‘Okay, you’re free to go. Try not to antagonize Colton on your way out.’
Sascha grinned. ‘I make no promises. See ya later, Doc.’ He hopped down off the examination table and left the room.
Rheia shook her head. After Colton left, Sascha became the epitome of a perfect gentleman. It was good to know that the unit warriors in Lycaonia were as close as her brothers were at home. Thinking of Radek and the others, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number.
‘Rei?’ Radek answered on the first ring.
‘Hey, Radek.’
‘Where in the fuck have you been? I have been waiting for a phone call for days!’ he shouted.
Rheia pulled the phone away from her ear. She had meant to call him sooner, but it had been a hectic couple of days.
‘I’m sorry, Radek, I found myself running for my life with my child to an unknown paranormal city where I discover I’m mated to a wolf of all things. Then there’s been a break-in here at the clinic and now Penny’s grandparents want custody, so I am really fucking sorry I didn’t call sooner,’ Rheia ranted.
‘You’re mated to a wolf?’ the disdain in his voice was clear.
‘That’s all you heard?’
‘No, I heard everything else, of course, and we’ll get to that in a second, but first I want to know who thinks they’re good enough to be your mate.’
‘Colton Albright.’ Even saying his name made her smile.
‘Shit, you’ve already fallen for him.’ Radek chuckled.
Rheia’s mouth dropped. ‘What makes you say that?’ she demanded.
‘You should hear the way you say his name, you’re a goner. We’ll have to visit soon so I can show that pup exactly how loved you are and tell him exactly what will happen to him if he hurts you,’ he grumbled.
‘She’s mated to Colton?’ she heard Levi ask in the background; evidently Radek had put her on speaker.
‘Yup,’ Radek answered.
‘I thought for sure she’d end up with a vampire,’ Marco chimed in.
‘Guys, quiet!’ Radek boomed. When he came back to her his voice was gentle. ‘Now, what is this about Penny?’
Rheia felt her throat close. ‘Oh Radek, I think I’ve made a horrible mistake. I wanted Penny to meet her family, if she had any here in Lycaonia, now they want custody.’ She made the mistake of sniffling.
‘We can be there in five hours. Just say the word Rei,’ Radek promised.
‘It takes at least eight to drive down here,’ she reminded him.
‘No, it takes you eight hours to drive down there. It would take Athan five hours, especially after I tell him the clinic where you worked has had a break-in.’
‘What!’ she heard the men’s voices break out into chaos in the background. For a moment, the men were talking all at once, mostly saying they were coming to Lycaonia to kick someone’s ass. She’d missed this. Suddenly she wondered how Colton would fit into their small family. She smiled, he was such a jokester he’d probably drive Radek crazy. It could be fun.
‘Guys! I’m okay. Whoever it was stole a body. There’s some crazy stuff happening here, I feel like I walked into the middle of something huge, but I don’t have all the pieces to make heads or tails of it. It’s frustrating,’ she confessed.
‘Back to Penny. Unfortunately, the paperwork we forged is only valid in the human world, you’re in Lycaonia now; her grandparents will have the upper hand. What’s Colton doing about it? How is he with our Penny?’ Radek asked.
‘Colton’s wonderful with her. You wouldn’t recognize her Radek, she’s smiling and bouncing around, and really coming out of her shell. I know it’s because of Colton. He didn’t hesitate for even a second to accept her as his own. He’ll be just as devastated if we lose Penny,’ she swallowed hard feeling a knot in her throat. She took a breath and continued. ‘He’s letting Aiden’s father deal with it, I think he may be important here.’
There was silence on the other end of the phone. ‘Did you say Aiden’s father, as in Byron McKenzie?’ Radek asked.
‘Yeah, Colton and Aiden are childhood friends, Colton asked Aiden to be Penny’s Athair, so Byron’s doing everything he can for Aiden, if that makes sense.’
‘Holy shit! The McKenzies are the closest thing you can get to shifter royalty, if we had royalty. She couldn’t have better men looking out for her.’ Radek’s voice sounded awestruck.
‘You sound unusually impressed, Radek.’
‘It’s because of Commander McKenzie, the older one,’ Levi called out in the background.
‘Older one?’ she asked thoroughly confused.
‘Byron McKenzie, Aiden’s father, used to be the Unit Commander before his son took over. Most of us who volunteered to be in Vanguard served under him. I’ve heard that his son is just as fair and honorable as his father,’ Radek said.
‘So what do you know about Colton?’ She felt bad about asking, but she valued their opinions.
‘If Aiden is the crown prince, Colton would be the court jester,’ Marco called out, laughing.
Radek chuckled. ‘There’s more to that wolf than meets the eye. He acts like the laid back Lothario so most people drop their defenses around him. I think he’s played the good cop to Aiden’s bad cop for so long he doesn’t even realize he does it anymore. But I will tell you this, he’s good, very good. He’s the second highest ranked shifter in all of the units for a reason.’
Rheia knew what Radek said was true; she had caught enough glimpses of Colton’s wolf behind his eyes to know he wasn’t as easy going as he let on.
‘You got quiet, kiddo, all jokes aside, is he treating you right?’ Radek asked.
Rheia answered without hesitation. ‘Yes. He’s even agreed to wait to claim me.’
‘Ouch.’ Radek hissed.
‘What?’
‘Rheia, honey, I’m sure he didn’t tell you, but that will be very hard on him. Every instinct in his body is screaming at him to claim you. He must have extraordinary self control.’ There was a degree of admiration in Radek’s voice that hadn’t been there before.
‘Wait, I’m causing him pain?’ Rheia felt ill.
Radek hesitated. ‘Yes and no. You have every right to ask him to wait, but in honoring that request, Colton is under a certain amount of mental and physical duress. Whatever you do, don’t sleep with him.’
‘Why?’ she asked suspiciously.
‘Shit, you’ve slept with him already, haven’t you?’
‘Yes. I can’t seem to keep my hands off of him,’ she admitted.
‘Poor bastard,’ Dax murmured in the background.
‘What? What did I do?’ Rheia asked frantically.
Radek exhaled loudly. She could just imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose. ‘Pumpkin Dumpling, having sex with you and not claiming you would be like teasing someone for hours on end and not letting them orgasm.’
‘He had an orgasm,’ she protested.
‘It’s not physical; basically you gave his heart and soul the worst case of blue balls in the history of mankind.’
‘Oh my God,’ she whispered.
‘So tell me what’s wrong with him. What is it about him that you don’t like?’ Radek asked.
Rheia felt her defenses go up. ‘There’s nothing wrong with him! I’ve never been with anyone who was as selfless and as considerate as Colton. I know that he’d do anything to keep Penny and me safe and happy.’ Rheia stumbled as her thoughts collided in her mind. She knew, with unwavering conviction that Colton would die before hurting her, that he lived to see her smile. In an instant, she knew. She loved him.
‘Caught ya’ didn’t I?’ Radek chuckled.
‘Ryuu said it would be a defining moment. He wasn’t kidding.’
‘Who’s Ryuu?’ Levi asked.
‘He’s the house squire and makes the best damn food and coffee I’ve ever had.’ She couldn’t keep the smile off her face remembering the cinnamon rolls.
‘Must be nice having a squire,’ Levi said longingly.
Rheia heard footsteps by the door. ‘Listen guys, I gotta run. I’ll call you back later with updates.’
‘We miss you. Take care of your wolf,’ Athan said in goodbye.
‘I miss all of you, too. Stay safe.’
‘You too, Pumpkin Dumpling.’ Rheia ended the call and stared at her phone. There was no reason not to mate with Colton. She felt her body tightening in anticipation. Considering how off the charts the other night had been, she couldn’t help but wonder about the claiming process.
Rheia saw a figure moving outside the door. She was about to call out to them and tell them that they could come in, when the smell hit her. It was faint, not nearly as strong as what she had experienced with the corpse, but it was the exact same smell from her dream, from the attack on her house and from the corpse.
Shaking uncontrollably, she quietly lifted the window and jumped out as Keelan had. She ran as fast as she could and turned the corner of the brick building. She burst through the front doors and stood in the middle of the waiting room, shaking.
Colton and Sascha looked up from their conversation and froze. Her teeth were chattering so hard she couldn’t speak, she just pointed down the hall.
‘Keelan, protect her,’ Colton whispered harshly before he and Sascha took off with the rest of the Gamma Unit down the hall. When she blinked, Keelan was at her side, murmuring low. Slowly she was enveloped in a warm bubble.
In the distance, Rheia heard the sounds of men’s shouts and gunfire.
Colton!
She turned to run towards the fight when Keelan’s hand grabbed her.
He shook his head. ‘Stay here. When they give the all clear, then you can go check if anyone needs help.’
Adam came running towards them from the direction of his office. ‘What the hell is going on?’
‘Ferals are in the clinic,’ Keelan answered.
Adam dropped his head back and roared. His chest expanded and his canines appeared over his lower lip. He reached behind him, under his lab coat and pulled out a nine millimeter running towards the sound of gunfire.
Keelan turned to her, smiling. ‘He’s pretty cool, huh? Everyone always forgets he was a unit warrior before he gave it up to learn about healing.’
Rheia just nodded. Adam’s bear-like war cry made her bones shake. ‘They would have to be completely unhinged to stand against him,’ she said trying to shake off her fear.
After a few minutes, a group of men poured in from behind them, including the Alpha Unit.
Keelan breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Someone called in back up. Thank the Gods!’
Gavriel took up a position right outside their small bubble and kept guard.
Once the sound of gunfire stopped Rheia kept watching the hallway waiting for Colton to appear. Each minute that passed where he didn’t, made the acid ride up the back of her throat.
One by one the men filed by nodding at her and Keelan, heading to other parts of the clinic or outside to set up a perimeter. Thirty minutes later she heard the men shout ‘All clear!’. It was only then that Colton emerged from the hallway. When he walked over to them, Keelan dropped the bubble.
Rheia knew she was angry because she was worried, she even knew that it wasn’t his fault, but seeing him walk up smiling made her snap.
‘Where in the fuck have you been?’ she screeched.
Colton stopped in his tracks looking stunned. With a confused expression he pointed down the hallway. ‘Fighting ferals.’ He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.
Rheia placed a hand on her stomach. ‘Is anyone hurt?’ she asked trying to stop her insides from trembling.
Colton shook his head. ‘Just the enemy.’
Rheia nodded absently. ‘Good. Good.’
‘Okay baby, we’re just going to head out to the car now.’ Colton said slowly and carefully.
‘Quit talking to me like that. I’m a doctor; I know I’m in shock. I just can’t stop shaking.’ She stared at him. ‘I can’t stop shaking.’ It didn’t make any sense to her. She knew what was wrong; she should be able to stop it.
Colton’s eyes were full of sympathy. ‘Oh sweetheart, it’s okay.’
‘I know,’ she nodded absently.
Colton walked over and placed both hands on her shoulders. ‘It’s okay, Rheia.’
‘I know, you said no one was hurt.’
Colton pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. ‘You’re not listening baby, it’s okay. You can let go now.’
It was as if her body had been waiting for his words. Without warning her knees gave out and Colton easily lifted her in his arms.
He turned to Keelan. ‘Tell Aiden and Adam I’m taking her home, she’s had too much thrown at her in the past couple days.’
‘I’m fine,’ she protested.
‘Sure you are, honey, but I’m going to carry you anyway.’ He kissed the top of head and walked out the door.
Rheia rested her head on his chest. ‘I’m not normally like this. I’m an ER doctor for crying out loud,’ she murmured.
‘I know. But honey, you have to realize, there’s a difference between dealing with the aftermath of violence and having that violence directed at you. You’re actually holding up extremely well.’
Colton set her on her feet and opened the car door.
She looked up into his eyes. ‘What do they want?’
Colton’s face hardened and his jaw clenched. ‘I don’t know, but whatever they’re after, I won’t let them have it.’
Rheia nodded and got into the car.
*****
When they arrived back at the Alpha estate, Colton came around the car to carry her, but Rheia held up her hand shaking her head.
‘If you carry me in, it’ll scare Penny. Just being near you calmed me down.’
Colton’s face brightened and seemed to radiate joy. ‘Now I want to carry you, just to keep you in my arms.’ He held out his hand to help her out.
She let him help her stand and then took a step forward to wrap her arms around his body. She felt him tense up in surprise. This was the first time she had reached out to him.
He rested his chin on the top of her head. ‘I won’t let them near you or Penny,’ he promised.
She looked up and let the confidence in him that she felt show in her eyes. ‘I know. Let’s go see what our girl is doing.’
Colton cupped her face with both of his hands. ‘Our girl?’
‘You’re not going anywhere, right?’
He shook his head. ‘Of course not.’
‘Then, I’m yours and she’s ours.’
Colton sucked in a breath. ‘Do you mean what I think you mean?’
She turned her head and kissed the center of his palm. ‘I realized how I felt when I was on the phone with Radek. My feelings only became clearer when I thought we’d never have the chance to be together because of the ferals. I want you to tie us together in every way you know how, because I’m not letting you go.’
Colton captured her mouth and demanded entrance. She felt his tongue slip between her lips and playfully scrape the roof of her mouth. She grabbed his coat with both hands and pulled him forward. She took control of the kiss, and took his lower lip between her teeth. When she bit down gently, he moaned low in his throat. When he pulled back, they were both breathing hard.
Colton rested his forehead on hers. ‘Penny. Gotta check in with Penny, then dinner, then movie. Gods willing, Jaxon and Noah can babysit again.’
Rheia felt her heart turn over. According to Radek, the only think Colton should be thinking about was claiming her, yet here he was being the perfect partner and father. She tilted her head back, which forced him to step back. ‘I love you, Colton Albright.’
Colton jerked her close and buried his face in her neck. ‘Gods baby, I love you, too. All I can think of right now is how much I want to be inside you and to make you mine forever.’ He began to nibble up and down the side of her neck.
Rheia tilted her head to give him better access. ‘I’m buying you that truck with bench seats.’
Colton chuckled darkly and gave her neck a final, harder bite. She was shocked at her body’s reaction to sharp pain. It was as if the love bite on her neck was connected to her clit.
Colton brought his lips up to her ear. ‘I can smell you, sweetheart. I think you like a bit of pain with your pleasure.’
‘Who knew?’ she asked, feeling slightly dazed. If his aim was to distract her from the feral attacks he succeeded.
Colton’s eyes were wolf yellow when he looked down at her. ‘We’ll find out tonight exactly how much pain you can handle.’
Rheia shivered and squeezed her thighs together. She had to take a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
‘You’re on,’ she challenged.
Laughing Colton kissed her quickly and took her hand.
What on earth have I gotten myself into?
*****
Noah and Jaxon had agreed to watch Penny when Colton asked. They even set up a special dinner for her. Currently the three of them were in the family room playing ‘picnic’. Penny looked adorable sitting on a blanket with Jaxon and Noah in her pajamas. She had a feeling the two young men would be more like brothers than uncles to her daughter.
She was never more thankful for a babysitter than she was during dinner. Colton kept turning to her, giving her heated looks that had her squirming in her seat. When his hand ‘accidentally’ brushed her inner thigh for the third time, she was about to excuse herself to the foyer to cool down when Keelan brought up a topic that cooled her ardor.
‘Aiden, were you able to determine why ferals were at the clinic today?’ Keelan asked pushing his food around on his plate with his fork.
‘No, and what worries me most is that they didn’t go to the morgue or Adam’s office, they deliberately went after Rheia.’ Aiden raised his wine glass and took a sip. Under the table, Colton took her hand.
Gavriel leaned forward. ‘Could they be trying to recruit Colton in the same manner that they came after me? They are newly mated,’ Gavriel pointed out.
Aiden nodded. ‘That could very well be it.’
‘But I was attacked before I met Colton, remember? It’s why I came here to Lycaonia,’ Rheia reminded them.
‘I feel like I’m missing something, like it’s right under my nose and it’s driving me nuts!’ Meryn slumped back in her chair.
‘It’ll come to you Meryn. You more than anyone has been the one to look at what’s happening from an outside perspective. Rheia’s also helped us change and become stronger with our new random training schedules. Don’t upset yourself. Your most important job is taking care of our future commander,’ Darian said indicating to her stomach.
Aiden smiled. ‘See love, even Darian thinks we’re having a boy.’
Beth smiled. ‘He never said son, Aiden, he said ‘commander’. I could easily see a daughter of yours and Meryn’s leading the unit warriors.’
Gavriel wrapped an arm around Beth, getting comfortable. ‘That could be interesting,’ he said smirking.
‘No. Just, no. If we have a girl, I’m wrapping her and Penny up in bubble wrap until they are four or five hundred years old, then they can start looking for their mates,’ Aiden huffed.
Rheia had to laugh. ‘Can you imagine our Penny with Meryn’s daughter?’ she asked turning to Colton.
Colton smiled at first, then her words began to sink in. His brows came together and he began to frown. He looked over to Aiden. ‘Do they make tracking devices for children?’
Aiden also looked worried. He shook his head. ‘How far could they possibly go in Lycaonia?’
Colton looked at him flatly. ‘You do remember that time you and I wanted to go camping and you fell off the mountain? That was just outside Lycaonia’s borders.’
Aiden stared at Colton. ‘Tracking devices, huh? I’ll ask my father about them.’ He looked around the room. ‘Let’s all take the day off tomorrow. Construction on the trainee addition has finally wrapped up. Let’s take a day to recover.’
Darian snorted. ‘You just want to keep an eye on Meryn,’ he joked. Keelan and Colton laughed.
Meryn stuck her tongue out at Darian.
Aiden turned to his mate. ‘I love you with every breath in my body, but lately you have become more … erratic than normal.’ Even Rheia could tell that Aiden was worried about his mate.
Colton looked at his oldest friend. ‘Meryn’s adjusting to her new no caffeine lifestyle. She’s also taken on the training of two new intel warriors.’
Meryn gave him a thumbs up.
Aiden frowned at him. ‘Intel warriors?’
Colton shrugged. ‘That’s the phrase Meryn wanted to use. Noah and Jaxon seem to soak up every scrap of confidence she instills in them.’
Meryn shrugged. ‘It sounds badass.’
Beth turned to Meryn. ‘You’re going to be an amazing mother.’
Colton shook his head. ‘You mean Ryuu is going to be an amazing mother,’ he joked.
Aiden shrugged. ‘Marius played a huge role in raising us; I think it’s perfectly natural for Ryuu to help raise our son.’
‘Daughter. Meryn’s insisting you’re having a girl,’ Keelan said winking at Colton. Already Aiden’s neck was starting to flush. The red stain crept upward to his cheeks.
‘We are not having a girl. Girls are delicate and fragile. What would we do with a baby girl around here? Penny is enough.’ Aiden shuddered.
‘Well, if your daughter’s anything like Meryn, she’ll probably blow up the armory.’ Colton suggested.
Aiden paled. ‘No! Absolutely not! No girls.’
Gavriel shook his head. ‘This may not be something you can control.’
Aiden scowled at Gavriel. ‘Just you wait. It’ll be your turn soon enough, and then I’ll sit back and laugh and laugh and laugh. According to Beth, she wants to try and get pregnant next year. What if your daughter takes after Beth?’ Aiden asked.
All of the men froze and shook their heads.
Colton looked over to the vampire. ‘We may need to start looking into those large plastic bubbles for children now, just in case your fathers-in-law need time to make modifications,’ he suggested.
Gavriel sat still as stone. Rheia couldn’t even tell if the man was breathing. Without saying a word he pulled out his cell phone. He put it on speaker and they all listened as the phone rang.
‘Hello?’ A male voice answered.
‘Good evening, Broderick. Listen, how difficult would it be to engineer a large protective plastic bubble for a small child?’ Gavriel asked as a greeting.
Beth rolled her eyes.
Over the phone, they heard the man gasp. ‘Beth cannot be pregnant…’
‘No, no, she’s not. But she wants to start trying as early as next year. I want to be prepared,’ Gavriel informed them.
‘She would want to start right away.’ Rheia heard another man say.
‘True, Caspian. Gavriel, we’ll put our heads together here and see what we can come up with,’ Broderick promised.
‘Thanks,’ Gavriel said and ended the call. The men all breathed a sigh of relief.
Colton looked at the empty plates. ‘Everyone ready for movie night?’
Ryuu stuck his head into the dining room from the kitchen. ‘I have already delivered your movie snacks to Jaxon and Noah. If you leave the plates, I’ll pick them up momentarily.’
Everyone began to stand and head towards the family room.
Keelan stopped, frowning. ‘If the kid is in a bubble, what happens if they can’t get fresh oxygen, won’t they suffocate?’
Rheia covered her mouth with her hand.
Wrong thing to say.
Grinning she and Colton kept walking. Seconds later, she heard Gavriel on the phone with Broderick again.
Never a dull moment.
