“Why is it so important for Adrianna to rule by my side? Explain it to me, and I might consider it,” Reece said simply. He could hear Keeley’s small inhale of breath as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
Reece wished that there was some way that he could reassure Keeley the words he was speaking were meant for Douglas, and not entirely true. He had no intention of giving Keeley up or having Adrianna rule at his side. Keeley was the only one for him. But he had to convince Douglas that he was considering it to get the whole story from him.
“It just is. Plans have already been made, plans that involve the entire pack. They will bring us great wealth and increase our pack’s territory tenfold, but they all hinge on Adrianna being by your side, ruling with you. If you do not accept her, they all fall through, and then where would we be?”
“What plans? And who made these plans? You?”
“No, no, others have made these plans, but—” Douglas began, wringing his hands together.
Reece started to interrupt him when Keeley grabbed his sleeve and yanked on it, leaning up on his toes to whisper into his ear.
“You remember that vision thing I told you about? It’s screaming at me right now. There is something seriously wrong with this situation. You need to be very wary of this man. Evil surrounds him,” Keeley whispered.
Reece nodded, looking back over at Douglas. “Douglas, I am intrigued by what you are saying. I want to know more, but I prefer to discuss this without an audience. Would you mind waiting in my study while I bid the rest of my guests goodbye?” Reece asked.
“Yes, yes, of course, Alpha, anything you wish,” Douglas said eagerly.
“Devlin? Would you escort Douglas to my study while I deal with our guests? He’s been in the pack for many ages. I’m sure you can find something for the two of you to discuss for a little while.”
Devlin nodded, getting Reece’s silent message. He smiled over at Douglas, gesturing towards the study door.
Reece watched them go, an eyebrow raised at how gullible Douglas was. Reece had always known that Douglas was a little short in the brains department, but he had no idea he had fallen off the deep end.
Still, someone had trusted him enough to let him know of their plans and Reece wanted to know who that someone was. There was a lot more going on here than a simple dislike of Keeley and his nail polish.
As Reece looked out over the members of his pack that had come, he realized that not all of them were there, and he had no idea how many of them were involved in this little plan to mate him to Adrianna.
He didn’t like the feeling it gave him. It made him feel like he couldn’t trust his own pack members. He was supposed to be the alpha of his pack. It was his duty to protect them, to insure their health and well being. How was he supposed to do that when the threat came from within the pack?
“Reece?” Reece turned to see Keeley standing behind him, looking very apprehensive. “Did I do this?”
“No, baby. I don’t think this has anything to do with you. There’s something else going on entirely. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m going to find out,” Reece said, patting Keeley on the arm. “Why don’t you go in the kitchen and start cleaning up while I get rid of all these people?”
“Are you sure?” Keeley asked, looking very uncertain.
“Yeah, I’m sure. We might be able to plan something for another day, but I think the welcoming party is over for now. Now, go on in the kitchen. I’ll be there in a few minutes to help you. We wouldn’t want all of that food you cooked to go to waste, would we?”
“No, I guess not,” Keeley said with a small smile. He leaned up and gave Reece a quick peck on the cheek then headed into the kitchen to clean up.
Reece shook his head, watching his little mate go. Keeley continued to be a surprise to him. One moment he was about as outrageous as he could be. The next, he was in need of Reece’s protection. He didn’t know if he would ever figure Keeley out.
He turned back to look at the other members of the pack. Some of them he knew, others he did not. He hadn’t been the alpha for that long. Maybe he needed to arrange more pack functions so they could all get to know each other better.
He certainly felt that they needed more opportunities to get to know what a wonderful man Keeley was. The way that they were looking towards the kitchen doorway Keeley had just passed through made Reece’s hackles stand up. He felt the deep need to get them all out of his house as soon as possible and go check on Keeley.
“I want to thank you all for coming tonight. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I’m afraid I’m going to have to end the evening for now,” Reece called out in a clear strong voice. There was just no polite way to tell everyone to get the hell out. “Again, thank you for coming.”
He watched as everyone began gathering their stuff together and heading for the door. A few glared over their shoulders at him as they went out. Reece just glared back, taking a deep breath when the door shut behind the last one.
Reece quickly locked the door and walked over to the study, opening the door to lean in. “Devlin? Douglas? I’m going to help Keeley clean up real quick and then I’ll be right in. Is there anything I can get either of you?”
“No, thank you, Reece, we’re fine. Douglas and I were just talking over pack history. Unlike you or me,” Devlin said, “Douglas was born into this pack. He’s a fountain of information. Did you know that this pack used to have over three hundred members?”
“Uh, no,” Reece said, his forehead scrunching together in confusion. Three hundred members? That was a huge pack. They only had around thirty members now. Where had the rest of them gone?
“Yeah, Douglas was telling me all about it. It’s really quite interesting,” Devlin replied, giving Reece a peculiar look. Reece could hear the unspoken message in Devlin’s words.
“Great. I’d love to hear about that too, Douglas. I think it is very important for an alpha to know all about the pack history. Maybe we can discuss it after our little talk?”
“I would be honored, Alpha,” Douglas replied, sitting up straighter in his chair, a pleased grin on his face.
Reece turned away before rolling his eyes. What a dumb ass! He wondered if all the members of his pack were as stupid as Douglas or if it was just him. Taking over this pack three months ago was beginning to look like one of the stupidest things he had ever done.
If he had known all the crap that came along with being an alpha, he would have stayed an enforcer. Instead, he had to go off half-cocked and challenge an alpha for beating up a complete stranger. He really had to stop sticking his nose in other people’s business.
Of course, if he had done that to begin with, he might not have met Keeley. And Keeley made all of the crap he was going through now worth it. He was worth everything, which was funny considering how hard he had fought being with Keeley in the beginning.
It had taken a little more than a week for the entire course of his life to change, even how he perceived what being a man was. Keeley wore sexy clothes, colorful nail polish, and eyeliner, but he was the most masculine man Reece had ever met. He didn’t know how he could have ever thought otherwise.
Just the thought of his little mate had him picking up his steps as he hurried to the kitchen. “Baby?” he asked as he walked into the kitchen and found it empty. “Keeley?”
Suddenly a deep feeling of dread overtook Reece. He raced around the kitchen opening cabinets and looking under counters trying to find Keeley. He even looked under the table. When he didn’t find him there, he began looking in the other rooms.
Opening the laundry room door, Reece let out a low cry as he spotted Keeley lying on his side in a pool of blood. He ran in and dropped to his knees beside him, his hands shaking as he reached for him.
“Keeley? Baby?” Reece whispered, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. There was so much blood. It was everywhere and Keeley seemed to be covered in it. He was afraid to touch Keeley, afraid to find out if he was alive or dead. He just didn’t see how anyone could be alive with so much blood loss, assuming all of the blood was Keeley’s.
Hearing a small groan, Reece let out the breath he had been holding and leaned down close to Keeley’s head. He gently rolled him onto his back, his eyes going to his face. “Keeley? Can you hear me, baby?”
Reece ran his eyes down Keeley’s body trying to access his injuries. He had several deep cuts and scratches, some bruises, and a few abrasions, but there didn’t seem to be a wound that would produce so much blood. “Baby, you have to tell me where you’re hurt,” he whispered softly.
Running hands over his head and down his neck, Reece was shocked to see two deep puncture wounds in Keeley’s neck. He instantly sat up and sniffed the air around them, only then detecting the scent he had been too busy to smell when he had run into the room.
Bloodsucker!
Keeley had been bitten by a bloodsucker. But that didn’t explain all of the blood. Unless they tore out a person’s throat, the bite from a bloodsucker didn’t bleed. Keeley’s wasn’t. So, where was the blood coming from?
Reece used one of his claws to cut open Keeley’s shirt, spreading the material to check his chest. Again, besides some cuts, scratches, and a few bruises, there were no deep wounds. He didn’t find any when he stripped off his jeans either.
“I’m going to roll you over now, Keeley. I need to check for injuries on your back,” Reece said softly before he carefully rolled him over. Okay, no major injuries. Most of the blood seemed to be on his clothes.
He looked down into Keeley’s face again, noting the purplish bruises forming on his delicate face. Someone had worked him over pretty well, and if he ever got his hands on them, they would wish that they were dead.
“Keeley? I’m going to pick you up now. I want to take you upstairs and get you cleaned up a bit, then I’m going to put you to bed, okay?” Reece said softly. Thinking of the other people in the house, he grabbed a towel off the shelf and wrapped it around Keeley before gently lifting him up into his arms.
As carefully as he could, Reece carried Keeley out of the laundry room. As soon as he reached the living room, he called out for Devlin, then hurried up the stairs. He was just reaching the top steps when Devlin came out, Douglas on his heels.
“Keeley fell asleep so I’m putting him to bed. Do you think you could come up and get the door for me? I have my hands full,” Reece asked, shielding Keeley’s body with his much larger one. He didn’t want anyone to know that Keeley had been attacked until he knew what had happened. “Douglas, could you get us all a drink? There’s a liquor cabinet by my desk. We’ll be down in just a moment.”
Devlin looked confused, but came up the stairs anyway. Reece watched until Douglas went back into the study before heading to the bedroom. He waited for Devlin to get there, still hiding Keeley from his view until the door was open.
“Devlin? Come in and shut the door,” he ordered.
Devlin still looked confused, but did as Reece said, shutting the door before coming back to stand at the end of the bed. Reece carefully laid Keeley down on the bed before sitting down next to him. Only then did he see what had been done to him.
“Oh my god! What in the hell happened?” Devlin shouted in horror.
“Ssshhh! Keep your voice down. I don’t want anyone to know what happened until I know what’s going on,” Reece admonished him.
“What did happen?”
“I don’t know. I found him lying on the floor in the laundry room. God, Devlin, there was blood everywhere. I thought for sure he was dead, but I can’t find any major injuries on him. He has cuts and abrasions all over his body like he’s been in a major fight, but the only real injury is this,” Reece said, lifting Keeley’s hair out of the way to show Devlin the puncture wounds in his neck.
Devlin stepped closer, his mouth dropping open in shock. “He’s—he’s been bitten.”
Reece nodded. “There was a bloodsucker in our house, Dev, and whoever it was, they attacked Keeley. This didn’t happen by chance. Someone was waiting for him in that kitchen, and they had help.”
Devlin looked at Keeley for a moment, then nodded his head as he walked over to the phone on the nightstand and picked it up. “I’m calling Chase and Donovan home. I think we need the added protection.”
“That’s probably a good idea. Until they get here, I don’t want anyone knowing what happened to Keeley. As far as everyone is concerned, Keeley fell asleep while cleaning up the kitchen. Understood?”
Devlin nodded even as he heard someone answer the phone. “Chase? It’s Dev. We need you to come home. We’re in trouble.”
Chapter 7
“Reece.”
Reece quickly turned and leaned down over Keeley when he heard him murmur his name. “Keeley? I’m right here, baby. Can you open your eyes for me? I need to see those beautiful green eyes of yours.”
Reece held his breath while he waited for Keeley to open his eyes so he could see their beautiful green color.
“Reece,” Keeley whispered again. “Need Nate. Get Nate.”
“Nate? Your friend Nate? The one that’s mated to a werewolf?”
“Ye—es, need Nate. Can help.”
“Okay, Keeley, I’ll get Nate,” Reece said softly as he brushed the soft, honey blond curls back from Keeley’s face. “Do you know who did this, Keeley? Did you see anyone?”
“Bit—chh. Adr—”
“Adrianna? Adrianna did this to you?” Reece asked in shock.
Keeley slowly nodded his head. Reece saw him wince. He knew his baby was hurting and would be for a while. Humans didn’t heal as fast as shape shifters. Reece, seeing Keeley’s pain, quickly lifted his mate’s hand and held it against his cheek. “What, baby, what do you need to tell me?”
“Love you, Qui—Quilliam. Won’t leave you,” Keeley whispered softly. “Just—just need to rest.”
Reece could feel the tears in his eyes fall down his cheeks at Keeley’s softly spoken declaration. He turned his hand over to kiss the back then held it against his cheek again. “I know you do, baby. I love you, too. Close your eyes now and get some rest. You need to get your energy back. I want to play with that red feather boa again.”