My Healer (Bewitched and Bewildered Book 3) (3 page)

CHAPTER TWO

Colton leaned against the SUV and sighed. He looked down the long, dark dirt road that circled the outskirts of Lycaonia. There was still no sign of their unexpected visitor. When Aiden had knocked on his door the night before to ask him to take this early morning lookout, he jumped at the chance. He'd do anything to avoid another sleepless night. Looking out at the pre-dawn sky, he had to admit even if only to himself, that the odds that this was his mate on her way to him was slim, but waiting out here in the frigid temperatures was preferable to watching his mate be killed in his dreams.

In the distance he could see a faint glow. As it moved closer he realized that it was a car coming towards him. He pushed away from his SUV and walked until he was in the middle of the road. The sun was just coming up, providing enough light for him not to worry about being run over. Slowly the car rolled to a stop a good distance away, seconds later the driver's side door opened and a small figure got out.
 

"Hello there!" he called. "My name is Colton Albright; I'm your escort into Lycaonia."

"How do I know that?" a female voice yelled.

Huh?

"Do you have any ID?" she asked.

He scowled. "Do you mean the official Lycaonia ID that states I'm a wolf-shifter from a secret paranormal city? No, I left that in my other pair of pants."

"You don't have to be snarky about it," she admonished.

He squinted, trying to see if she was kidding. He could see the outline of her body, but not much else. "You're going to have to trust me. I'm going to get in my car and drive to the Alpha estate where you'll meet with the Unit Commander. He's in charge of placing you in a safe house. I suggest you pay attention, the turn off is well hidden." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and got into the car. Grumbling he fastened his seatbelt. "Pain in the ass woman."

When he began to pull away, he noticed that she stayed right on his ass. He thought about tapping his brakes but didn't feel like explaining to Aiden why the SUV needed repair work, not when Aiden's own car was still being rebuilt after his mate torched it. Smiling at that particular memory, he cranked up his iPod. His compilation of songs from
Supernatural
blared inside the SUV. As soon as they got to the estate, he would drop the crazy woman in Aiden's lap and go watch reruns until he passed out. He was always surprised at how much they got right.

When they arrived at the estate, he couldn't help himself, he slammed on the brakes, bringing the SUV to a screeching halt. Sure enough, the car behind him hit the back of his car. Since they weren't going very fast by then, there wasn't a lot of damage.

Shouldn't have been following so closely.

Smirking he grabbed his iPod and got out of the car. He was making his way to the front door when he heard an angry woman's voice behind him.

"What in the hell was that?" she demanded.

Turning he watched as the woman fought with her seatbelt that was still wrapped around one arm. In a fit of anger, she threw it to one side and slammed the car door. She marched towards him, and as she got closer, Colton felt his stomach drop. He knew her. She had the same heart shaped face framed by sun kissed light brown hair as the woman in his dreams. Her eyes were a perfect mixture of blue and grey. He had only ever seen those eyes anxious, sympathetic or afraid, but never pissed. She was just as beautiful in life as she had been in his dreams.

She stomped up the porch stairs and began poking him in the chest.

"What kind of immature stunt was that? I have had one of the worst nights of my life and you pull this shit? You're lucky my brothers aren't here they would ..."
 

He watched as she stopped and realized what she said. Tears filled her eyes, at the mention of her family, though her expression remained defiant. With a shaking hand, he reached out and cupped her face.

"Thank the Gods," he whispered. He couldn't keep the tremor out of his voice.

She looked puzzled at first and then her eyes widened.

"You're the voice from my dream, aren't you? They said that the voice might belong to my mate," she whispered, and stood stock-still.

He nodded before pulling her close, he simply held her against him.
 

She pushed against his chest with both hands and stepped back. "You weren't an asshole in my dreams," she said bluntly.

He grinned. She was spunky. "And you weren't a prickly bitch in my dreams either."

Her mouth dropped and she just stared at him. Seconds went by before she began to smile. "I can't believe you said that. Aren't you going to try to woo me or sweep me off my feet?"

He shrugged. "Something tells me you're not the type of woman that wants to be swept off her feet. In fact, I'm willing to put money on the fact you're the type of woman that likes to be in charge."

She winced. "Actually, yeah." She squinted up at him. "And you're okay with that? Most men like meek women."

He gave her his most wolfish grin. He was pleased, when he saw her eyes widen at his expression. "I don't have to be in charge, but that doesn't mean I'm not dominant." He leaned in and buried his nose where her neck and shoulder met. He inhaled deeply, shuddering at her scent. He bit down lightly and heard her gasp. Almost instantly, he could smell her arousal. "Just because I'm not always in charge, doesn't mean I'm not an Alpha," he whispered, letting his lips dance on her skin.

"Colton let the poor woman get some air," Aiden boomed behind him.

Colton stepped back and turned to face his childhood friend standing in the open doorway. The look on his face must have been impressive because Aiden swallowed visibly. The rest of his unit stood next to Aiden in the foyer, smiling at him.

"She's your mate, isn't she?" Aiden asked.

Colton nodded. "Yes, she is." He turned to the woman. "This is Aiden McKenize, the Unit Commander. Aiden this is ..." He stopped. "What is your name anyway?"

Aiden burst out laughing and Colton flushed slightly. Growling, he frowned at his friend. "We hadn't gotten that far yet."

Aiden smirked at him, arms crossed over his chest. "What exactly did you get to?" he teased.

Colton thought about it for a moment. "We've pissed each other off, exchanged insults and she's damaged my car."

"So pretty much on par for the Alpha Unit," Sascha's voice said from their left. Colton looked over and the men from the other units stood grinning up at him from beyond the porch. "Har har guys. At least she didn't set my car on fire."

"Hey!" Aiden protested.

"His car was set on fire? Is it safe here?" his mate asked.

Colton felt his smile threaten to split his face. "Yeah. Meryn, his mate, blew his car up for being a dick, he totally deserved it. As for being safe, look around sweetheart, these men represent the best the paranormal world has to offer, there's no place safer." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come on honey, let's head inside, you can tell me your name and why you're on the run."

"Wait! I have to..." She turned back towards the car.

Laughing he pulled her back. "We can get your bags later."

She pulled free and shook her head. "You don't understand." She jogged back to her car and opened the back door behind the passenger seat.

Frowning, Colton and most of the men gathered around the car. When his mate lifted a small bundle out of the car, his brain couldn't make sense of it. It looked like a tiny body pillow wearing a coat. His mate set the bundle down and reached down to grasp a small hand. Hand? Blinking, Colton gawked down.

"Colton, my name is Rheia Bradley and this is my daughter, Penelope Carmichael. She likes to be called Penny."

Colton stared until multi colored dots appeared before his eyes. A solid whack to his back brought him to the present and he inhaled sharply, choking on his own spit.

"Breathe, you damn fool!" Sascha chided.

Gasping for air, he bent over and put his hands on his knees. "I think. I'm dying!" he wheezed.

He looked up and saw his mate roll her eyes. "You're not dying, but I think you are having a panic attack. Just breathe, Penny won't bite, I promise."

Colton took deep breaths staring at the ground. When he saw two small purple shoes appear, he looked up. Bright green eyes surrounded by dark lashes peered at him. Rich brown ringlets spilled from outside the coat's hood. She had tiny, pink, bow shaped lips and wore a serious expression. She raised her hand and placed it on his cheek. She was warm, very warm, too warm to be a human. This tiny child was a shifter and she was now his daughter!

His legs gave out and he fell to his knees in front of Penny as he looked into her eyes. The universe screeched to a halt around him and shifted. He knew eventually he would fall in love with his mate, but the love he would have for Rheia would be different than what he already felt for this child. He had fallen instantly in love with his daughter and Gods help the ones that were after her, because there was nothing he wouldn't do to keep her safe.

Five minutes ago, he had been a bachelor now he had a mate and baby girl. His world was changed forever. He smiled at her and she titled her head. Slowly, giving her time to pull away, he reached for her and then scooped her up when she didn't protest. Standing he turned and faced the men.

"I'm a father!" he announced, forgetting that the men around him had been there the whole time.

Cheers went up from the men as they crowded around to meet Rheia and Penny.

"This is my mate Rheia and my daughter Penny. Aren't they beautiful?" he asked, beaming.

"Being a father is nothing to play at," Rheia chided, her hands on her hips frowning at him again.

"I'm not playing. You're my mate and she's your daughter, that makes her my daughter," he rebutted.

She blinked. "Just like that? Poof! Just like that, you're willing to sacrifice everything and become a parent?" she demanded.

Colton frowned, confused. "Of course. Isn't that how it works with humans?"

"Not exactly," she confessed.

"Well, that's how it is with me. She's already mine, aren't you, princess?" Colton asked Penny.

Yawning, the girl nodded, popped her thumb in her mouth and laid her head down on his shoulder.

Colton melted. "Let's head inside. My baby girl has to be getting cold. Darian, Keelan, can you bring in their suitcases?" he asked.

"Sure thing," Darian said. He and Keelan opened up the driver's side door and popped the trunk.

"Now wait a minute. You can't just expect me to let you walk off with my daughter. Hey! Get back here!" Rheia called as he walked towards the house.

"Is your Mommy always so grumpy?" he asked Penny. The little girl shook her head.

"Just with me?" Again, she nodded.

"Perfect," he sighed.

"Colton!" Rheia ran in front of him and held her arms out. "Give me my daughter," she said in a dangerous voice.

"Sure. I just figured you must be exhausted from driving all night, I was trying to help," he carefully placed Penny in her mother's arms. "If you only accept one thing right away and without question, let it be this. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. In my heart she is the same as my own flesh and blood, I would die for her, for both of you." He hated the indecision and pain he saw on her face. Smiling he reached out and thumped his mate between the eyes. He winked at her stunned expression.
 

Slowly her features began to relax. "Just give me time. I lost my home today. I don't know if my brothers are alive. I met you and the whole world turned upside down. She's all I have," Rheia said gripping Penny tight.

"You have me now. Oh, and them." Colton jerked his thumb behind him where nearly thirty men began to look anywhere but at them, trying to appear busy.

"I feel better already," she joked. The men smiled.

"Come on, prickly pear, I'll introduce you to your housemates and then we can go to bed."

Rheia stumbled at his words and he caught her elbow to keep her upright and from dropping Penny.
 

"I'm not going to bed with you," she protested.

Colton rubbed his chin. "I bet you will. What do you think, Penny?"

Penny held out her hand and gave him a thumbs up.
 

"Oh Penny, you don't know what he's saying." Rheia walked past him into the house. Colton closed the door behind them.

"Maybe she does," Colton said and looked around. "I know it's early, but are Meryn and Beth up yet?"

Gavriel nodded and Aiden exhaled. "Meryn will be down in a few minutes. She said that it's too early to be alive, but she wanted to meet Lycaonia's newest citizen, I think she's been getting bored."

The men shuddered.

Ryuu walked in from the dining room and bowed to Rheia. "My lady. My name is Ryuu, I am the squire for this home. If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to bring it to my attention." He turned to Penny, his face softening considerably. "And who is this treasure?"

Penny hid her face in Rheia's neck; she peeked out, staring at Ryuu with one bright green eye.

Rheia rubbed the girl's back. "My name is Rheia Bradley, this is my daughter Penny."

Ryuu placed a white gloved hand over his heart and bowed to the little girl. Penny wiggled her fingers at him. Colton was surprised to see Ryuu in Western style dress; he had come to associate the squire with the traditional Japanese style clothing he normally wore. It was a shock to see him looking like a turn of the century Victorian butler.

Behind them, Beth and Meryn walked down the stairs arm and arm. Beth looked immaculate as usual, her blonde hair in a braided up-do. Today she wore a charcoal grey business suit. Beside her Meryn couldn't look more like Beth's opposite if she tried. Her short brown hair was sticking up in every direction, in what she called her "wild" look. Colton thought it was perfect for her. As usual, she was in jeans and today's tee-shirt had a large blue box on it. Though awake, Meryn looked disgruntled and angry. Yawning, she stomped down each step, whereas Beth glided down gracefully. Beth stopped and eyed Ryuu's attire with a curious expression on her face before turning to Rheia.