Penn, Jenny - Chasing Lacie [Sea Island Wolves 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (9 page)

“I got a blanket,” Chance assured her, going to fetch it.

“A blanket? Are you sure it’s clean?”

“It’s clean.”

“Are you sure you know the definition of that word?”

“Lacie,” Chance growled threateningly, wrenching open the lid to massive tool box bolted behind the cab.

“Or are you admitting that you don’t think it’s necessary to wash your truck when planning on having a romantic interlude in it?”

“Romantic interlude,” Davis snorted. “It’s called fucking, honey, or screwing, banging, riding, the naked tango—”

“Thank you, Davis.” Finally breaking under the stress of his cheery explanation, Lacie snapped at her mate before shooting him a dirty look. “And I’m still waiting to hear why it is I don’t rank a car wash?”

“I washed the truck,” Chance defended himself instantly. “Just yesterday, but things get dirty on a ranch.”

“I’m not having sex in there.” He could say whatever he wanted, but that was another line Lacie intended to abide by.

“Sure, whatever.” Chance yanked an old quilt out. “We’ll do it on the ground. I’m sure that’s so much more sanitary.”

“Or we could try a bed,” Lacie muttered. “I know it’s a radical idea, like taking a woman to dinner before you chase her down and molest her.”

“You can’t run on a full stomach.”

“Can’t go swimming just after you eat, either.” Chance backed up his buddy. Spreading the quilt out over the bed, he took the time to make it look nice and neat, a concession Lacie figured was for her. She was not impressed.

“You mean we would have had to go bowling or to a movie after dinner before we went home and screwed like bunnies? I don’t know how I would have ever survived such a fate.”

She’d meant it as a joke, or more like a taunt but didn’t get a single response back from her two quick-tongued mates. Instead, they shared another strange look that made Lacie nervous. Something was up and she could already tell she wouldn’t like finding out what.

There were only so many things a woman could handle naked. Finding out she was a lycan mate was more than enough for Lacie. So many things in her life were about to change, but right then she didn’t want the details.

She just needed some time to adjust. That was another thing her mates appeared unwilling to give her. Patting the spot beside him, Davis waited for her to settle down on the tailgate. Lacie obeyed, but not without attempting to divert their attention.

“Nice quilt.”

“You like it?” Chance asked, taking her comment to heart and studying it.

“Yeah, and I bet your mom’s going to be pissed that you use it in the truck.”

“My mom?” Chance gave her a curious look, hesitating before confessing. “My mom didn’t make this. I did.”

“You?” Lacie tried to keep her jaw from falling open but couldn’t keep the shock from widening her eyes. “You quilt?”

“Survival skill.” Chance shrugged. “We don’t take but what we can carry on our backs with us into the field. Somebody’s got to know how to mend things. Mom taught me how to sew by quilting.”

“And if I tell anybody about it, you’ll kill me, right?”

“You won’t be telling them nothing new,” he retorted, his matter-of-fact tone giving way to embarrassment as she tried to smother her chuckles. “You think that’s funny? Big boy over there weaves.”

“Weaves?” Lacie raised an eyebrow at Davis, who puffed out his chest.

“Got to make baskets and nets and things as we need them in the field. I’m good, too. I can do little decorative flairs because my fingers are so talented.”

Lacie did laugh, unable to stop herself as he wiggled his fingers at her. The man had no shame and a seemingly endless sense of good humor. Whatever he did in the future, Lacie already knew it would be almost impossible to stay mad at him for long.

“See, everybody contributes something different,” Chance explained. The red stain faded from his cheeks as his tone dipped and his hand reached out to cover hers. “It’s important in battle to always know who is good at what and to use every person’s skill efficiently. You understand?”

“Logistics?” Lacie smiled. “I’m not claiming to be a master, but I got the general idea.”

“I’m talking about something more than logistics,” Chance corrected her. “I’m talking about the fundamental code lycans live by. Everybody contributes to the pack’s safety, but obviously the strong contribute more.”

“Ah.” Lacie began to understand, and it wasn’t a pretty picture. “And now this is where you explain that I’m the weakest member of this team, right? And you make that assumption because my muscles aren’t as big as yours and not by the fact that I almost escaped.”

“Nobody failed to notice,” Davis assured her, turning Lacie’s scowl in his direction. Apparently, the man could be serious when he wanted to. He did it almost as well as Chance. “And almost isn’t a victory. That’s why we have a problem.”

“I’m not going to let you turn me into your lap dog,” Lacie warned him, almost certain she knew what they wanted. “I don’t care what prehistoric justification you come up with. This is the twenty-first century, and in case you haven’t noticed, women now have access to tools and weapons to even the balance.”

“Not against everything.” Davis’s solemn gaze cooled Lacie’s rising annoyance, tempering it with a dose of reality. “Those men guarding the perimeter aren’t there to make sure you don’t get out. They’re there to make sure nobody gets in.”

“No spectators allowed, huh?” Lacie offered him a hopeful smile, knowing that wasn’t the answer.

“It’s not spectators we’re worried about.” Chance confirmed her suspicions.

Since they couldn’t possibly be worried about anybody she knew, it had to be somebody they knew and wanted to avoid. Given most of the men they knew appeared to be guarding them, Lacie had to assume it was a woman, an ex-something that wanted to ruin this moment.

“So,” Lacie sighed. “What’s her name?”

“Her?” Chance scowled, looking over at Davis for help.

“She thinks we’re about to tell her we dicked around with a psycho.” Davis had a clue and a denial. “That’s not it, honey. I wish it was, well no. I mean that would be better… Chance?”

Lacie enjoyed watching Davis squirm under her increasingly disgusted look. She really wasn’t annoyed with him, but the man deserved to be messed with. So did Chance, but he didn’t look in the mood.

“It’s not an ex-lover. It’s a true enemy.” Chance’s curt statement had her mind flooding with so many questions, but he didn’t give her a second to ask any of them. “Do you know who the Kragen Kings are?”

“The head of the pack,” Lacie answered cautiously, not sure what they had to do with anything. “I’ve never met them or anything, but I know all the clans form the pack and the kings are the leaders.”

“Yes, Konor and Gregor Kragen are the Alpha kings of all lycans in this world who are of Kragen blood.” Chance nodded. “And they believe there is a threat against our unclaimed mates.”

“Threat?”

A cold trickle slithered down her spine at that word. Despite the fact that most lycans went off to war, they lived peacefully in this world. At least, Lacie thought they had, but with Davis looking every bit as grim as Chance, she began to worry.

“What kind of threat?”

“It’s hard to explain,” Davis began in what clearly sounded like an attempt to avoid answering.

“Well, try,” Lacie snapped. Chance held on when she tried to jerk free of his hold, guaranteeing she wouldn’t be escaping this conversation.

“Calm down, Lacie, and listen. You’re going to be all right,” Chance assured her. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

“I’ll calm down when you explain what you mean by threat,” Lacie shot back, not feeling the least inclined to obey Chance’s order. She might be weak but she wasn’t dumb. If somebody was out to get her, she had every right to know the details.

“We don’t know everything.”

“Well, then tell me what you do know.”

Chance clearly didn’t like being ordered to do anything. For a second his fingers tightened over her hand. “The only thing we know is that a demon has taken an interest in unclaimed lycan and werewolf mates.”

Chapter 7

“A demon?” A small slip of hysterical laughter popped out of her. Lacie tried to suppress anymore from escaping and still ask her question with enough sincerity not to get her hand squeezed. “You mean like hell and Satan and all that?”

“No, not exactly.” Chance ruined his reassurance by making it sound much worse. “The creatures we’re talking about exist in shadow worlds. They exist in the flesh of those they consume and can only step into worlds already decimated by their armies.”

“But this isn’t one of those worlds.” Earth might not be the Garden of Eden, but Lacie would have noticed if it was hell.

“Just because they can’t enter this world, doesn’t mean they can’t influence it,” Davis explained grimly.

“How do they do that?” Lacie wasn’t really sure she wanted the answer, not with Chance talking about demons who consumed flesh. Hiding from the truth, though wouldn’t make her any safer. It would only keep her paralyzed with fear of the unknown.

“Demon’s aren’t bound to the flesh the way you and I are.” Chance’s explanation didn’t clarify much. “They’re spirits driven normally by obsessions. A need to dominate, to be feared, or just to inflict incredible horror.”

Davis nodded at Chance’s words, filling in the gaps when Lacie failed to ask any questions. “Their motivations may change, but one thing never does. They hate us, and I mean that as in creatures that can create life. They can’t do that. They can only feed on it.”

“But that doesn’t mean they can’t take physical form,” Chance rushed to warn her, looking almost alarmed at Davis’s clarification. Lacie didn’t know why. It certainly couldn’t be out of concern for her reaction because Chance only scared her worse as he enlightened her on even more neat demon facts.

“Actually, they can normally take many forms, and they can infect almost any living creature.”

“Infect?” Lacie finally found her tongue. Though her mind still fought against what they were saying, she tried to focus through the denial. “You’re talking about possession, right? Like in
The Exorcist
?”

“What?” Chance scowled down at her like she’d lost her mind. “No. Those kind of possessions are very rare.”

“There’s little need to take an unwilling host when there are so many willing ones around.” Davis smiled sadly down at her. “Sorry, honey. I’m just telling you what I know.”

“Then let me tell you what I know,” Lacie shot back, letting her fear fuel her irritation over being pitied. “I know the two of you are trying to scare me with the idea that there are so many willing hosts—”

“They’re called minions,” Davis offered quickly.

“Or acolytes or disciples,” Chance chipped in. “It depends on their rank.”

As much as Lacie didn’t want to be distracted, that last bit caught her attention. “What do you mean rank? Is it like a bad to worse scale?”

“Not necessarily,” Chance answered slowly, obviously giving it some thought. “Minions can be horrible people and do things that…well, I don’t want to go there. The point is they’re still people. Their soul is their own. It’s just corrupt.”

“Acolytes, though, have given their souls over,” Davis explained the difference. “And disciples have given everything, including their bodies. That makes them the most powerful because they can actually be fully possessed by their masters.”

“And let me take a guess, minions are many and disciples are few.”

“True enough.” Davis nodded. “But all are dangerous.”

Lacie didn’t doubt it or what her mates’ response to that threat would be. “Now comes the part where you explain that I’m weak and you’re strong and experienced. So I should obey your every order, right?”

“You should obey no matter what,” Chance corrected her with absolutely no attitude, which only made his arrogance more striking. “We’re your mates, and by lycan law, your masters.”

“Yeah,” Lacie grumbled. “I see that happening.”

Unfortunately she could. She didn’t know squat about fighting in general, let alone fighting a demon. Still, being reduced to the role of a child chafed. She might not be the strongest, but Lacie had always considered herself smart.

Most of her life, she’d used her brains to figure ways around any physical limitation she might have as a woman. In fact, she thrilled to that kind of challenge. Not this time. This time she was ignorant because she didn’t have a clue about demons.

“It better.” Chance’s tone hardened. “Because we think you might have already been in contact with a person of questionable intent.”

“Questionable what?”

“TJ Carver.”

“TJ who?”

“Let me see if I can refresh your memory,” Davis offered with a dangerous smile before prattling on in a high-pitched whine. “Oh, Mom. He was just the cutest, sweetest
hottie
.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? Is that all you have to say for yourself?” Chance asked, clearly expecting something more, probably an explanation. Only Lacie didn’t owe him one. She hadn’t done anything wrong.