An Unexpected Triad, page 2
part #4 of Copper Creek Pack Series
“Mom!” Lada jumped from the couch and ran straight into Jen’s arms. “I had to shoot him, Mom.”
“You did good, baby. Better him than you.”
Lada hiccupped and sobbed. “I didn’t mean to kill him, but he kicked in the bathroom door. I just reacted.”
Jen took ahold of Lada’s shoulders and pushed her back so she could look at her daughter’s face. Then she took Lada’s face between her palms and said, “That’s why we keep a gun in the house. Why I taught you how to shoot it. So you would know what to do if you needed to defend yourself. I’m glad you used it when you had to. He would have hurt you. That asshole is to blame, not you. Understand?”
“Yes, Momma.”
Jennifer pulled her back into her arms and held her daughter while she cried.
Trace walked up behind Lada and rubbed a hand down her back. “How are you, sweetheart?”
“I’m okay, I guess, Uncle Trace.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
“They are going to need the house for a while. Why don’t you pack a bag? You and your mom are going to stay at our house. At least for tonight.” Trace met Jen’s eyes. He was wondering if she was holding up okay. Jen nodded.
Lada wiped her eyes, again. “Okay.” She hugged Trace. “Thank you.”
“No thanks necessary, you’re family, squirt.”
“I’ll wait here.” Jennifer rubbed Lada’s arm. “Go on, baby. Go grab your stuff. I’ll get mine when you are done.”
John, a.k.a. Victor One, walked over and put a consoling hand on Jen’s shoulder. She’d trained with him when she first joined the force. Speaking in a low voice he said, “She did good. You taught her well. Double-tap to the chest. He didn’t make it past the threshold.”
Jen wanted to cry. “Yes, she did good, she protected herself, but at what cost? Will she be able to get over something like this? My fifteen-year-old daughter just shot someone dead in her home. I don’t even know if her young mind can cope with that.”
John pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to her. “Department counselor. If she can’t help Lada, she’ll point you in the direction of someone who can. She’s will need to talk to someone and you probably will, too.”
“Thanks, John.”
He nodded. “She didn’t panic when we showed up and she was holding it together until she saw you. She’s strong, but it’s not the last time you’ll see those tears. You know that. The department will give you a few days off, but I would push for as much time as you and Lada need.”
Chapter 1
Copper Creek, TX
Kell pulled his truck into the parking lot outside the diner located next to the Henley Truck Stop. He turned off the engine and took a deep calming breath. He hated meeting with council emissaries. They were usually complete dicks―about everything. This meeting was going to be decidedly worse. The emissary was fucking English or some shit. Unfortunately, one of Kell’s duties as Head Enforcer was handling council representatives. It was his prerogative to assign one of his brothers to take his place, however in this instance it was impossible. Paul and his new mate and cub were still settling in. After Cathy’s ordeal a couple of weeks ago, his brother had no plans to let his mate out of his sight anytime soon. Kell couldn’t blame Paul. He’d feel the same way. His younger brother, Mal had about as much instinctive diplomacy as a junkyard dog, which made for some fun family get-togethers, but were hell on council business. Therefore, Kell was the logical―and only―choice. His time with the teams taught him many things, how to deal with decision making assholes sitting in their ivory towers was one of them.
Kell scented the emissary the moment he opened the door. His scent wasn’t unpleasant like the other emissaries, Kell had the displeasure of meeting. Actually, the emissary’s scent reminded Kell of his brothers. He felt an unfamiliar tug and his gaze shot towards the back left corner of the room. A man with short, pale blonde hair and cool blue eyes stood next to a booth staring back at him. They studied each other for a moment. He looked as perplexed as Kell felt. He got his feet moving in the man’s direction. The emissary greeted Kell with an outstretched hand. He had to give the guy points for manners.
“Enforcer Creed,” he said in a low voice. His English accent stood out. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Emissary Gunnar Stanton.”
Kell took his hand and shook it. “Call me Kell. We don’t stand on ceremony around here.” He indicated they should both sit, Gunnar took his seat and Kell took the one across from him.
“In that case, call me Gunnar.”
“Alright.” What was that freaky feeling? It made his wolf restless.
Gunnar grinned and leaned forward. “I feel it, too. You aren’t imagining it.”
Kell mimicked the emissaries pose. “What exactly do you feel?” He sniffed the air. He could detect Gunnar was wolf, but there was also a second scent. Kell couldn’t put his finger on what it was, and it drove Kell crazy.
“A pull. Not a mating pull, but a pull none the less.” Gunnar glanced around. “We shouldn’t talk about this here. Perhaps you would be willing to take this conversation outside?”
Their waitress, an older plump woman in her sixties, walked up to take their order. “I must have been a good girl in a former life. Two handsome gentlemen to serve.” She shot Kell a saucy wink. “What can I get y’all this fine morning?”
Kell liked her immediately. She looked like someone’s grandma, but flirted like a cougar and not the shifter kind. He glanced at her name tag. “Well, Mona. I believe I will have the special, with a coffee and large orange juice.”
“Good choice sweetie. How would you like your eggs?”
“Over-easy.”
“What about you handsome?”
Gunnar cleared his throat. “I’ll have what my friend is having, but instead of orange juice, I would like milk.”
“Oh, listen to that accent. If I was twenty years younger, I’d have you whispering sweet nothings in my ear in that sexy British accent of yours. Mmm. Mm.” She fanned herself.
Kell had to turn his head to keep from laughing as Gunnar blushed bright red.
Mona never missed a beat, and it was clear she enjoyed Gunnar’s reaction. “You like ‘em easy too?”
“Beg pardon?”
“Oh, listen to that. So proper. Your eggs honey, you like ‘em over easy?”
Kell bit his lips so hard, he knew there had to be blood running out the sides of his mouth. He wished he were recording this exchange. His brothers would piss themselves.
“Yes, over easy is fine. Thank you.”
“I’ll be right back with your coffee. Don’t you handsome devils go anywhere.”
Kell lost it when Mona walked away. He laughed so hard tears poured from his eyes. Gunnar crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him. “Oh, man, you should have seen your face when she asked, if you liked them easy, too. Dude, that was priceless. Pick up a lot of little old ladies in diners with that accent do you?”
Gunnar only scowled and shook his head then flipped Kell off.
“What? Oh, come on. You have to admit it’s funny, as hell. Mal is going to be so pissed he missed out.” Kell rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“Mal’s your brother right?”
“Yep. Younger.”
“And you feel the need to share this with him?”
“Dude, of course I do.”
“Why?”
“It’s what brothers do. That was awesome.”
An exasperated sigh left Gunnar’s lips. “The Fates hate me. Why couldn’t they give me a normal partner?”
Gunnar’s statement sobered Kell up immediately. “Excuse me?”
Gunnar raised an arrogant eyebrow, looking smug. “Wait. You didn’t realize? Allow me to school the American. That tingling of your Spidey senses? It’s your wolf’s recognition of his mating partner.”
Kell was still doing his goldfish imitation when Mona returned with their coffee. He watched Gunnar add cream and sugar to his as if he hadn’t just dropped the bombshell of the century.
Kell mumbled, “Maybe we should get our food to go.”
Gunnar smirked at him, then took a sip of his coffee. “Too late. You had your chance. I’ve got my coffee the way I want it. Suck it up, buttercup.”
Kell growled. He wasn’t sure he liked this Gunnar guy, but he had to reluctantly give him props for smart assery. He leaned in to speak when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mona returning with their food. So, he waited for her to set their meals down in front of them.
“Here you go, my handsome sweethearts. Anything else I can get for you? Hot sauce or salsa? Everybody needs a little spice in their life.” She winked and smirked at Gunnar.
“No thank you, Mona.” Gunnar gave a little bow of his head. “I believe I’m all set.”
She turned her attention to Kell. “What about you, handsome number two?”
“Wait? I’m number two? It’s his accent isn’t it? How is that fair, Mona? He doesn’t even eat hot sauce on his eggs. English boy here obviously doesn’t like it spicy. Unlike some of us.” He sent a roguish wink her way, making the old woman blush. Score one for him.
“Oh, my you are a bad one. Get an English accent and no one will be able to dethrone you from the number one spot.” Mona cackled at her own joke and the traitor across from him joined in. She sauntered away, smug satisfaction written all over her.
“You can quit laughing now, ass.”
“Sorry.” Gunnar chuckled.
“Somehow I don’t believe you are.”
Gunnar smirked. “You really didn’t know?”
Kell didn’t have to ask what Gunnar referring to and no, he didn’t. Kell shook his head. “Not a clue.”
“Don’t you know any mating partners who aren’t related.”
“That aren’t actually mates themselves in a bi triad or foursome? Not really. Well, there is Jay and Luke, but they only met a few weeks ago. They are mating partners to the Alpha and Beta’s daughter.”
“Are they are both shifters?”
“No. Only Jay.” Kell grinned at the thought of his precocious little cousin.
“That didn’t matter did it? The mating still worked right?”
“Uh, they aren’t mated. Well, not yet.”
“What? Why the hell not? Is there an issue because humans are involved?”
Okay, so Kell was enjoying Gunnar’s indignation a little too much, but damn it, the ass had an accent. Kell had to use whatever resources available to push Gunnar’s buttons and gain the upper hand. “Yeah, that’s not the problem. Their parents won’t allow it. They have to wait a few years.”
Gunnar growled. “What the hell kind of pack do you belong to? I heard the Creed Brothers were decent men. Mating partner or not, I won’t belong to a pack that breaks council law and forbids matings.”
The more Gunnar spewed angry words, the harder Kell laughed. At least Kell was getting firsthand knowledge of what his life would be like with Gunnar as a partner―never ending comic relief.
“Why the hell are you laughing? It’s not fucking funny.” Gunnar slammed his palm on the table. “Your Alpha could dictate the same to you and I.”
“That won’t happen.” Kell assured him between bouts of laughter. “He only uses his dictate on mates in Jay and Luke’s situation.”
“He’s prejudice? Against non-wolves or is it just humans?” The disgust in Gunnar’s voice almost had Kell rolling again, but he decided he’d tortured Gunnar enough. The poor guy looked ready to storm the castle and set all the oppressed peasants free.
“No, he’s prejudice against seven-year-olds and four-year-olds mating.”
Gunnar blinked. “What?”
“Luke and Jay are seven and Emma Grace is four. They’re a little young to do the mating thing. Don’t you think?”
Gunnar crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. “You were yanking my chain.”
Kell placed his fore finger and thumb about an inch apart. “A little. I can’t help that you made it so easy.”
“This is what I have to look forward to, is it?”
Kell shook his head. “Nah, it’ll be much worse. You haven’t met my brothers yet.”
Gunnar groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why didn’t the Fates give me a boring accountant who’s an only child?”
“Dude, I may not know you, but I get the feeling you would hate that. You mind if I ask you a personal question?”
“There can’t be any subjects that are off limits between partners. It doesn’t work that way. We may not like the questions, but secrets and subterfuge will cause an irreparable rift. So ask away. I do however plead the right to answer later if I’m uncomfortable answering now.”
Kell nodded. “I agree. As long as you promise to answer later. I’ll do the same.”
“Agreed.”
Kell took a deep breath and asked the one thing that bothered him more by the second. “What are you? I can scent wolf, but it’s masked by something else. Seriously, what the fuck is that smell?”
Gunnar tensed and he eyed Kell warily. The man’s eyes told Kell he was bracing himself for rejection.
“I’m a hybrid,” Gunnar said carefully.
“No, shit?” Kell had heard of hybrids, but since they were rare, he’d never met one. Their own people rejected them, shunning them and their parents. They usually lived in hiding, rarely socializing with anyone outside their immediate family. They were often hunted by bigoted shifters, who thought different species shouldn’t mix or believed the myth that hybrids were feral. It was sad really.
“No shit. My father is a wolf and my mother is a snow leopard.”
Kell nodded, feeling better to have the mystery solved. “That’s the other scent. I identified the tinge of feline, but I didn’t recognize it. We don’t get many snow leopards in Texas.”
“Is it a problem?”
Kell shook his head. “Nah, Emma Grace has a cat so everybody is used to that bitchy temperamental cattitude around the pack house. Just don’t climb the drapes or scratch the furniture. Fiona hates that.”
Gunnar rolled his eyes and although he didn’t acknowledge it, Kell felt relief rolling off his partner in waves.
“Why don’t we finish our breakfast and then take this to a more private venue.” Gunnar sighed then said, “I’ll explain to you why I’m really here.”
“You’re not here on council business?”
“Yes and no.”
Those three simple words held entirely too much meaning and sounded too ominous for Kell’s liking. The grim expression on Gunnar’s face didn’t lend him any warm, fuzzy feelings either. Kell knew he wouldn’t like what his newly found mating partner had to tell him. Shit.
Chapter 2
Kell turned off the main road on to a private drive and drove under the archway announcing the entrance to the Double C Ranch. Gunnar followed behind him in his rental car. Kell wondered what he thought of the ranch and the sprawling eight-thousand square foot pack house. Kell tried to look at the Double C through new eyes, the way Gunnar would.
Horses lazily grazed on grass in the fence lined pastures on either side of the drive. Kell never tired of the tranquility the Double C offered. He’d grown up here. After his best friend David, Fiona’s first husband, died in his arms after a mission gone bad, Kell hung up his trident and returned to the one place he called home to heal. The very sight of the ranch only ever brought one word to mind: peace.
Kell wasn’t the only person to find peace here. It seemed as though pack land was a place of healing for a lot of people. Fiona, Emma Grace, Cathy, and Luke all found their second chances at love and peace on the Double C. Kell couldn’t help but believe he and Gunnar would find love here as well. The question was when?
They pulled around the curved drive and parked in front of the long covered porch that spanned the length of the house. The porch roof was held up by white columns every eight feet with white railing and hanging pots in between them. He loved sitting out there in one of the rocking chairs or on the porch swing with Emma Grace. It was her one-on-one time with Unca Kell.
Kell met Gunnar at the bottom of the steps. He waited on the man as he took in his surroundings.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s truly lovely here.”
“It is. I love this place.”
“How many members of the pack live in this monstrosity?”
Kell snickered. Gunnar wasn’t the first person awed by the size of the main house. From the road the house didn’t appear as big as it actually was. The two-story wood and brick ranch house looked more like a McMansion at first glance. Nothing too ostentatious. Until you caught the side view and realized how deep the structure was. Then the house conjured images of mega-rich oil barons lighting pipes with hundred dollar bills.
“Right now, only Declan, Cade, their mate Fiona and cub Emma Grace. Fee’s expecting another cub in about six months. They occupy the east wing of the house.” Kell pointed at the window he knew belonged to his cousins’ living room. “It’s the only wing that’s considered private. They keep most of the other areas public so family and friends can gather if they want. There are four wings. West and north are used mostly for guests. South―which is closest to the common areas―is used as a play area and daycare for the cubs. Shelly organizes and runs that. She’s Fee’s best friend. There’s a game room with pool tables, pinball machines, and every video game console known to man on the south wing’s second floor.”
“Hmm. Second floor you say? Sounds like an area that requires more investigation by the council emissary. Could be a front for something nefarious.” Gunnar noted with an intense expression. Kell would have believed he was serious had Gunnar’s lips not twitched.
Donning his powerful enforcer persona, Kell nodded. “Yes. I can see how that appears suspicious. You’ll need an escort. Those cubs are dangerous. Only the head pack enforcer can protect you from those ferocious little creatures.”
Gunnar snorted a laugh. “We mustn’t delay if they are as dangerous as you say.”
