Jordan's Misunderstanding (11 page)

Romy set the woman down gently and she turned to her other mate and held up her arms and did the same thing. Larkin smiled and lifted her easily and nuzzled her neck also. Jordan frowned a little and hoped like hell that was just a friendly greeting or they were going to have a bitch fight in a few moments.

“Uh, my Queen? I do believe their mate is getting a little pissed.” The blonde man said and smirked.

Larkin sat her down and the small woman laughed. Hell, even that was adorable.

“Don"t be silly. Jordan knows that I would never make a move on her mates with her present. Besides, Kingo over there would probably have kittens.” Jordan laughed when the man with the long dark hair groaned again. “Darling, please.” He whined and the woman laughed louder.

“Romy, introduce us.” The woman demanded and looked at Jordan for the first time.

Her eyes were bright blue. Like the sky. Jordan had never seen anyone with that color of eyes. They were mesmerizing.

Romy and Larkin came and stood on either side of her and took her arms pulling her forward. “Jordan, I would like to present our Primes and their Second. This is Queen Ariel and King Ryan. The man standing behind them is Blaze, and yes, that is his real name. His mother named him that because he came so fast into the world. We have all heard the story.” Romy said laughing.

“Assholes.” The large man said and frowned. “No respect.” Ariel stepped forward, held out her arms, and hugged Jordan. Jordan looked at her mates and then made motions for her to rub her jaw against the woman"s. Jordan complied and then smiled when she heard the small woman purr.

Ryan stepped forward and did the same thing and she responded. Finally, Blaze stepped forward and hugged her. When all the pleasantries and introductions were made, Jordan took a deep breath. Ariel heard it and laughed.

“Well, enough of the formalities. Jordan, let's go and take a walk in the garden while the men prepare a feast for us. I love their garden.” She said and put her arm through Jordan"s and pulled her to the door that led to the garden.

Jordan looked behind her and grinned at her mates. She liked the Queen. Ariel pulled her out to the garden and then stooped and took a deep breath.

“Oh it is lovely.” Ariel said and walked around the path. Jordan followed and smiled.

The little woman wanted to talk to her about something; she just had to wait until she decided to speak up.

They approached a bench and the small woman sat down and patted the place beside her. Jordan took a seat and leaned back.

“So, Jordan, everything is pretty fucked up right now, huh?” Ariel said and then laughed when Jordan looked at her like she was crazy.

“Well, I guess that is one way to put it.” Jordan laughed.

“Ryan explained everything that went on. He said that basically everyone you know and loved has been keeping this secret from you?” Ariel said.

“Yeah.” Jordan said slowly.

“Okay then, people make mistakes; you seem like a reasonably intelligent person. I think you can work all of that out. But as the Prime female of the cat nation, I am telling you that since you mated to my two favorite members that you are family now. If you ever need anything, you call me. I will never lie to you and always tell you the truth.

Even if it means telling you your ass looks fat in jeans.” Ariel said.

Jordan laughed and then said, “Thanks.”

“In all seriousness, I can understand what you are going through. Before I met King of the Jungle in there, I was in a very sick relationship. To make a long story short, I was being lied to also. It hurts. But when the pain lessens, you will talk. Things may not be the same. They may be different, they may be better. For now, you are hurting. As one of my Pride, I want to take your pain away. That is why I am offering you my friendship.

Not as you leader, as your equal. So tell me. How is sex with two men? I really would love to know that.”

Jordan smiled; she did have a friend now. Someone other than her mates that she could talk to. It made her feel lighter than air to know that Ariel was serious about being her confidant and friend. She was going to need one.

***

Ryan stood and watched as his mate took Jordan to the atrium. He shook his head and turned back to his Pridemates.

“So, how is it going? He asked and looked at them pointedly.

Romy answered. “Well, she is hurt, pissed and feeling all alone. Larkin and I have extended your invitation, she wanted to meet you. I hope she realizes how much she needs a Pride, or a Pack.”

Ryan nodded and said, “We will discuss it over lunch. No matter how much I would like to have a Chosen one in my Pride, if it hurts her it is not worth it. She is perfect for you two. I could see it right when I walked in, your bond is strong.” Larkin smiled and nodded. “We are her family now, and she knows how much we love her. I don"t know what to do about the rest.”

“Her parents?” Blaze spoke up.

“She won"t talk to them yet. Or any of her family for that matter. The wound is still to raw. Did you find anything out about the man who was in the chat room?” Larkin asked. They had sent all the information they had to Blaze, he was a wiz at computers, and if anyone could find the asshole that started the fucking mess, it was Blaze.

“Not yet, we are still looking. He accessed it from a coffee shop across the street from where she lived. He has been watching her. We are looking for any video from the stores around there. We will find him.” Blaze said confidently. Larkin and Romy had seen the man pull the impossible out of his ass, so they knew that he would keep at it until he found out who The Master was.

“I just don"t like being out here without knowing what we are up against.” Larkin said and Romy nodded.

“We have seven of our best Warriors at your disposal. They are permanently assigned to Jordan and you. The dogs have backed off but not left. They are across the street now, watching and reporting back to Jordan"s parents. I feel for the man. I called him earlier and there was real pain in his voice. He said that he never meant to hurt her, only protect her. I told him we would now. He accepted the offer, for now.” Ryan said.

The men went into the kitchen and Larkin and Romy began to load the plates down with the food they had made. They were surprised when Blaze and Ryan joined in.

“What?” Ryan said. “I was a bachelor before, you know.” They laughed and Blaze said, “Yeah, but you didn"t cook. Do you remember when you first tried to impress Ariel with your cooking skills?” Ryan laughed. “Yeah, when we lived in the apartment on the west side. I nearly burned down the fucking building. The super called the Prime and told him if they did not pay for the remodeling of the apartment they were going to kick us out.” Ryan and Blaze had been best friends since they were small. Their mothers called them the „terrible two". They got in so much trouble when they were young; everyone still talked about their wild Alpha"s teens. It did not surprise anyone when they went to college together. And when Ryan was appointed the new Prime, Blaze had been by his side and named the Second.

The men laughed and joked about their cooking skills. Romy and Larkin relaxed. They had hoped their Prime would be happy about their mating and would like Jordan. Blaze stepped out to answer a phone call and Ryan turned to them.

“What can I do to help?” Ryan asked and picked up a piece of egg and popped it in his mouth.

“Jordan decided to go to Colorado. She does not want to have anything to do with her adoptive family right now. She said she was going to look at it as a business. She wants to live outside the compound for now. I agree. One of the New Council member"s father is the one accused of killing her parents. She would not feel comfortable being so close.” Larkin said.

“I will send our best construction worker out today to find you a plot. We will make sure that it is guarded by the cat nation. I will call Quin and Jaden and ask permission. How do you want me to handle it?” Ryan said seriously.

“If they don"t agree to Jordan"s requests, I don"t think she will go. It"s plain and simple.” Romy said.

Ryan nodded and ran his hands through his hair. “I can play hard ball since she is a member of the Pride. New Council or not, they have no jurisdiction over her until she officially pledges to the New Council Pack.”

“She won"t do that. We already discussed it. She will take her place on the Council, but she will not pledge to the Pack. So I really don"t know where that"s going to leave us.

We have not called anyone yet.” Romy said.

Ryan looked at his Pridemates and when Blaze came back into the room, he turned to his Second and explained what they had been talking about. Blaze frowned and nodded.

“I thought all the New Council members had to be a part of the Pack?” Blaze said.

“Well, we are going to have to talk to Quin and Jaden about that before we make our plans.” Larkin said. “Jordan doesn"t want to do that.”

“Let"s get the women.” Ryan said and Romy went to the door to the atrium, opened it, and called out for Jordan and Ariel. They all relaxed when the women came back in arm in arm laughing as if they were old friends.

Larkin went to his mate and kissed her on the forehead. “Everything okay?”

“Well, I didn"t bite her and eat her, dumbass.” Ariel said laughing.

“That"s a good sign.” Ryan said and took his mate in his arms and kissed her soundly in front of all of them.

Blaze stuck his finger down his throat and made a gagging noise. “Come on.”

“Wait until you find your mate. I am not going to let you forget this.” Ryan grumbled to his Second and then slapped the man on the back of the head.

“Let"s eat.” Romy said and moved everyone to the food laden dining room table.

As they ate, the group got to know each other better, talking about their pasts. They became more comfortable as the meal went on. Romy and Larkin were glad that their mate was so comfortable around their Prime. It would make things a lot easier.

When the meal was over, Ryan clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “So, let"s get down to it. Jordan, what do you want to do?”

Jordan looked at her mates and they nodded to her. She cleared her throat and said,

“Well, I feel very comfortable around you all. I"m really glad that you came over. I won"t go through all of the stuff that happened the last few days cause you all know.” Everyone nodded and waited for her to talk. “I would like to go to Colorado, but remain part of the Pride with my mates. I feel like my real parents would want me to follow my destiny.”

Jordan felt the tears build in her eyes. When she thought about her adoptive parents and her birth parents, she felt so torn. She had no idea who she should give her loyalty to. It was a messed up situation. Slowly she talked about what she was feeling and Ariel stood up, came to her side, and held her hand while she talked about her vision of what she wanted. Ryan nodded and made notes so he could be clear on what he needed to do.

“Okay, here"s what I think.” Ryan said when everything was done. “I will call Quin and Jaden form here. We will make our feelings known and see what they say. If I may, I would like Blaze to contact your birth parent"s family. Before we do anything, I would like to make sure that they are safe.” He held up his hand when Jordan was going to say something. “I know you may not agree with it, but your mates would do the same thing.

You are a part of our Pride and we look after what is ours.” Jordan nodded and waited for him continue. “I will not order you to talk to your parents. But I have spoken to your father. At least let them know where you are going.” Ryan said.

Ariel knelt down next to her chair and took her hand firmly. “We will travel to Colorado with you and wait until you are settled before returning. We will face this together.” Jordan felt the tears gather in her eyes, smiled at her mates, and nodded. Blaze stood, armed with a list of things he needed to do. He excused himself and left the penthouse.

“Well, let"s get this over with.” Ryan said. “Where is the phone?” Romy stood and went into the kitchen and grabbed the extension. When he returned, Larkin had moved them all into the living room so they were comfortable. Jordan and Ariel sat on the couch still holding hands and whispering.

Larkin smiled and handed the phone to Ryan who sat in the chair closest to his mate.

He took his seat next to Romy on the loveseat.

“I will talk first.” Ryan said.

Chapter 15

Quin sat at his desk in the New Council compound and stared at the wall. Nothing was turning out like he expected it to. Everything was a mess. His mate Cami was constantly trying to figure out a way that Oliver was not guilty. She refused to vote against her best friend"s father.

Blaine and his mates had not had a vision other than to tell them a time of indecision was upon them. Quin had roared „NO SHIT" when they announced that. The rest of the Council was quiet and thoughtful. Basically, they were divided. This was not supposed to be what the New Council was about. They had to work together.

Jaden entered the room, plopped down in the chair across from him, and said, “Well, I am sleeping on the couch tonight.” He announced and put his head back.

“Why?” Quin said grimly.

“Because I told Cami she was not allowed to go down to the jail. She screamed at me for twenty minutes but I held firm just like we talked about. Thanks, by the way, for making me deliver that news. Then she slammed out of the room and threw a comforter and pillow at me.” Jaden said glumly.

Quin closed his eyes. When their mate was pissed, the whole household was pissed.

Great. Just what they needed.

“What the fuck are we going to do?” Quin said.

“Well, Braden just returned. He is with Oliver right now. Maybe he can tell us at least what the fuck he saw that night. I can"t believe the man covered up a murder for Oliver.

What the hell was he thinking? They had to know that it was going to come out sometime. Now we are the ones who have to pick up the pieces. Oliver is a mess. He says he does not remember a damn thing from that night other than the fact that he drank a lot of alcohol. I can understand what he was going through. If anything happened to you and Cami or the kids I would go nuts. But Braden should have known his Alpha needed him. He was the Beta of the Pack. I have people looking into the records of who was at the Pack house that night. They are piecing together things slowly. Finding them is another problem. Most of them are still employed by Oliver.