Mina turned to Meryn. ‘How did you arrive at the conclusion that they were collecting chameleons for invisibility?’
Meryn shrugged. ‘Kinda going out on a limb for that one, but it makes sense. We have invisible ferals attacking and they’ve killed hundreds of chameleons, I’m kinda just connecting the dots at this point.’
Mina shook her head. ‘It doesn’t work that way, to use our abilities you have to be born to it.’
Keelan stepped away from the wall. ‘It is possible, if they were using a blood spell.’
Mina gripped her mate’s hand tight. ‘No where is safe.’
Her words galvanized the men into action. Byron and Aiden stood. Aiden set Meryn down in their chair and kissed her softly. ‘We need to call a council meeting and contact the other three pillar cities. We have some major decisions to make.’
Ryuu left the room heading to the foyer.
Colton leaned down and kissed her forehead. ‘Gavriel and I will be going with Aiden, Darian and Keelan will stay here. Gamma has also been assigned to patrol around the estate, you’ll be safe.’
As they went to leave Ryuu walked in holding the brass perimeter charm. He looked at Aiden. ‘Someone took the perimeter down.’
Frowning Aiden looked around the room. ‘Who’d do that?’
Rheia felt ice slide down her spine. ‘Where’s Penny?’
Colton was already moving, she could hear him yelling as he ran up the stairs. ‘Penny! Penny, where are you!’
Rheia ran from the room to Aiden’s office.
‘Rheia!’ Colton called out.
‘In Aiden’s office!’
Colton, Meryn, and Aiden rushed in.
‘She was supposed to be right here. She was supposed to be coloring!’ Rheia turned to look at the colors and figures on the wall.
‘Keelan, Ryuu check the house, top to bottom! Gavriel call Sascha, check to see if they saw anything outside!’ Aiden began barking orders as he ran from the room.
Rheia turned to Colton. ‘Where is she?’
Colton shook his head. ‘I don’t know, but I will find her. I’ll start upstairs to see if I can pick up her scent.’
Meryn pointed to the drawing. ‘Do you think she got scared drawing the attack scene from your house and hid?’
Rheia shook her head. ‘Why would she take the perimeter down?’ She looked down at the drawing. ‘Besides, that’s not our house, we don’t have rounded windows.’ Rheia froze. Why hadn’t she realized that earlier, this wasn’t something Penny was drawing from her nightmares.
Rheia stared at Meryn and they both turned to look at the rounded window behind Aiden’s desk, then down at the drawing. The terrifying figure that was stared back at them, Penny had seen looking into Aiden’s office window.
‘Colton!’ Rheia screamed.
The sound of thundering feet heralded the men as they ran into the room. Colton burst through the doorway looking around for an unseen enemy.
‘What?’ he asked.
Rheia pointed down at the drawing. ‘Something has been stalking her outside Aiden’s window.’
Colton looked at the drawing and blanched. As one, the men left the room at a run, heading outside. Rheia and Meryn followed. As they turned the corner of the house Rheia was just in time to see Colton throw his head back and howl, his body expanding before he burst from his clothing as a giant wolf. He rushed into the woods behind the house, Aiden and the rest of the Alpha Unit right behind him.
Rheia choked back a sob. ‘Does that mean … Is she?’ She couldn’t form the words.
Ryuu wrapped an arm around both Meryn and Rheia’s shoulders. ‘He caught her scent, all we can do now is wait.’
Rheia buried her face in her hands and prayed.
*****
Colton ran as fast as he could tracking Penny’s scent. When they came to a clearing he heard the sound of a gravelly male voice.
‘Come back here you little bitch! You escaped me once, you won’t do it again. You better listen to me, I’m your fucking father!’ the angry voice snarled. The feral was wearing a necklace; they could neither scent nor see him.
Off to his right he heard Aiden’s voice as he approached. ‘Why do you need a child?’ Aiden asked.
Laughter filled the air. ‘Look at you, fumbling around blind. You can’t even see me, I’m invincible! Wearing this necklace hides me from the great nit warriors. If you could only see how much the rules of your society hold you back, you would embrace freedom like I have.’
Gavriel stepped into the clearing, his face a hardened mask as he scanned the surrounding area. ‘You want us to become like you? A monster who preys on children, Why are you after your own child?’ Gavriel asked, in an effort to keep him talking.
‘Because she is my blood. If I kill her and add her to my collection she will tie me to what I took from her mother and her sniveling mate. It would make me even stronger. Not many have been able to collect chameleon, they’re so hard to find. How lucky it is for me that my bitch ex-girlfriend and brat are both chameleon, and I knew exactly where to find them. The fact that she was mated and pregnant was a gift from the Gods!’ He shouted.
Colton heard the slightest sound to the right, the sound of feet running.
Penny!
Seconds later they heard a man shout right before he became visible.
‘You little bitch! Get back here!’ The man turned to the left and right as the unit warriors closed in on his location.
Colton didn’t hesitate, he launched himself at the man who had stalked his daughter. He clamped onto the man’s arm and shook. Pain exploded over his right haunch and he let go. He immediately jumped again; this time he was able to wrap his mouth around the murder’s neck. He bit down until he heard a crunching sound. He shook his head back and forth hard for good measure before he let it drop to the ground. He stepped back and let Aiden examine the body.
‘Good work, Colton, next time, just let us shoot the bastard.’ Aiden grinned.
Colton growled. Aiden nodded. ‘I understand, if it had been my daughter, I probably would have mauled his ass, too. Now, we have to find Penny.’
Colton opened his mouth, raised his head and howled. Seconds later a tiny, squeakier howl lifted to the treetops. Colton looked around and watched as Penny stepped forward and literally melted into sight from the trunk of a tree. She was half wolf and half chameleon.
‘No wonder she kicked our ass during drills,’ Sascha muttered.
Penny ran forward and threw her arms around his neck. Colton whimpered and licked her face. Sascha scooped her up and took the necklace from her hand. ‘Guess those bell drills paid off, huh, little lady?’
She nodded.
Aiden stepped close to Penny and ran a hand over her hair. ‘Sweetie, why did you go with him? You did, didn’t you? You took down the perimeter and went with him, why?’
Penny looked down at the ground, then looked over to Colton. She pointed to him, then back towards the house.
Aiden cursed under his breath. ‘He told you if you left with him, he wouldn’t hurt your new mommy and daddy, didn’t he?’
Penny’s eyes teared up and she nodded.
‘Oh baby, it’s our job to protect you, not the other way around. You let Papa and Uncle Aiden deal with horrible men like that.’ Aiden rubbed her back.
Penny shook her head violently and pointed a thumb to her chest.
Gavriel stepped closer. ‘Did he tell you that it was your fault that your other mommy and daddy were killed?’
Penny covered her face with her hands and nodded.
Colton snapped and growled. He wanted to shift back, but didn’t feel like flashing his daughter either.
Aiden pointed to him. ‘Your Papa is right. What happened to your mommy and daddy was not your fault. Do you hear your Athair? It was never your fault; it was because that creature was a sick fuck and was crazier than hell.’
Keelan coughed into his hand. ‘Language.’
Aiden flushed and turned to Penny. ‘Don’t tell your mom I said that, okay?’
Penny smiled shyly then nodded.
Colton was about to step forward to nudge his daughter when his vision began to blur. He staggered to the left, then collapsed on the ground.
‘Colton? Buddy?’ Aiden knelt down beside him. ‘Shit, looks like that fucker bit you.’ He turned to Sascha. ‘Take Penny back to the house, tell them to prep a vehicle to take Colton to the clinic. Tell Rheia Colton needs her.’ Sascha nodded and took off towards the house, Penny held securely in his arms.
Colton closed his eyes and rested his head on the ground.
‘Oh no you don’t, you bastard. You are not leaving me alone to deal with Meryn for the rest of my life, not to mention your distraught mate and daughter. Fuck that! You better fight, brother,’ Aiden ordered, then gently lifted him up.
Asshole
Colton closed his eyes and darkness closed in.
*****
In the darkness he struggled to open his eyes. He looked up and saw his mate staring down at him. All he could see were her eyes, anxious and worried, a surgical mask covered the rest of her face. He blinked, he was so tired. He was just going to rest his eyes for just a moment.
The next time he opened his eyes he once again saw his mate standing over him; this time he could see her entire face. She looked sad, tears trailed down her cheeks. He wanted to lift his hand but couldn’t move it. All around him, he was surrounded by the smell of sickness and death. He couldn’t fight the darkness and it swept him away again.
*****
Rheia paced back and forth in the large conference room Aiden set up to discuss Colton’s condition. After the first two days Beth and Meryn returned to the Alpha estate to watch over Penny. Adelaide called Colton’s parents and Rheia met them on the first day. Both his mother and father hadn’t moved since they arrived. Robert looked so much like Colton that Rheia had a hard time looking at him. She could see where Colton got his wavy blonde hair, green eyes and easy smile. But it was from his mother, Alice Albright, that he’d gotten his devilish sense of humor. She stopped her back and forth and turned to Adam.
‘Why isn’t he healing?’ Rheia demanded. She’d been up for nearly seventy-two hours, ever since Aiden had carried her mate out of the woods and her own private hell began.
Adam shook his head. ‘I don’t know. As a shifter he should have healed this by now. But the wound, if anything, looks like it has gangrene.’
Rheia took a deep breath. ‘It’s rotting. Aiden said the feral bit Colton on the shoulder when they were fighting. The skin and muscle have begun to rot.’
‘Is he turning feral?’ Aiden asked.
‘My boy isn’t a feral,’ Alice said, her voice crisp and even.
Aiden’s tired eyes were sad. ‘I have to ask Aunt Alice, he would do no less for me.’
Robert laid a comforting hand on Aiden’s shoulder. ‘We know son.’
‘Can you cut it out? Then allow the opening to heal like normal?’ Darian asked.
Adam shook his head. ‘That was one of the first things we tried. We can never cut enough out. I’m afraid that whatever this is, it has spread to his blood. He’s rotting slightly faster than his shifter healing abilities can cope with.’
‘Will he begin to rot on the inside, like one of those monsters?’ Alice whispered.
‘I’ll put a bullet in his head first,’ Aiden growled.
The only reason Rheia wasn’t furious was because she was grateful. Unlike a true feral, Colton was still a paranormal, he would feel the loss of every inch of skin that dissolved. A bullet would be more merciful. As it was, they were keeping him in a medically induced coma so that he wouldn’t feel any pain.
‘If he were able to heal faster, could he beat this thing?’ Gavriel asked.
Adam and Rheia both nodded. ‘He damn near has it beat now, it just seems to be one step ahead,’ Rheia explained.
‘I’d like to donate tissue or blood, whatever is needed to help him.’ Gavriel offered. Alice gasped and Aiden stared.
Rheia looked around. ‘Okay people, newbie human in the room. What does that mean?’
Gavriel looked up, his eyes smiling. ‘Vampires heal faster than shifters. As an older vampire I have ingested so many different types of blood that I am a universal donor. Being as old as I am, my blood will carry quite a bit of power with it. It’s not offered lightly. As his mate, if you agree to this, both of you will be tied to me forever.’
Rheia couldn’t wrap her mind around all of the power implications. ‘Will he live?’ she asked.
Gavriel nodded. ‘I am almost certain of it. Had I known the situation was so dire, I would have offered sooner. As it was, I had guard duty at the Alpha estate for the past two days and am only now getting caught up.’
Rheia turned to Adam. ‘Do it. I don’t care about all of the other stuff, if Colton will live, do it.’
Adam stood, smiling for the first time in days. ‘Gavriel, if you would come with me, I just need a wee bit of your blood, maybe a bit of tissue. Shouldn’t hurt a bit.’
Gavriel sighed and glared at Adam. ‘It may hurt you.’ He clapped Aiden on the back as he walked by and left with Adam.
Aiden practically collapsed across the conference room table in relief. Rheia could see how deep his bond with Colton was, they were more like brothers than friends. Aiden sat back up and looked out at the room with bloodshot eyes, reaching into his pocket. ‘I’ll just be in the waiting room, I need to update Meryn. Please come and get me the second his condition changes.’ Aiden started dialing and staggered from the room.
‘He probably blames himself, poor boy. He’s been protecting Colton since they were babies,’ Alice clucked. Rheia sat down next to her feeling like her eightieth cup of coffee was about to run out.
Alice leaned over and pulled Rheia into her arms. ‘Thank you. Thank you for doing whatever it takes to save my son. He’s very lucky to have you.’
Rheia hugged Alice back; she was probably the only other woman on the face of the planet who loved Colton as much as she did. ‘We’re lucky to have him.’
Alice pulled back and wiped at her eyes. ‘That’s right, you have a daughter. I’m going to beat that son of mine senseless when he wakes up for not calling us the second he found you. I still can’t believe I’m a grandmother.’
Robert sat down next to his mate. ‘We haven’t had a chance to meet her, but we’ve heard some amazing stories from the leader of the Gamma Unit. He calls her the ‘Ninja’.’
Rheia smiled wearily. ‘I never did get the whole story about what happened. Colton promised to tell me later.’ She swallowed hard.
Alice patted her thigh. ‘And he will. My boy has this uncanny ability that makes you want to pummel him and kiss his boo-boos at the same time. He’s driving us mad with worry now, but I’ll bet you anything he’ll wake up grinning.’ She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.
‘All we can do now is wait. I’d give anything to see that grin again,’ Rheia admitted, laying her head on Alice’s shoulder.
Alice took her hand. ‘Me too, my love, me too.’
*****
The first thing Colton became aware of was the fact that the inside of his mouth was dry. The second thing he became aware of was that the inside of his mouth tasted like ass. He peeled his eyes open and saw Rheia standing over him. He grinned up at her. ‘Hey beautiful.’ His voice was so faint he could barely hear it.
Rheia burst into tears. Colton turned his head, looking around the room. Wasn’t there anyone close by that could help his mate?
‘It’s okay, sweetheart,’ he whispered harshly.
She just continued to cry, great heaving sobs that were wildly out of control. Taking a deep breath he mustered all his strength and tried to sit up. That got her attention.
‘What in the hell are you doing? Lay back down!’ Her tears slowed down and she was in command mode. Colton preferred her ordering him around to crying uncontrollably. ‘Water?’ he croaked.
‘Of course.’ Rheia picked up a large insulated mug with a bendy straw and held it for him. He managed to spill a good portion of it, but what he did manage to swallow felt heavenly. Every second he was awake, he felt his strength returning.
‘Thanks, my love, I feel a lot better. What happened anyway? The last thing I remember is being in the woods calling Aiden an asshole.’
Rheia stared. ‘What happened? What happened! What happened was you almost died!’ she waved his cup about.
‘I’m getting better.’
She blinked at him. ‘Did you just quote Monty Python?’
He did, but the look on her face had him second guessing admitting to it. ‘Maybe.’
‘Your mother was right, I want to smack the hell out of you and hold you close at the same time.’ Wearily she sat down in the chair next to him and laid her head on his stomach.
‘You look like hell,’ he said, stroking her hair.
‘It’s your fault. You had to go be super dog and attack the feral and get bitten.’
‘I’m not a dog. What does the feral bite have to do with anything?’
‘The bite poisoned your blood and tissue causing you to rot.’
Colton sucked in his breath. ‘I was rotting?’
‘Yes, Gavriel had to donate blood and tissue to counteract the rapid decay to give your body a fighting chance. Oh, by the way, he said we’re tied to him for eternity now.’ She yawned.
‘If I had to pick a vampire to be tied to, he would be it,’ Colton admitted.
‘You told me to tell you, when you hurt me. Well this, you getting hurt and almost dying, hurt me. It almost destroyed me.’ Rheia turned her face and buried her face in his side.
‘You know that this is part of my job. Do you want me to give up being in Alpha?’
Rheia sat up and shook her head. ‘No, but next time, let the men with projectile weapons kill the bad guy. Don’t go after him with your fucking teeth!’
Colton grinned. ‘I hear and I obey.’
Rheia gave him a sly smile. ‘You’re in a good mood now, wait until your mother comes in. She’s pissed at you, you know.’
Colton racked his brain; her birthday wasn’t until next year.
Rheia stared at him in astonishment. ‘You really have no idea why she’s upset, do you?’
Colton shook his head.
‘When were you planning on telling your parents you were mated and had a child?’ Rheia asked.
Colton felt his stomach flip. ‘She’s going to kill me.’
‘You’ll live. Thank God, you’ll live.’ She squeezed his hand.
Colton played with her fingers. ‘I saw you, in the darkness. At first I thought I was just dreaming again, but it was really you. It was weird because it was just like my dream. At first all I saw were your eyes, because you were wearing the mask and you were so anxious and worried. Then I saw your whole face and you were crying, and all I could smell was sickness and death.’
‘Before I met you, I had dreams with those images constantly, I thought they were telling me that you were sick and dying. I didn’t realize it meant that I would almost die. If you hadn’t been here, we would have lost Adam. Without you and Adam, I wouldn’t have made it either. You saved me.’
Rheia brought his hand to her lips and kissed him gently. ‘You’re the one who saved me. Penny was the only light in my life until you. I’d closed my heart off to any potential love because I was afraid to lose them, like I lost my parents. You bulldozed right past all of my hesitations and simply loved me. You helped both Penny and me to smile again and to laugh. You’re the one who healed my soul.’
Colton growled. ‘We’re a good match, huh? Gods, I want you so bad right now.’
Rheia looked down the line of his body to where his erection was tenting the blankets. ‘Unbelievable. You were dying not two hours ago and now you’re up and at ’em.’
Colton wiggled his hips and leered at her. ‘I have my priorities in order.’
‘Colton!’ Colton heard his mother’s voice coming down the hall. He stared down at his cock and tried to think of anything to make it go down.
Rheia was chortling beside him and refused to see the horror of the situation. He cursed his disobedient dick and in a last ditch effort grabbed the pillow from behind his head and placed it in his lap. He slammed back on the mattress, jarring his injured shoulder.
‘Motherfucker!’ he growled.
The door opened. ‘Colton Marius Albright, watch your language. You’re not too old for me to wash your mouth out with soap. If you’re well enough to be concerned about putting a pillow in your lap, I won’t feel guilty if I have to use that medical grade antiseptic.’
‘Yes, Mother. You’ll never believe what happened. I found my mate.’ Colton gave her his best little boy grin.
Alice put her hands on her hips. ‘Yes dear, I know. I want to talk with you at great length about your poor communication skills.’
Rheia stood and motioned for Alice to take her seat.
Colton stared up at his mate. ‘Don’t go. We’re a perfect match, remember?’
Rheia turned to the door. ‘I’m going back to the estate to shower, check on Penny and catch up on my sleep. You should be able to leave sometime tomorrow. Alice has volunteered to nurse you so I can finally get some rest. Have fun with your mother.’ She wiggled her fingers at him and shut the door behind her.
His mother looked at him and her eyes softened. ‘Are you in any pain?’
Colton wiggled a bit and slowly removed his pillow, when he saw he was in the clear he put the pillow back behind his head. ‘Not any more. It hurt like hell when I hit the mattress though.’
Alice rolled her eyes. ‘Then you shouldn’t have moved your pillow. Honestly Colton, you act like I haven’t seen you walking around with an erection before. You might have forgotten the two decades you were in puberty, but I haven’t.’
‘Mother! Please, never, ever, mention me and the word erection in the same sentence again.’ Colton shuddered. He looked around. ‘Where’s Father?’
‘He’s sleeping now so he can relieve me later this evening. By tomorrow we’ll take you back to the Alpha estate. We’re both dying to meet your daughter. Really Colton, how could you forget to call us?’ She sounded so hurt that Colton reached out and took her hand.
‘It wasn’t safe, Mama,’ he said simply.
‘Oh my sweet boy, don’t you know there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you? It’s my job as your mother to protect you, not the other way around,’ she chided him.
Colton blinked and thought back to why Penny left the safety of the Alpha estate. There wasn’t much a child wouldn’t do for their parents either.
He looked his mother in the eye. ‘I know.’
Her breath caught and she smiled down at him. ‘I guess you do, now. Welcome to parenthood.’
‘Love you, Mama.’
‘Love you, too, Colton. If you almost die again, I’ll kill you.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
