Force of Nature Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4) (36 page)

The kitchen and the living room were the only two rooms he could see. His partner had been less than helpful when he’d had her install the remotes. But he supposed that she’d done the best she could. Alexis had been on top of every little thing that had gone on inside the renovations to the house. Not that he could blame her. Alexis was a very beautiful and rare woman.

He glanced down at the sheets of paper that had come to him last night, and now he knew just what it was about her that intrigued him so much. Alexis was a shifter. The last of her breed and, even better, full blooded. Now he needed to taste her more than ever. Tom knew without a doubt that her blood would be like a fine wine and a thick steak all at once. He was looking forward to her blood like he did anything expensive he obtained.

Tom watched the play between the people in the room on the monitor screen. The youngest child, he thought her name was simply Sis, was messy and he’d be glad to have her dead. She ate her human food like it was the best thing she’d ever tasted and, to his horror, she showed the person sitting across from her what was in her mouth every few minutes. Tom shuddered. He hated children of all kinds and thought that their only purpose should be to feed his kind. Flipping the switch, he watched the living room.

The girl Darcy sat in there alone. She sat with her head down and her hands in her lap. He wished he knew what was going on in her mind. The girl had frankly creeped him out since the day he’d killed her mother. And as for her being alive, that little bit of information had been a surprise too. He’d thought her dead like the mother. That was another thing he had to thank Alexis for. She’d been responsible for Darcy as well.

The girl continued to sit, and he was about ready to change back to the kitchen in hopes of the little one being gone or to see that she’d choked to death on whatever she’d been eating when Darcy looked up. She didn’t look around the room, but simply up. It took him several seconds to realize that she was staring at him.

Tom leaned forward in his chair. He scanned the rest of the room to see if anyone had come into it while he’d been focused on her, but could see that both doorways into the room were clear and that it appeared that no one was with her. When she stood up and walked toward the camera, he held his breath.

Darcy walked right toward him, and when her face was the only thing he could see in his camera view, she puckered her lips and kissed the air. Tom leaped back, swearing that he could feel her lips on his face. When she smiled and turned away Tom let out his pent up breath. When she stopped in the doorway leading to the kitchen, she turned toward him once again and flipped him her middle finger.

Tom found himself staring at the spot where she’d stood for a long time. All that kept rolling around in his mind was that she knew. She knew, she knew, she knew. Reaching over with shaking fingers, he turned off the monitor, something he’d not done since having the camera set up. Terror, a thing he’d not felt for many, many centuries, flushed his skin with sweat. Then the anger set in.

She’d been told. That was the only reason she’d known where the camera was set up. The woman he’d had in the house around them all for decades had told her. For whatever reason she’d told mattered little to him now. Now she had to die. Along with the rest of the humans in the household, his plant had to die.

Chapter 15

Alexis drove to the pack house with Gordon sitting beside her. She was still trying to figure out what the young female wolf had wanted hanging around her shop.

“What do you know about her?” Gordon startled her out of her musings. “The wolf, how long has she been hanging around your shop?”

She tried to remember. “I guess a little over a month now. I didn’t know she was a
she
though. And if you tell me that you asked her I’ll murder you. I don’t know what she wants, but she’s only been hanging around, not causing me any problems.”

“I could smell her. She’s also a virgin, but not a young girl. I would say that she’s in her mid-thirties or less, but not much. She should have a mate by now, or at least a pack to be in. She doesn’t smell like anything but her. No other males have been near her for some time.”

Alexis glared at him. “You got all that by smelling her? Just how close were you to her? I mean, that’s a great deal of information for someone who only sniffed the air.” She sounded jealous and hated that. When she stopped at the light Gordon leaned over and licked her neck. Every nerve ending in her body went on alert.

“You smell delicious, love. If we weren’t commanded to be at the pack house to meet with Phil I’d have you pull over and I’d show you how much I love the way you smell.” She sat at the light too long thinking about what he was saying, and the person behind her beeped. Flustered and a little mad, she nearly killed the engine popping the clutch.

“Stop doing that,” she told him when she got moving again. “You know that I don’t like you very much, and that is so not helping your cause right now. What does Phil want anyway? I thought he was pissed at you still.”

He moved back to his side of the car and looked out the window. She had made him mad, but she thought she might be safer if he was mad at her and not trying to have sex with her all the time. When he spoke she felt really bad for what she’d done.

“I hurt him. And in hurting him, I hurt CJ. Now my alpha is pissed and wants me to fix this. I want to as well. I hate having Phil pissed off at me. He’s a good friend and what I did and said to him wasn’t right.” He reached over and took her hand before he continued. “I was afraid and I said some things, some horrible things about his kind, and I have regretted it since. But I think I have a way to fix it. I’m just waiting for—”

The wolf shot in front of them in seconds. If she’d not been looking where she had been going she might have hit it. Jerking the vehicle to a sudden stop made her seatbelt cut into her deeply, but the fear of hurting Gordon overrode the pain until she was sure he was all right. He was staring at the wolf as it stood watching them from the middle of the road.

“Did I hit it?” She started to get out to check when he squeezed her hand. “You know that wolf?”

Without taking his eyes from the wolf, he answered her, and she looked back when he did. “You do as well. It’s your female. She wants something. Are you comfortable enough to get out and go to her?”

Was she? Probably not, but she knew that the girl had been hanging around the shop for over a month now and Alexis wanted to help her if she needed her. She unbuckled the belt and slowly opened the door. When Gordon started to open his door the wolf stood up and her fur stood on end. Gordon stopped, but didn’t shut the door.

“He’s my…well, fuck it, he’s my mate. And you know how stupid they can be if you don’t do what they think is best for you.” Alexis got out as she spoke. “Sometimes I wouldn’t mind so much if you ripped him up a bit, but I think that whatever it is you want, he can probably help.”

The seconds went by slowly. Alexis wasn’t sure if the girl/wolf was going to settle down or if she was going to run. When she lay down but didn’t take her eyes off of Gordon, Alexis relaxed a little. She heard the door close behind her and assumed that Gordon had exited on his side.

“How do I talk to her? I mean, unless you can understand barking we’re going to have a bit of a problem here.” Alexis glanced over at Gordon when he chuckled a little. “This is not the time to make fun of me. I’m serious here. She wants to—”

The voice that echoed in her mind was faint, but still there. She turned to look at the wolf and was surprised that she’d moved closer to them. Alexis put out her hand, but didn’t move otherwise. The wolf came up and put her head under Alexis’s outstretched hand.

“I’m Stacy, Stacy O’Brien. If you can hear me, would you please get down on your knees? I won’t hurt you.”

“She said her name is Stacy O’Brien. Can you hear her too?” When Gordon didn’t answer, she turned to look at him. “Gordon?”

“I can hear her. Alexis, I should explain that you hearing her without being an alpha, her alpha, is very unusual. Have you been able to hear wolf before?” She shook her head at his question. “I can hear her because you can. I think. Hell, who knows?”

“You’re special. And very strong.”
Stacy put her head in Alexis’s lap when she sat on the road.
“When we touch, I can hear you much better.”

“Why are you running around at night? Are you trying to get killed? My God, I could have run over you.” Alexis started to rub her fingers through Stacy’s fur and could hear a rumble coming from her. “Gordon said you needed to talk, so talk or come with me to the pack house and we can talk there.”

This time, the wolf whimpered before answering.
“The pack won’t take me. I’m barren, or so they’ve told me. I cannot carry on the next generation, so the last pack said I was to be killed. I left there before they could carry out the order.”

Alexis looked at Gordon, who shook his head. “That won’t happen to you here. There are plenty of males who’ve lost their mates and could use a good companion. Come to the pack house and we’ll welcome you.”

“The man who comes to harm you, do you know of who I speak?”
Alexis started to say no, but stopped when Stacy continued.
“Not the one who smells like the young pups…children. The older one, the one who smells of blood, old and dirty blood.”

“I know the other man, the one who smells like my nieces and nephews. The other, he’s a vampire, I guess?” Stacy whimpered again when Alexis asked. “Okay. Don’t know who that is unless it’s Phil. Is that who it is?”

“No. The lawyer smells clean and very fresh, not like this man. He and his kind are what I fear. They like the taste of wolf blood, especially that of a virgin. No, this man wishes you harm, and he smells like one of the older women in your pack.”

Alexis looked up when she heard a car coming. Without thought to what might happen to them, she stood and opened the back door to her vehicle. With a sharp command, Stacy leapt inside and Alexis closed the door, thankful that Gordon had gotten in as well.

They were moving down the road before the car came around the corner. Several times she looked at the wolf in the back as she drove, but the wolf stayed low. Alexis was sure she knew who was behind them because she continued to whimper all the way to the pack house. When they pulled into the gated area, the car, a black SUV, sped by them.

They were moving up the drive before anyone spoke. And when Gordon did Alexis wasn’t sure if she wanted to go inside or not. There were things going on that she was sure were going to be bad.

“The persons in the car, they were following us, you know that, right?” She stared at him. “The pack will help us, Alexis, all of us.” He looked at the wolf in the back. “All of us.”

~~~

Gordon was rolling out of the vehicle before it came to a complete stop. He was glad that he’d reached out to Austin. He was even gladder that they had taken his warning seriously and were now standing on the front deck with about two dozen shifted wolves surrounding CJ, Dallas, and him.

“He drove by, but I got his plate. I don’t think it was a coincidence that he just happened on that road at that time. Send a few wolves after him and see if they can pick him up.” Alexis was coming around her vehicle with Stacy as the wolves did his bidding. “This is Stacy O’Brien. She’ll need something to put on when she—”

“You hold it right there, mister.” Gordon turned and raised a brow to Alexis as she snapped at him. “You aren’t the big cheese here, and I’m pretty sure the last time I looked, women had all kinds of rights that even big, bad wolves like you can understand.”

Gordon heard his brothers laugh and CJ was the loudest. He was about ready to snarl at his mate when she came up to him with her wolf friend standing between them. With a snap of her finger and a sharp point to the right, Stacy moved.

“You did that really well,” Austin said with laughter in his voice. “So Gordon, you’ve found yourself an alpha person and didn’t even know it.”

Gordon didn’t know whether to be pleased or pissed. He opted for pleased with a small dose of pissed when he turned to look at Alexis. Christ, she was beautiful standing there with three wolves standing behind her. Gordon wasn’t sure where they’d come from, but he was sure he was gathering a pack without even knowing it. He glanced at the two males and Stacy and then back at Alexis.

“Do you have any idea what Austin is talking about?” He wasn’t surprised when she shook her head. “The wolves that are there with you have just pledged themselves and their loyalty to you. By breaking pack from Austin’s, we’ve just inherited them into ours. Understand?”

“I don’t want a pack,” she said, trying to step away from them, and he noticed that Stacy stayed where she was. “I can barely be parent to a few kids. I can’t imagine how it will be trying to be a…I thought it was called an alpha bitch?”

Gordon tried not to laugh, but when CJ came down off the deck and toward them he knew that her explanation was going to be worth it. He watched her waddle toward them, her and all seven months of her belly.

“Oh, I’m so not going to be called a bitch of any kind. When Austin called me that the first time I nearly took his head off.” CJ grinned. “Actually, I threatened all sorts of things I was going to do to him, so we came up with ‘alpha person.’ Though now I suppose that alpha bitch is more suiting. I’ve been something of a terror these past few months.”

The man on the deck didn’t say a word…at least not out loud, but Gordon heard him through their brotherly link.
“Something of a terror?
Holy hell, she’s been a nightmare. And if you tell her I said that, I’ll make you a eunuch. All of you.
”

“All right. The pack said that they got nothing from the SUV,” Dallas said quietly. “We should take this inside. Come. Now.”

Gordon watched the pack move as one. The only few that stayed were the two males, the names of which Gordon couldn’t remember, and Stacy. She didn’t move even though the compulsion was very strong. The only indication she gave that she’d heard him was a small flick of her ear. Gordon tried to hide his laughter behind his hand when Dallas tried again to get them to move.

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Alexis said. “Come on in, guys. I think it’s going to be a really long night and I, for one, could use a beer.”

The males stood and looked back at Stacy, who hadn’t moved. When Alexis told him to go inside and take the others with him Gordon started to tell her no, but Stacy growled low in her throat and spoke to him again.

“
I won’t go in as a wolf…not here with all those males. I’ll talk to Alexis, but not to anyone in the house.”
Gordon didn’t get a chance to answer her before she spoke again.
“I will protect her. I was the head of security in the other pack. Your mate will be safe with me.”

Gordon looked directly to the female, knowing that Austin and Alexis both would be able to hear him and not caring. “Harm comes to her and I will kill you. I will make it a long and horrible death, so much so that you’ll beg for your death.”

“No harm with come to her. None. On this I swear my allegiance to you. I will die, myself, before harm comes to her.”

Gordon nodded. He turned on his heel and entered the house without another backward glance. He knew what he was doing was foolhardy, but he also knew that the female was right. She would die for Alexis. It was the why that puzzled him.

“She won’t die. Neither will you.” Gordon looked at Phil as he spoke. “Your mate is the last shifter in this world. And boy, have I got a story for you.”

Gordon reached out and grabbed the vampire before he could think about it. He pulled his friend into his body and gave him a hug that only other supes could give each other—tight and hardy. When he released him, Phil held on for just a few seconds longer and Gordon felt the weight of the past few days lighten just a little. Before he stepped back, he whispered in Phil’s ear.

“She’s in New York. She’s there on a business trip that will bring her back this way in two weeks. If you want to catch her there she’s staying at the Beverly Wilshire on Tenth.”

Phil stepped back. The look of shock on his face was priceless. Before either of them said a word, though, Gordon’s mother came from the kitchen. She was holding a tray of food and both men reached to take it from her.

“No, I have it. Come on. I have a bag of clothes on the table for the young girl. CJ said she needed something to put on.” She set the tray down as she started handing out sandwiches. “There are some bigger shirts and a few of those stretchy pants too. Not sure how big she is, but I’m thinking she’s a tiny little thing. The children are in the back yard playing with some of the other pack, and your Aunt Glad is having herself a lay in. Poor thing is all done in. Gordon, your brother said he would be by later. He said to tell you he’s on a case and you’d understand. Come on now, let’s begin. I’m dying to know what this pretty book is about.”