BirthMark (15 page)

Cameron remained standing over her until her breathing returned to normal and she whimpered. After giving her a few licks Cameron stepped back and trotted over to Silas. Lilly followed dutifully behind. This time, when Cameron sat in front of Silas, Lilly lay beside him.

The five men from the search party waved good-bye as they exited the bunker. Silas stood and headed for the room. “Rone scan Cameron first, let him shift, and then Rose will scan Lilly.”

Tyrese sat next to Silas at the table. Once Tyrone finished the scan, Cameron shifted and stood to the side watching his mate. Rose took the scanner from Tyrone and copied his movements. She ran the device along her sister’s body while sneaking hugs and giving words of encouragement. When she was done, she returned the device to Tyrone with a huge smile.

“Shift Lilly,” Silas said when she didn’t change immediately.

“Hold on,” Rose said, and walked into the supply closet and came out with a lab coat. “We’re human and wolves. The human side gets embarrassed being naked in front of strangers.” She handed the coat to Cameron. He stooped and held the coat around her as a curtain. After she changed, he wrapped it around her and took her in his arms, holding her tight. She stood unresponsive.

“I need each of you to step in this machine,” Silas said to cover the awkward moment.

Rose took Lilly’s hand and led her to a large x-ray device. “Just walk up there, stand, and the machine will do a full body scan in seconds.”

Silas watched the two sisters. They looked similar but not identical. Their dark hair was the same, their builds were similar. Although Lilly seemed taller than Rose, but that could be because she was thinner. If he had to point out the major difference between the two women, Silas would say it was their eyes. The color was the same, but there was a world-wariness in Lilly’s that was not in Rose's. Thorne had said Lilly was mean, but Silas wondered what had she seen or done in her short life to make her that way. He hoped she relented and gave Cameron a chance, because if anyone deserved a break, it was his godson.

Lilly nodded but peeked at Cameron, who watched her hungrily from the other machine. As if he didn’t have enough on his plate, now this. Then he remembered his mate was big on family dynamics and smiled. This was a job for Jasmine. He thought back on how easily she’d handled the twins when they both thought Rose was their mate. She had been impressive.

“They’re good,” Tyrese announced. Tyrone stood near Rose as she grabbed her sister and the two hugged through tears for a few minutes.

“I’m off the rest of the day, let’s get you something to eat,” Rose said, not releasing Lilly’s hand.

The dark look on Cameron’s face made Silas intervene. “I need to debrief both of you. Rose have food brought to the condo. They can shower, change and eat there.” Cameron’s face cleared some, while Rose’s face pinkened.

“Yes, Patron. Just got a bit excited. It’s been so long and I’ve missed her,” Rose said, looking at Lilly with a sheepish smile.

Silas nodded as they left the room. “I understand, but some of us wait hundreds of years for mates, and need the comfort of their presence.”

Rose peeked at Cameron, whose hooded gaze had not left his mate since they'd shifted. “I understand, Sir.”

Lilly glanced at Silas and then at Cameron before turning to her sister. They walked through the tunnels in silence. Silas prepared his speech for dumping these two on his mate. The beer drinking detour he and the twins took earlier had thrown them behind and they’d be working late tonight to get everything done.

When they reached the elevators to the condo, Silas sent a greeting to Jasmine.
“How’s my babies?”
Ever since he discovered how much it meant to her to call them by that label, he tried to remember to do it as often as possible.

“
Fine, David’s back asleep with the others. How’s Cameron?”

“
Not well, his mate doesn’t want him and I’m afraid he’ll turn feral or revert to his old self if she does.”

“
Oh, I’m sorry. I hope things work out. She paused. I meant to ask how things were going with Siseria. Has the team gotten started yet?”

“
Yeah, they were pretty eager to solve our problem. Hank’s handling that situation for me.”

“
That’s good, he’s steady. You’ve got to delegate, otherwise you’ll be ragged. Too ragged for me later on.”

He perked up. The elevator was nearing the floor and he wanted her here for the debriefing.
“Meet me at the mid-way condo. I’m debriefing Cameron and Lilly. I’m going to need your help.”

“
Really?”

He shook his head and smothered his laugh at the way she rolled the word on her tongue.

“
Yeah.”

“
Okay.”

The elevator door opened and Jasmine stood in front of him dressed in a plum short-sleeved dress that hugged the delectable curves on her body and complimented her light brown complexion. Her long braids were piled up in some sexy twists that had his fingers itching to mess up. Silas’s erection was immediate as he watched her smile at Cameron and Lilly as they exited the steel box.
“I planned to greet him anyway,”
Jasmine said through their link.
“But thanks for inviting me. It means a lot.”

Silas understood. The last time she’d seen Cameron, she and Silas hadn’t acknowledged their connection. She stood to the side and waited for Silas to introduce her.

“Cameron, Lilly, this is Jasmine, my mate and mother of my pups,” Silas said. He proudly took her hand in his and placed a kiss on the back of it.

Cameron’s mouth dropped and then broke into a wide smile. “Mate? Pups? The Goddess has blessed you, La Patron. I am so happy for you.” He embraced Silas and the two men held on for an additional moment. Something shifted inside Silas. It felt right having the young pup back home again.

Cameron stepped back and looked at Jasmine, gracing her with a large smile. “May I embrace your mate, Sir?”

Silas looked at Jasmine, whose light brown eyes were laughing at him. “Yes go ahead, but not too long.”

Cameron stepped forward and hugged Jasmine briefly beneath four pairs of eyes. “I am so glad you have returned, Cameron. Maybe now Silas can rest at night. He has been worried about you.”

Cameron looked at Silas, and the pup he once knew gazed at him with love and gratitude. “Thank you, Sir, for never giving up.”

Choked, Silas nodded and looked down at his mate. Her eyes glowed. It was times like this he wished he had her alone in a room for ten, no, twenty minutes.

Hearing his thoughts, she patted his cheek and smiled. “
Only you would want a sex break instead of a coffee break. Behave, Cameron is doing his thing.”

Cameron reached for Lilly, who stood slightly behind him next to Rose. “This is Lilly, my mate,” he said without hesitation as he introduced the female first to Silas and then Jasmine.

Silas kept his distance and nodded, knowing how skittish Lilly was, but Jasmine grabbed the woman in a big hug.

“I will have two daughters. First Rose and now you.” She stepped back and glanced at a smiling Rose. “You never told me you two looked so much alike. Two more pretty women to spice this place up, just what we need.” Jasmine linked her arms with Lilly and then Rose. The three women walked slightly ahead of the four men toward the condo. Lilly in her lab coat, Rose in a tailored suit, and Jasmine in her tantalizing plum dress. The three couldn’t appear more different, but right now they were joined with a common purpose. To make the transition easy for Lilly.

“Uh…what just happened?” Cameron asked Silas, looking confused.

“Welcome to the family,” Tyrese said, chuckling.

“Family?” Cameron’s eyes widened a bit as he looked at Silas.

“It’s a human thing. Your mate is a half-breed,” Silas said as though that should explain things.

“I know that,” Cameron said slowly. “But…”

“She has a teenage brother, as well. He’s kind of on house arrest,” Tyrone said with the smug look of a man who had intimate knowledge of the level of confusion Cameron was wading through.

Cameron stopped. “What? Why?” His head swung between Silas and Tyrone.

Silas continued walking after the women. “Don’t waste time out here, you don’t want to give the women a whole lot of time to talk without us being there. My mate will start asking questions before I arrive if I take too long. And I know you want to learn everything you can about your mate, right?”

Cameron ran to catch up with them. “Yes, yes I do.”

They entered the room as Lilly was drying her hands before pulling out a chair to sit at the table. Jasmine glanced at him and placed a plate of food in front of the female. “Eat first. You need to regain your weight if you were larger than Rose.”

“Hey, I’m not that big, am I Rone?” Rose looked up at her mate. He took her in his arms and rubbed his hands down her backside.

“Not at all, babe. You’re perfect. For me.” He placed a kiss on her forehead and led her to the loveseat in the living room.

Cameron walked to the table and looked around.

“The food’s in the kitchen, grab a plate and put whatever you want on it,” Jasmine said.

He looked surprised but walked out and did as she said. Silas settled in the chair next to Jasmine as Tyrese sat near his brother and Rose in the living area. Cameron returned to the table with his plate, sat next to Lilly, and tore into his food. He finished his first plate before Lilly was halfway done with hers. After having seconds, he placed a bottle of cold water next to his mate. She opened it without comment and drank her fill.

Silas sensed his mate was about to begin her gentle interrogation and nodded to Tyrese, who would be taping the conversation. Once Lilly pushed her plate away, Jasmine began. “Don’t you want some dessert?”

Lilly groaned. “No, I am stuffed. But this should digest pretty fast. I always had a high metabolism.” Cameron watched from the corner of his eyes but didn’t say anything.

Silas glanced at the clock. He needed to check in with Hank to see how the doctors and lab techs were doing, especially since he'd told them about the detective and what they needed to do. The team of wolves he'd sent after Detective Jenkins should also be checking in soon. They hadn’t come up with a plan to corral the rebels from the nightclub incident, but he was waiting to hear from Jayden regarding Leon and the female. Still, he needed to get the word out in case they were spotted.

“
Tyrese?”

“
Sir?

“
Get the word out that I want the whereabouts of those five rebels. But no one should approach them. For now I just want a location and any patterns. I’m waiting on some intel and will let you know when I want them brought in.”

“
Yes, Sir.”

“
Oh yeah, check in with Hank, find out how things are going in the lab as well.”

“
Yes, Sir.”

Tyrese nodded and left the room. Silas relaxed next to Jasmine and started playing with one of her soft braids that had escaped the pins holding them in place.

“I helped Silas escape the cave in, but Cameron, you were buried beneath the rocks,” Jasmine said, looking between Cameron and Lilly. “When the men went back to get you, you were gone. What happened?”

Cameron shrugged. “I don’t know. Last thing I remember, Arianna was saying the pups weren’t mine and then everything went dark.” He looked at Lilly.

She bit her lip and glanced at Jasmine. “I was on my way to find Rose and Thorne. Mom…she was dead. On the way, I heard him moaning in pain and I…I couldn’t ignore it.” She released a breath and pushed her hair back from her face.

“Then he stopped. There was nothing. Just a faint heartbeat. I remember being scared but not sure why. When I got to the cave, he was beneath the rocks and I dug him out. It took a long time because I had to stop whenever I heard voices. When the sounds passed, I’d start up again. By the time I was finished and could pull him out, it was dark, so I hid him away until first light. Afterward, I took some clothes from the men on the ground and made a sleigh with those and some tree limbs. We got a far distance before the limbs broke. Luckily there was a cave nearby. I got him in there and that’s where we stayed.”

Silas marveled at the tenacity and ingenuity of the young bitch. The Goddess had chosen well for Cameron. He felt sure once they overcame their problems they would have strong pups and a peaceful den.

Jasmine reached across the table and covered her hand. “I’m sure that’s an extremely short version of everything the two of you went through to survive. I for one am glad you are here. How long were you sick or out of it, Cameron?”

He released a sigh. “I don’t know. There are flashes of images and I remember bits and pieces, but not much. Not until last night, I believe.” He looked at Lilly. “The apple, was that last night?”

She nodded.

“Lilly was feeding me pieces of apple. Then she gave me something warm to drink. But at some point she touched me and told me to get well so we could leave. An electrical charge shot through me, energizing my cells or something.” He laughed. “I’m not kidding. All my senses flared and I could see and think clearly for the first time since…wow, I guess since I left for basic training. I remember shifting, and it was if I was realigning on the inside.” He looked at Silas. “Does that make sense? I mean I may not be explaining it right, but that’s as close to it as I can get.”