All Kitten Aside: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 11) (12 page)

TWENTY-SEVEN

Andi sat quietly staring out the passenger side window as Kasen drove them to the medical examiner’s office in town. She couldn’t imagine what happened. Maybe a car wreck? What kills more than one person? Could it have been the Black Rock Pride? They’d been sniffing around, bringing problems. Maybe they were the ones who left the dead cat on her kitchen table. It would make sense. Her people didn’t do that kind of stuff. Oh, god. Shit just went from bad to worse.

What’s worse, the ME wouldn’t release the two victims’ names. He said she needed to come down to identify the bodies before he released any further information.

Her dry clothes had sat in the alpha wolf’s dryer and she was able to fully dress before they left. She was in a daze thinking about the deaths, and Kasen directed her actions and got her in his vehicle. Without him guiding her, she probably would still be wandering the house. How could two of her people be dead?

Kasen took her by the hand and led her inside the county’s governmental offices. The ME’s department was down a long hall. A light shined through the top half of the wood/glass door. When they entered, a man dressed in scrubs met them. He took them to the room where the bodies were held and folded down the white sheet to show each man’s face. Yes, they were both from her pride. One was Shantelle’s grandson. The other man was one who’d been friends with her father. Someone with a family.

Andi turned her face against Kasen’s chest and held back her tears. She had to be strong, but dammit, these men were her family. She grew up with them and one had children he would never see go to the prom, or walk down the aisle. And young Christoff would never get a chance to find a mate. Yes, he’d been pushy, but he wasn’t a bad guy.

Kasen asked the ME what he knew. From what he pieced together, the younger one was killed first. Probably an ambush since the deepest injuries were in the soft portion of the lower back. The second man may have either come across the kill in progress or intercepted the killer shortly afterward. No other animal scents were found in the area.

They were both found in the same area by one of her enforcers. The police were called and they were able to keep it under wraps at the scene. With only one person from the pride knowing about the murders, it was a bit difficult to get the information they needed to call her. He apologized for the late hour, but some things were time sensitive when it came to forensics.

Once tests came back, they’d be able to give more information. Andi thanked him for his time and Kasen hauled her to her home. She spoke to Derrek, the one who found the bodies, on the phone, but he couldn’t tell her any more than the medical examiner. She asked him to call the other enforcers for a meeting in the morning to discuss everything and take a course of action.

God, she was exhausted. Even if she hadn’t been drugged earlier, she’d be dragging. Kasen gathered her to him and carried her to bed. He said he’d wake her in the morning when it was time for the meeting. She didn’t question or argue with him about staying at her house for the night. She was asleep before the full meaning of his words clicked.

When Andi opened her eyes. The sun shined through her window. That meant it was later in the morning than she intended to sleep. Shit. The men must’ve been wondering what the fuck was wrong with her. She called a meeting and couldn’t take the time to show up for it.

She threw clothes on, brushed her teeth, then headed down the stairs. She stopped in her tracks when entering the dining room. All the men looked at her, including Kasen.

“Hey, sweetheart. Come and sit beside me. We have things for you to review and make a decision on.” She mechanically walked in and sat in the chair next to Kasen. Naya set a plate of eggs, bacon, and fruit in front of her. She listened as Kasen went over details and ideas the group had discussed.

She learned that along with the two dead pride members, Josh Wilx was missing. Nobody had seen him for twenty-four hours, which for Josh was unusual.

They had come up with options for the next step, and Andi decided the plan to put into action. First they needed to inform the families of the two deceased then call the community together to inform them of the situation and setup search parties to scour the forest for signs of Josh.

Out of all of these tasks, Andi knew she had the hardest to do: tell Shantelle that her only grandson was dead. Derrick, her top enforcer, said he’d like to visit the family of the other deceased person to break the news. Andi agreed since they were blood family.

Everyone had their assigned duties and left to begin the long day. After everyone had left, Kasen took Andi into his arms and just held her. This was exactly what she needed right now. No words, no orders, just silent strength from the man she—she what?

Kasen kissed the top of her head. “Would you like me to go with you to Shantelle’s? She seemed like a very nice elder with her head on straight.”

Andi laughed. “Yeah, you could say that about her. She’s not afraid to tell it like it is, that’s for sure.” She leaned back from his chest. She did want him to go with her to the elder’s home. This was probably the hardest thing she’d ever done. Being bossy was easy, telling someone their only remaining family had passed was heartbreaking.

She asked, “Do you have time to go with me? I don’t want to take you from your work, either.”

His smile warmed her, genuine and caring. “I will always have time for those I love.”

Dear god. Did he always have to say the perfect thing? Were there no faults to this man? There had to be something she could yell at him about. She just needed to stay the course. Docile man who was happy to be a home dad while she ran the pride. That’s what she needed. Not someone to take over and ruin everything her parents had worked so hard to build.

Almost noon on a Saturday, she knew Shantelle would be up and about. Andi lowered her eyes and said, “Let’s go. We need to get this over with so we can start the pride meeting on time.” Kasen took her hand and they walked silently down the sidewalk to the tidy, quaint home on the corner.

Andi sucked back her building tears and knocked on the burgundy door with flowers artfully strung around a wreath. She tried to keep semi-smiling when the older lady answered the door.

The pride meant so much to Andi. Each person was her close, personal family member. Knowing she would never see Christoff again, her dam of emotions broke. All she could do was throw her arms around Shantelle’s shoulders and silently let the tears flow for the pain she was about to cause the beautiful woman.

Shantelle patted her back like a mother would a little cub upset over something they’d done. “Miranda, what’s wrong, dear?” Andi couldn’t speak. The first words she uttered would break the lump in her throat holding everything back.

Kasen cleared his throat. “Shantelle, good to see you again. We have sad news to deliver to you.” Andi nodded against the frail shoulder she held. “Last night, your grandson, Christoff, and another man were killed by an unknown attacker.” Andi nodded again. The elder remained quiet and still.

He continued. “The police are investigating. Right now, they have very little information they can share. They believe he was ambushed because the major wounds are on his backside.” She nodded and felt the woman begin to crumble in her hold. Andi held tightly to her until she was sure Shantelle could make it to a chair safely. Together, the women slowly shuffled to a worn, weathered rocking chair.

Andi knelt before the eldest, wisest female of the pride. “I’m so sorry, Shantelle. He was a great guy.”

The woman plucked a tissue from a box beside the chair. “Miranda, make sure whoever did this is punished by shifter law. My grandson deserves nothing less than righteous justice.”

Anger swelled in Andi. She wanted to lash out at the unfair, reasonless tragedy. A strong hand squeezed her shoulder, pouring strength into her.

Kasen replied, “We will, Shantelle. We’ll do everything possible to catch this person and punish them to the fullest of shifter law.” Andi nodded. She seemed to be doing a lot of that. Old, soft eyes looked into her.

“Thank you, alphas Colilla and Steel. Together, you have done your duty according to tradition.” She patted Andi’s hands. “Now, leave this old woman to herself for a while.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

Kasen held Andi’s hand as they stepped onto the outside sidewalk from Shantelle’s home. He gave her fingers a squeeze. “You did good in there.”

“Ha!” burst from her lungs. “I couldn’t say a word without totally breaking down.” She guided them toward the meeting hall where everyone was gathering in a few minutes.

“That was your first time doing that, right?”

“Yes.”

“Most people would’ve been a blubbering mess. You held it together nicely, my love. I hate to say it, but it does get a bit easier over time. Not a lot, though. Each soul torn from your pack or pride tears apart many more hearts.”

“There you go again,” Andi rolled her eyes, “saying the freakin’ perfect thing. Do you have a book of these sayings you’ve memorized for the right time or something?”

He feigned a look of disbelief. “You accuse me of plagiarism when I speak from the heart?”

“Ugh, now I’m going to throw up on your shoes.” They both laughed then went quiet for a moment. They stood outside as others in the pride filed in. Solemn faces passed by. Some broke into a partial smile to say hello, while others glared with no words exchanged. It was time to go in. “Do you want to stay for this meeting, or are you going to head home?”

“I’d like to stay, at least for a bit. Oh. I almost forgot in all this mess. Tonight, my parents are having a get-together. A gathering for me to tell them who I’ve chosen as a mate. Seeing as your car is still at my place, how about I pick you up at 6:30? Dinner starts at seven and I’ll make the announcement about us after that.”

She frowned, not really in the mood but wanting to thank him for his support in some way. “Where do your parents live? Do we have to drive far?”

“No, they’re just three houses down the street from me. We jokingly call it the White House. You’ll understand when you see it.”

Her stomach churned. This was the proverbial shit or get off the pot time. Maybe she could hold it a bit longer. “We need to get inside. It’s time.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside.

“Andi, what about tonight?”

She shushed him. “We’ll talk about it after this meeting, okay?” She gave him a big smile to hopefully placate him. He frowned, but didn’t say anything. He leaned against the wall next to a side door in the packed room.

Andi climbed the steps to the stage and stood behind a podium. She tapped the mic to test for sound. A thump came through the speakers, so she was good to go.

“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for dropping what you were doing and coming. I have news to share and we have a search to conduct.” The crowd grumbled among themselves. She raised her hands. “Give me a minute and we’ll get to questions.”

She took a deep breath. “Two of our pride members were attacked and killed last night and a third is missing.” Gasps and whimpers along with a few shouts spread through the people. “Everyone quiet down, please. I’m hoping whoever committed this crime isn’t one of us, but you never know anymore.” She paused to give time to anyone who’d like to confess. Like that was going to happen.

A male voice spoke up. “How do we know one of the dogs didn’t kill ‘em?”

Her eyes flashed to Kasen then back to the crowd. His eyes narrowed on the group, but he didn’t move. He might be all right with that, but she wasn’t. “To whomever said that, thanks for being brave enough to stand up. Now, give me one good reason the Steel wolf pack would want to hurt any of our pride?” Her eyes swept the room. “Just one.”

Another voice shouted, “As the alpha, you’re supposed to ensure our safety. Maybe if you were here instead of off with the dog, you could protect us better.”

The crowd erupted into chaos. People jumped from their chairs arguing, shoving, yelling at each other. Andi called for everyone to sit down and come to order. No one obeyed. She screamed, but couldn’t be heard over the raucous den.

A soft, but deadly grumble reached her as it flowed to the other side of the room. People responded immediately. Some crouched in fear. Others looked ready to flee. A few began to shift.

Almost a whisper said, “Your alpha is talking. Show her respect.” Kasen hopped up on stage and glowered at everyone. “Sit. Down. Now.” With his alpha ringing in his voice, all obeyed. He stared at individuals. Many dared to keep his stare, many turned away. “I can’t believe you people. You call yourself a pride, and you can’t even keep your mouths shut to listen to your alpha? I call that kindergarteners.”

He paced to one side. “You talk as if your alpha should bow to you. I agree that an alpha is there to serve the community. But the community also serves the alpha. You’re supposed to love and care for your leaders as much as they care for you.” He pointed across the crowd.

“How many of you stay up late at night worrying how your pride will afford food, or how the children will get medical care? How many of you lose sleep, concerned that a rival pride is encroaching on your land? How many of you actually sacrifice for the good of the pride?

“Does anyone know how I met your alpha?” He paused. No one replied. “I met her as she fought four males. One wanted to rape her, and the other three wanted to share a kitten going through her first heat.” Anger spewed from the floor.

“How many of you males would let your mate take on four grown lions? Hell, how many
men
here would do that? You might to save your family. But what about your neighbors? Would you voluntarily die an excruciating death to save someone else?” Folks no longer met his eye, any of them.

“Yet you sit in your cozy, safe homes with plenty of food and clothes and gossip cruel rumors about your alpha because she wants to find happiness. She wants to love a mate exactly like each of you. What has she done to not deserve happiness? Has she been mean? Has she been unfair? Does she sit around all day eating and watching TV, just letting shit happen?” His growl intensified. “No, she doesn’t.”

Kasen stood center stage, hands in his pockets, head down. “There are a couple biblical sayings that come to mind right now. You may have heard of them: Do unto others as you would have done unto you. And God helps those who help themselves.”

He scuffed his shoes along the plywood flooring. “Remind yourself what a community is and does for its members.” The wolf glowed brightly in his gaze as he scanned the crowd. She gulped, once again, pushing back the emotions curling around her heart.

“Now, your alpha was speaking. It’d be best to stop arguing among yourselves and listen to what she has to say. When she’s done, you can argue your asses off; who cares then. But now it’s time to give her the respect she deserves.” As he passed by her, he grinned. “Sorry for the interruption, beautiful. They’re all yours.”