Authors: Jana Leigh
Jo laughed and then began to get excited about moving. She missed her friend and all the things they used to do together. While they were growing up, neither of them had money, and so they would have to make up things to do. They had fun walking in the park or window shopping, dreaming of the day they could afford to go to the spa together. Jo smiled and thought she was going to plan the first chance she got. Her friend would appreciate a day with just the girls and gossiping about everyone and anyone.
They talked for a few more minutes, and then they got serious. “So what did he say when you told him about Tim? Just so you know, if he did not give you a suitable answer, I will kick his balls into his throat myself.” Cami said.
Jo laughed at her friend and said, “Keep your foot away from those parts. I may be using them real soon.”
Cami raised her eyebrows and laughed. “Really, so fast?”
“I can"t explain it Cam, it just feels right. I would have let him fuck me on the table a few hours ago, but I had some self respect and waited. He can kiss like no one"s business.” Jo said.
“TMI, but I am happy for you.” Cami said and leaned against the counter. It had been a long day, and she was getting tired. Being pregnant with twins was starting to affect her.
She was just getting a little bump. “We will meet tomorrow for breakfast and dish.”
“Good, I have to arrange for all my stuff to be packed and sent here.” Jo said and walked with her friend out of the room. The three men were standing waiting somewhat patiently, but when they exited the bathroom, both were swept up in their mate"s arms.
They yelled goodbye to each other as they went in separate directions.
Cami and her mates went to a special set of elevators that took them directly to the penthouse. Tey went to the regular elevators, punched in the floor below the penthouse, and waited without saying anything.
“Uh, where are we going?” She said.
“Home.” He grumbled and watched the numbers pass. When the door dinged, he stepped out into a small hallway that had only two doors, one on the left side and one on the right. Tey went to the one on the right and set her down gently before pulling a key from his pocket. Jo wiped her hands nervously on her jeans and waited. The door swung open and Jo was enthralled.
The interior of the apartment was nothing like she would have expected the serious He-man to occupy. It was absolutely gorgeous, and elegant. Decorated in what she could only call classic chic. The walls were bathed in light blue and almost looked silver when the lights hit them. The furniture was huge and fluffy; it was deep blue with silver looking threads running through it. The walls held contemporary pictures that matched the interior. Glass tables with flowers that accented the room. Jo peered into the room and saw the dining area and kitchen were on one side and a hallway that she guessed led to the bedrooms on the other. The far wall was full windows. The deep blue drapes were pulled open, and filmy sheers allowed the light to dance across the room.
“Holy shit.” She muttered. Her apartment looked like a hovel compared to this place.
Her belongings will not fit in here at all.
“I hope you like it. My mother and sister helped. You can change whatever you like.” He said and looked at her expectantly.
“Hell no, don"t you dare touch a thing in this place. I love it. It will take me awhile to touch anything, but I love it.” She repeated it again.
Tey turned pink and nodded. “Let me show you around.” He said.
Jo nodded and Tey took her hand and pulled her behind him. He showed her the kitchen and all the storage areas. She was impressed that a bachelor was so organized.
He pulled her down the hallway and hesitated before opening a door. “This is the master bedroom. There is a guest room also if you would like to stay there.” He said nervously.
“Let"s just see what tonight brings.” She whispered and grinned when she saw the room.
It was completely wonderful, just as she would have decorated her private room if she had the money. It had soft lighting that gave the room a comfortable and inviting feel.
The colors were done in soft pastels. The walls were a pale green and the trim a cream color. The bed was huge; of course, it would have to be to accommodate the big man standing next to her. It was piled with multi colored fluffy pillows, and a down comforter, that had a contemporary print on it with splashes of pinks, blues, purples, and greens. White furniture adorned the room, two dressers, and two nightstands. She chuckled when she saw a huge TV hung on the wall across from the bed. The master bath was gorgeous; it had a huge tub that could fit two people with jets, and a glass detached shower that could obviously fit two people.
The entire place called to her that she was home. It was comforting to know that at least she liked her new home. It would have sucked if she hated his taste in decorating.
“Food.” Tey muttered and walked back into the living room area, while she continued to look at every room. The guest room was decorated tastefully. There was also a small office. She grinned when she saw there were two desks in the room. One sat empty on the corner facing the window. Jo walked in and looked at the view she would have when she put her computer up. It was nice that he had a small office already set up. At least she would not have to start from scratch. Jo had to have things arranged around her when she worked. She hated clutter and found it distracting. This room was going to be perfect. She had a view of the mountains out the window and imagined herself working in the room.
Jo stepped closer to the window. Tey walked into the room to tell her that he ordered food to be delivered, when the window exploded in front of Jo. She screamed and dropped and Tey sprang toward her. He caught her, just as she would have hit the ground. Tey pulled Jo across the floor to the hallway. Shots rang out throughout the apartment, as the wall across from the window exploded when bullets hit it.
Once Jo was cleared from the room, he saw she was covered in blood, and ran for the phone. He was sure the rest of the Enforcers had heard the gunfire, but they probably didn"t know where it was aimed. Tey picked up the phone and barked orders when the guard from the lobby answered. Within moments, he heard the elevator moving.
He ran back to his mate and tried to see where the blood was coming from. He saw Jo had been hit in the shoulder, and had many cuts from the glass that had exploded.
Swearing, he ripped his shirt off and pressed it to her wound. Jo groaned but remained unconscious.
When Devon busted through his door, he yelled for the doctor to be notified that Jo was being brought in. Devon quickly looked over the scene and took charge.
Two of his friends, Blade and Trevor, bent and lifted Jo gently moving fast to get her to the doctor. Since the last attack, the doctor had an office in the building, just two floors down. Since Cami was pregnant, they wanted to have the doctor"s office close to the Alphas" apartment.
Tey stopped and said to Devon, “The shots came from across the street,” before following his mate.
It seemed to take hours before they reached the doctor"s office. They had apparently been notified of the incident, because there was a nurse waiting for them in the corridor.
She directed them to the small room that had been set up to deal with emergencies. Jo was placed gently on the sterile, cold table, and Tey went to her side, holding her hand as the doctor came into the room barking orders.
“I need to have a surgical team here immediately!” Doc said and pulled the shirt that Tey had placed over the wound to stop the bleeding. “I need to get the bullet out. Tey, you are going to have to wait out in the waiting area.” He was going to protest, but he thought better of it and turned to leave. Without thinking about it, he bent down, and whispered in her ear. “I will be waiting.” Then he kissed her gently on the cheek. “Don"t leave me.”
“She won"t.” The doctor said and began arranging things in preparation for surgery.
Tey went to the waiting area where there were guards already posted and collapsed in a chair. What the fuck had just happened? He thought.
Cami and her mates ran into the room. “Where is she?” Cami demanded and Tey looked up with tears in his eyes.
“With the doc.” He replied.
Cami looked past him, rushed to his side, and grabbed his hand. “What happened?” Tey explained to all of them how Jo had been shot. Jared and Quin"s facial expressions became grimmer as he explained what had happened. They asked him questions as he told the brief story of everything he knew. Tey began to get frustrated. He knew the Alphas were trying to get information so they could help protect the Pack, but his mate was lying in surgery, and he was not with her. He was going to go crazy if something happened to her.
People came and went but Tey never took his eyes off the door, which he knew his mate was behind. The doctor sent a nurse out every 30 minutes to update them. He removed the bullet and was stitching her back up. The doctor said she had already begun the healing process which of course led them to believe that she would begin the shifting process at the full moon. At least she had that going for her.
Cami had taken over the waiting room; there were food and drinks for all those who were waiting, which surprisingly were a lot of people. The news had spread about Tey finding his mate, and they were here for support.
All the Enforcers, as well as many of the children"s families that he mentored over the years, had wandered in and checked on him. Tey was surprised at the amount of support he received. Cami never left his side; she stayed vigilant waiting for any scrap of word on her friend.
Finally, after what seemed like endless hours, the doctor came out of the room and looked at them smiling. “All the glass and the bullet have been removed. She is resting.
We do have a small problem though. The stress of the surgery has caused a forced change.”
“What the hell is that?” Cami said.
“It means she is not waiting for the full moon to change. She is going to shift soon. I thought it would be best if her mate were with her. You are really the only one who will be able to control her enough to get her to shift back. She will be disoriented and scared.” The doctor said and motioned for him to go into the room where Jo was.
Cami let go of his hand, and he turned to look at her. She smiled encouragingly and pushed him toward the door. “Tell her I love her, and I will see her when she is feeling up to visitors.”
Quin and Jaden wrapped an arm around their mate. “Tell us if you need anything.” Quin said.
Tey nodded and walked into the room. Two nurses continued to clean up and monitor Jo"s progress. Jo looked so pale and small against the white sheets. Tubes were sticking out of her arm, and he could see the bandages on her shoulder and her arms. Little nicks on her face also let him know how close he had come to losing her.
Nodding at the nurses, he went and took his place next to her bedside. He watched as her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm. Tey wanted to be in their room, and the clock to be turned back twenty four hours. He would have done things differently. He would not have been so patient. Tey would have claimed his mate when they first walked through their apartment door, like he wanted to. Then instead of being in the doctor"s office, they would be laying naked and happy together in bed.
He took her hand, brought it to his lips, leaned over, and whispered in her ear. “Come back to me, mate.”
Tey watched as he saw her respond to his voice. Her eyes lifted as if they were trying to open, but she just did not have enough strength. Then he saw the slight shimmer, and he knew what the doctor was talking about. When the change happened, the air around them shimmered and shifted, just as it was right now.
Pulling up a chair, he sat and whispered softly into her ear, trying to prepare her and soothe her for the first shift. It was painful. When he was a teen and shifted for the first time, he thought he was going to die of the pain. No matter how many times he had been told what to expect, the feeling was worse. He would give anything to take this away from her.
“Baby, just relax and breathe deep. First, you are going to feel your heart racing as if you have been running a mile. Then your skin will begin to feel very sensitive. It will hurt, and feel like anything touching you is killing you. Next, your bones will snap a little changing into a wolf"s form. It will feel like an hour, but in reality, it will only last a few seconds. The first time is the worst, after that you will not feel any more pain when you shift.” He said softly in her ear.
Jo groaned and responded, letting him know that she was listening. Her hand tightened around his, and he lifted it to his mouth and kissed it again.
“This really sucks. I am so sorry you have to go through this. The cool part is that I can take you to the mountains to run. Just you and I, alone for a few days, letting you get used to your wolf. How does that sound?” He asked.
“Perfect.” She whispered right before she screamed in pain. The change started.
Within moments, she changed into the most beautiful wolf he had ever seen. Tey stood and gasped as he looked at his mate"s wolf. She was all white. He had never seen a wolf this color. Not wanting to scare her, he pushed the nurses out of the room, asking them to send in Quin. His Alpha would have a clue as to what was going on.
Tey knelt and began petting Jo, soothing her. She was scared and agitated; he could tell the way she was pacing. Quin stepped through the door and gasped too. “What the fuck?”
“Yeah, kinda why I wanted you in here.” Tey said softly. Jo looked at the two men and whined. “It"s okay, baby. We are talking about your color. You are beautiful. I have just never seen a White Wolf before.”
Quin nodded and knelt beside his friend. Jo recognized her Alpha and rolled on her back bearing her belly to him. Laughing, Quin said, “Thank you, Jo and welcome to the Pack. Tey, let me call my father and see if he knows why she is all white.”
“Thanks, man. I will get her calmed down and changed back.” Tey said over his shoulder as Quin left the room. “Ok now, Jo, you have to change back. Like before, it is going to hurt once, but after that, you will be used to it, and it will not hurt anymore.