Divided Loyalties-epub (3 page)

He also seen it in his mother the day his father died.

Shaking out of his thoughts before he was sucked into the past without the ability to come back from it, he went to search for Tanner.

He found his brother a few feet away, staring at the wreck of homes and other buildings. “This looks worse than MoonRiver did.”

Hayden nodded. They didn’t call MoonRiver their den anymore. Their den was now Ashwood Falls. MoonRiver had died with its Alpha. When their mother, Luna, took on the Alpha powers, she changed everything, even the location of the den.

“That’s because Travis burned eighty percent of the den down.”

Tanner nodded. “To keep the mutant virus from spreading.”

Travis Hunter was the former Alpha of Hunter Ridge—the same den they stood in now—and now mated to Shayna, the adopted sister of Blaine, the Ashwood’s leopard Alpha. The couple made quite a pair. No one had thought that a wolf and a tiger could ever be mates, but Shay and Travis were a bonded pair and so in love it made Hayden’s teeth hurt to be around them.

“Can you clean up most of the clutter? I mean put it in one pile or something.” Hayden hated messes and disorganization. If he had to be here for God knew how long, he wanted it halfway organized. If that was at all possible.

Tanner laughed. “I’ll do it in the morning when the light is better. Your OCD is worse than Mom’s.”

Hayden growled, but he felt his lips rise in a grin. “Go rest. I’ll take the first watch.”

Tanner slapped him on the shoulder as he moved toward the house Hayden had placed Christa in. He had to fight the urge to not growl at his brother for being so close to Christa.

Yeah, Hayden was in trouble. Christa was his. He’d known the moment he saw her at Shield. His wolf paced and nudged him to claim her, hard. And he’d have her as soon as this screwed-up shit with Shield was straightened out.

First, he’d have to gain her trust and make her see the truth.

Ana must have been staring at the family photo for hours. At least that’s what it seemed like, even though she’d arrived at Blaine and his mates’ home fifteen minutes ago.

The Alpha family home.

The one she should have grown up in, but didn’t, thanks to Felix Darwin, the bastard Alpha of the rogue Onyx Pack and the same male trying to destroy so many shifter communities and innocent lives. The one she believed was her father until a few weeks ago. That was when she had left the only life she’d known for a new one within a new Pack where her real family lived.

The family in the photo was hers, at least should have been hers. Longing filled her, making her chest ache and her eyes burn. The three males, Keegan, Blaine, and Alec, circled a dark-haired female. Keegan, her biological father, stood at the female’s back, hands resting on her shoulders.

The female was her mother. Cate. Ana’s nose tingled and vision blurred. Taking a deep breath, she blinked the tears away. She would not cry, damn it.

Ana wasn’t as sad as she was angry. She’d missed out on so much of life because Felix stole her away her parents and her brothers. Now she had thirty-eight years to catch up on.

She reached out and brushed a finger over Cate’s smiling face. The only difference in their looks was Cate had brown curly hair, and Ana had straight black hair like Keegan’s.

“I still can’t believe how much you look like her.”

Ana whirled around at the sound of the male voice, startled and a little embarrassed to be caught nosing around. Alec leaned against the kitchen island with his arms folded. His expression was devoid of any emotion, just like all the other times she’d seen him. “I’m sorry, I…”

Alec straightened and walked toward her. Something flashed across his face that looked a little like sadness, but it was gone almost as fast as it appeared. “Don’t apologize. This is your home, too.”

She shrugged and turned back to the photo. “All my life I’d wondered who my mother was. I imagined what she looked like. If she would have told me bedtime stories.” She sighed and swallowed the lump in her throat. “All silly little-girl dreams.”

Alec stepped next to her and pressed his shoulder into hers. His warmth and the connection she felt whenever she was near her new family was almost too much for her. She fought not to move away from him. The discomfort of all the kindness and acceptance was making her sappy.

She didn’t have time for softness. She had to hunt Felix down and stop him before he did any more damage.

“She did read to you when she was pregnant. I used to sit nearby to listen while pretending to work.”

She peered at his profile, studying his sculptured features that she guessed females embarrassed themselves over. When Ana had first seen Alec, she’d thought he wouldn’t welcome her. In the medical center, he’d just stared at her, brows dipped in a frown, and shadows showed beneath the surface. Her first thought had been
stay away
.

And that’s what she’d done.

Now to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, as he shared a private moment with her made her heart ache all the more. He took in a deep breath and rolled his shoulders then stepped away from her. “What are you doing today?”

“I’m shadowing Cameron.”

He nodded and put his hands in the back pockets of his blue jeans. “Good. Well, I have junior soldiers to train and the computers in the new nursery need setting up.”

Alec and the wolf Beta, Dane, were the go-to people for technical issues, and they’d built and monitored the electronic part of the security system for the den.

Silence filled the small space between them. Ana looked around the room, unsure what to say to the brother she felt a connection to, but had never known.

Finally, Alec spoke. “Well, I better get going. I’ll see you at dinner?”

She smiled. The Andrews family along with a few extended family members and friends got together every night for dinner at Keegan and Addyson’s home since it was large enough to accommodate their growing number.

“Yes, I’ll be at dinner.”

Alec smiled, wide, making his brown eyes crinkle a little. “Good. See you then.”

He turned and left. Ana was still smiling when the front door closed, and Cameron came into the room from the hallway behind her.

“Was that Alec?”

“Yes.” Ana turned to look at the Alpha’s mate, her new sister-in-law, and frowned. Cameron seemed a little pale. “Are you feeling okay?”

Cameron smiled, but it wasn’t a very convincing one. “Yeah, just a little queasy. Probably something I ate.”

On the heels of that statement, Graham, one of Cam’s mates, walked into the room bare-chested and the top button of his jeans undone. Ana felt her cheeks heat, and she turned her head when he wrapped his arms around Cam and kissed her neck.

A few moments later Cam met her at the door. “Where do you want to go first?”

“I’m not sure. I’m just shadowing today, so whatever you need to do is good with me.”

“Cool. It’s my off day, so we can see if we can stir up some trouble.”

Ana smiled, deciding she liked her new sister-in-law.

“Okay, Christa. Calm down and breathe.”

She took a deep breath and peered at the single lit candle on the coffee table. Its flame danced, casting shadows everywhere. Shadows that threatened to stir up the demons living inside her head, again.

She dipped her brows and wondered if the candle had been there before the wolf lit it. How did he light it? Did he have powers beyond his ability to shift into his animal? She knew that some shifters had an extra gift.

Did Hayden have any?

Why the hell did she care?

She growled and turned from the flame to take in her dark surroundings. Taking a deep breath, she banished all the questions that whirled around in her mind like hungry vultures. She was out of here the first chance she got.

Just as soon as she found out where ‘here’ was.

The front door opened, and she whirled. The driver, Tanner she believed Hayden had said, entered the house. From the glow of the candle, she could make out the similarities in his features to Hayden’s. They had the same high cheekbones and same almond shaped eyes, yet Tanner appeared younger in a bad-boy way.

She stepped back and watched as he went to the fireplace, and grabbed a broken wooden chair on his way. With quick movements, he broke the chair into several smaller pieces and placed them inside the fireplace. After striking a match, he threw it in the fireplace and stood to face her.

The fire flared to life, illuminating the whole living room in a soft glow. Still, she watched Tanner, unsure what the man was about to do. He held a certain power that made her edgy and leery. Damn, she hated to be unarmed.

“Why am I here? Why didn’t you just kill me with the others?”

Tanner stared at her for several long moments before finally giving her a shrug and dropping into the nearest recliner. “That was Hayden’s call. Besides, you’re not infected.”

Infected? Was he serious?

“Infected with what?”

Tanner raised a brow at her outrage, which only pissed her off even more. “Every one of your co-workers was infected with the mutant virus.”

She started shaking her head. No. It wasn’t possible. “I don’t believe you. They’d have to have been bitten by the beast to become infected.”

Tanner leaned his head back to rest against the back of the chair. “We used to believe that too. Like a horror movie werewolf come to life. Now, we have proof that the rogues have a serum.”

She watched him, searching for some hint of a lie. There was none. He believed everything he was saying. “They can’t infect humans. Does it work the same as the bite? Because, if so, then my soldiers at Shield couldn’t had been infected.”

“What makes you say that?”

“They would’ve changed within forty-eight hours, and during that time, they’d have some kind of symptom like fever or pain.”

Tanner lifted his head and met her gaze. “You’ve seen it?”

Buried pain resurfaced. Her heart ached and a lump form in her throat. She nodded, but refused to speak it out aloud. She didn’t know Tanner well enough to share her demons. And she damn sure wasn’t going to stick around long enough to get to know him or his brother.

She turned and sat on the floor in front of the fire, arms wrapped around her middle. She stared into the orange and red flames as they flickered. “How do you know they were infected?”

Tanner released a heavy sigh before he spoke. “I smelled it. Mutants have a distinct scent.” She went to speak, but he spoke over her. “Save your questions for Hayden. I can’t answer any more.”

Christa peered over her shoulder to study him. “You can’t or won’t?”

“Both. You are Hayden’s to deal with. He’ll answer your questions when he sees fit.”

Fury built inside her. She was no one’s property “to deal with.” Fucking shifters and their superior attitudes. She set her jaw and focused on the flames to soothe her. It was something she’d learned to do when the demons of the past came to haunt her.

Christa relished the silence that filled the room. The only sound was the crackling of the fire. She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Even with the fire, she was still cold. Yet, she didn’t dare break the silence by asking if there were any blankets around.

If her hunch was right about the den being abandoned, then there wouldn’t be any supplies. That included food. God, she hoped they didn’t expect her to hunt for her own food. Then again, that could be a good excuse to try to escape and find the twins.

On the heels of that thought, the front door flew open. Christa stood and swung around in one swift movement and went into an attack stance out of reflex. She found herself face to face with a petite woman with long red hair and eyes that were almost identical to Hayden’s.

Tanner jumped up and came to stand between them. “Mom. What are you doing here?”

The woman didn’t remove her gaze from Christa as she spoke. “Dane said you needed supplies, so I came to see what your brother wasn’t telling me.” She let out a low growl of warning that made the hairs on Christa’s arms stand on end. “Move, Tanner. The female challenges me.”

Fuck. Years of training had hardwired Christa to be on the defensive. Plus, she didn’t back down from anyone.

Suddenly, Hayden blew through the door and headed straight for her. Heart pounding, Christa ducked his attempt to grab her, but in the dark, she was at a disadvantage. The shadows fucked with her head too much, and she stumbled over something on the floor.

Hayden was there in an instant. He gripped her by the upper arm, pulled her to a stand, and tucked her behind him. “Mom. Stop.”

The woman peered at Hayden, then Christa, and then back at Hayden and started to shake her head. “This is really fucked up.”

“I know, Mom,” Hayden replied softly.

Christa watched son and mother in confusion. She agreed that this whole thing was messed up beyond fucked, but somehow she didn’t think they were talking about Hayden kidnapping her.

After a moment the woman looked at Tanner and patted his cheek. “Was this your idea?”

Tanner grinned. “Nope. This one is all Hayden.”

“I figured as much. The wolf sees what it wants, and the wolf takes it.” The woman took a step toward them. “Bring her forward.”

Hesitantly, Hayden tugged Christa around to stand next to him. The woman rolled her eyes. “What’s your name?” Hayden shifted on his feet next to Christa, which made the lady hold up a hand to him. “Not a word.” She moved her gaze back to Christa. “Answer the question.”

“Christa Baker.”

“Who do you work for?”

Standing straighter, Christa met her gaze. “Until this afternoon, I was hunter for Shield.”

“And now?”

She was free. Well, free as soon as she escaped her captors. “No one. I’m unemployed.” A giggle bubbled out of her.

“Why is that funny?”

Christa sobered. “I…I’m tired, and it’s been a bad day.”

The women smiled and held out her hand. “Luna Raines, Ashwood Falls’ wolf Alpha.”