Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4) (30 page)

She could tell I wasn’t happy. “I’ll tell him no. I don’t know what I was thinking. He would have let all of you die.”

“He
told us he thought his mom was going to be killed…”

“Garrett would have died too, if he hadn’t kept his nest at home.”

I put my toast down and looked her in the eye, trying to understand. “Just tell me why you want to talk to him.”

She looked out the window and sighed. “He’s all I have left
of my childhood. The good parts.”

“You still have your parents.”

“I spoke to Aaron two days ago. He thinks Jake will be executed.”

“And your mom?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Aaron will take her in.”

“You have a house, Sinc.
A house she paid for.”

“She should be with a pack.”

“Or her daughter.” I understood what it was to grow up without a mother.

“Jackie, she chose the pack over me.” Sinc was angry, but I'd chosen to play
devil’s advocate because I didn’t want her to lose out on a chance to reconcile with her mom.

I though
t again about Adele. I hadn't had a chance to talk to Bridgett about her. I tried once more to persuade my friend to reconsider. “You might want to try to talk to her without Jake around. She still loves you.” Sinc shrugged, trying to act as if she didn't care, but I knew by her expression that she’d at least think about it. That's all I could ask.

“Ethan’s coming over in an hour. He’s driving me to the doctor. What are you up to today?”

“I’m going house hunting with Liam.”

Liam and I set out with excited expectations and we weren't disappointed. The third house we saw
was perfect. It was only a few miles away from ours with a beautiful view of the coastline, a large garden in fairly good shape and a large, modern kitchen. The owner had no problem accepting a down payment right then and there, especially since Liam was paying cash.

"Faerie warriors get paid pretty well, I see."

"Living fifteen hundred years has it's benefits. Investments eventually pay off."

"You could just glamour her into giving you the house." I shrugged and tried to keep a straight face.

He looked at me in shock. "Jacqueline, you can't honestly think I would steal..."

"You're so easy to tease." I gave him a playful shove.

He tilted his head and smiled. "I have a long memory. Be prepared for payback."

I’d taken lots of pictures
, so after Sinc looked them over, the three of us talked well into the evening about where to buy furniture, how to decorate, etc… Liam was so happy, making the most of connecting to his inner human. According to Liam, Kellaine would be joining him at the house whenever she could get away from her duties in Faerie, and was also looking forward to helping decorate.

The vampires piped in with some ideas, including a huge flat-screen TV and a pool table. Ethan and Kyle told me over the phone that Liam should get an industrial sized barbeque and put up a basketball hoop in the long driveway. I promised I'd relay the message when I saw him the next morning. Whether Liam planned on it or not, some evenings the team would be stopping by to hang out with their fae buddy. Even Charlie got in on the plans, squirming around in my belly, reminding me that it might be wise to leave some extra diapers with Liam.

Later that night, we took Flynn hunting for the first time. I didn’t shift because of the baby, but I came along to watch and follow them through the lines. I’d asked both Lord Argon and Lord Caelen about the advisability of me traveling through ley line magic while pregnant, but they’d agreed that since the baby was half fae, it wouldn’t present a problem.

It took Flynn
awhile to feel comfortable enough around us to let his lion loose. What a lion he was! His magnificent mane crowned an enormous head with amber eyes and a dangerous mouth full of sharp teeth. His powerful body towered over the rest of the felines as they greeted each other with the usual sniffing of faces.

Flynn was being cautious with the others, conscious of the difference in his size and maybe afraid to hurt anyone. Kyle got him into a more playful mood with a cuff of his spotted paw and a nip at his ear. Flynn whacked him upside the head and he went flying a few feet across the clearing, ending up sprawled in the dirt. He bounced up and had Flynn chasing him a minute later. Soon they were flicking their tails and pouncing playfully like enormous kittens, Ethan's cougar joining the fun.

Garrett’s cheetah was faster than the other felines so he ran ahead to locate the Roosevelt Elk grazing between two large outcroppings of rock. We let Flynn have a go and then helped him refine his technique after the first one got away. Eventually the cats were all feasting on elk, teasing Flynn by getting close enough for him to bat at them and then running away like sensible felines. A serious swipe of
his
paw could send you spinning into a tree. Not wanting to feel completely left out, I started a small campfire and roasted a few small pieces of elk so I could enjoy their successful kill right alongside the rest. Garrett curled up next to me and I laid back on his soft spotted fur, relaxing as he purred.

After he'd finished eating and cleaning the blood off of his face with his paws, Flynn stood watching me for a moment, then loped a little closer. I sat up and Garrett's cheetah rose to his feet, growling softly, not sure of what Flynn wanted. Having learned my lesson on numerous occasions I pulled in power and waited. When he was about ten feet away, he crouched and crawled to me, letting all of us know that this was not an aggressive encounter. When he was close enough for me to touch his head, he waited, twitching his tail in what I'd learned was a playful way.

Because a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth was only inches away, I held out my hand with great care. He licked it gently and then put his giant head down on his paws and sighed. I laughed. "You're welcome." I gave his ruff a scratch. "We're glad you're with us."

By the time we got home
, we were all exhausted, but also elated because Flynn had finally seemed to accept his new fate. Rob came by the next morning to take Flynn back to his house. He'd be brought before the Shifter Council next week, so Rob needed to prepare him for the meeting.

The few days that followed Flynn’s first hunting excursion passed quickly with all of us taking care of a variety of errands. Sinc and I helped Liam pick out furniture for his new home, Garrett and I had an appointment with my snow leopard OBGYN, Dr. Connors, and I took a secret trip to the art store with Sasha. The vamp villa was going up in record time, because Lord Argon insisted on helping out with a serious dose of fae magic, and so Sasha’s studio was already partly finished. The look on his face when he’d reviewed the plans was priceless and I think he just caught himself before he reached out to kiss my hand in gratitude. Twenty-first century, Sash, c’mon!

The day arrived for the Los Altos Pack trials, so Garrett, Sinc and I traveled the lines to the Greenway Pack Territory. This was the first time I’d been to Aaron’s home and I noticed right away how different it was from the Los Altos property. There, the entire pack lived on the central grounds, taking up about one third of the total property span. Here, 95% of the acreage was natural, unpopulated forest. There were only six buildings on the grounds, all of them modern: Aaron’s home, Franklin’s home, a kind of dormitory for other assorted weres, the doctor’s home with an extension which served as an office and clinic, a school, and a large meeting hall with a huge kitchen attached. The buildings were set in a cluster, three hundred yards back from a main road which got you into the center of the nearest town in fifteen minutes.

“The rest of your pack lives in tow
n?” I asked after he’d pointed out the buildings.

“Yeah, or right outside.
I can’t see having them hanging around me all the time. They have jobs and lives of their own to lead. We can connect mentally, so if there’s a problem I usually know before they do. I make sure to keep in touch if I haven't heard from them in a while. It’s kind of a hoot ‘cause they never know when I’m going to show up in the flesh at their front door. Keeps them on their toes." He winked. "Plus they can’t lie to me 'cause I know right away when they try.” I laughed at the mischievous glint in his eye. He cared about his pack as if they were part of his family, something that was missing within the Los Altos pack community.

Aaron had
insisted on Sinc using this really cool motorized wheel chair he’d gotten for her, feeling that the walk was too far from building to building. She wasn’t happy about it at first, but the more she used it the more she started having fun with it. She’d be doing wheelies soon. She asked Aaron, "Is Gabe here?"

“You want to see him?” Aaron glanced at Garrett.

“I do.” When I noticed her gaze shifting to me, I shrugged and took Garrett’s hand. Aaron squinted in concentration and Gabriel walked out of the bunkhouse a minute later.

When he saw the three of us standing
in front of Aaron's house, he hesitated. There was a change in his expression as he concentrated on a mental message from Aaron and then he walked, limping slightly, the rest of the distance. He faced Garrett and myself first. Bruises were evident around his face and forearms.

“Mr. Cuvier, Mrs. Cuvier. I'm grateful that you agreed to give me this se
cond chance with Aaron's pack." He snuck a quick glance at Sinc. "I’m not without blame in what happened to your team. I’d like to apologize for any part that I played in the attack.”

It sounded like a bun
ch of memorized bullshit to me, but Garrett was nodding. “Thank you, Gabriel. We...”

I interrupted. “You should suffer the way Sinc has.” Everyone stared at me, but I
didn't give a damn. My friend was crippled because of this young wolf and his family.

“Jackie…” Sinc sounded
upset but Gabriel and I were looking at each other with complete understanding.

He took a closer look
at Sinc’s leg where the foot had been removed just above the ankle and then back at me. “I'd accept that punishment without protest, Mrs. Cuvier.” He was telling the truth, so I nodded and leaned against Garrett. I wasn't about to take him up on his offer, no matter how angry I was.

Gabe crouched down next to Sinc and took her hand, speaking softly. “I can’t make up for what happened to you. I’m s
orry. I hope you can forgive me someday. I’m trying to turn my life around.”

Her response was shy and sweet.
“I’ve already forgiven you. Kyle and I are working on some ‘bionic woman’ prosthesis prototype. I'm gonna be fine.” The look she gave Aaron was cold. “I’m glad to see he can still walk.” She snapped.

“Franklin’s been holding back, but now that Gabe is getting str
onger I’ll give him free rein.”

Gabe met Aaron’s teasing gaze with a smile, but then lowered his eyes. “I’ll train with Frankli
n to the best of my abilities, alpha.”

“Testifying tonight will be tough for you. Take a break and then join us for dinner at my house at 6:30.”

“Thank you, alpha.” He grinned at Sinc and then turned away to get cleaned up for dinner and the trials.

I looked carefully at Sinc’s face as Gabe walked back toward the large brick bunkhouse. They’d been close as young children and promised to each other a
s mates. He'd probably been her first lover. It occurred to me that the loss of her parents wasn’t the only pain she’d suffered when she’d been kicked out of the pack.

“When is Kaera arriving?” Aaron asked Garrett.

“Both sisters will be here at 8:00 this evening.

“Did any of you want to see Karl, Quentin, Katrina or Jake before their trials?” His ga
ze swept the three of us but Garrett and I shook our heads and turned toward Sinc.

“Is my—
my mother here?”

“Sharon is staying with Franklin and his mate, Gloria. She’s been excused from any blame in the bombing and the kidnapping and has helped with organizing the placement of the rest of the pack, since she knows all the indi
vidual families. We’ve placed five families with Bridgett’s old pack. Their alpha, Fred, visited me yesterday and told me that he would accept new members if they were cleared by the council and they didn’t put a financial drain on his existing pack. They’d have to pledge loyalty to him of course. I’ve set him up as manager for one of my construction firms in the Gasquet area. Apparently he’s been working construction jobs for the last five years, and the club certainly can’t support his entire pack. He’s an interesting young man with a shitload of natural power.

Aaron continued,
"You know about his mom being a witch, right? His sorcerer abilities never manifested themselves the way Karl's did. I think they're latent. He's been raised by the pack laws, so he's not likely to turn to dark magic. Brownlow wasn't like Quentin. He tried to do right by his pack—until he fell under Kennet's influence.

“And my fa…Jake?”
Sinc asked.

“He’s in a holding cell now. He tried to escape, but he hasn’t been hurt.” Sinc nodded and looked toward Franklin’s house. Aaron smiled. “She’s probably looking out the window. She knew you were coming. I’ll take you over.” She nodded, but still looked wary.