Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) (12 page)

“No, you know we’re far from the first wizards with shifter
mates. The witches and wizards know our power and abilities won’t be affected
by the transformation begun with the mating bite. That is beside the point. We’re
going to sleep and you’re coming with us. We’re not going to blame you for
anything that happens once we’re in the room.” Michael stood using the hand
behind her to bring her along with him.

“You’ve told us about what might occur. We’re aware and not
backing away.” Kane ruffled her hair. “I can honestly say we’ve been looking
forward to being with you. This is one area where you don’t need to protect us.”

“Bed now.” Michael began urging her across the room toward
the hallway.

“But the—” Alana began, but was cut off by Michael.

“No buts. Nothing else matters except you and your
well-being.” Michael’s fingers tightened at her waist while he guided her into
the hallway.

She sighed. She didn’t know if they were even trying to
understand her concerns about being in the same room with them. They might even
be under the impression that rushing the mating bite would be a good idea. It
would be a definite tie between them, more solid at the moment than the
Familiar bond. She didn’t know if it actually would draw them closer or if they’d
come to regret it.

“We’re simply going to be sleeping tonight, if your leopard
will accept that. I wouldn’t mind if your cat wanted more and wouldn’t settle
for less,” Kane offered as he trailed behind them.

Alana glanced back over her shoulder and saw him wink at her
with a wide grin on his face. It did break her tension. Maybe she was worrying
too much. Maybe sleeping with them would be enough for now. She knew fighting
it hadn’t helped much.

“We’ll try, but if something happens and you have doubts,
remember I tried to give you time.” She let out a long breath when she agreed
to sleep with them.

Michael gave a single nod his head. “Regardless of what
happens, we won’t have any regrets. In fact, we’ll probably be pushing for more
even when you do mark us. To us, it’s not going to be real until the ceremony
and a marriage.”

“Marriage usually isn’t a shifter thing. It’s not necessary.
Once it’s sealed, a mating is for life. That is why I wanted you to be sure.
Sometimes men go through the fuss to make their once-human wife happy, but
other than that, it doesn’t happen often. You should know that.” She frowned
over at him as he stopped in front of one of the doors. He wasn’t taking her
worry seriously.

“It’s a wizard thing and you’re dealing with two wizards
here who will want you to bear our name.” Kane opened the door. “The room we’ll
share when we truly begin our life is on the second floor, but we wanted to be
near you and we don’t have all of the rooms finished up there yet.”

“We did, however, get a bed that would hold all of us
comfortably. Not that I’d mind cuddling up next to you all night long to keep
from falling to the floor.” Michael urged her into the room.

The light was on and a dark-blue-and-white quilt was thrown
back across a bed. Alana could see a single indentation in a pillow. The bed
was huge. She’d never seen anything like it even in a showroom. A dresser on
the opposite wall matched the design and rich ebony finish of the headboard. It
was all offset by the soothing cream color on the walls.

“You had that custom made didn’t you?” She looked at it and
then at the two men.

“Yes. Now let’s get some sleep. In case you’ve forgotten,
you have the middle.” Kane drew the quilt back and gestured for her to climb
onto the mattress.

She really should take issue with the orders, but she was
tired and a nice bed sounded like heaven. Especially since her cat was almost
purring in contentment at the thought of having them both with her. Alana was
surprised the feline inside her was so satisfied with the simple thought of
sleeping with them. She’d thought only intense sex and maybe a full claim would
settle her. After crawling into bed, she pulled the sheet up near the center so
she could slip beneath it. She stretched out in the middle of the bed and
clutched the soft white fabric, suddenly a little unsure what to do. The one
time she’d been with them, there hadn’t been any time to think.

Kane slid in beside her and Michael climbed in on the other
side. They scooted over next to her, but were higher on the bed, leaning back
against the headboard. Michael hooked his arms underneath her and hauled her up
so she was sitting between them.

“Talk to us a little. You’re still tense and we want to
understand. Why are you so afraid of the link?” Michael took her hand and held
it between his.

Kane wrapped an arm around her and eased close. “You can
always lean on me.”

“It’s not exactly that I’m afraid of the connection. It’s
everything piled on at once. I have a mission. The Familiar bond is reforming
and my skin is tingling as proof of that particular part of it. You and Michael
suddenly are ready to jump into the full joining and mating when I’d thought
you’d be a little more reserved.” She sighed and leaned on Kane’s chest.

“Our skin is tingling too. You’re not alone in that. And it’s
not sudden. Our desire to have the mating, the marriage and everything else that
goes with it.” Michael squeezed her hand. “We might not have been prepared for
it at first, but over time, we’ve realized it’s the only way for us.”

“Is there more?”

“When I thought you wanted someone else, I was angry, but I
was also hurt.” Alana bit her lip. She wanted to be honest with them, but she
felt a little vulnerable. “I don’t want to be hurt again.”

Kane’s arm tightened around her. “We’re not going to reject
you, not in any way. We want this and now we’re all ready for it.”

“But don’t worry about it for the moment. We have time. Let’s
settle down and try to get some sleep. I have a feeling you might drag us all
over the place again tomorrow.” Michael lifted one hand to brush his fingers
over her lips.

Her lips tingled and felt a little swollen. She resisted the
urge to touch them. “It’s part of the job you’re going to have to deal with.”

Alana scooted down in the bed and the two men did the same.
Michael rose onto an elbow and looked down at her. She stared back, savoring
the opportunity to look into his gorgeous eyes and appreciate the hard line of
his jaw.

His lips lowered to hers and it felt so natural doubts had
no time to form. His lips moved over hers briefly. Her tongue licked over his
lips, but he drew back before she could deepen it. When Michael relaxed onto
the bed, an arm curled around her turning her onto her side. She realized it
must be Kane only a second before his mouth slashed across hers. Her arms
curved around his shoulders and she relaxed against him. She enjoyed the kiss
even if it was way too short.

He drew back and his fingers brushed over her cheek when he
released her. “I wanted to kiss you before you went to bed. This time, I couldn’t
resist.”

Alana had wanted it too, but she knew the attraction between
them would only increase the more contact they had. Determined to try to go to
sleep, she relaxed back onto the sheet and closed her eyes. Just as she was
easing into slumber, she felt a foot hook over her calf and a hand settle onto
her stomach. She felt the heat of that palm even through her nightshirt.

She raised her head and looked down, although somehow she
knew which man was touching her stomach and which had her leg pinned as if he were
afraid she’d sneak out on them in the middle of the night. Her eyes traced the
rise under the light sheet. Kane’s hand rested on her stomach and Michael’s
foot hooked over her leg. A small smile teased the corners of her lips. She lowered
her head back to the pillow and closed her eyes.

Michael rounded the car to stand by Alana. Her brow furrowed
and a frown turned her lips downward. He wondered what she was thinking, but
didn’t believe they’d done anything to annoy her this morning. The day was a little
crisp, but more comfortable than the last few days had been. It would be even
more spring-like down in Corona City.

He took his time savoring the sight of his mate. Her blonde
hair gleamed in the morning light. A pink shirt clung to her curves and the
unfastened buttons left a deep v, which highlighted the swell of her breasts.
He wasn’t thrilled about how revealing the shirt was, but he loved the sexy
view as long as he and his brother were the only people who got a glimpse of
her gorgeous breasts through her shirt. Black jeans molded to the swell of her
ass and legs. The almost irresistible urge to go over to her and let his hand
cup that sweet curve swept over him. He knew now wasn’t the time or place. It
hadn’t been right earlier this morning either, but at least he’d gotten the
chance to wake up with her. He’d wanted to kiss her awake and start the day off
in a delicious way. The memory of her worries about them moving too fast had
held him back.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself too much
longer. He’d waited for years for her to return home and it seemed as if all of
his patience had disappeared. He wanted everything now.

“What’s put the frown on your face?” He traced his finger
over the downward curve of her lips.

“You know I do bite.” Alana raised an eyebrow and her lips
curved upward a little. “I was thinking maybe we should have tried harder to
set up meetings with the families. Yes, I want to see the places where they
were taken, but I really don’t think we’re going to learn anything new from
them. The scenes are all too old.”

They had talked about this at the house. There was the
possibility something might be found from the lives of the kidnapped shifters
and witch, especially the witch. It was going to take time to arrange meetings
with the families and friends. They’d started the process and scheduled
appointments with a few members of the families for later today.

“We can get to know the kidnappers and their methods. It’s
all we can do at the moment. If we had more information on the witches behind
this we might be able to provoke something, but at the moment, we’d be flailing
around blindly.” Kane strode up to the car.

Michael understood her agitation. She wanted to do something
that would get them closer to stopping the kidnapping and catching the witch
who was helping. This wouldn’t get them any closer to that. Familiars were
naturally protective and this situation was triggering those instincts. The
kidnappers could strike again at any time and she was visiting old kidnap sites.
He didn’t doubt that she’d blame herself if something happened. He could see
the tension in the tightness of her body and felt it in his own.

Alana’s lip curled, but she climbed into the Jeep. Michael
drove to the location where the witch had been taken and his mind churned the
entire way there. He wanted to get her mind off her worries. He’d have to think
of something to make her happy, at least for a small time.

The witch, Katina Merceau, had been taken from Bluff Park at
the edge of the forest on the north side of Corona City. Seeing the trees and
bushes reminded Michael of his youth and hiking these trails and those
surrounding Devoe. A lot of privacy could be found there. A plan began to form
in his mind about what to do to get Alana’s mind off her worries. He’d need his
brother’s cooperation, but that shouldn’t be a problem.

He stopped and parked in one of the spots near the area
where Katina was supposed to meet someone. Her calendar hadn’t given a name,
merely the meeting time and place. Michael wondered how they’d gotten her to
any meeting at all. Other people had been kidnapped before her. She should have
been suspicious.

“It’s the bench near the nature trail.” Michael led the way.
That track was going to come in handy. He just had to find the right spot for
what he had planned.

The bench faced the park, but bushes stuck out on two sides
and in back of it. He wouldn’t want to sit there, even if he hadn’t known what
had happened here. Those bushes might give the illusion of something solid, but
they were flimsy and someone could easily be hiding behind them.

“This one, probably the easiest to get her out of sight
quickly. They jerked her right into the bushes. Unknown if any magic was used,
but if they surprised her, she might have simply been drugged or knocked
unconscious.” Alana stepped up onto the seat to get a look over the shrubs.

Michael didn’t need to get a higher vantage to know that
once the kidnappers had Katina off the bench, they would have been able to get
her out of sight in moments. He wandered over and glanced at the trail that led
into the woods. He tried to think of a way to get Alana to go in there with
them.

“Katina must not have suspected anything at all. I don’t
think she’d come to a meeting with one of the witches she refused.” Kane
frowned. “She might not have wanted to believe they were behind it, but I’m
sure she would keep her distance from them.”

“I don’t think they were that obvious. She probably received
a text or email from a friend, well supposedly from a friend. They could have
actually gotten into someone’s account or simply spoofed it. If she thought she
knew them, she’d probably open it.” Alana shrugged and stepped down from the
bench.

Kane walked over to join Alana near the bench. He hooked an
arm around her waist and hauled her to him.

Although she stiffened at first, she didn’t fight the
embrace. Michael smiled as he strolled over to them. That was a little
progress. He didn’t hurry. A huge grin spread across Kane’s face. His brother
was obviously enjoying the contact and she needed to discover how good it felt
to be there. When Michael finally made it over to her, he had to touch her. She
was already a little nervous so he merely brushed his fingers over her cheek.

“We should probably follow the trail so you can see where
they took her out of the forest.” He knew it wasn’t necessary, but he wanted to
get her into the forest where they could get some privacy.

She opened her mouth and then closed it. She’d probably
thought about pointing out that this wasn’t doing them any good. It was
something she’d said before. Even though she didn’t like basically touring
these scenes, he knew doing nothing and sitting and waiting would be worse for
her. Until they could talk to family or something else happened, rechecking the
sites was all they could do.

“All right, but it’s like the other one. They came out on
isolated side road.” Alana sighed heavily and headed down the path into the
trees.

Michael caught a glimpse of the map when they walked by it.
He knew the perfect spot to take her. Off the trail and isolated enough that
they wouldn’t be disturbed, not at this time of day. There probably wasn’t much
chance of danger here, especially not from any witch or the kidnappers, since
Alana had just arrived here. She wouldn’t be a target for them yet, but he
would make sure she was protected. A little help from Kane and they could
ensure it.

Alana consulted her tablet and led the way. She was silent
and her frustration showed in the tenseness of her body and her short, sharp
movements. Not a good sign. They needed to find some way to get her out of that
mood. Sometimes, a shifter would deliberately provoke a fight when the
irritation built too high and Michael didn’t want to fight with her.

The area near a crime scene might not be the best choice of
location for this, even if Michael was relatively certain they were safe, but
he wasn’t going to wait. He wanted to close the distance between them as soon
as possible. It wasn’t simply that he wanted her to come home and make a life
with them. He felt the urge to solidify the bond as much as he could, but didn’t
know if that was simple uncertainty or more. He wasn’t going to ignore the
urging though.

He figured a few minutes of looking at the spot where the
woman had been loaded into the vehicle would satisfy any questions about the
area. Then he could lure her to where he wanted her. Unless they found
something the police missed, which wasn’t likely, because Mark and a couple of
other shifters had been down here to search the scene after the kidnapping. Captain
Parker might not have been sharing information, but he couldn’t hide where the
police cars had been seen. The news ensured that.

It took a while to get to the spot where the men had come
out of the trees. They’d pushed through brush to get to the access road. Kane
led the way, making the path easier for Alana to get through. They stood on the
unpaved little road and looked down to where it would eventually join with a
paved street.

“No tracks from her, so like all the others unconscious or
simply bound and carried.” Alana tapped her foot on the ground. “The tracks
were destroyed by a late afternoon rain, but likely the same vehicle, a van or SUV.”

“They could have been parked here for hours and I doubt
anyone would have noticed.” Kane stepped up beside Alana and his hand touched
hers.

Michael grinned when her hand slipped easily into his
brother’s. With the promising gesture, he decided it was time to move this
relationship along a little further. He started walking back, but cut off the
path when he was in the trees.

He kept walking even though he didn’t hear her coming after
him. She would. She was a protective little thing. Even though the area was
safe, she wouldn’t want him out of her sight. With any luck, Kane would keep
her a little busy and she wouldn’t notice he was gone for bit. The spot he
wanted to get to wasn’t exactly nearby

“Michael, damn it, that’s not the way back to the car.”
Alana’s voice cut through the trees, but was muffled enough that he knew she
wasn’t close.

Michael held back a chuckle. He knew it wasn’t the way back
to the Jeep. An idiot would have been able to follow the path back. She’d be
slowed down a little. She couldn’t run after him, because she’d keep Kane with
her. He knew his brother wouldn’t run through the forest, especially when he’d
probably already worked out this was a very deliberate detour.

The protective Familiar in her would want to keep her
wizards where she could help. He could have asked her if she wanted to go with
them to the spot, but she might have said no. He wasn’t giving up that easily.
He’d have found a way to get her there one way or another.

“Michael, you’re going to get lost,” Alana called.

“No, he’s not. If he wants to go for a walk, let him. He’ll
come back,” Kane said.

Michael heard the laughter in his brother’s voice and
quickened his pace. He wanted to get a little closer to the secluded spot he’d
noticed on the map before she caught up with him. She didn’t sound like she was
in the mood to cooperate.

“We are not leaving him wandering around the woods alone.
Michael, come back here.” Alana’s voice tightened and the words sounded a
little clipped.

Michael wondered if she’d screamed that at his brother or
just replied while tugging him along in her wake. The thought of her yelling at
Kane sent a small burst of happiness through him. She wouldn’t react this way
if she didn’t care.

“You know he can take care of himself and I guarantee you,
he isn’t lost. He might not have your innate since of direction or heightened
senses, but he knows this area. He wanted to go somewhere.” Kane laughed. His
raised voice meant he wanted Michael to hear. “So wherever I’m being dragged,
it better be worth it.”

Michael kept going, but stopped just outside of where he
wanted to take her. He wanted to be with her. She came out of the forest. Her
hand wrapped around Kane’s wrist. His brother followed after her, smiling.

“Michael, where are you going? We have work to do.” She put
a hand on her hip and glared at him.

“Work? We went over the scene and didn’t find anything new.”
He raised an eyebrow.

Alana glowered at him growl. “We still need to do it.”

“We’ll get back to it later today when we talk to some of
the families. I have plans now. You know you’d like to relax a little.” He
began walking, but knew she wasn’t going to let him disappear again. From the
tightness around her jaw, he was surprised she wasn’t growling at him.

“Where are you going?” She grabbed his hand as if she wanted
to keep him from walking off in another direction without her.

“Right here.” He took the last few steps, which brought him
through the trees to the large rocks at the edge of the river. The water slowed
and pooled here before making its downstream.

“All right, we’re here. Why are we here?” She looked around
the area and seemed ready to spring in front of them should danger arrive.

“We’re here because I wanted you to see it.” He tightened
his fingers around hers and drew her over to a flat boulder near the water.

“I’ve seen it. I used to run all over these mountains.” She glanced
pointedly back in the direction of the park.

“You haven’t seen it with us.” Kane sat down and patted the
space next to him.

Michael smiled as his brother seemed to catch onto the plan.
Alana looked from him to Kane and back again. She frowned, but she didn’t seem
angry, just a little confused by their actions.

“We have more work to do today.” She tried to free her hand,
but he didn’t release it. Not that she’d go anywhere without them.

He wasn’t going to let her have the distance. He tugged her
by the hand until she was close enough for Kane to grab her and tumble her down
into his lap.

“The only other thing we have to do today is go back and
begin the interviews. You know those talks are going to be emotional. Let us
give you this. After we get through with the meetings, we’ll go home. We’ll eat
at home tonight, I think.” Kane hugged her before sitting her on the rock next
to him.