His arms came around her finally and the world was right. He made her feel like she was the only one in the world, the only one who could touch him this way. She knew they were perfect for one another, and their magic swirled around them enveloping them, making them stronger.
Chapter Four
Calli and Kade walked into the room where everyone from the compound assembled. They were relaxed after their afternoon delight. Calli slid into a chair that was to Kade’s right and smiled at her friends. Her mom was down the table, once again dressed in her normal mom outfit. It made her more comfortable, although apparently, Kiki was still having issues because he was looking at her parents wide-eyed.
She wanted to laugh when she saw her mom pat him on the shoulder and he jumped. Nothing was ever boring around here.
“Okay, so we have new Intel,” Kade said and then proceeded to tell everyone about her mother’s excursion and the informant’s information. She looked at Pilar when Kade was talking about the informant. She was slick, and there was something she wasn’t telling them. Soon, they were going to corner her and get her to give up the information.
When she was Ms. Praton it had been different, she was their boss. Now, she was a Pack member, and part of the leadership, at least she thought so. There was no guarantee about that; it was just a feeling Calli had.
“This device is very sophisticated,” Declan murmured and handed it down the table. “If they can tell magical people with that, how are we going to be able to leave the compound?”
Victor and Richard both began to talk at once.
“Our neighbors,” they both said and Victor nodded for Richard to continue.
“Our neighborhood has a way of communicating without anyone knowing. I hate to say this in front of the people from the Drekinn. However, if shifters and magical people want to hide, they will. I can name about thirty people in our neighborhood alone that have not registered with the Drekinn Agency, and they are not Rogue, they just didn’t feel the need to do so. With so many people, there are some that fall through the cracks.”
“So how do you talk?” Calli asked.
“A series of things placed in a window. Your mom and her friends used it to plan parties for the girls,” Victor said dryly and Vivi smiled secretly.
“We need to get word out that we are still here, and we are looking for people who are willing to join the Pack. I hate to say we are going to have to raise an army to make this work. The Prentiss Agency is working to make the magical community bow to them. They want control of both the humans and the shifters. So far, they have the humans by the looks of it. If The President's wife is working with the Prentiss Agency, we have a huge problem. Has anyone ever looked into her?” Kade asked.
“I am running a background check on her but so far, everything is very well documented, although there are some cracks in her background,” Rissa murmured, sniffed the air, and growled.
Calli rose up and looked around. Her friend was acting weird, “What is it?”
“Who was in this room before us?” Rissa asked, barely above a whisper.
Kade looked startled and then said, “the informant, why?”
“Shit, he's my mate,” Rissa said and buried her head in her hands as her mother began to clap.
“Who is he?” Richard demanded.
“I can’t really say right now,” Kade evaded.
Calli looked up in surprise. Her mate was keeping secrets. Oh, hell no, Calli pulled his sleeve until he bent over to her. “What the hell?” she whispered furiously.
“Wait ‘till we are in private,” Kade whispered and looked intently into her eyes.
Fuck, there was something wrong here. Why could none of them mate without drama?
They finished the meeting, making a plan for the rest of the week, and then Vivi spoke about her plans for the following week and the holidays. Most of the members seemed excited about not missing the celebration. Calli had to agree, her mom had a good idea. Morale was down. This would bring it back up.
“You ready to tell me who my daughter is mated to?” Brenda said with her arms crossed in front of Kade.
He shared a sad and pathetic pleading look with her. Calli shook her head and said, “On your own there, buddy.”
“Oh, you're gonna pay for that,” Kade muttered.
“You can borrow the crop,” Vivi laughed.
“Ma, really?” Calli frowned at her mother.
“Back to my baby, who is it?” Brenda demanded.
Rissa looked up with interest, she held her breath, she'd been waiting for this. Who could it possibly be that Kade would not say in the meeting? It didn’t make sense unless she was really not going to like this.
“Well, Ms. Praton had an informant for years, someone who we thought we were working against, but in reality, he was giving information back to us. And let me say, he hasn’t done half the things we thought,” Kade said hurriedly.
Calli frowned and straightened, it was someone they chased? Someone they had been looking for?
“Who?” Calli ground out feeling the hairs on the back of her arm stand up when he murmured the name.
“What the fuck?” Cherri whispered.
“No way,” Kiki said looking wide-eyed at Rissa now.
“Shit,” Calli moaned and Rissa began laughing. “Nervous breakdown, it was bound to happen to one of us, given the upbringing we all had, as well as our intelligence.”
“I agree, thank the Gods it wasn’t me,” Cherri said and watched as Rissa began to laugh harder.
“Honey, you need to calm down,” Brenda said softly.
Rissa shook her head and looked at her mother. “I thought I was going crazy for weeks. Whew, I was worried there for a minute.”
“Wait, Kade just told you the man we have hated all these years, who we thought was responsible for hundreds of murders, is your mate,” Cherri said with awe.
“The key word is thought,” Rissa said.
Calli rolled her eyes, “Say it out loud!”
“Say what?” Rissa frowned.
“Say the name, out loud,” Calli sighed.
“Why?” Rissa asked.
“Stop avoiding and say it out loud, dammit,” Calli barked.
“Fine, my mate is Mr. Twisted,” Rissa said and then frowned. She looked at her best friends, they watched as the horror and surprise filled her face. That was the way it was with Rissa. She had to hear it from her own lips to believe. “Fuckin' A, I thought I was having a dream again!” she cried and put her head down on the table.
“It's not that bad,” Kade said.
“Really, how can you say that, a homicidal maniac is my mate and it's not that bad? Who is my other one? The Bondi King, no wait, one better, a troll!”
“There are no trolls!” Calli laughed.
Pilar turned her head sharply at Calli. “Never, say, never.”
“Huh?” Calli asked as Rissa began really to freak out.
“A killer, a man-whore, we have all seen him in action. I mean really, we saw him fucking the prostitute in order to see if we could see his face. I saw him naked, with another woman, and a prostitute. Do you think that may raise an issue in our relationship?” Rissa yelled.
“Wait, hang on,” Calli ordered and held up her hand and looked at Pilar. “Are you trying to tell us there are Trolls? Seriously?”
“Bitch,” Rissa cried. “I would rather be mated to a troll than Mr. Twisted. Argh, this sucks. I refuse, I refuse to mate with that asshole.”
Brenda snorted, “You can’t deny the mating call.”
“Watch me, do you really want a psycho in the blood pool?” Rissa screamed.
“Please. What do you think your Uncle Ralph is?” Brenda scoffed and then ducked calmly when Rissa threw a book at her. “And your Cousin Tad, and….”
“Great, look what I'm working with here!” Rissa said.
“Hey, we all commented on the size of his… you know… thing,” Cherri whispered in front of the parents. “When we wat
ched the vid of him in action, you should be glad, you know, because you can see him in action beforehand. What if he sucked in bed, now that would’ve been worse.”
“What are you trying to say, mate?” Declan growled.
“Nothing, honey. Just pointing out the facts, I mean, I would’ve been crushed if you sucked in the sack, but look, I'm as happy as a clam,” Cherri grinned.
Calli laughed and said, “Maybe your other one will be a Troll.”
“Let’s just talk calmly about this,” Kade reasoned. “Simon is not what you think he is. I am telling you. The guy you all call Mr. Twisted is like six different men. The Bondi King loved making us chase our tails, thinking it was one person.”
“Well, who was fucking the prostitute, ‘cause if it was him, I'm out,” Rissa said firmly.
"Gentlemen, I believe this is an argument best left for the women, if you will excuse us, we will be retiring to the lounge,” Vivi said smoothly and stood, pulling her friends up, and then Cherri and Rissa until she stood next to her stubborn daughter, who looked at her in defiance. “My dear, it's time for you to learn about Pack ladies night out.”
Calli snorted, stood, then looked at her mate, and nodded, they would talk later, the men could hash out how they were going to deal with this news, and figure out how it could help them. She had known the informant was someone she hated, Kade hadn’t told her for that very reason, she thought. If Calli had known who the informant was, she would have ripped his head off before they could have talked. She thought back to the times she blamed the man for things that had gone wrong and laughed to herself. This was going to be interesting.
Chapter Five
“Mom,” Rissa groaned and followed her mother into the room they had declared a lounge. It was basically where the guys put the pool table they brought back with them on one outing, and the bar they returned with one another.
The good part about it is they kept the alcohol stocked. It took a lot to get a shifter drunk, but it was not impossible. Which is why, in the back room of the kitchen there were boxes of wine, beer, and hard alcohol. For days just like this, she thought.
“Don’t bitch and moan, because you need this. And to be honest, I think we do, too,” Calli said and plopped down in the large, leather chair. Getting all the furniture into this place had been a pain in the ass. For the first few months, they sat on boxes and the floor. Now it really seemed like it was a comfortable home. Thank goodness for the magic powers of some of their people.
Pilar wandered in and smiled, “Can I join you?”
“Of course, come on in. We are going to show these young ladies how we used to do this old school,” Vivi said.
Cherri laughed, “Yeah, like we have never had a girls' night out.”
Pilar sat down. “I remember my mother and her friends having the girls' night out once a month. It drove my fathers’ nuts, because they always got into some sort of trouble or another.”
Rissa looked at the seemingly beautiful young woman and just had to ask, “Who are your ancestors?”
Pilar looked at her and smiled. “Well, I have been thinking about that, I guess it really shouldn’t be that big of a secret anymore. I mean, we are all in the same boat, so I can tell you. Let’s all get a drink before I drop this on you.”
“Shit, that means it's gonna be funky,” Calli said. “The last time you told me to get a drink, I'm pretty sure I was shot at.”
“It won't be that bad. However, you're going to be a little shocked. I think it will be easier if I tell you ladies first before the guys, they are gonna freak out,” Pilar said and then took the shot of Whiskey that was put in front of her. “Hit me again.”
“Damn, a double shooter, we're gonna be in trouble,” Shelly muttered and took her second shot.
“Okay, so remember how you all have the books about your ancestors?” Pilar said and waved for them to fill her glass again.
“Of course, duh, that's all we are like, talking about,” Rissa said and took her glass and swigged it, slamming the glass back down on the table with the rest of them.
Pilar laughed and looked at the people she considered family. For years, she had been hiding, and finally she was going to tell them the truth. She wasn’t sure how they were going to take it, but she really had no choice. It was time.
“Well, mine is a little smaller than yours,” Pilar said and drank the next glass. This many shots in anyone, shifter included, began to affect them. If a shifter stopped, however, their metabolism would speed it through their system, if they kept up this pace, they would be shitfaced in next to no time.
“Smaller, how is that, it has had to go through like three generations,” Calli said and drank.
“Not so much,” Pilar slurred a little and then laughed.
Vivi was watching the whole thing in silence, matching them drink for drink. She was thinking about everything she knew about the Chosen, and there was some freaky shit in that group. In fact, that was where this whole chicks’ night out thing started in the families. It’d been passed down from generation to generation, each with the stories of the antics their ancestors got into. She loved it.
“A fucking Dragon?” Calli hooted. “Pilar is a Dragon.”
The women were well and truly shit faced by the time they had argued, fought, and denied the story their bold boss told them. Calli thought she was crazy, and Cherri wanted to do tests. It was Rissa that shrugged and asked her if she knew the old song from the history books about someone named ‘Puff'.
They were lying all over the room, still drinking, although they had long since finished the Whiskey and now, moved on to their own favorite drinks.
“Dududududududude, I am mated to a crazy man, and ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ is our friend. It all makes perfect sense. Aliens have actually taken us and they are probing us. I bet, when we wake up in the morning, we are gonna have a sore ass,” Rissa said laughing.
“Hey, not cool,” Calli laughed. “We seriously don’t need to go to the whole butt thing.”
“Okay, just saying,” Rissa sang.
“Bitches, you are clearly shrunk… I mean drink… no, I mean shrunk!” laughed Cherri.
The older women were just as drunk, they were in the corner singing old show tunes into the end of their bottles and kept drinking. Pilar was trying to take off her shoes so she could prove she was a dragon, they all wanted to see her shift. Apparently, the whole laces in the shoes were an issue.
The three leaders of the Pack were a bit more dignified. They were challenging each other to fights in the far corner of the room where there was not furniture. Calli and Rissa were currently going at it. Calli sweeping her friend’s feet and then elbowing her in the stomach. Rissa rolled and missed the elbow and followed up with a kick to the back of Calli’s legs, making them both fall on the floor panting and laughing.
Cherri pounced on her feet with a bottle in her hand, telling the winner they got to control the flow of booze. When Calli raised and cocked her eyebrow at her friend, Rissa grabbed the bottle. Cherri let out a war cry and charged.
The end result was Cherri lying flat on her back moaning and laughing as Calli and Rissa surrounded her.
Chapter Six
Frowning, Cherri tried to remember why she’d taken off her clothes. She remembered putting on her nightgown the previous night before she’d crawled into bed. She also had a fleeting memory of waking up to find herself cuddled warm and toasty against Declan.
She didn’t remember anything after that.
Slowly she became aware that fleeting touches were caressing her skin, reminding her of a feather brushed across her body. Wait, they had done that before, she wanted to peek her eyes open, but she was having too much fun trying to remember what the hell happened last night.
A firmer caress touched her hip, just as the bed dipped near her feet. Her eyes shot open, widening at the erotic sight in front of her. At first, she thought she was dreaming, until Declan chuckled, “Good morning.”
&n
bsp; Still blinking, she sat up, taking in the sight of him. If she’d ever seen anything sexier than Declan—tall, dark, lean, and tattooed, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist—she sure as hell didn’t remember it. Wait, it was her other mate, he was there too, leaning against her length, looking just as sexy. Cherri grinned at her mates, and then gulped, her eyes taking in the sight of the two men that had taken over her life. They consumed her with their love, and they never let her think she was second to anything.
The look in Nik’s eyes, his long hair damp and slicked back, she loved it when it was lose and she could run her fingers through it. The contrast to her other mate was amazing, Declan with his short, perfectly cropped hair, and Nik, the wild child, she loved to allow them to lead.
Leaning forward from where he knelt between her legs, Declan brushed his lips over hers, licking the seam of her lips and she shivered with anticipation.
“What a nice present to unwrap,” Nik murmured, as he pulled back the sheet. “This is my Christmas present, I think.”
She leaned into Declan’s kiss, his warm, soft lips teasing hers between playful nips to her bottom lip, while Nik explored her flesh, making her wet between her legs.
The bed dipped on her left side, the touch of a thick cock against her naked thigh a sharp reminder that she had more than one man to satisfy. Cherri turned her head until she met Nik’s lips, and savored the difference in the kisses. Declan’s had been teasing and sweet, while Nik’s was demanding and firm.
Since Declan’s hands settled on her thighs, Nik took the top, and he smoothed a hand across her stomach.
The large hand on her belly kept her in place, while the one at her back massaged gently. “How’s your back this morning? Do you want another back rub?” Nik’s soft rumble tickled her senses, his warm, caressing hands adding to the delightful feel.