,” he said, not looking over his shoulder.
Coming up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his back. His heart was thumping and her heartbeat matched up to his as she breathed in his scent.
“I know, we’ll figure something out. For now, let’s support your friends. We can make decisions as we need to. Why don’t you come to bed?”
Kellan turned in her arms and cupped her face. He stared hard down into her eyes and Eden felt that same delicious tingle shoot through her body.
“You’re amazing. This is a shitshow and you’re just handling everything like it’s any old day.”
She shrugged and leaned into him. “It’s my job. I deal with bad stuff all the time. Getting upset, getting distracted, that gets people killed. We have more information than we did a week ago. We can figure all of this out. We have the key players, or at least some of them. They didn’t just want the money, Kellan. They wanted Odal to suffer for some reason. That’s the bigger mystery.”
Kellan let out a long sigh and dropped his forehead to hers. “Let’s go to bed. Maybe I can find some way to take my mind off things.”
Tilting her head, she waited for Kellan to place the kiss on her lips she was waiting for. “I can think of a few ways to distract us.”
“Good, I love you, Eden. I’m so fucking glad it wasn’t you on that stretcher tonight.”
“Shh, don’t think about that. We’re here, we’re together.”
Eden took him by the hand and walked him back to the bedroom. There was one safe place for them right now. And it was side by side, in bed. It was the only place the bad couldn’t get in.
Kellan woke to the sound of a phone ringing. He had been sleeping soundly, his mate in his arms, her naked body wrapped around his. He was having an amazing dream about bears and honey. He stayed still as Eden rolled away from him and answered the phone quietly.
His mind drifted to after they had returned home from the mansion. They’d made love slowly, grateful that their immediate danger had passed. That he was no longer a marked man, and his freedom was no longer in question. For the first time, Kellan could allow himself to think of the future. Think of how they were going to be together. Two mates with drastically different lifestyles. It weighed on his mind as he fell asleep with her in his arms.
“Yeah, no, that’s good. I can figure it out.” Eden spoke quietly trying not to wake him. “We haven’t figured that out yet. No, I know we need to. It’s just… there hasn’t been time.”
Kellan had to wonder what she was talking about. It was the voice she used when talking to King, he knew that much. But her boss calling early was usually something bad. Whatever he was asking, Eden sounded, not worried, but resigned to. He knew there were things they still needed to discuss, huge decisions that would affect both of their lives. Human couples usually didn’t have to discuss living together or moving until they’d been dating months or even years. Kindred relationships were always on fast forward. He didn’t want to distract her so he lay still and listened to her.
“And Bliss?” Her voice changed, it was worry and, if he wasn’t completely out of touch, affection.
Another pause before she whispered, “Fuck. No, I know he can handle it. I feel like I’ve let her down. She’s a pain in my ass, but I’m still her security, King. I’ll talk to him today and get back to you. Can you arrange more coverage for the Odals? I need to come back and figure out what we’re going to do.”
Kellan knew she was talking about him, or at least it felt like she was. Kellan knew one thing, he wanted Eden to be happy. He wanted her to have whatever she wanted. His job wasn’t full of excitement and chances to pull a gun on someone. No, his mate wasn’t going to be happy not working for KSI. They were her family just like Odal was his.
“Okay, I understand.” Eden set the phone back on her nightstand and rolled towards him.
“King?” he asked placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Yes. Harlow is awake. The drug hit her hard, but she was able to burn through it a lot faster than you did. They also think it wasn’t as big of a dose. We were lucky.”
Kellan thought about that. Getting poisoned was definitely not his luckiest moment. “Do you think it was another test?”
“King does. Thinks they wanted to hit at Clan Odal again, but also wanted to see how Kindred reacted to the drug in a controlled environment. They could take out a whole group, temporarily at least. It would leave them vulnerable. Without shifting, they can’t heal. It could end up being deadly.”
“So there’s a chance that they could have been just seeing the effects?”
Eden couldn’t hide her worry. “We just don’t know. Shifting would fix most physical wounds. We rarely get sick. This isn’t something we often deal with. I know Ritch is worried, Beau is terrified, and the Clan is afraid. If they manage to use it again and the Kindred doesn’t get medical care in time… well, I just don’t know how any of the Clans will react. A drug that could kill Kindred? It changes things.”
“I’m sorry, Eden. I wish there was something I could do.”
Eden breathed him in. “You’re here, it helps.”
Kellan brushed her hair back from her face. “Was
there trouble with Bliss?”
“Just that she’s going out of her way to annoy Luca. Which would normally be funny, but that’s just her way of lashing out. Her mother and manager must be on her case for her to act that way.”
“I heard she was high maintenance––a real brat.”
Eden shook her head. “Tabloid fodder. Any misbehavior on her part is usually a cry for help. She’s a hostage in her own life. She has very few people she can really rely on.”
Kellan let that thought settle before he broached the subject on his mind. “We need to figure some things out,” he said gently.
Eden dropped her head to his chest and waited for his hand to come to her hair and start playing with it. “I know. I’m usually really good at figuring out plans of action. This is the first time I’ve ever struggled.”
Moving his hand from her head, he started running his fingers up and down her soft arm, he decided to jump right in. “I was thinking. Your job is important. There are a lot of people whose lives depend on you. I can see if Odal will let me work remotely. I can always fly in if I need to.”
Eden pushed herself up on her elbow, frowning. “You love your job. Beau is your best friend. You’ve built up that part of Odal’s finances knowing it would never benefit you beyond a paycheck.”
Kellan shot her a look that said he didn’t agree with her at all. “I didn’t do it for the money. I did it because I’m good at it and I enjoy it.”
Sitting up, Eden pushed her loose hair back over her ears. “I had another idea. It’s not something that I can just decide. I’d have to talk to my family, my Clan…”
Kellan wasn’t sure where she was going with this, but it didn’t sound good. “What are you talking about?”
Taking a deep breath, Eden said quickly, “I was thinking of switching Clans.”