“Where is she?” Landon’s booming voice sounded behind them.
Caleb helped Meg down from the truck and turned to see a red-faced Landon striding toward them. The ground shook as he bore down on them. His anger was palpable, but Caleb had no idea what had the big bear so upset.
“You played me for a fool. Made me lie to my Alpha,” Landon said. The hairs on his arms thickened and his thick claws slid free of his fingertips.
“I’m sorry,” Meg said. The color drained from her already pale skin and Prescott steadied her as she swayed by placing his arm around her waist.
Caleb’s cat nearly slipped his hard-fought control as he realized Landon was angry at Meg. He flashed his gaze to Landon before he got any closer to her. “Stop.”
“Why are you attacking Meg?” Prescott said, his voice thick with his cat’s rage.
There would be a fight if Landon didn’t back down. None of them would be capable of controlling their cat’s protective instincts much longer.
“Because I lied to him, sort of,” Meg said. “I didn’t tell him about Nick, about his threats, I couldn’t.”
The fire left Landon’s eyes as Caleb stepped in front of him. “Are you going to threaten our mate again? If you do, I
will
kill you.”
“I think we should tell the whole pride about the threat this creature poses to Lexie and Meg,” Lachlan said. “If he follows us here, we’ll all need to be prepared.”
“There really is a Lexie?” Landon said softly. He tried to look around Caleb to Meg, but Caleb had not yet released him.
“Yes. Our mate was protecting her sister, and us, from a man who’s been stalking her, a man we fear is yet another creature we’ve never before encountered.”
“But it’s all sorted out between the four of you now?” Landon said. He took a deep breath in and growled. “You haven’t mated yet.”
Lachlan stepped down off the porch and put his arm around the bear’s waist. “She was badly hurt by this creature, Landon. Come, I’ll tell you everything.”
“Prescott, please take Meg inside and introduce her to our parents. Lachlan, tell the pride what we know so far. I need to call Aiden.”
Caleb went to his home office and closed the door. He hoped Landon could forgive Meg. She’d acted to protect them, not hurt them, and Caleb and his brothers loved her deeply. He didn’t want a rift in his pride.
He sat at his desk and found Aiden’s number. He didn’t know what the time was in Scotland, and he didn’t much care. If they couldn’t find out what Nicholas Thomson was then there was a chance they couldn’t kill him. Which meant they all would die in their attempt to keep Meg safe.
* * * *
Aiden was tempted to let the call go to voicemail. He was on his honeymoon, and he wasn’t ready to be pulled away from his mate just yet. He snatched up the phone on the second vibration as he ran from the room at top speed. He didn’t want Sean and Kaitlyn to be woken.
“This better be important,” he said. Though considering only Caleb and Finn, the two Alpha’s, had his cell number, he knew it was going to be.
“Aiden, our mate has got an unusual stalker. He abducted her sister and nearly killed Meg before we found her.”
Caleb had gotten straight to the point and Aiden appreciated that. “Is Meg going to heal from her attack?”
“Yes. Jason directed us to a shifter doctor that was close and she’s recovering.” Caleb sounded exhausted. They’d had a busy twenty-four hours since Aiden had left them.
“Unusual how?”
“I haven’t seen him. He was gone when we rescued Meg. He carries no scent, not even to me, but he seems to be able to track scents easily. Meg’s sister said he took her from a room in one house to a deserted warehouse with a single step. We know the distance between those places was over ten miles.”
Aiden had a nasty suspicion he knew exactly what Caleb’s mate had attracted. The shifters were amazingly oblivious to the other supernatural lifeforms they shared the Earth with. “Was this journey cold?”
“Yes, she said it was like being in a freezer.”
“Is Meg a virgin?” Caleb’s growl filled the room Aiden was pacing. He drew the phone away from his ear until the Alpha had completed his objection to the question. “I’m happily mated, Caleb, and the question is important.”
“I don’t know the answer. We aren’t mated yet,” Caleb said. “He’d been telling her that he would kill any male who touched her, that he didn’t want her tainted.”
Aiden walked outside and looked up at the stars. “Heaven has a lot to answer for.”
“If you know what this creature is, then tell me. If we can’t kill it, then we can’t keep Meg safe.”
“It’s a Nephilim, and they aren’t easy to kill.” Aiden had faced them before, but he’d had the tools to come out of the fight alive. Caleb and his pride didn’t.
“Seriously? Angels are real?”
“As real as vampires and shape shifters. The Nephilim are the result of the mating between angels and humans, but their nature is not determined by their parentage.”
“Meaning what? The man is a sadistic bastard who beat Meg nearly to death. What does he want with her?”
“Meaning he’s chosen his own path and is using his innate skills to that end. Nephilim live long lives but are not immortal. To become so, they must harvest human souls.”
* * * *
Prescott held his mate on his lap and watched his parents fall under her spell. She was completely unaware of how adorable and sweet she was, which just made her even more bewitching.
“Lexie will fit right in at the school. We even have a special class that Sean teaches twice a week just for shifter children,” Cynthia said.
“She’ll love that,” Meg said, her eyes bright with tears. “She’s always been so alone. Scott, my brother, never let her associate with any other shifters, and I didn’t know any in San Diego except for Kaitlyn.”
“Your mate looks pale and tired, Prescott,” Albert said. “You should let her get some rest.”
“Thank you for the sandwiches and tea,” Meg said. “But before I go to bed I’d like to see Landon. He helped me and I repaid him by running off and betraying his trust.”
“Landon is fiercely loyal to Caleb. But he has a huge heart, he’ll forgive you,” Albert said.
“I need him to know I’m sorry. I won’t get any sleep until I’ve told him.”
“You’re so sweet, mate. Have I told you I loved you, Meg?” Prescott whispered the words in Meg’s ear, but his parents were shifters. They would have heard him, and he didn’t care. He loved her.
The floor shook as an earthquake seemed to shake the whole house. Meg gasped and held on to Prescott’s arms as he held her tighter to him. He smiled into her hair.
She’d get to see Landon after all.
“Where has she got to?” Landon’s voice boomed. He entered the room and smiled at Meg. “Can I hold her? I won’t break her.”
“No. Get your own mate,” Prescott said, a growl slipping out with his anger at the suggestion.
“Landon. I was about to come look for you. I’m so sorry.”
“Not another word, little Meg. Lachlan explained it all. I would have gone with you, you know? You needn’t have faced him alone.”
Landon stepped closer and Prescott couldn’t stand it. “Back up, Landon. You’re too damned close.” His claws extended as his control over his cat slipped. The instinctive need to stake a claim on his mate was making his cat wild with protective rage.
“They’ll be like this until they’re mated,” his mother said calmly. She drew Landon back a few steps with a tug on his arm, and handed him a coffee.
“So we’re still friends? I told Lexie all about you and she’s dying to meet you. You’re the first bear we’ve ever met.”
“We’re still friends, Meg. I’m sorry for your trouble, and I’ll protect you and Lexie with my life.”
Meg sniffed wetly and turned to bury her head in Prescott’s chest.
“Did I say something wrong?” Landon had turned to Cynthia, who was wiping a tear from her eye, too.
“No, Landon. She’s just happy.” Cynthia ushered the confused bear from the kitchen, dragging her husband with them. She smiled at Prescott and he nodded his thanks, accepting her gift of some privacy.
“It’s been a tiring couple of days, Meg. Will you agree to get some sleep now that you’ve seen Landon?”
“Everyone is being so nice. I’m really sorry for the way I handled things. I just couldn’t see any other way to keep everyone safe.”
Prescott stood and swung Meg into his arms. He carried her upstairs to the bedroom they would all now share. “You were trying to keep everyone safe, but forgot about keeping yourself safe. Once we’re mated, all our lives depend on you being alive, Meg. We won’t want to live without you now.”
She nodded and sniffed a little as more tears flowed. “My father died a few hours after my mother. I’ll do everything I can to keep myself safe, Prescott. I promise.”
“Do you mind if we all sleep with you tonight?” He saw her eyes widen, her scent changing to one of fear. “We won’t do anything.” His words rushed out as he sought to reassure her. “We just want to be with you. I need to hold you, little one.”
“That sounds nice, actually.” He felt her relax and wondered at her fear.
Three men, you idiot. She’s probably never been involved in a menage relationship before.
Putting her down on the bed, he looked through Caleb’s drawers for a clean shirt for Meg to wear to bed. “Here’s one of Caleb’s shirts so you don’t have to go to bed naked.” He smiled at her as she looked up at him, worrying her hands in her lap. “Yet.”
“Thank you.” She snatched the shirt from him and he got the impression she actually wanted to throw it at him.
“I’ll go and say good-bye to everyone and set up the patrols. Make yourself at home. Lexie is next door in my room if you want to check on her before getting into bed.”
She stood up suddenly and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you for everything, Prescott. I love you.”
His heart felt tight in his chest. Only twenty-four hours ago he was ready to abandon this precious woman. He’d been a proud idiot. She pulled away from him and walked into the bathroom. “We’ll be up later, Meg. Sleep well.”
As he walked downstairs he heard Lachlan roar. He ran in the direction of that noise to find everyone gathered in their living room. No one looked happy.
“Good, you’re here, Prescott. I just got off the phone with Aiden,” Caleb said.
“Did Aiden know what he is?” Prescott knew he was playing catch-up when people started shaking their heads.
“He’s encountered them before. Nicholas is a Nephilim, and apparently they’re hard to kill. Aiden is returning home once he’s retrieved the weapon we need to kill him. Until then, he’s sending a demon to live with us.”
Prescott just gaped at his brother. Caleb was serious. Prescott didn’t understand half of what Caleb had just said, but he knew it was all bad. “What the hell is a Nephilim, and shit—now demons are real?”
Lachlan waited impatiently while Caleb saw all their guests out. Caleb had explained very little about Nephilim and demons and Lachlan wanted to know if he’d shared everything Aiden had told him. They were extremely fortunate to have Aiden in their pride. Fate had not only brought them Kaitlyn and Meg, but a being of great strength and knowledge. Not only that, he was a good man, and Lachlan liked him.
“Caleb has offered little information on how to defend ourselves against this Nephilim,” Prescott said. “I’ve doubled the patrols, but don’t know what good it will do. The creature is strong and has no scent, not to mention his ability to travel great distances instantly. He could be here and gone again in a heartbeat.”
“I just find it all hard to believe. Angels, demons…what’s next?” Lachlan slammed his hand down on the mantle above the fire. Frustration ran through him and the need to do something was making his cat loom large inside him, threatening to overwhelm his tenuous control. “She’s done nothing to deserve this. She’s a good person.”
They both turned to look at Caleb as he strode into the room. “Where’s Meg?”
“I showed her to our room and she’s having a shower,” Prescott said. “I told her we all intend to sleep with her tonight.”
Lachlan just gaped at his brother, lost for words at how casual he sounded about making love to Meg for the first time. “Fuck, Prescott. How could you?”
“What’s your damn problem?” Prescott said. “I don’t want her in another room. She needs to be with us where we can keep her safe.”
Lachlan sagged and took a slow breath. “You meant sleep with her.” Caleb was looking searchingly at him.
“Do you have something you need to share about our mate, Lachlan?” He posed it as a question, but Lachlan recognized it as the threat it was.
“I was going to tell you as soon as we were alone, then the world went crazy with the revelation of what this Nick person is.”
“Well tell us now,” Prescott said. He stepped close to Lachlan, menace clear in his expression.
Lachlan told his brothers about the photos Meg had burned. He had to pause as they expressed their rage over her violated privacy. “I won’t tell you how it came up, because that’s private, but she told me that she’s a virgin.”