Christmas Moon (8 page)

Jackson picked up a pen and rolled it over his fingers, looking at the other twins in the room. Rule and Lawe.

“We’ll let it go for now. What do the Hunters know about this rogue?”

“Greg was the fourth. He always attacks at night, never the mates, and when only one twin is present. No idea how he picks which one. Probably just opportunity.”

“And you don’t know who he is. So what led you here? You got here before the storm, before the attack.”

The other twin took over. Both looked nervous as hell, as if they didn’t want to give that explanation.

“Except for Greg, their mates are all from this pack. We didn’t realize that until last week after the Charleston attack when we reviewed all the cases.”

Jackson arched both eyebrows. “I should have been notified, don’t you think? Word should have gone out.”

“We agree. But these attacks have been spread out over the last three years, until the last two. The Hunters didn’t believe they were connected until Charleston.”

“And what do you know about him?”

For the first time they showed irritation, both fidgeting, clenching their teeth. Cain wondered if he and Abel mirrored each other so closely.

“Nothing. Greg is the first witness we’ve had. Other than the rogue was a standard grey wolf and he didn’t recognize it, he hasn’t been able to provide any information.”

Jackson tossed the pen, the first sign of his irritation. “Well, that’s just great. Maybe Ellen will be able to help.”

No one responded to that, but the air grew heavy with tension. The thought of bringing a woman into the hunt for a rogue didn’t set well with any of them.

“She’ll be here soon.” He sighed. “I need to find a guard.”

“Already on it,” Trey said. “Clint’s handling it.”

Jackson cocked an eyebrow and grinned. “That right? And here I thought you were a member of Darius’s pack.”

“I serve where needed,” Trey intoned in a mocking voice, and the older weres in the room, his friends and Clint, laughed. Even Billy cracked a smile.

But the four of them, the twins, the Hunters, were struck dumb. They’d all spent time with Trey. Training. Working. Cain had never seen the man smile, never seen a break in the severe mask he always wore. Sure as hell never saw him crack a joke. Maybe this is what finding a mate did for you. Not softened, but dulled the edges, tempered the beast that lived in every Hunter, that had to live there so they could do the job. Maybe finding a mate for someone like him made it easier to reenter the fold, return to the pack. It seemed to have worked that way for Trey at least. He could live with that. Maybe.

Before the conversation could continue, someone knocked on the door.

“Come,” Jackson said, and Billy stood to open the door.

Cain was watching Clint when Ellen came in. His reaction was controlled, covered so fast Cain wouldn’t have caught it if he hadn’t been watching. The other man’s eyes widened, his nostrils flared, and his hands fisted for half a second. If he didn’t know better, Cain would think the woman was Clint’s mate. But that wasn’t possible, was it? They’d known each other years ago. If that were the case, Clint would have made his claim long ago, wouldn’t he?

He turned to look at Ellen. To him, Delilah was perfect. Beautiful and his. But this woman looked as if she’d just walked off the cover of a high fashion magazine. To be her mate would be to constantly deal with unwanted male attention. She was gorgeous. Slim and tall, with long, straight, red hair to the middle of her back. Rule and Lawe were definitely interested in her. He saw their eyes flare with heat.

“Ellen, come here,” Clint said.

He had been in the back corner of the room, but he stepped into the center as he spoke. She hadn’t seen him when she walked in and at his words, her head swung around, flaring her hair around her upper body. It blazed like a fiery fan. Cain suddenly understood why Abel was so pissed off Delilah cut her hair. Ellen glared at Clint, but she didn’t speak or move.

“Now, Ellen.”

There was a growl in his voice, warning and territorial possession in his tone. Cain wondered if he spoke to Delilah that way. And understood this was definitely Clint’s mate. Why he hadn’t claimed her was the curiosity. She sighed, and Cain was sure she would refuse him, but she didn’t. She walked over and let Clint yank her into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist and glared at Rule and Lawe. It was as obvious a claiming as the bite on her neck that would no doubt come later.

Trey grinned at the couple. “Well, it’s about time.”

Jackson answered dryly, “Do you know everyone’s secrets, Trey? Darius, I’m stealing him back.”

Darius snorted. “I don’t think so. Even if you could convince him, you’d never get Tara to agree to give up her shop and move here.”

Trey nodded. “Tara is a force to be reckoned with, and I, for one, am not taking her on. Sorry, Jackson.”

“Don’t worry, Jackson. You’ll break Abel in soon, and he’ll end up being just as sneaky as Trey.” Eric grinned as he shot a droll look at Trey.

Cain met Abel’s gaze then looked at Rule and Lawe, noticing they were just as off balance at witnessing the four old friends so open and easy. Billy seemed to take it in stride, which struck Cain as odd, since he was the same age as he and his brother. He figured that was from exposure.

Jackson, Darius, Eric, and Trey had reached legendary status in his mind years ago, and he wasn’t the only one. It was like those four were particularly blessed. He cocked his head to the side as he watched them continue to joke and wondered about it. He’d joined the Hunters because he’d always known he’d never be Alpha. It was damned obvious to everyone that that would fall to either Jackson or Darius from the time they’d been young boys.

He and Abel were about five years younger than them, so they’d grown up watching, idolizing. Wondering if they’d ever compare. Cain understood now that they weren’t so different. There was just an incredible amount of talent focused into one group friendship. He and his brother, along with Billy and a couple of others, had run in a similar group once. He hadn’t the chance to catch up with Billy yet, much less talk to the others. Would they end up a force in the pack? A group that younger weres looked up to? Emulated? He’d never thought of himself, of them, like that. It was damned strange and something he wanted to talk to his fathers about later.

He sighed and thank god that Abel was the only one who caught it. He sensed this was a shared concern. Their younger brother and sister would arrive tomorrow, to spend part of their college winter breaks at home. But their parents, all three of them, would be home tonight. Delilah was in for one hell of a shock.

“Ellen. It’s good to see you again, but the last time you were much shorter,” Jackson joked.

She laughed. “I was fourteen, and I’m sure I was at least five-seven. So, not much shorter.”

That might explain why Clint hadn’t claimed her. At fourteen, she wouldn’t have met maturity yet, wouldn’t awaken the bond between her and her mate. Cain was sure there was more to it, though. He was sure Clint knew before she walked in that she was his mate.

Clint had to let go enough so she could face Jackson and speak, but the were still held her close, tucked up under his considerably taller shoulder.

“Can you help with this? Know who we’re looking for?”

She tried to shrug out from under Clint’s grasp, but he didn’t release her until she dug her elbow into his lower belly. Walking forward, she sank into one of the two empty chairs in front of the desk.

“No. But I have theories.”

“Go on.”

“This guy always goes after one twin of a mated pair. I think that tells us something. Maybe he’s a twin and his brother died. Maybe he’s a twin and his mate died. Or maybe he’s not a
twin
and the woman he wanted went to twins.”

No one responded, but he could see they were all thinking it over, cataloguing the twins they knew in their minds. The problem was that you couldn’t know the ins and outs of every pack. Unless you had access to Hunter resources.

“I’m working on a database of every known living twin set. Well, where at least one is living. Actually, I’m to the verifying point now.”

She grew animated, warming to her subject, and he could see the single weres in the room were charmed. Hell, he knew there was no other woman, never would be, for him but Delilah, but even he was charmed.

The door swung open and Summer poked her head in, glaring at Jackson smiling so openly at another woman. Cain was damned glad Delilah wasn’t with her.

“Lunch,” she said, sauntering into the room. “And you might as well come down ’cause y’all are all gonna spill all your secrets tonight anyway.”

He and Abel exchanged a look. There were a lot of secrets that needed to be shared with Delilah tonight, and some of them were going to be damned hard to explain. Summer walked around the desk and sat in Jackson’s lap, turning her head to watch Ellen. Cain wondered what the hell she saw because, after a few seconds, she nodded and smiled, and it wasn’t fake. It was a welcome. It didn’t look like he was going to find out either. In seconds, Jackson had the room cleared, and Cain was in the kitchen before he realized the Alpha and his mate hadn’t joined the pack for lunch.

Chapter Five

Delilah watched them come into the kitchen. Her men. Cain and Abel. Was she really thinking of them like that? She still didn’t quite believe it,
couldn’t
believe it. She felt as if she’d landed in the twilight zone. She hadn’t ended up with one, but
two
incredible men. And they were werewolves. She had to be dreaming. But two hot looks, one from each, and she knew at least some of it was true.

She hadn’t got much from the women she’d ended up with—Summer, Chloe, Meg, Tara, and Mary. They’d been chatty and welcoming as Summer showed her around the house, but it was obvious there were things being intentionally left unsaid.

Like why Jackson thought she wasn’t safe staying with the twins? Who was the man that had been attacked? What exactly were rogues anyway? Cain had mentioned them earlier, but she hadn’t asked, had been afraid to. Now, she hated that ignorance, realizing this was not only a very different world but a dangerous one, too.

She didn’t know what to make of the women who’d all introduced themselves as being someone’s mate. She took it to be their version of marriage, but the way it was presented disturbed Delilah. Had they done that to help her identify the couples in the house or was there more to it? A cultural aspect she wasn’t getting? It was like they belonged to their men, and she wondered if that was a two-way street. She couldn’t handle it if it wasn’t.

She’d been carefully but deftly questioned about Cain and Abel and tried to be noncommittal, neutral in her answers. She didn’t want anyone to think she was complaining about them, but she wasn’t ready to think about that relationship, much less discuss it, with a bunch of people she didn’t know. Not even Chloe, who was the closest friend she’d ever had and who’d given her a wounded look when she’d stonewalled their questions.

So, when Abel approached and pulled her into his arms, she accepted the embrace, hid her face in his chest, and took the strength he offered. She was so far out of her depth here, she didn’t know how to find her footing, and she welcomed his comfort.

“You okay, baby?” he whispered close to her ear. She just shook her head. How could she answer that? She’d come here for a job. What she got was something else entirely. She needed time and space to regroup, and she got a sinking feeling in her gut she wasn’t going to get either.

Abel lifted her chin and stared into her eyes for a full minute. She could get lost there and wanted to kick herself. They were a big part of her confusion. She couldn’t afford to get lost in one of them.

“After lunch, we’ll head home.”

What did he see in her gaze that brought on that decision? She felt bad. She was usually so together, and she didn’t want the fact she was off balance affecting him negatively. He obviously had a job to do here, but she didn’t say no, didn’t prod for any answers. Didn’t think it was a good idea in a crowd of people she didn’t know and couldn’t have framed the questions anyway, since she went from Abel’s arms right into Cain’s. Cain wasn’t as circumspect as his brother, and he kissed her, full and hard, right in front of everyone.

No one noticed, but she was still thankful he had some control because she was more than willing to lose herself in the mysteries of his mouth, in the way his lips commanded hers. He kept it short, but when he lifted his head, he didn’t let her go, keeping her at his side while Abel filled three plates and led them to chairs at the long table in the dining room next door.

She sat and picked at her food. The last thing she was interested in was eating. She wanted answers, wanted to understand this strange new world she found herself in. Wanted to know what the hell that gathering was about earlier and the tension that hung heavy in the house. The tension that clung to Cain and Abel.