Rebecca's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 6) (36 page)

Griffen paced the living room. In fact he’d been pacing for so long, the rug was surely worn. He lifted his gaze for the millionth time to find his mate still passed out on the couch. Her head was in Miles’ lap, but otherwise she was curled in a near fetal position.

They’d wrapped her in several blankets to stop the shaking, but even asleep she shivered.

Miles had cranked up the heat in the house so high everyone inside was burning up.

Melinda sat at Rebecca’s feet. She kept a hand on her leg and stroked through the layers. “Griffen, sit down. You’re wearing yourself out. When she wakes, she’s going to need you. Both of you. You’re no good to her exhausted and stressed with bloodshot eyes.”

He knew she was right, but he couldn’t get his body to slow down. Adrenaline still pumped through him hours later.

The sun had gone down.

He walked to the window to look out. There were four squad cars out front with their lights on. No sirens. Just lights.

He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes against the view, setting his forehead against the cool glass and trying to calm his racing heart.

It could have gone so much worse. They’d been lucky.

Randal Junior had bitten the first man out front on the leg so hard he’d broken the bone, and then he’d made a beeline for the house without stopping. Corbin Archers, the other officer in charge, had run from the tree line when he heard his partner shout, but he’d been far enough away that Randal made it into the house long before him.

Randal had been wasted, with a blood alcohol so high that he felt nothing but strong determination to kill.

In this case, his number had been up. Griffen had aimed to kill and shot Randal in the chest, killing him instantly.

The master bedroom was a disaster. Every piece of furniture was broken, and blood spattered the walls and floor from the fight and the shooting.

“You okay, Griffen?” Melinda’s voice filtered into his thoughts from close range.

He turned to face her and lifted his head off the glass. She forced a smile. “Fine.” As far from fine as possible, but that was what she wanted to hear.

She furrowed her brow and lifted his hand with hers, twisting it to examine the bandage she’d applied down the length of his forearm. The gauze was red again with his blood. “You need to shift. Just for a while.”

He shook his head, and she sighed. He had no interest in shifting until he was sure Rebecca was okay. “Any change?” He lifted his chin toward his mate.

Melinda shook her head. “Not yet. Give her time. That was quite a shock. She needs sleep. She’ll be fine when her body is ready to wake up.” She tugged his arm. “But you won’t be if you keep bleeding. You need to shift. For a few hours at least.”

He relented with an exhale. As he wandered toward the couch, he popped the button on his jeans with his good hand. He set a hand on Miles’ shoulder. “Gonna shift.”

Miles lifted his gaze from Rebecca. “You should.” He nodded at the end of the couch vacated by Melinda. “Lie at her feet. You won’t miss anything.”

Griffen stripped his jeans, shifted, and curled up at his mate’s feet, letting blessed sleep claim him also. Just for a few minutes…

•●•

Rebecca’s head was pounding, and there were voices, whispered voices that sounded far away. She blinked her eyes open in confusion, the bright light of day instantly making her groan.

Her throat hurt. She swallowed past the dryness. Was she sick?

And then her memory filtered in.

The fight. The huge wolf. The gunshot. She’d been in shock…

“Rebecca?” She recognized Miles’ voice first. It was closer.

She breathed in deeply. His scent surrounded her. As she opened her eyes wider, she realized her head was in his lap, and he stared down at her.

A soft mewling made her jerk her gaze to the other end of the couch. She shrieked when she saw the wolf at her feet, scrambling away from it before she realized it was Griffen.

Miles wrapped her tightly in his arms as she pressed closer. “It’s Griffen, love. Relax.”

Griffen jumped down from the couch and made the transition to human while she watched. Her heart pounded as he grabbed his jeans from the floor and kneeled at her side. “So sorry, baby.” He set his head in her lap. “So sorry.”

She nodded and placed a hand on his head, burying her fingers in his thick brown hair. Hair she knew so well. He was alive. As was Miles.

She jerked her gaze again when movement caught her eye.

Melinda eased forward, a smile on her face. “Welcome back, sleepyhead.”

She leaned over and kissed Rebecca on the forehead.

“How long was I asleep?” Her voice was scratchy, barely audible.

“About thirteen hours,” Miles said.

“Jesus,” she muttered, and then she shot up straighter, knocking Griffen off her lap and righting herself. “What happened to the wolf?”

“Griffen shot him,” Miles said.

Oh, thank God
. “Is he…dead?”

Miles nodded, a flinch noticeably shaking his body. His gaze shifted away for a moment before returning as though he were sad about the death of the man who attacked them.

She set her hand on his cheek and leaned into his chest. “I was so scared.”

“I know, love.”

Griffen’s hands were on her back and thigh. “You scared us nearly out of our minds too, baby. Glad you’re finally back.”

“I think I went into shock.”

Miles chuckled, his chest vibrating. “You think?”

She smiled.

Melinda padded away and returned with a glass of water. “Here, hon. You must be so thirsty. I’m making you something to eat. Oatmeal. Something easy to digest.”

Rebecca took the water and downed the entire glass. Her throat protested at first and then loosened. “Did anyone else get hurt?”

“One of the officers outside, but he’ll be fine.” Griffen stood and shrugged into his jeans.

Miles angled her body toward the room so Griffen could sit next to him.

When he was settled, Griffen eased her toward him. He kissed the top of her head and inhaled deeply. “So scared.”

She had more questions. “Who was it?”

“Randal Junior. The son whom we suspected of helping his father terrorize you.” Griffen stroked his fingers through her tangled hair.

“And was it him?”

Miles nodded. “Yeah. Found his computer in his car on the road about a mile from here. He was the one who sent the e-mails.”

She felt Miles’ tension once again, watching as his gaze drifted away. There was something he wasn’t saying. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”

Melinda came back at that moment with a bowl of steaming oatmeal, handing it to Rebecca. She cleared her throat. “He was our father.”

Rebecca’s spine shot straight as she lifted off Griffen and glanced from Miles to Melinda and back. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry. How did you figure that out?”

Miles chuckled low and deep, sardonically with no humor. “Well, first of all, when he shifted back to human form, we all jumped back at his appearance. Even old and wasted away by drugs and booze, he had my features.”

Griffen interjected, “But they also picked up his father last night. He’s being held in the county jail. As soon as he was arrested, he suddenly had a lot to say. He was a fountain of information, mostly babbling to himself, but giving away a plethora of interesting details.”

“They’re doing a DNA test to make sure, but there’s little doubt.” Melinda headed back toward the kitchen.

This was when Rebecca realized for the first time that Mimi stood on the other side of the room. The woman looked older than she had yesterday. She hunched forward, her hands showing off a tremor Rebecca never noticed before. A tear fell down her face as Melinda passed her with a gentle touch.

“Grandma, stop it. There’s nothing you could have done different.”

Rebecca’s skin prickled with the next question. “Your mother?”

Neither twin spoke.

Griffen set a hand on Rebecca’s thigh. “He says he killed her.” His voice was low and gravelly.

Rebecca’s heart ached. There were no words to express the sorrow she felt for these two souls who lost so much so early in life and now suffered from the realization it was all truly gone. She shifted her gaze to Miles while Melinda rocked in an embrace with Mimi.

A tear ran down his face, and he dashed it away with the back of his hand, forcing a smile at Rebecca. “I’ll be fine. Nothing I didn’t already know.”

She handed Griffen her bowl and turned to face Miles, cupping his cheek and brushing away the next tear with her thumb. Her giant burly wolfman was vulnerable. Maybe just for this moment in time, but he needed her. “I’m so sorry, Miles.” She leaned in and kissed his lips gently.

He sucked in a breath and pulled her tight against him, burying his face in her hair.

The room was heavy with sorrow and regret and pain. But they were all alive. They would survive.

Rebecca realized there were still several pieces missing from the puzzle. She leaned back to look at Miles. “How did Randal Junior know we had mated? Why didn’t the officers out front notice him taking pictures of us?”

Griffen cleared his throat. “He didn’t take the pictures.”

“Who did?”

“One of the officers.”

She gasped. “What? Why?”

Miles explained. “Louis. He was a childhood friend of Randal Junior. His father was one of our elders alongside Randal—the older Randal. Louis has been on the police force for nearly thirty years. He’s in custody now too. The hatred that man has harbored for his entire life is filled with such venom, it’s amazing he has managed to keep it under wraps.

“When the police found Randal’s computer in his car, they realized there had been e-mail correspondence between Randal and Louis. A lot of e-mails, including the pictures taken of us that morning.”

“But why?” Rebecca asked.

Miles grabbed her hand and held it tight. “Randal Junior and Louis were raised by some very sick bastards who believed in keeping the tribe pure at all costs. Randal was a drunk and an asshole. After he raped my mother, he left town and rarely returned. He was always in touch with Louis, however. Louis lived life marginally cleaner—or at least put up the appearance he did.

“Inside he has always burned with the need to keep the pack clean. When Grandma left us that first morning, she headed into town. She ran into Louis’ mother at the store and told her about our mating. She was excited. Meredith is a close friend. There was no way Grandma could have known the domino effect of talking to Meredith that morning.”

“I should have kept my mouth shut,” Mimi mumbled.

Melinda turned toward the older woman again. “This isn’t your fault, Grandma. And you know it. Everyone would have found out eventually. You talking to Meredith changed nothing.”

Miles continued. “She’s right, Grandma. Stop beating yourself up.”

Rebecca looked at Miles. “So Meredith told Louis?”

Miles nodded. “Innocent conversation with her son. She had no idea he was so volatile. The men in their family had ideas they never shared with the women. Louis was the one to trash the house, probably looking for confirmation that we had mated. And when he got the call to come out here the following day and protect us, the first thing he did was contact his buddy Randal and let him know his kid was following in his mother’s footsteps.” Miles’ tone was thick with sarcasm and anger, deep, gravelly.

“But they have him in custody now, right?” she asked.

Miles nodded. “And he has been very forthcoming with information, probably hoping if he talks, he’ll get off easier.”

“Such hatred. And all this was because he didn’t want you to mate with a white woman?” Rebecca lifted Miles’ hand and held it to her cheek.

“Or anyone outside the tribe who wasn’t a Native American shifter. The elders who killed my mother have dwindled down to just Randal Peaceman and whatever offspring still harbors that kind of racist hatred.”

“There could be others.” Rebecca shivered. Would she always be looking over her shoulder in fear?

“Let’s hope not too many. The way Louis is blabbing, I think it’s safe to say there aren’t many of our tribe left who believe in such strict ethnic purity.”