A Guardians Passion (41 page)

Freya agreed, noting the attempt at distraction. “Well, it’s not like I’m doing a whole lot in the next months.”

“Freya, no.”

“Why not?” she asked, challenging her alpha’s plea. “We have worse beasts than them at the lodge. We’re going to need to add on some more rooms anyway. Please. Please, Fen. Rayne.”

“We know nothing about them or what they will become. They’re killers,” Rayne insisted, halting his caress upon her foot.

Freya looked over to the pyre of the deceased. Vaegar’s soldiers had added broken furniture in along with the corpses and set it ablaze, the flames beginning to rage crimson and gold against the night sky. It was beautiful.

She looked back to the asprega, who showed no interest in the additional food choices. The smallest of the group looked like she had missed out entirely and was on the verge of tears. “We
all
are, but not all the time. They will be friends to us, not some goddamn vampires.”

Dona smiled, waggling a finger at her. “Ahh. Clever. Very clever.”

It was a Sohon thing, not her own. While Freya doubted that Helena would have accepted such responsibility, the concept had come from their pack, their bougie parties, extravagant gifts, and diplomacy. Hunting had been fun, but negotiating was proving to be pretty interesting as well. “Whatever. Can you just poof the fuck out and get some more fruit please?”

Dona stood up with his chicken in hand. He bowed deeply, almost appearing genuinely reverent. “Certainly,” he said.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Friends of the Sohons showed up in droves, only making it more obvious how wounded the race would have been with their pack crippled. Vaegar had called in his friends, supernatural and not. Humans, Feds by the look of them, were on the premises, a group of werecats, and several witches, which Dona seemed to have fun frightening. A few vampires even made an appearance, but ones known and mated to wolves and therefore loyal to the cause.

Vaegar was seated inside the command center, doing his “king on the throne” impersonation, albeit with a great deal more humility than he had had before. The room was already crowded with folk waiting to talk to him, but Freya and her asprega drew the attention and reverence of everyone inside. She stayed in the back of the room with Fenris, content only to observe.

Rayne and Dona had remained outside with the excuse of reexamining the defenses and repairing the tunnels beneath the mansion. Freya wasn’t stupid. She knew that wasn’t the main reason why they had remained back but let them go nonetheless. When she interrogated her beta, she wanted him alone and away from the wytchen.

Inside the modified bedroom, Benna and Kallie had showered and received clothing. They looked composed and focused, but anyone with a keen nose could have detected the damage done to their confidence. Kallie sat on the right of her father, and Benna on the left. Both had laptops before them, and both were typing feverishly. What they were typing, Freya had no clue, but she knew one thing for certain: the Sohons were shoring up their defenses. Di’Amanda’s attacks had done nothing but expose a weakness. Such an opening would not occur again as the Sohon patriarch fielded calls over his Bluetooth, welcomed guests at the table, and gave dictation to his girls.

The majority of Vaegar’s composure had returned. Someone had fetched him a crisp, dark suit and a tumbler of brandy, which he sipped as he manned the reconstruction of not only his pack but the families of several others.

Freya looked for her mother, but whereas François sat at the table, Geraldine was nowhere in the room. Gaea and Cole were also absent, which spoke to one thing. The threat level had truly dropped. Freya listened in as the release and retrieval of the remaining wolves were discussed and the larger concepts of recompense and unification were brought to the fore.

Vaegar looked up and nodded deeply to her. “Would you like a seat, Freya? Fenris?”

“We’re not staying long. I just wanted to be certain that you didn’t forget.”

“I would never.”

“You tell those vamps that whoever is sheltering Emily McTavish is an enemy to all wolves. You make it part of the negotiations,” Freya demanded. “We need her fucking ass back. She has a ton to answer for. Got it?”

Vaegar agreed, his eyes darkening as he remembered the work of the traitor, no doubt. He thanked Freya for the important tidbit before she and her group slid out of the room, once again causing those in the way to part like a veil before her.

Freya was impressed by Ezra’s efforts. The omega had managed to acquire the room right beside the one Freya had claimed. He had also arranged it into a space comfortable enough for her new friends. She had been hesitant to let them out of her sight when Ezra first suggested that they follow him. Possibly due to the safety that all beasts felt around omegas, the asprega females followed him into the adjoining room, albeit at her command.

While she rested on the doorjamb, Freya watched as Ezra helped them get acclimated to their new room. He had set up a large-screen television with a nature video about oceans, pulled the mattresses off the king-size bed, and laid them side by side to allow for expanded sleeping surfaces. He had gathered fluffy spreads, satin sheets, and extra pillows. Yet the things that interested them the most were the heaping bowls of fruit and vegetables that Ezra had piled in the middle of the room.

The accommodations seemed to fit the girls just fine. The freedom of open windows, the access to a private bath, which one of the asprega was busy examining, and the overall comfort of the room seemed more than sufficient to bring smiles to their faces.

The thought had crossed her mind that they might teleport away if not kept in her sight, but Una, their leader, didn’t seem particularly interested in going anywhere. Not about to put them on leashes, Freya looked over to find the prime female seated on one of the mattresses, rubbing the fabric of a comforter against her cheek.

“I plan to read to them,” Ezra said, coming to her side. “You’ll be able to rest.”

Freya tried not to laugh, unable to wonder why the omega was being so forward in taking on the responsibility of babysitting. She suspected that a certain beta might have at least thrown in a suggestion. Rayne had pulled Ezra off to the side before they had returned to the mansion. By the time Freya had thought to call Rayne to her, Ezra smelled as ripe as a virgin at his first strip show.

Rayne had given some order.

She heard the door in her room open as said moody beta entered, looking every ounce of ominous. Rayne had found a rubber band from somewhere and drawn his hair up into a high ponytail. It was usually such a sexy look, but the way he was brooding only validated that he needed attention. He turned and set his gaze upon Ezra, affirming every one of Freya’s suspicions with his golden glare.

“I’ll stay with them. I even have some books,” Ezra said, moving back to grasp the door that separated their rooms.

“We behave. For apples we behave. For you.” Una spoke up, her attention solely on Freya. “We like frui—”

“Fruit,” Freya corrected at the sight of rounded cheeks and a menacing yet goofy smile.
Di’Amanda probably fed them meat and kibble, the bitch.

“Yes. Fruit.”

“Well, you can have as much fruit as you would like, Una. You and the others stay with Ezra.”

Her big green eyes shone with pleasure. She and the others nodded in agreement before Una spoke for them all. “Nice. Nice friend.” She nodded to Ezra. “We stay.”

Freya was grateful. Knowing that the asprega were taken care of would give her the time she needed to tend to bigger issues. She heard the bathroom door open and caught Fenris coming out. Whereas Rayne was sullen, Fenris was gloating. He seemed to know exactly what Rayne was seething about.

She needed the alone time that Ezra was offering, even if it was derived from a threat. “Are you okay with this?”

Ezra’s face lit up, his cheeks raspberry upon dark chocolate. “Of course I am.”

The asprega seemed tame enough, but Ezra was no fighter, and the way in which his eyes kept darting back and forth behind her reminded her of her obligations. He very much wanted to be in the room with her and her mates, but it wasn’t his maelstrom to endure. She had to be the one to tend to Rayne and Fenris. The last thing she needed was a surprise, an interruption, or another battle. “Are…you…okay with this, Ezra?”

Apparently Rayne had instilled the same notion in the omega. “I am. Go.” He waved her back, bringing the door with him.

Freya could barely get out a word of thanks before she was met by the flat panel of the door and left with two unruly wolves, Rayne lying across the end of the bed on his stomach, and Fenris seated back against the headboard, pretending to watch the television mounted to the wall.

Freya went to the bed and sat down, her hip brushing against Rayne’s. She placed a hand on the small, taut curve of his ass while gazing at Fenris. “What’s with all the sulking? Hmm?” It didn’t matter who answered her.

“Nothing,” Rayne muttered, resting his head upon his hands yet wiggling his ass all the same.

Fenris shrugged as he channel surfed. He stopped at a rugby match before tossing the remote on the bed. “Nothing that we can’t deal with together,” he said. “Nothing that we can’t set right when we all return home.”

“Somehow I don’t think that your mother will be joining us.”

“Yes. She might want to stay for a bit longer.” Fenris grinned. He gave her a wink that suggested she wasn’t the only one suspecting a ménage. Her mother, Gaea, and Cole had been as thick as thieves and had made a habit of going off together. With their blood running hot after a good clash, she could barely blame them.

“Our families have always been intertwined, female. Don’t be so surprised.”

She wasn’t, but she wasn’t planning on buying the distraction either. She slapped Rayne hard upon the ass. “What is it? You thought that I wouldn’t reward you or something? You either?” she demanded of Fenris.

“I don’t need a reward for my responsibility, for something I should do as well as breathe.”

“Fen is right,” Rayne said, turning upon his side beneath Freya’s hand.

Her hand went to his crotch, and she cupped the ample swell there. “Is he now?”

Rayne thrust forward with a sigh, his gaze direct and confronting. “Yes. If we breathe, it is for you.”

“Right. Right.” The nobility was too thick in the air for her. “So you bullied Ezra to get me to yourselves?”

“I didn’t bully anyone.” Fenris snickered.

Rayne worried his bottom lip with a fang, looking guilty and unrepentant at the same time. “He volunteered.”

Freya didn’t even have to inhale to smell the lie or catch the scent of her beta’s arousal. His heat was already searing her palm. “I doubt that. You bullied that poor cub. The last thing he wanted was to be sitting in there with the demon kindergarten.”

“Ezra is treasuring his ability to walk—consciousness in general at the moment. He didn’t mind at all especially when I promised to reward him later. He thrives off a good bit of servitude. Besides, you needed a break from the bat girls.”

A little bit of the truth was better than nothing, she figured.

Fenris snatched up the remote and put the television on mute. All the humor he formerly possessed was gone. “Look, Freya, I really don’t think it’s wise to keep the asprega so close to home. With you expecting and all—”

“My blood can kill them,” she interrupted. “There were five, but now there are only four. The one that bit me went into convulsions and pretty much hacked up her fucking lungs. I poisoned her. They’re not going to harm me.”

Rayne sat up, eyes and mouth wide with interest.

She continued before he could release the questions she knew were only seconds away. “Now, I don’t know how or why or what brought this venomous Hail Mary on, but I have my suspicions.” She patted her belly. “They are extremely lethal, yeah. I saw them fight with fucking shock collars on their throats. They were…they were attack dogs.

“Once my mother gave Di’Amanda the old head-and-shoulders routine, the girls settled down. The bitch had used them like slaves. They got their freedom, and I think that they’re pretty damn happy about it. So again, I want them as allies.”

“The cub? Y-your pregnancy,” Rayne voiced softly. He reached out toward her stomach but stopped mere inches away. His fingers were shaking. “It was the child.”

Freya grabbed Rayne’s hand and helped it to her stomach. She kept it there with hers. She could feel her child stretching forth a foot beneath their joined palms. “Yeah, the li’l witch. What are you besides wolf, Bun?” she asked aloud. “Hmm? You’re a little berserker. Is that what you are?”

She imagined her daughter scoffing at the term and punching her in the bladder again for asking such a stupid question. Of course Bun would be a powder keg. “You’ll be a handful, but don’t think I won’t be able to handle your little ass.”

“You will have help, Freya. I swear it.”

Freya looked between Rayne and Fenris. She suspected that Rayne had just dropped an important clue as to his quiet irritation. She wanted to know more. “Do tell?”

“I…I will have to go away for a while.” He was looking at her stomach instead of into her eyes as he spoke. Probably because he knew that she would not be pleased with the information.

“Excuse me?” Freya wondered. “Define ‘a while.’”

“I’m not sure. I will be back before our cub is born, though.”

Freya shook her head, not liking the plan at all. “Oh, hell no, Rayne. No.” She looked to Fenris for support. “He can’t go. Tell him that he can’t go, Fen!”

Fenris was not so shy. The look he gave her was obstinate. He was siding with Rayne.

“Freya, I really will have to go.”

She seethed, dropping her hand off Rayne’s, even as he continued to caress her stomach. There was only one reason Rayne would leave, and she had a feeling that it had to do with his father. “You’re going with Dona, aren’t you?”

At that he did look her in the eyes. As much as she wanted to be upset, his eyes betrayed no doubt. He didn’t like the idea any more than she did. “Freya, I can do… I could do more than just heal. Our cub, you, and Fen deserve the full extent of my powers. This thing with the asprega, with the vampires—it cannot. It will not be allowed to happen.