Dante's Dream (8 page)

“Who said I would accept you as a mate?” Jax snarled.

Dante laughed
abruptly and belted himself in.
“Like you have a fucking choice.”

Brin looked at Dante and
said
seriously, “I do, and I
'
m choosing to give this a try.”

Dante sighed and looked at Brin and nodded.  “I know.”

Brin started the large SUV and pulled out into the traffic.  They traveled in silence for miles, only having the click of the keyboard as Dante worked and soft music playing in the background.  Brin was beginning to wonder when someone was going to break the silence in the car when Jax said, “Hey, does this computer back here work too?  And what are all these buttons?”

“The computer works as long as you have the password, and don’t touch the buttons
,
” Dante said and kept typing.

“Well
,
what are you doing?  Can I have the
password?
  I could talk to my Pack then.  I want to make sure they are all on board with the plan
,
” Jax said and picked up the small keyboard that was back there.

“No messaging.  Someone can track that if they want to,
” Dante
said absently.

“Then what the fuck are you doing?” Jax said.

“Working
,
” Dante replied
tersely
.

“So, what is your real hair color?” Brin asked trying to stop them f
rom the
beginning
of
a fight
.

“Blonde,
” Jax
said and glared at Dante.  “Not that anyone gives a
shit
, but I do know how to stay under the radar.  I was trained by my father to avoid capture if I had too.”

“Why would a father train his daughter to avoid capture?” Brin asked.

“You didn’t know my father, from the time I was
born,
he had everything planned out when they discovered I was an Alpha female.  Sure there are some Alpha females
who
are born also, but I was told my Aura was that of a Pack leader. 
Since
I was an only child, I was the next in line
,
” Jax said.

“Yeah, the only female Pack leader
,
” Brin said wit
h a proud tone in his voice.  He
didn’t know her that well
,
but
they had begun to form a bond.  One Brin
could not
explain or define, but he felt. 
Hopefully,
it meant that they were developing the mating bond.  Quin and Jaden had explained it to him when they were younger.

“
That’s
right,” Jax said.  “You know, sometimes I hated that I was in training so much. 
I mean
day in and day out, work, study, train, fight
, a
ll to be the next Alpha of the Pack.  Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change a thing, my
parent’s
were awesome, supportive
,
you
kno
w
.”

Brin nodded
and
wanted to keep her talking.  He felt Dante paying attention too
,
although he was
still typing
on the computer.  Brin bet if he actually looked at
what
the man was working on it would be
gibberish
right about now.  His attention was solely on Jax.

“Why was it so important that you take over?  Didn’t your father have brothers?” Brin asked
,
knowing that her uncle
could
have taken the Pack if she had one.

“Nope, no brothers or sisters,
nothing
.  It was only the three of us.  My
father’s
family had been huge in the past.  His father was one of seven children.  Most of them have moved to the States or created their
own
Pack
.  My
father’s
bloodline
was too strong to be anything other than the Alpha of a Pack.  But they are too far away, and I didn’t want to draw any attention to them by going there.  I need to get my Pack to safety.  It
'
s what my father would have wanted me to do
,
” Jax said and looked out the window. 

Brin looked at
Dante,
who had paused even typing because he could feel the sorrow coming from the back seat.  Brin wanted to pull the car over
and
hug her, g
ive her comfort
,
but it was impossible.  And he wasn’t sure that it would help.  Jax
suffered a
great loss.  He knew
when his parents we killed
,
it took months for him to come out of his depression.  It was different, since he was a child and had no one to take care of him.  Thank goodness that
Quin’s
parents
took him in.
  Even though she seemed to be holding up, Brin thought that at some point she was going to let loose.

“When I ran
from the assholes who kept me,
I knew that my natural hair would be like a fucking
beacon
.  It
'
s white blonde like my wolf coat.  My mother used to say it was a good thing we didn’t live close to a
mountain; I
would
have gotten lost in the snow.  She would have been pissed that I colored it.  I was going to cut it too…
” she
said.

“NO,
” Both
men shouted and interrupted.

“Uh, okay, so I won
’
t do that
,
” Jax said startled by the yelling. 

“What we mean is, that your hair is gorgeous the way it is.  I would hate for you to cut it and then hate it.  My friend
who
lives next door to me did that and was pissed afterward
,
” Brin
said,
and he heard Jax growl in the back seat. 
There she went again with the growling.  What the hell was up with that
?  “What?”

“Nothing, I
'
m tired,
” Jax
said,
closed her eyes and laid her head back as if the conversation was over.  Brin looked at
Dante,
who shrugged and then went back to work. 
Okay, the conversation
w
as over
.

***

Shit, why did she have to keep
growling
when Brin mentioned the
neighbor
?
  It had come out
of
the blue like
before,
and she was jealous.  B
ut
how did she tell him that?  Jax kept her eyes closed and thought. 
She needed to get herself under control.  No matter what she had told the men before, she knew the shifting thing had not been the drugs totally.

Sure
,
maybe part of it was because her wolf had been seriously pissed off about being suppressed.  When she said pissed she meant
scratching
and biting her inside pissed.  It
was very
uncomfortable.  When the men had hit her to make her answer
questions,
and her wolf could
not
come out and protect her
,
it had been worse.

Jax thought they knew what they were doing when they gave her that drug.  They didn’t want her wolf coming out, but they also were
shifter wolves
, all except the fu
cking
leader. They
had to know what her beast was doing to her.  It was just another form of torture they had thought would break her.

The funny thing was if they had seen her shift
,
things would have been a lot different. Although she had not known sh
e was only one of two White Wolves
know
n to the magical community, s
he did know that she had some powers others didn’t.  Like her
ability
to feel things from the other members of the Pack.  Her father and mother had never told anyone that.  They wanted
to
wait until she was the Alpha before revealing that to her loyal members.  Best they accept her for who she was
then
for what she could do.  That was her father
’
s motto.

She needed to have a few hours to figure this shit
out, which
is why she was sitting in the back seat pretending to sleep
,
while they drove the English countryside running from a
crazy-
ass group
of Rogues. 
How had this gotten so far off
track?
  Just two weeks ago, everything was normal.  They were planning
on
her taking over.  And then the impossible
happened.

Now her life had changed so much she wasn’t sure what to do. The only thing she knew for sure was that she had an obligation to her Pack.  These two men were her
mates; she
could feel it.  And she needed to fucking sleep.

That was her last thought as she actually drifted off, confident that her mates would protect her with their
lives,
even if they didn’t know her
yet.

Brin and Dante talked quietly while Jax slept.   Her breathing had evened out about an hour ago, and the men had noticed and began to talk about the situation.  Dante was glad
the
human knew everything about the magical community and seemed to know how to take care of himself. 

“We will stay at a hotel under my name.  I have reserved three rooms and a suite.  We will have to have someone come in and measure Jax for
clothes; I
don’t feel comfortable taking her out into public
,
” Dante said quietly.

“That
'
s fine, I will pay for it
,
” Brin said like Dante was questioning that.

“Listen, I know we were thrown together in this
crazy-
ass situation
.  But
we are
mates;
I can feel the connection already.  I will tell Jax
,
but I am telling you, that I am the Seer of the Senate
,
” Dante admitted.

“What does that mean?” Brin asked curiously.  He knew Blaine was and his mates were also the Seer of the New Council.

“
When
I was changed
,
something happened to me.”  Dante admitted.
  “I can
'
t explain it, never have been able to. But when
Orfeo’s
father
found me, he noticed
there
was something different about me.  Over the last few decades
,
it has gotten a lot stronger.  I see things in my dreams.  Things that come true, I don’t always know when they are going to happen, or even the whole story.  It
'
s like bits and pieces.  Anyway, that
'
s why I know we are destined to be together.  I saw it.  Jax may be the White Wolf of the Senate, but I am the Seer.  Just before I left
,
I told Orfeo it was
time
for me to take my p
l
ace on the Senate as the Seer.  This is why I told him.  Together we will share a seat.”

Brin frowned
and
looked in the mirror.  So one of his mates was the
White
Wolf of the Senate and the other the Seer, he was a fucking human, how the hell
did
that work
out?
Was he supposed to sit nicely in a corner while they did all this amazing shit and he came out when they needed a
sideshow
?
  It didn’t make sense.  Dante must have felt his indec
ision about things
.

“What are you thinking?”
h
e asked.

“Well
, I am wondering where I fit in
,
” Brin said slowly.

“Simple, you are the anchor for both Jax and me.  As the White Wolf
,
Jax can be overwhelmed by the feelings she will h
ave, and when I have a vision
..
.
s
ometimes I can
’t
figure out what the fuck they mean.  I was told finding my mates would even everything out.  Besides, you are the lawyer of the Senate, so you will have a lot to do anyway
,
” Dante said reasonably.

Brin thought for a minute and then said, “And I
'
m going to have to be a mediator
,
right?”

Dante laughed and looked back.
“Yeah probably.  So I wanted to make sure we are clear.  We will share Jax.”

“Uh yeah
,
I get
that,
and I
'
m feeling a connection with you
, not sexual, more l
ike you
are my family, a brother
,
” Brin said.

“Me too.  I have been alone for a long time.  It will take getting used to, but I already feel comfortable with you.  More than even Orfeo
,
who is my
closest
friend
,
” Dante said.

“Are you
guys going to hug it out now?”
Jax said from the back seat.

Brin almost lost control of the car when she muttered the words and Dante frowned and turned and looked at her.   “How long have you been awake?”

Jax snorted. “Enough to hear the hugs and kisses.”

Brin laughed.
“We're going to stop in a few, we need to eat.”

Jax scrunched up her face in thought and then looked at Dante and said, “Hey, what are you gonna eat?  I mean
,
it's not like we can order a pint of blood.”

Dante looked at her straight faced and said, “Know many vampires?”

“Yeah, you,” Jax said smartly.

“The first thing you need to know is that yes, although Vampires do drink blood, we also eat food.  The second thing is not to piss a Vampire off unless you are willing to deal with the consequences
,
” Dante said and turned around.

Brin looked at him out of the corner of his eye and saw he was smiling a little.  This was like foreplay to him.  Looking in the rearview mirror
,
he saw the same expression on Jax’s face. 
Wow, life was certainly going to be interesting
. 

“So, what made you decide to change your hair color again?” Brin asked and then both of them turned and looked at him and laughed. 
Obviously,
he was trying to break the tension in the car. 
Shit, riding for the next few hours with the sexual vibes flying around would be hell.  They really needed to stop and take a breather
.

“I need food!” Jax said when her stomach grumbled.  “Are we there yet?”
She
whined,
and Brin laughed.

“We have ten miles,” Brin answered and Dante pulled out his phone and called his men in the other cars.  They were all ready to get out and stretch.  The hotel was about four more hours away.  They needed a break.

“I vote Bangers and
Mash. I
haven’t had that in a long time!” Jax said from the backseat and Dante snorted.

“What in the hell is that?” Dante said.

“WHAT?”
Brin said and grinned.  “You don’t know what Bangers and Mash
are?"

“Uh, did you want me to guess?” Dante drawled and looked at him.

Brin laughed and said, “Sausages and mashed potatoes with gravy.”

“Ahh,” Dante said.

“Well
,
if we in Ireland, I would make sure you had a helping of Black Pudding and Colcannon, but since we are here, Bangers and Mash
are
the
next-
best thing
,
” Jax said innocently.  Brin looked in the mirror and shook his head at her.  “What?”

“Okay, there had to be an insult in there somewhere, what
are
Black Pudding and Colcannon?”
Dante drawled.

“I will make
it for you!  You will love it!”
Jax said in a sing
-
song
voice,
and Brin started laughing.

“Tell me!” Dante said and then picked up the computer and began to type.

“Cheating,” Jax complained.

“No, survival,” Dante laughed and then shook his head when he saw Black Pudding was made partly of blood, and Colcannon was made from pig’s feet and kale.

“Yumm,” Jax said and rubbed her stomach.

Bri
n laughed and pulled off the high
way and looked for a restaurant in t
he small village as they arrived
.  Driving through the small
,
sleepy town
,
Brin wondered if they were going to stick out like a sore thumb.  But they had to eat.

Finally, he saw a small café that looked open and parked.  The other two SUV’s pulled in next to
him,
and Dante put a hand on his arm before Brin could open the door.  “Let them check it out!”

“Why? We are in the middle of no
where, who the hell is gonna bug us?” Jax said from the back and looked around.  There was no one even on the street.  If there was a crazed shifter around here, she couldn’t see them. 

“Just let us do our job,” Dante said and Jax rolled her eyes and mimicked him in the back.  Brin had a hard time keeping his laughter in.  She was gonna be a pain
—
a cute pain
—
but still a pain.

“Did you say you were gonna cut your hair, because I think we voted no
,
” Brin said.

“Is this gonna be a thing for you?” Jax asked and laughed.

“What?” Brin said innocently.

“My hair, talking about my hair when things get a little tense
,
” Jax said waving her hand around. 
She was impressively expressive
, Brin thought.

“Maybe, I haven’t decided.  Right now
,
I
'
m trying to keep you from coming to blows about shit,” Brin said and then laughed when Dante made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a laugh.

“Ready?” Jax said and flung open her door when she saw the Vampire walk out of the diner and nod slightly.

“Damn it
,
” Dante said and pushed open his door so fast that Brin had to blink to make sure he saw what he thought he had.

“Here we go again,” Brin muttered and exited the vehicle to hear Dante yelling at Jax about waiting for him or Brin to get out first.  Jax was yelling right back something about being able to kick most men’s
ass,
and
so she was not worried.  And on
it went until they were in the small diner waiting for a
table. 
 

There were only a handful of people in the place, and soft music played in the background.  At
least,
it covered the silence that descended when they walked in the door.  Apparently, not to
o
many people get off at this exit.  Or it was because of the eight men dressed in black jeans, black shirts and different length black leather jackets.  They looked like they stepped out of the movies they were all so handsome
—
Jax had already commented on that once.
Add in the woman dressed in oversized
,
hunter green sweats and messy
,
long hair because of rolling her head back and forth on the seat cushion.  They screamed ‘cult’ or ‘gypsy’s’.  Take your pick in
England;
they were both scary to normal people.

Brin looked around the room and met
all the
people’s eyes, causing them to turn away slightly.  The diner had a country feel to it, decorated in pink and white checkered tables and white
wood slat
walls.  It reminded him of a very nice barn.

The waitress was a short
,
bubbly teen
that
didn’t seem to notice the others staring at them.  She led them through the tables and chatted the whole way with Brin about the small town.  “This okay?”
s
he said pointing to a table in the corner.  Brin nodded and took a chair and watched as Dan
t
e made sure Jax was between them and sat so he could see
the rest of the room. 
Always
on guard
, Brin thought.

“So, our
specials are in the front
.
”
The waitress announced when they had been seated, then she put up a hand and covered her mouth on one side like she was sharing a secret, but her tone never decreased.  “But I wouldn’t have the stew
, if you know what I mean.
”

None of them
did,
so they just nodded, she took their drink
order,
and by the time
she
returned
,
the
y
decided they were all having the same thing.  Once they placed their order
,
Jax sat back and looked at the Vampires who were in the other cars.  Brin braced himself for what was coming.

***

Jax narrowed her eyes at
the Vampires
;
she had so many questions
,
but they were very serious.  She wondered if she asked if they had a stick up their ass, if they would be offended.  Finally not able to hold it in any longer
,
she said, “I have a question.”