Hidden Moon (The Stoneridge Pack Book 4), page 17
Colt, however, was starting to find the whole thing highly amusing.
“He’s just grateful to be alive,” Colt told us, trying to make excuses for his friend’s overly friendly behaviour. “I’ll tell him tonight to calm the fuck down.”
“See that you do,” Grey grumbled, making Calli snicker in amusement.
From the raised eyebrow Grey gave her, she was going to pay for that later, and by the way that she shifted in her seat, I wished I could be there to see it happen.
Fuck, I needed to get this under control. The others might not like me intruding on their time alone with her, even if Calli did seem to enjoy the extra attention. There was something about watching one of the others make her fall apart that was so fucking hot.
My eyes drifted to Lachlan, who happily talked to Nash about something. Lachlan certainly hadn’t objected to having me there, and he was forming his mate bond at the time.
I suppose it did take the pressure off for him. It must be weird to suddenly find yourself in a bonding situation if it wasn’t something you’d grown up knowing about.
Everything Lachlan was going through must feel kind of strange to him. I should probably check in with him to make sure he was settling in okay. He seemed to be, but we were all guilty of putting on a happy face to try and work through stuff on our own.
The rescued witches shyly emerged from the house. I’d had the chance to talk to them today, and of the three of them, Brendan seemed to be taking more of a leadership role, protectively making sure that no one fucked with his friends. Elliot, who had healed Calli, was definitely not happy about leaving, but then he’d look at Lucas, his friend. It was apparent the guy was finding it difficult being with the pack. Every time Elliot recognised that Lucas was struggling, he always looked torn up about it. As the day wore on, Lucas seemed to be shutting down more and more, and I was starting to get concerned about it. As much as we might want them to stay, it clearly wasn’t in his best interest.
I’d spoken with Grey earlier about putting them into Cassia’s house and seeing if maybe Hunter would mind bunking with us for a day or two until Sean could get them out of here.
As Elliot and his friends strayed closer to the group of us, they settled down on one of the blankets Calli had scattered around for everyone. Chairs were another thing we really needed to get more of.
As if the witches being braver was putting them to shame, the four other shifters emerged from the house, not wanting to appear weak. I observed them closely as the witches tried to merge with the group. They didn’t feel welcome here, and whilst our pack had no problems with them, the side-eyes they were getting from the four shifters was proving hard for them to bear.
Now that we’d had the majority of the rescued shifters take off, though, the atmosphere outside was definitely more relaxed.
Talk about dropping the ball. Of course, they would be anxious about people turning up at the pack, and a council member was just about the worst person for it to be. We should have pre-empted it somehow. There was no way we could have anticipated Wells turning up like he did, half dead and with a torn apart shifter. Still, maybe we should have given them a heads-up on our association with him.
“The books…” Elliot started, but a glare from Brendan silenced him pretty quickly.
Calli assessed the three of them carefully before turning in her seat to face them. Her friendly smile was completely non-threatening, but Brendan still bristled at the attention.
“It’s my mother’s collection,” Calli told them, not paying any attention to Brendan’s need to withdraw but still speaking softly and making no moves to approach any closer. “She left them at the house for me. They’ve definitely come in handy over the last few months.”
Now that was an understatement. We’d have been completely fucked if we didn’t have half the information she’d left for us.
Elliot glanced at Brendan out of the corner of his eye. Taking in the death glare he was currently receiving, that fire I’d witnessed earlier stoked in him again as he took a breath and decided to ignore his friend.
“I’ve never seen a collection like it before. I…I may have tried to look at one, but….”
“Yeah, there seems to be some kind of spell on them. Cassia wasn’t able to read them when she first came here either. But, once we established a coven bond between us, that seemed to end. I don’t know how she managed to enchant them, or I’d remove the spell for you. I’m still learning a lot of stuff myself.”
Elliot nodded slowly, digesting what she was saying. I could see the squint of annoyance on Brendan’s face and found myself completely invested in it. He obviously wanted to know as well, and I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take for him to snap and ask his questions. I suppose an amount of trust would be needed, and he seemed too stubborn to give in to something like that.
Elliot’s eyes moved to Cassia, and unlike Brendan, he seemed done with holding back, much to his friend’s annoyance.
“You didn’t always live here then?” he asked.
“No, I was sent here to kidnap Jacob and kill a couple of the pack if I got the chance,” she told him like it wasn’t even a thing. I suppose it wasn’t now. In fact, looking back at it, it had obviously been terrible at the time, but it was sort of funny in a macabre sort of way.
“And now you just live here?” Elliot asked incredulously.
All three of the witches seemed beyond confused. It probably didn’t help that Cassia was perched on Hunter’s lap. The big shifter was wrapping a strand of her hair around his finger, utterly oblivious to the conversation around him.
Ethan had also taken up the chair next to them, and I couldn’t help but notice how he had one hand that kept creeping to Cassia’s leg as his fingers played along her thigh. It would seem that Cassia had a new mate about to join her group.
“I wasn’t in a good situation with my last coven,” Cassia said slowly, almost like she carefully chose her words. “My magic is unusual, and it makes me an outcast. Calli saw that I needed a way out, and she gave me one, even though her brother had been taken and one of the pack got hurt in the process, this pack took me in. They gave me a chance to have a life free of the torment I was living in. There’s nothing I can do to repay them for what they’ve done for me, but I will make it my mission in life to try.”
I hadn’t known Cassia felt that way, and from the way Hunter clung to her, it seemed the big guy was finally paying attention to what was going on.
“The Council sent me here under the guise of a guard for Calli, but in reality, I was expected to spy on them. They wanted me to find their weakness and exploit it, so they could come in and take her. Even though Grey and the others knew what was happening, they still took me in. I realised Cassia was my mate and asked them if I could join their pack. They accepted me without question, even though it could have caused them further problems with the Council,” he explained.
The gruffness in his voice held all the emotion he seemed able to hide from his face.
I’d never really thought much about the circumstances of the two of them coming to be with us. They were pack now, and that was all that mattered. Any other pack would have killed them both on sight, we were different, and we’d always known that, but I guess you never really see the differences until someone makes you look at them. This was just us. It was how we’d always been, traditional pack life wasn’t for us, and we were building something better here. Something to be proud of.
“Why?” Brendan suddenly blurted out. “Are you so insane that you would welcome any obvious threat into your home without considering the circumstances?”
Grey shifted in his seat to lean back in a relaxed manner that was completely at odds with the snap of annoyance I’d felt come through our bond from him. The alpha wouldn’t like being questioned, but the way he was holding it in made me proud. The overwhelming power surging through him now must be difficult to handle, but he made it look easy most days.
“Sometimes what you see as a threat is someone who actually needs help. We aren’t the type to turn away someone in need. But don’t get me wrong. The last true threat to our pack was tied to a post and left inside that building we set on fire. There will be no holding back if you intend to do my pack harm. But if you want our help, if you need a new start or a refuge to regroup in, we will help you in any way we can.” A sliver of Grey’s power seeped out of him as he spoke, wrapping around us all in that comforting way it did. Even the three witches sitting amongst us seemed to relax a fraction, which was more curious than anything. Could they feel it too?
“We could have a chance for something here,” Elliot spoke softly, and it was obvious he wasn’t addressing the rest of us, but rather the two men at his side. Listening now felt intrusive, but we hadn’t really been given a choice.
“They’re shifters. They will never accept us,” Brendan sighed, glaring suspiciously at us.
“There are two witches here, and Calli may only be half-witch, but you accepted she was the strongest we’d ever felt. You can’t honestly believe they would hold the fact that we’re witches against us.”
“They’re all mated to shifters,” Brendan pointed out. “I’ve had enough of being traded as a commodity. I won’t sell myself just to fit in here.”
“Hey, whoa there. I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding,” I blurted out when I realised what he implied. “We don’t expect anything from you if you want to stay here. We certainly don’t expect you to hand over your bodies to anyone. Cassia is Hunter’s mate. It was fated to be. As were Lachlan and Calli. I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, but I can one hundred percent tell you that you’re wrong.”
Brendan looked around at everyone, and I followed his gaze with my own. He took in the way Cassia was sitting on Hunter’s knee with Ethan seemingly unable to take his hands off her. Even Calli was snuggled up close to River with Maverick on her other side.
“Okay, I might get that you would think there’s some kind of sex thing going on,” I realised and found myself blushing as I did for some reason.
Brendan’s eyes moved to me, and it was like the atmosphere around us suddenly cracked when he burst out laughing. “Sex thing?” he wheezed out. “The look on your face.”
Everyone watched incredulously as the previously antagonistic witch broke out in what could only be described as a fit of giggles. When those giggles turned to sobs, Elliot and their silent friend wrapped him in their arms to comfort him.
Lucas whispered softly into Brendan’s ear, his words too quiet for us to hear. I probably could have made them out if I’d tried, but it wasn’t a conversation for the rest of us. This was one friend comforting another.
Brendan nodded his head, hearing what his friends were saying as he slowly pulled himself away from the edge of hysteria. None of us had heard their story yet of how they’d ended up in that place. Not truly. We knew the Triquetra had traded them to Neressa, and I could only imagine what she’d expected from them, especially considering the outfits she had them dressed in.
“I don’t know if I can promise you trust, but I will try,” Brendan finally said, unable to meet our eyes.
It wasn’t clear if it was an acceptance to stay, and no one would push him on that tonight. But, from the gleam in Elliot’s eyes, I could tell he hoped it was. Lucas didn’t appear to be quite as confident, and it made me more determined to find a better place for them here where they’d be more comfortable. If they’d been through what I suspected they had, these men deserved some sense of peace now, and we should’ve made sure they’d had it.
The rest of the evening was pretty reserved. Everyone spoke amongst themselves, but the overbearing sense of weariness hung heavy around us. It wasn’t long until people started to make excuses about heading in for some sleep.
Davion and his clan hadn’t shown up, but after he revealed the difficulties James was having around the pack, I supposed it was to be expected.
“Before everyone leaves,” Grey started, and a few of the people around us tensed like this was the catch they’d all been waiting for, “I need to ask that you all stick to either the house or the woods out the back here. As you know, Davion and his clan have taken residence in one of the cabins, and they’ve been absolutely vital in our survival to this point. In truth, we wouldn’t still be alive if they hadn’t allied with us. One of the clan is newly turned, and he’s finding it difficult to be around so many people. I can assure you he isn’t a danger to you. Davion will keep him firmly under control. But until we can move them back to Calli’s old house, it only seems fair that we try and make life a bit easier on him if we can.”
There were muttered agreements through the small crowd of people we’d taken in. No one seemed upset about the presence of the vampires, and yet a few of them still glared at the witches like their mere existence was an insult. I made sure to make a note of their faces, so I could speak with them tomorrow. We were offering them a place to stay, but if they couldn’t accept everyone here, that offer would be withdrawn. We weren’t going to invite people into the pack if they were only going to cause discontent, not when Sean could offer them a place of safety in the underground.
“I’m going to get the kids into bed,” Calli said, easing herself out from between Maverick and River.
The words to offer to help were on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. I’d been monopolising Calli’s time today, and I could see my brother’s eyes as he watched her stand. He needed her just as much as I did. We all did.
Calli held out her hand to Maverick, and he gratefully took it, a look of relief crossing his face at not being left behind. He’d changed so much since he first came to us, and even though I’d only known about my brother for a short amount of time, I was starting to become fiercely protective of him.
I was his older brother and his beta. So it was up to me to make sure he knew he wouldn’t be left behind ever again. Not by the pack, not by me and certainly never by Calli.
16
MAVERICK
As my hand met Calli’s, I felt my wolf’s emotions soar before he settled at the forefront of my mind, observing his mate in contentment.
It had been too long since my last shift, and the overwhelming new urge to shift and run had been starting to fill me. In all honesty, it terrified me. The thought of shifting and losing myself again was always at the back of my mind. Even though I knew my wolf would never willingly leave Calli’s side, especially not now we had completed our bond, I felt like it was a constant risk.
At first, I’d been terrified that she'd leave me, but then after absorbing the moonlight, that fear turned around and squarely became focused on myself.
It wasn’t until I saw her injured in the fight at my father’s facility that I realised Calli would always fight for us, no matter what the cost was to herself.
But even after seeing that, the doubt still lingered, itching at the back of my mind as it taunted me. The fact that the taunting sounded like my father’s voice spoke volumes of just how screwed up I really was.
I followed behind my mate, watching the sway of her ass as she made her way to the back door. This woman was so completely captivating, I’d follow her anywhere. If my wolf was the moonlight, Calli was the sun that made me shine.
She turned to say something as she reached the doorway, catching me staring at her unashamedly. It wasn’t like I was the only one wholly entranced by her. I was just the closest at this very second.
The sultry smile she gave me in response had me nearly dropping to my knees in want. It might not have been that long since I’d held her in my arms, but that smile had elicited a need for other things.
Walking into the house only to be hit with a wall of noise from the kids, was like someone had dropped a bucket of ice over me. Right, we were there for the kids and not the filthy sexscapades I had in mind.
“It’s time to head up, kiddos,” Calli sang as we walked in to find Coby and Jacob chasing each other around the table while Abby looked on in shock. Kai was holding back a smile of amusement, but I could see how his eyes followed their movements, almost like he longed to join in.
Kai needed to learn how to be a kid again. My father’s pack had basically stolen his childhood from him. They had an uncanny knack for being able to do that. I might have lost mine, but I’d be damned if I was going to let the same thing happen to him.
“What on Earth is going on here?” Calli sighed as the two younger boys seemed to screech to a halt only to start a strange, subtle shoving match like we couldn’t see them doing it despite them standing directly in front of us.
“Coby stole my seat!” Jacob sighed like the other child had committed the worst crime of the century.
“You sat next to Abby all night. It was my turn,” Coby snapped, looking seconds away from stamping his feet on the ground.
My mind went blank suddenly. This was the closest I’d come to parenting, and I was starting to realise I was way, way, way out of my depth—wait, that might not be enough ways. I could do the friendly, almost brotherly stuff, and I could admit that being called Daddy gave me an overwhelming need to pull out a credit card and buy Abby the world. But this was something utterly alien to me, especially considering I hadn’t exactly had a parent that had interacted with me.
The horror must have been etched across my face because Kai seemed to be finding the whole thing even more amusing. Abby did that thing where she rolled her eyes, and the one simple gesture aged her about ten years.
That had me falling down the rabbit hole of the subject of boys. Followed by the screaming realisation that she had three right here, two of which seemed completely devoted to her, and one was far too old to be considered appropriate, even if he was just looking at her like the little sister he’d never had.
I was on the verge of a panic attack, and all it had taken was two small children having an argument in front of me.
