Wolf Creek Alpha (Texas Pack 1) (22 page)

“That was nice.  I felt like I was back in my normal world,” said Lisa sleepily.

“When everything settles dow
n, and this prophesy crap is over
, you’ll see that we live basically normal lives.  Except when we howl at the moon, of course.”

    “Of course,” Lisa said dryly. 

Arriving back at the castle, Colin came out to help get the girls from the car.  Waking up, they started chattering telling him all about the animals they’d seen. 

“And there were two wolves that looked just like
Gamma
and
Grampa
,” said Sarah.

Colin glanced over at Stephanie, grinning.  “Are you sure it wasn’t?”

“I’m
gonna
tell them
,” said Devlin
in a
singsong
voice coming up behind him.

R
afe came out and helped carry
in all the baggage that was necessary with young children. 

“Enjoy the zoo?” he asked. 

“Yes, although I’d forgotten what it’s like going anywhere with toddlers.  I think Stephanie brought everything they owned,” said Lisa.

“
Just you wait.  Someday
you’ll see what it’s like.  I’m just an exceptionally prepared mother,
”
Stephanie said in a superior tone.

Entering the great room, Lisa saw Ian and Dunstan with their heads together. 
Robert was leaning against
the fireplace. 
She could h
ear snatches of conversation, s
omething about a dirk. 

“My dirk was in my house in Denver.  I don’t know how it could have gotten into an auction. 
My house hadn’t been broken in to
, there’s no way.  I have wards set up that would stop any human,” Dunstan said slowly, realizing the implications.

Lisa and Rafe sat listening, while Colin and Stephanie went to give the girls their baths.

“Why would your father take it?  Couldn’t he just summon you and bind you to him?” asked Rafe.

“A
fae
cannot summon or bind another
fae
,” said Robert.

“Assuming Ciar was the one,
and then
used Stephen to summon you, what would be his goal?  We have to think like he would,” said Ian.

“We’re making a lot of assumptions without any real facts.  Ian said he and Dunstan couldn’t locate Stephen.  Then with Dunstan telling us his name just came to
Stephen when he touched the dirk, doesn’t add up.  Again, too many coincidences,” said Rafe.

“My father does not involve himself in my life. 
Unless he feels the urge to punish me for some
infraction,
he thinks I’ve made. 
Mostly,
h
e leaves me alone and yet, when I went looking for my mother, he put me in his dungeon.  I think he did take my dirk.  He is one of few that could get past my wards.  By using Stephen to release me, it would move suspicion away from him.  What I can’t figure out is why?  Why make sure I got released?” asked Dunstan.

“Your mother,
”
said Lisa. 
“He knows you won’t give up.  If we’re right, then she is alive and he’s hoping you’ll find her
for him
.
  She hid Anna from him and taught her to stay away from the
fae
.  I think she did everything she could to lead him
away from her.
  Sending you away cleared the way for her and Anna to escape.  He wouldn’t have any leverage if her children were gone.”

“And since he couldn’t summon you from this realm, he used Stephen to get the dirk.  I don’t think there ever was an auction.  He planted those memories in Stephen, I’ll bet,” said Ian.

“Going with this theory, how would he know if you did find your mother?  Is there a way he could track you?” asked Rafe.

“He could use a witch,” Robert stated baldly.
  “If he has one under his control, he could use them to ‘see’.  He may already know about Anna now.  She would be his
bargaining chip to control Dunstan
, if he could take her.”

“We’re going with that assumption then.  Put extra guards on Anna
, but
let’s not forget the pond.  Maybe when Melissa comes tomorrow, we’ll be able to get more information,” said Rafe. 

The meeting broke up
and
Lisa
went
to shower.  Rafe told everyone he was grilling steaks for dinner, giving his mom a break from cooking. 

Robert followed Rafe to the patio, watching while he got the grill ready.  Going over what they knew,
Rafe
was thinking Ciar had done
a lot of planning to track Dunstan. 

“Do you really think this is about
finding
his wife?” asked Rafe.

“From what I already knew of him, and Dunstan’s views, I’d say yes.  He doesn’t let anything
go that
he considers his.  He
’
s power hungry and arrogant.  He also wouldn’t want anyone else to have her.  I don’t think he cares anything for Anna personally.  Control is everything to him,” said Robert.

“Would he send someone for Anna
or come himself?” asked Rafe.

“He’d come himself,” Dunstan came out to the
patio.  “He would get pleasure out of thwarting you and hurting me.”

“I hope he does come himself.  I’ll rip his throat out before I let him take Anna,” Rafe said grimly.

After her shower, Lisa went down to see if she could help with dinner.  Seeing the men outside in deep
discussion, she decided to raid the fridge to make a salad. 

“Thanks, that will go well with the steaks.  I’ve got baked potatoes in the oven,” Rafe said coming in to get the steaks.

He stepped behind her and slid his arms around her waist.  Leaning down, he lightly kissed her neck, making her giggle.

“Stop,” she laughed.  “You’re going to make me drop this on the floor.”

He took the bowl from her and set it on the counter.  Turning her aro
und, he pulled her close to him, sliding his arms around her.  Moving in to kiss
her, she stood on her tiptoes, winding her arms around his neck
.  She loved the way he held her so tight.  Pressed against his chest, she could feel his heartbeat. 

“Hey, where are the steaks?  The grill’s ready and I’m starving.  Oops, sorry.  You two just ignore me, I’ll cook the steaks.”  Devlin had come in and moved around them to get the steaks from the fridge. 

“You don’t know how lucky you are
by not having
little brothers,” Rafe murmured.
 

Stepping away from Lisa, Rafe took the steaks from Devlin.  He didn’t trust him no
t to get distracted and
turn them into briquettes.

Lisa turned back to her salad, trying to ignore
Devlin,
as he insisted
that Rafe get back to what he was doing. 
Rafe shoved Devlin in front of him back out the door. 
Lisa finished preparing the salad and then set the table. 
With nothing else to do, she went outside with the men.

They were no longer talking gloom and doom when she joined them.  Someone had brought out a football, so they had started a game.  Lisa sat
down
on a lounger, shaking her head.  It was too hot to run around chasing each other. 

There seemed to be more tackling than actually playing a game.  They also didn’t follow any game rules. 
She saw some of the guards had joined in the game also. 

Stephanie and Colin came out with the girls and he immediately went to join the game. 
Steph
sat next to
Lisa
,
telling Amy a
nd Sarah to stay on the patio and watch.

“It looks more like a wrestling match than a football game,” Lisa said.

“Yeah, it’s just an excuse to wrestle and pound on each other.  Male bonding, wolf thing you know.  And
fae
thing now, I see,” laughed Stephanie.

Anna came out and sat
down
with them
,
watching.
  She quietly observed the game, then grinned and said she was going to join them.
  She seemed more comfortable already, Lisa thought.

“She won’t get hurt, will she?” asked Lisa.

“She’s
fae
and wolf.  Even though they’ll tone it down, she can take it,” Stephanie said. 

    Watching Anna get the ball and run for the touchdown, Stephanie stood up and yelled, “You
go,
girl!”

Rafe left the game to take the steaks up and tell them dinner was ready.  They all went back inside to wash up and eat.

They were teasing
Anna,
saying
that
she cheated by tripping Ian to score a touchdown. 

“It’s not my fault he
tripped over his own feet
.  I know it’s difficult competing against someone so much younger than you,”
Anna said with sympathy. 

“Tripped?  You deliberately stuck your leg out!  I want a rematch.  We’ll see how much ‘older’ I am,” Ian demanded. 

After debating the winner of the game, without coming to an agreement, Rafe decided it was time to inform Anna of her extra guards. 

“You would be a huge asset to Ciar if he took you.  Even though we don’t know for sure that’s his plan, we have to be aware of the dange
r.  He could hold you for years
while Dunstan searches for your mother.”
 

“I understand and
I
want to help if I can,” she said turning to Lisa.  “If you’re up to it, I’d like to see if you can help me remember anything more tonight.”

“Only if you understand I’ll be getting in to your mind.  I don’t want to invade your privacy, but it’s pretty intense,” said Lisa. 

“Maybe after dinner?” asked Anna.

“Ok
ay
.  This is how it works, at
least,
how it worked with Dunstan.  I’ve only done it once.  I’ll try to help you remember the old or buried memories.  If either one of us gets uncomfortable, Robert can help pull us back.”

Finished eating, they carried their dishes to the kitchen to clean up.  Afterward, they moved into the great room.  Lisa and Anna sat beside one another on the sofa. 

Taking Anna’s hands, Lisa asked if she was ready.  After seeing her nod, Lisa closed her eyes and sent her mind outward.  Dunstan sat on Anna’s other side, with Rafe beside Lisa.  The brothers and Colin stood bac
k and watched, while Robert kne
lt in the floor in front of them.
  Stephanie had taken the girls up to their room.
 

Lisa was probing Anna’s mind.  At first
,
all she saw was a dark cloudy area.  Eventually it changed to grey. 
She pushed further until there was a white mist.  This is it, she thought.  Moving through the mist, she saw flashes of images.  They moved too fast for her to understand them, so she pushed them forward in Anna’s mind, thinking they would mean something to her.  Suddenly, she started feeling distressed, and realized it was coming from Anna.  Then Robert was there, pulling her back.

Opening her eyes, she saw Dunstan cradling Anna, who was making small mewling sounds. 

“Oh my God, did I hurt her?  Anna, please,
are
you all right?”  Lisa asked concerned. 

Anna worked
on pulling herself together.  The memories
had all come so fast, she was stil
l processing what she’d seen.
She could hear Lisa worriedly asking about her.

“I’m all right
, just give me a minute,” she said quietly.

Rafe was slowly running his hand up and down Lisa’s back, comforting her.  Lisa was gnawing on her bottom lip, worried.  Robert rose, patting Anna on the head.  He
knew it was difficult for her, resurrecting memories she’d buried.

Dunstan simply held his sisters hand, waiting while she collected herself.

Taking a deep breath, Anna spoke.  “I remember.  I was playing in my mother’s room.  I couldn’t have been more than
five or six
years old.  She came in
, scared.  She was rushing around the room, gathering clothes and stuffing them in a bag.  She was saying we had to go right
now,
while he was gone. 
I didn’t understand what she meant.”

Devlin had left to get her a glass of water.  He handed it to her, gently pattin
g her shoulder.  She paused, taking a sip
. 

“It’ll be all right, Anna.  These are just memories from a long time ago.  Obviously
,
she got you away.  Do you remember where she took you?  That might give me
a
starting point to look for her,” said Dunstan.