Leader of the Pack (25 page)

Brinah’s eyes flared with anger. “Don’t you think that’s something you should have talked about before turning her into the afternoon entertainment?”

“That’s not what it was like,” he whispered back just as angry. He couldn’t believe how much of Aislinn’s attitude was being handed to him through her grandmother. Brinah’s eyes were flashing and she talked to him as though he was child. He felt like a teenager who had just been caught having sex with his girlfriend by the girl’s shotgun toting parent. He had human television to thank for that image.

“Well. I’m going to tell you what it will be like.” Brinah fumed. “I am going to step out that door and you are going to wake her up and get her dressed, so that when I come back in, I can say hello to my granddaughter with some semblance of decorum. And, at some point very soon, you and I are going to talk about what you think you are doing with her.” Then Brinah turned on her heal and headed out the door. Sarah followed her out into the hall, but was smart enough not to say anything. Brinah was talking to herself angrily the entire time they waited.

Cullen could tell that Aislinn was awake. Her breathing had changed repeatedly throughout the short conversation. “You can open your eyes now possum,” he said softly.

When Aislinn looked up at him, she had turned a brilliant beet red blush that made him smile. “I can’t believe Grandma found us like this. I think I’m going to die,” she said aloud.
And what do you mean, you don’t know what you’re doing with me,
she thought.

Cullen shook his head. “I won’t let you do that. Just put your clothes back on. It’ll be fine. I’ll take the heat.” Cullen saw the concern in her eyes and wondered if it was entirely her grandmother that caused it.

Aislinn jumped up and grabbed her clothes from the floor where they’d been thrown, blushing repeatedly as she accidentally made eye contact with various people about the library. When she and Cullen were fully dressed, Cullen went over to the door and pulled it open. Brinah glared at him heavily and walked into the room, headed straight for Aislinn. Before anything could be said, she grabbed Aislinn into a hug that nearly forced all the air out of Aislinn’s chest. After some time, she pulled away and stared at Aislinn a moment.

“Well, child, you certainly do look to be in one piece. I have missed you so much,” she said and hugged Aislinn again.

“I missed you too grandma.” Aislinn said still blushing. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Well,” Brinah smiled at her, “why don’t you introduce me to your friend, and then we’ll go find Lord Arnauk. It’s been a long time, but I do remember some of my schooling. Pack etiquette says I should really have gone to talk to him first, seeing as I’m in his house. Then we can do all the story-telling that needs to be done.” She was standing there staring at Aislinn unblinking, as though Aislinn might disappear. Cullen, Keith, and Sarah were impressed with Brinah’s statement. They never would have expected her to know anything about pack life.

“Uh, okay, grandma this is Lord Arnauk,” she said, indicating Cullen.

Brinah’s eyes caught fire again. “Now I definitely want to know what you think your intentions are,” she said angrily.

Aislinn blushed again. “Grandma, it doesn’t matter what his intentions are. Can’t we just go sit down and talk about what we need to talk about?” Cullen didn’t like the way she said that it didn’t matter. The terrible feeling that his wolf was wrong started to creep into his stomach again.
Way to ruin an afternoon,
he growled at himself.

Brinah interrupted Aislinn. “Child you can’t possibly know what you’re dealing with here. It’s more important than you can possibly realize. As far as I’m concerned, I came here to protect you and it looks as though I’m a bit late. Rafe and now this?”

Keith was chuckling, and Sarah was looking pained. Cullen for his part was completely bowled over by the fact that now he had two women who didn’t seem to understand that when he was in the room they were supposed be intimidated, let him talk, and behave with subdued respect. He had never fully appreciated that luxury of his position until now, as all the lycans in the room looked on. “Enough,” he said with emphasis and managed to get the women’s attention.

Brinah’s glare got much worse, and she placed herself between Aislinn and Cullen. That was a big mistake. Cullen started to growl. His wolf was concerned that Brinah may try to take Aislinn away. As far as he knew, Aislinn might actually go with her. Brinah was her grandmother and so far Aislinn hadn’t said whether she intended to stay or not. But the look on her face when she called her grandmother and talked about her family had been plain enough. Cullen considered that he would do anything for her. If she wanted to go back to her family, then he should help her to do that. A pain started in his chest then he thought about that.

“Alpha or not, you don’t get to talk to me like that or growl at me. You need my help and you won’t get it being threatening. I have every right to protect my own, and you should have some respect for that,” Brinah said with an air of authority that made Cullen back off a little. “I asked you what your intentions are.”

Aislinn started to say something again and tried to move passed her grandmother to get to Cullen, but she was cut off before she started to talk and then blocked before she could move. It was a talent that she figured must be born out of being a parent.

Sarah elbowed Keith to stop the laughter and then indicated that he should help her clear the room. It was obvious that the group would not be getting out of this argument without trouble, and it was one of those arguments that might not go quite as badly if the witnesses were limited.

“Regardless of my intentions,” Cullen replied, trying to remain calm. “I don’t think Aislinn would allow anything that she didn’t intend.”

That comment went a lot farther with Brinah than Cullen realized. The alpha’s acknowledgement that Aislinn had a choice in the matter settled her anger quite a bit. But Brinah wasn’t done. “You’re behaving very possessive of my granddaughter. Do you intend to mate with her?” Cullen wasn’t sure whether he should be pissed by Brinah’s attitude or impressed by her apparent knowledge.

Aislinn felt her grandmother’s words sting in her chest. “Grandma, please,” she said softly. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

Cullen looked at Aislinn. This wasn’t how he intended to have this conversation. He had no idea what to say. He didn’t want to scare her off. He wished he knew what she was thinking, but a bond had to be pretty strong for that and would only happen if he mated with her. He rubbed his face with his hands. Aislinn recognized the move as something he did when he didn’t know what to say or was upset. She was getting pretty good at reading some of the things he did.

Brinah wasn’t about to back down, and she reiterated the question. “Do you intend to mate with her? I think we both have a right to know.”

Aislinn couldn’t take it. If he really didn’t want to say, then she didn’t think he should have to. Before Cullen could respond Aislinn moved around to face her grandmother. “Grandma. I love you, and I’ve missed you. I don’t want you to take this wrong, but I can handle myself. Cullen and I get along very well and he makes me happy. If he doesn’t want to take things farther, then that I’m okay with that. I need you to leave this be. I’m not a child who needs to be protected in this way. We have a much more dangerous problem then my love life right now.”

Brinah could see the pleading in Aislinn’s eyes, and she didn’t want this to come between them when she had only managed to get her granddaughter back just moments before. “Alright, I’ll let it be for now.” Brinah hugged Aislinn close to her again, but continued to glare at Cullen over her shoulder.

Cullen was relieved and dismayed by Aislinn’s interruption. There was a part of him that just wanted to say it and get it over with, but the part that was afraid of rejection still held him by the balls. He was thinking about the way she had phrased what she’d said. He decided that one way or another, he had to get up the courage to tell her that he loved her. And it needed to be soon. Or at least before her grandmother killed him.

Cullen led the group back to his office, ordered up dinner from the Taigh-O

sda, and the rest of the evening was spent filling Brinah in on the last seven years of Aislinn’s life and the latest information about Rafe.

Chapter 11

Every guilty person is his own hangman.

-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

For the most part, Sarah and Keith had been supporting Aislinn being in the pack because Cullen so obviously wanted her there. He was the alpha, and if he wanted this non-lycan outsider then whether they thought it was a good idea or not, Keith and Sarah backed him. He rarely asked the pack to just do something because he said so. Besides, she seemed to make him happy, and they were his friends. They had never taken the time to talk to Aislinn because they talked to Cullen. Sarah and Keith had heard the edited version of Aislinn’s story from Cullen during the elders’ meeting, but hearing the detailed version from her own lips was much more compelling. They found themselves feeling for her and actually wanting to help.

Brinah’s eyes were wide and she looked as though she may cry. Aislinn tried to gloss over some things, but Brinah seemed to have an innate sense of when she was skipping ahead and forced the extra information out. The only thing she was able to keep from her grandmother was the fact that Rafe had done something to ‘change’ her. She couldn’t bring herself to let her grandmother know how different things really were. She knew that her grandmother was looking for a way to bring her home. Brinah was shaking her head and looking scared when the entire rendition, from Rafe creating his own Circle, to his obsession with Aislinn, and now finding the standing stones, was finished.

Brinah let all her air out as if she hadn’t breathed for the past hour. “You are all in a great deal more danger than you have any idea. I suppose,” she said in a defeated tone, “I would be talking to air if I suggested that you abandon this place and take shelter somewhere far away.”

Cullen growled at that. “We’re not druids. We don’t run and hide.”

Brinah looked at him with fear painted in every feature on her face. “Then you put all your lives in danger.”

* * * *

Ranaild entered the lobby of Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh. He felt like his life was coming to an end. To some extent he figured that one way or another he would be dead. Either Rafe would kill him, or Cullen would kill him. Hell Aislinn was rumored to have closet fighting abilities. Maybe she would kill him. Any way it happened, he would probably be dead by the end of this. He may even have to kill himself if he couldn’t find a way out. He had done his best to avoid harming anyone. But with the dagger coated in his mate’s blood tucked into the back of his jeans to give him the strength to go through with his assignment he headed for the elevator, inserted his key, and hit the button for the 13
^th
floor.

As the elevator proceeded up, it stopped at the 3
^rd
floor. A human couple stared at the stormy faced lycan in the elevator. One look at the man had them deciding to wait for the next one.

When the elevator finished its agonizing ascent to the main floor of the den, Ranaild nearly vomited on the floor. He walked unsteadily into the great room. Everyone who saw him got out of his way. They didn’t know why Ranaild was upset, but he wasn’t a lycan to mess with when he was angry. He was one of Cullen’s best men, and a pack elder. They assumed that whatever the problem was, it would be above their heads. No one even asked what was wrong.

Ranaild asked an omega where Cullen and Aislinn were. When he was told that they were in an office meeting, just down the hall, he decided to take a seat and wait. He just needed an opportunity.

* * * *

Cullen stared at Brinah with angry fire. “I don’t accept that as an option.”

Brinah glared right back. “Then you’re a fool.”

“The druids were never so powerful that what you’re suggesting could be possible.” Cullen was speaking with a deadly calm, and his features had taken on the stony look he got when dealing when someone he was trying to intimidate and control. Brinah was unimpressed by Cullen’s appearance. That all by itself was impressive, but it reminded Cullen of Aislinn’s fire and softened his demeanor toward Brinah slightly.

“We’ve told you why we brought you here. Now you need to tell us what you know about Rafe, and what we can do about his mind altering caoch. Then if you don’t want to stick around and find out how it’ll turn out that’s your call.”

Brinah’s eyes narrowed. “I find it interesting that Aislinn did all the talking, and the story was for the most part hers, for years, before you all came into the picture, accidentally. It’s interesting that you seem to count her as one of you. If anything she’s a watered down druid. Not a lycan.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that Rafe is trying to take a piece of my territory. Stop trying to alter the subject. I’m getting the impression that you may not be able to be as helpful as you originally seemed to indicate. If the only reason you told us you could help was so you could come here and attempt to take her home with you, I’m afraid you’ll find that Rafe is more intent on getting his hands on her than you understand. You’d be risking both your lives leaving. Your presence here now negates the possibility of leaving without the danger of him following you.”