Scorpio Sons 4: Chase: (SF/Shifter Romance) (12 page)

Chase sighed heavily. “Amy must be made aware of this so that if the Alpha mentions it she can take special note. So far Cameron has barely been formally introduced to Amy and Coop, but I’m sure he can find a way to get Coop aside, to pass on the Intel.”

“Connor’s already feeling the pressure,” Colt said, referring to Allie’s new role as Cam’s mistress and direct conduit to the Sons.

“He can handle it,” Chase said firmly. “As long as Allie doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“She’s head over heels in love with him,” Alyssa said defensively. “She’s hardly going to do anything to jeopardize her relationship with Connor. Or sabotage our efforts. She knows how important what we’re doing is.”

“Just because you’re loyal doesn’t make all Mates loyal,” Chase countered, more heated than he’d aimed for. He'd heard about the threesome Allie had suggested, and it still pissed him off to think of the shit-fight that would have caused if she hadn't backed off on the idea.

“I think we can establish certain shared characteristics between mated couples, based on the three we have. One characteristic is total loyalty. Allie and Amy both feel like I do. No one else, not even another Son, attracts us. As long as Connor remembers that, he should be fine,” Alyssa replied just as heatedly.

The conversation was diverging from the point, and he didn’t have time to debate the qualities of Mates, even if they might give him insight into his own. Or maybe
because
it might give him insight into his own. If Anna had that level of loyalty, that would make their situation even more difficult. Loyalty meant love. Love meant heartache from neglect. He didn’t want that for Anna. Yet his cat would never countenance disloyalty or infidelity.

Maybe her traumatic background would be good for something, if it at least kept her from attempting to find love elsewhere.

Fuck! That was a low thought, even for him.

By the time she was ready to turn in for the night at 10 pm, Anna had Chase’s room just the way she wanted it. Only a large occasional table had not found a place in her design. And Caleb had claimed that on his brief visit to the room after Chase had gone back to work. Her new friend seemed to be avoiding conflict by staying out of Chase’s way.

For a moment, she stood back to admire her handiwork. It felt as if she had finally created a place for herself here. Finally gained a level of freedom that had been withheld from her since she’d met Chase. It was silly to place so much emphasis on a room, but that was how it felt. This was her nest, and she was proud of it.

On two of the previously bare walls she had placed bright, modern landscapes in fashionable frames. On the third she had placed a series of photos creating one panoramic view of the Californian seascape on a moonlit night. In the centre picture a full moon reflected off the glittering water, creating a glowing pathway right to it. The coastline of sheer, rocky cliffs was featured at either end of the panorama in the other two framed shots. The bookend cliffs added a dramatic element to the otherwise serene and mystical ocean view.

Beneath the panorama sat the pair of double beds with cushioned headboards. She’d been very lucky to be able to replace the king headboard she'd ordered with two matching doubles, at the last moment. Surprisingly, the colour perfectly matched the blue of the drapes that had come with the window. The label called the colour eggshell, and Anna was only glad she’d decided to stick with the blue theme because of the carpets.

On both beds were bright blue and green comforters with flowing patterns. Again, quick additional purchases from the place that sold them the beds. The pillowcases were each of a matching colour, as were the fitted sheets. All the linen had 300 thread counts. She was used to the feel of such sheets from working in the hotel, but she had never slept in a bed made up with linen of that quality.

Between the beds sat one bedside table with an old fashioned stained glass lamp on it. In the top drawer she placed her few personal items she’d brought with her from Russia, which had arrived from LA earlier in the day. Chase had been fast and frighteningly effective in cutting off her old life from the new.

The keepsakes held no true sentimental value. She’d lost anything like that when she left her home. But the small collection of trinkets she had accumulated during the two years she'd spent with the lovely couple who had taken her in, reminded her of their kindness. Reminded her that she was more than just a throw-away child to them.

Her clothing now hung on one side of the walk-in wardrobe; Chases’ on the other side. During the early evening his dry-cleaning and laundry had arrived, and she now knew how he managed to stay so impeccable, while living like a bit of a slob. His washing, so she discovered, was done off-site, and not by the Sons, as was the case for everyone else.

She’d kept the desk and added a comfortable ergonomic chair to go with it. In the corner farthest from the beds and window she had put in a pair of well-stuffed, single sofa chairs and coffee table. On the table she scattered a few of her own magazines. Another stained glass lamp stood in the corner scattering its bright colours across the walls and flooding low, ambient light over the little nook.

The final addition had been a large rubber plant that sat against the wall between the sofas and the beds. She had read that it required little light, but planned to have some kind of suitable light source provided for it, to keep it as healthy as possible.

She, on the other hand, didn't needed much light since being activated; which was common to all those with panther DNA, Sons and Mates alike, she’d discovered. In most places around HQ the lighting was dim because none of them required more.

But light was more than just something to see by. It sustained life. It
was
life. Which was one of the reasons she loved the fake window so much.

The window was a wonder, and it left her feeling in awe of the man who had thought to find it for her. A man who had been so bowled over by her grateful bite that he’d offered to put in a whole row of windows, just so she’d bite him again. The memory of his childlike pleasure was already becoming one of her favourites.

Chase had popped down to see her twice during the day, the last time when the furniture was delivered and she needed help with the heavy lifting. He'd also called her a few times. But she had no idea whether he’d be coming to bed anytime soon. She wanted him to see her work; the transformation she’d wrought; the way she’d turned his sterile room into a warm and welcoming space.

She also wanted him to go to bed at the same time as she did. Waking to the sound of someone moving around in the dark room would frighten her. For years she’d been a light sleeper as a defence against abusers who might seek to take her unaware.

Not that Chase was one of them. Not that she had any worries in that regard here in HQ. She was safer here than she’d ever been in her life. That instinctual knowing was growing with every passing hour, to offset her human fears based on experience. But still...

As if she’d conjured him by her thoughts, the door to their room opened and a tired Chase entered. For a moment he stared at his room, as if wondering where he was.
Had it changed so much since he lugged in the beds and sofas?
Then he focused on the photographs behind the bed. He blanched and backed up, as if heading out again.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” Anna asked in distress, running to his side and taking his hand, unconsciously keeping him from making his escape.

He gave his head a little shake and drew his hand from hers. “Get rid of it. The moon over the water... get rid of it, now. Send it back, get something else.”

“Oh, you don’t like them. I thought they added a nice feel to the room, but I’ll take them down in the morning. Replace them with ... something else.”

“Now!” Chase was moving forward before the word was properly out of his mouth. “They go now. Get rid of them. Who told you? Why would you do this to me? Are you trying to make me send you away? Is that what this is about? It won’t work. These go.” He pushed the beds out of the way and wrenched the three pictures off the wall, dropping them one by one onto his bed, and cracking the glass as they smashed together.

Mortified and confused, Anna scrambled to get the framed photos off the bed without scattering glass fragments over the comforter. The room blurred as tears filled her eyes. After years of never crying, it seemed she was suddenly always crying now.

What had she done? Her taste wasn’t that bad was it? Maybe she had gone overboard. It was his room, after all. Maybe he liked it bare and uncluttered. But he’d told her she could fix it up. He’d told her she could buy what she wanted for it. She didn’t understand what the big deal was.

She gently placed the three picture frames on the floor by the door to the corridor while she grabbed up her dressing gown to cover her PJs. The pictures were heavy, but she seemed stronger than she had been before. And so she lugged the offensive items down the hall and into the computer room.

“What gives?” Caleb demanded, after taking one look at her face.

“Chase doesn’t like the photos. He made me take them down. Can I store them in a corner here and tomorrow I’ll get...” The words became clogged by too many tears and she gave up.

Caleb came out from behind his monitor to stand at her side. “Maybe you’re being oversensitive, sugah. You don’t have to get rid of them –”

“I do. He tore them off the walls and broke the glass and said I had to get rid of them right there and then. He’s so mad at me. I...I don’t know what’s wrong. They aren’t that bad, are they? I...I just wanted something that looked like the outside.”

Caleb took the frames from her and put them on an empty table. Then he wrapped her in his arms. “It’s okay, sugah. It’s okay. Chase is under a lot of stress right now. He’s just over-reacting, that’s all. Don’t take it to heart. He’ll be better tomorrow, I promise you. Though he’s reluctant to do it, Chase is the kinda guy who’ll apologise when he’s wrong. He’ll realise –”

“Take your fucking hands off my mate,” growled Chase from the doorway.

Caleb released her immediately and took a step back. The hair on the back of Anna’s neck stood on end. Even yesterday when Chase had attacked Caleb, he hadn’t sounded this...ugly.

“I’m comforting her, you fuckin’ Yankee. Something you should be doing, instead of throwing hissy fits over a couple of pictures!”

The cats in all three people came to life then. Without thinking, Anna jumped in front of Chase as he lunged for Caleb. Chase thrust her out of his way and she collided with the table holding the picture frames. She and the photos crashed to the floor, as splintering glass flew everywhere. Anna couldn’t get her arms up fast enough to protect her face from the flying shards. The cuts stung and seemed to be everywhere at once. Fear that some might get in her eyes, had her clamping them shut tight.

Chase was at her side in the next instant, brushing glass off her carefully as he drew her to her feet. “Oh, for fuck's sake, Anna, I’m sorry. Are you hurt? You’re bleeding.”

She struggled to get away from him. These volatile shifts in emotion were too difficult to handle. One minute he was ready to do murder, the next he was all concern, as if he truly cared about her.

But struggling didn’t work with Chase. Hadn’t she learned that lesson only this morning? The more she tried to escape him, the harder he held on to her. And a piece of glass was digging into her skin where he held her upper arm.

“Let her go, Chase,” an unknown Son demanded, filling the doorway like an avenging angel. Anna could see Alyssa behind him, her face white with concern. Was this Colt?

“Fuck off. She’s hurt. I have to...” But cat eyes suddenly disappeared and Anna felt it the moment Chase was Chase again. Her own cat stepped back, too.

Very slowly, Chase let go of her arm and looked down at his hand where blood was now seeping from a wound in his palm as well as the one in Anna’s arm.

“Shit! I didn’t realize. Fuck, I can’t be here. Look after her, Alyssa... please, just look after her.” And he flew out of the room as if a pack of wolves was on his tail.

Anna knew she’d been crying before that moment, but once he was gone she broke down completely. Alyssa rushed to her side and tried to get a better look at her.

“You’ve got a lot of cuts. We need to get you to the infirmary where the light is better. Even cat vision won’t do the job with this.” Very gently, she began drawing Anna out of the computer room and down the hall. Colt and Caleb followed along in their wake.

“What the hell happened? Sons don’t attack their mates,” Alyssa grumbled, looking even more troubled than when she’d first arrived on the scene.

“He... He didn’t attack me. He was about to attack Caleb and I stepped in the way. He kind of pushed me aside. I don’t even think he realised who I was in that moment. All he cared about was tearing Caleb, limb from limb.”

Caleb groaned. “The fucking bastard’s finally lost it. I’ve seen it coming for a long time. He takes on too much. He thinks the whole fuckin’ fight depends solely on him. Now with a mate, and having to change tactics, and Exodus... He’s like a powder keg that just had a long lit fuse reach it.”

“But what set him off?” the other man who must be Colton asked.

“Fucking pictures she put on the wall, for chrissakes. Who cares about a few fuckin’ pictures?” Caleb answered for her, as she doubted she could have found the words. She couldn’t stop crying. It was ridiculous. She had been hurt worse than this a hundred times before. Why was she making a mountain out of a molehill now?

“There’s gotta be more to it than that,” Colt answered. “Lyss, you got any idea? You know pretty much everything that goes on around here.”

“No idea. Chase is a closed book. Nobody knows much about him or what he’s really feeling. But I agree. There must be something about those pictures. What were they? Pictures of you with an old boyfriend or something?” Alyssa asked Anna.

Anna shook her head. “A moonlight scene over the ocean, that’s all. I thought it was pretty. I know I don’t have the kind of refined taste his other girlfriends have probably had, but they aren’t that bad.”

“Maybe he’s seen that scene before, or knows and hates the photographer who took it. I guess they’re not from an exhibition or something?”

“No, just generic stuff on the furnishing site I found. I wish I’d never even started all this. Why couldn’t I just leave well enough alone?”

“Stop it. You have every right to change things to suit yourself. Chase has taken everything else away from you, at least you should be able to decorate a room as you like. He’s not that much of a control freak. At least, I didn't think so. Colt, you’re better at field dressings than me. You want to look after Anna while I go confront the lion in his den?”

“Nope, you aren’t going anywhere near Chase without me,” Colton said through gritted teeth as they all turned into the brightly lit infirmary.

“If you come with me, you’ll likely inflame him. I promise not to push it. I’ll be fine. Trust me. I let you go off and get shot at; you can at least let me go talk to your leader.”

Alyssa gave Anna a quick, light kiss on an unmarked patch of skin and then hurried from the room. Anna could tell Colton wanted to chase right after her, but he held himself back with monumental effort.