Brandi (16 page)

“Only if the print is small like in this book. They keep me from getting headaches due to eye strain. I’m a lot older than you, and despite my stamina in many areas, my eyes are aging a bit. I’ve only needed them for the last decade. Reed wears them too. Why? Don’t you think they make me look serious and distinguished?”

Brandi snorted. Why was it so odd to her that someone his age needed glasses? They went with his silver temples. And they looked sexy as hell though she wasn’t about to tell him that in front of their mesmerized audience.

When he felt her continued stare, Gareth pulled his attention completely from his book and met her gaze levelly. Her fangs started descending without her having any control over them at all. She clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. Gareth just calmly continued to hold her gaze.

“We’re going to have to address that issue soon. It’s only going to get worse until we resolve the situation. Trust me… this is my third go round. I know the drill.”

“I saw them this time! Did you see them? They grew while I watched.”

Brandi dropped her hand to look back at her charges. The excited observation had come from the hazel-eyed boy. She definitely felt them this time. She raised her top lip with her finger and touched them. Yes—she now had sharp pointy fangs. Was she turning into a damn vampire? Were they even real? She was supposed to be a werewolf. She would have to speak to Ariel and see if the fang thing had happened to her.

“Do they hurt when they grow fast like that?” the girl asked.

Brandi shook her head. “No. Not really. They make it a little hard to talk though.”

“Will you bite me if I touch them?” blue eyes asked.

She needed to know their names. She looked over to glare at Gareth. He was studying her with lowered lids and a definite glint in his eyes. “How can I make the fangs go away?”

He shook his head. “Ask me later… when we’re alone. Be prepared for my answer.”

Brandi snorted. So no help there, she decided. She turned back to the kids.

“Tell me your names and I’ll let you touch them.” It didn’t surprise her that blue-eyes leaned in first.

“I’m Kent,” he said. She felt his tiny finger graze a tooth firmly. “Man… I hope I get fangs some day.”

“Me next. I’m Stewart,” hazel eyes declared. He leaned in and gently ran his finger down until he felt one of the points as well. “That’s so cool. You look even prettier with fangs.”

“Thank you. That’s a very nice compliment,” Brandi declared. She looked at the girl. “And you?”

“My name is Agnes, but I hate my name. Will you call me Aggie?” Brandi nodded as the girl stepped between her knees and lifted two fingers to gently feel both the points.

“You smell really good,” Aggie declared.

“Thank you,” Brandi replied, trying to remember if she’d even put on deodorant after she’d showered.

“Are you going to be our mother? We’ve already made a deal with Gareth,” Kent informed her.

Panic launched a violent revolt in her stomach. Her fangs instantly disappeared back up into her gums. She reached up and touched her teeth, verifying they were back to normal. How did that even work? Were the fangs hidden inside her other teeth? When they were down, she felt an almost insane urge to bite.

“Can you make them come down whenever you want?” Stewart asked.

“No, she can’t,” Gareth answered for her. “And I think you all need to give Brandi a little breathing room. We haven’t been around children much. This is a very new situation for us. We need some transition time.”

Kent nodded and made a motion with his head. The other two fell in line behind him as they headed back to their seats. Brandi watched them all smile knowingly as they walked by her. They were well behaved and well spoken, but their gazes were far from innocent. She was suddenly sure they were nothing like other four-year-olds.

Gareth laughed. “I think Kent is the Alpha equivalent of their trio. I’m not sure what form that’s going to take long term. Matt will want to keep an eye on him as he grows up. He’s probably going to need a firm hand at home as well.”

“I thought you weren’t sure how Matt was going to react to them.”

Brandi watched Gareth’s jaw harden in determination. He said nothing, but his eyes spoke volumes about his feelings. Something had happened to make Gareth get very protective of the children. She liked him for it, but how quickly he’d changed his mind was still odd… very odd.

She glanced back at the children who were now seated and buckled up. Also odd. Kent was staring off into nothingness—probably thinking about things no four year old should. Aggie was humming, but Brandi could smell anxiety on her. She was scared about what was going to happen to them. Stewart was playing rock, paper, scissors by himself. For all his brave suggestions, he had checked out the moment she and Gareth raised their voices.

Brandi decided they all needed computer tablets, but not the internet yet. If they had access to too much information at once, they might figure out how to take over the world by the time they were six. She turned back to find Gareth staring at her strangely.

“What?” she asked.

“I never would have guessed you were the maternal type. I can’t wait to see the look on Ariel’s and Heidi’s face when they see it. It may not be showing, but I’m still reeling from the shock.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not maternal. Who said I was maternal?” Brandi pulled herself straighter in the seat.

“Relax. Nobody is accusing you of anything. The Calders said they’d take care of the kids until we get back from our
unexpected business trip
. This is how we will proceed.”

Brandi snorted at his code speak, but nodded. “Good. They may need some help though. After talking to them, I’m not sure the village is going to be safe.”

Gareth laughed loudly. He unclipped his seatbelt and leaned over to whisper in Brandi’s ear. “What if the Calders want to keep the children permanently? Are you going to be okay with that?”

Brandi jerked away and glared. “Maybe. I guess. Why wouldn’t I be? If it was what was best for them, of course I’d be okay with it.”

While Gareth settled back into his seat and refastened his seatbelt, she snuck another look at the three of them sitting properly and quietly… too quietly… in the back seat.

Why in the hell weren’t they struggling with their inactivity like normal kids? She’d watched them openly stalk an armed guard for pity’s sake. They might have the brains of children much older, but she was pretty sure they had to be four somewhere inside those bodies. She’d bet her secret cache of savings on it… and that was no small amount.

“Yes, that’s what I thought you’d say, Agent Jenkins. You haven’t accepted the reality of me and you being a couple yet, but I think this maternal thing will move a lot faster in terms of personal epiphanies. I think they’re charming—not that I’m an expert.”

“Charming?” Brandi repeated the strange compliment, unsure if she’d heard him clearly. “Are you saying you like the children?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I? In fact, I’ve always liked children. Most werewolves do. Like Ryan, I just never had any with my mates, so I have no real experience with them. Now that I realize there’s going to be an
us
, I’m starting to give the concept of family more thought. I’m almost there in my thinking.”

Brandi snorted and leaned over as far she could to hiss at him. “There is no
us
. Keep your concepts to yourself.”

Gareth leaned until he could have almost stolen a kiss if he wanted. He let a low growl loose from deep in his throat. Brandi gasped when her fangs immediately came down again. He smiled into her eyes wishing they were alone—wishing she was ready for him. He’d become ready the day he let her walk out his door. Maybe he’d paid enough for that earlier mistake—finally.

“Just so you know how things are, I can make your fangs descend any damn time I want,” Gareth whispered.

Brandi righted herself in her seat. “I thought we agreed not to swear in front the children.”

She saw Gareth glance to the back and wink at one of them—maybe all of them. What the hell had happened while she slept?

“Hey Kent. I think we have rule number one for your list already,” Gareth declared.

Brandi heard a mass of giggling from the back seat. She glared at Gareth. “I can’t believe I slept so soundly while you filled their heads full of nonsense. Did you drug me?”

“Yes, I did. I made you feel safe and content when I helped you figure out how to take care of the children,” Gareth declared, picking up his book again. “Get used to it, Agent Jenkins. The deal you made for them is by far the most dangerous mission you’ve ever signed on for in your life. Finding and collecting bear hybrids is going to seem like a piece of cake compared to raising three children who are smarter than both of us.”

“Gareth.”

“Brandi.”

More giggling from the back had her rolling her eyes. She heard Stewart getting excited and breathing hard.

“Can we all watch you fight this time? We’ll be really quiet. Kent was the only one who got to watch last time. The guard wouldn’t let Aggie and me climb up to the top where Kent was.”

“Gareth and I are not fighting, Stewart. We’re having an adult discussion. No more fangs will be shown. No more threats will be issued. He and I get along just fine. Don’t we, Gareth?” His evil snicker earned him a hard hand shove to his knee. He was not helping. “Stop laughing.”

“Brandi Jenkins… I’m falling more and more in love with you every day. You’re definitely going to have to stop trying to kill me now. We have important things to take care of, even if they do like to watch us fight.”

Brandi put her head in her hand when pealing laughter rang out from the back of the plane. This was not going like she planned.

Chapter 12

Brandi released her breath slowly, ordering her body to relax.

Ariel and Matt had accepted her story about Sheldon Crane without doubting a millisecond’s worth of it. Yet now they looked over at the children in stunned surprise. The shock went both ways because she couldn’t get the kids to come any closer to the Alphas.

Aggie and Stewart were so scared they reeked of adrenaline. Kent wasn’t as bad, but she could tell the boy was frustrated at having to deal with yet another situation he couldn’t do anything to fix. He stood with his arms crossed, staying near the other two, which would have made the hardest heart melt. She’d have been lying if she said she didn’t respect the little sucker’s protective urges.

Truthfully, it was like watching recent history repeat itself, except Aggie and Stewart were both as helpless as Heidi. Kent wasn’t exactly helpless, but he was still emotionally fragile, which Brandi knew from experience could be just as incapacitating. The bottom line was all three were babies who hadn’t been allowed to remain young or innocent.

She turned and looked up at Gareth. “Will you go talk to them while I finish explaining to Ariel and Matt? Try to get them to see our Alphas as good guys. Kent’s attitude isn’t helping the other two feel any safer. He’s acting tougher than he feels, so watch his ego… and tell him to uncross his damn arms… but don’t swear while you lecture him about it.”

Grinning at her detailed orders, Gareth saluted. He nodded to Ariel and Matt before striding over to the children. Brandi watched him kneel down to get on their level. When they instantly moved closer to him, her stomach did some sort of clutching thing. She suddenly wanted to get close to him too. She had to shake her head hard to distract herself from the compelling urge to join the little intimate group.

“When you left, I envisioned everything from your death to Gareth’s death to the possibility of losing both of you. But in my wildest imaginings of your fate, I never saw you returning with children in your care. I’m so shocked my brain is blank. You’re such a badass. I saw you kill a man barehanded and in cold blood. What the hell are you doing with children?”

Brandi ran a hand through her hair. “I know. I never imagined this either, but I just couldn’t leave them there as prisoners. They deserve more out of life than to be an experiment. When I bargained for the three of us to be left alone, I bargained for them to be set free. They’re considered test subject failures because they can’t shift into wolves. What I didn’t count on was Shitty Sheldon being like some grandfather figure to them. When he made them my charges, he threatened my life if anything happened to them.”

Ariel chuckled, even when Brandi gave her a well-deserved glare. “Sorry—I am trying to be serious. I’m not laughing at the situation as much as I am at the nickname you gave him. Everyone would agree the children deserve their freedom, but they’re so young, Brandi. What are we supposed to do with three orphaned toddlers? Even if they are as self-composed as you say, they still need to be cared for like regular children.”

Brandi reached up and scratched her head. She looked at Gareth who had put all of them at ease but Kent, who was still watching a smiling Matt closely. That boy was indeed going to be a handful if he didn’t learn to tell the good guys from the bad soon.