HannasHaven (11 page)

“Hey, come back to me now.” He turned her toward him.
“Everything is going to be okay.”

“Course it is.” Hanna planted a big, fake smile on her face.
“I’m sure they’re really nice guys and in a few days I’ll be seeing you again.
Of course, I have to act like I don’t know you.”

Like I don’t want to jump you, fuck you, suck you until
you scream.

And if she was honest with herself, that’s what she found
the most daunting, what she feared the most. Not having to live with two
strangers or pretend that she was romantically involved with them, but the fact
that she couldn’t touch Marcus when she wanted, couldn’t go to him if she were
scared or horny or anything.

“Hanna.” He tipped her chin up. A serious expression
chiseled his face as they heard car doors slam shut. “You can always come to me
if you’re afraid. I will always protect you. You have my phone number. I expect
to hear from you if you need me. Understand me?”

She nodded.

“I’m serious, Tink. I find out you were in trouble and you
didn’t get hold of me, I’m going to make that spanking you just had feel like
love pats. Got me?”

“Yes,” she replied. Some of her tension eased. He wouldn’t
leave her completely alone.

He opened the door just as Cooper and his brothers stepped
up onto the porch.

“Marcus, Hanna,” Cooper greeted them. “These are my brothers,
Connor and Cade. Cade’s the one with the longer hair.”

Cooper’s brothers were twins. They were built large, like
Cooper. But where Cooper had short hair and hazel-colored eyes, Cade and Connor
had gray eyes, and they both wore their darker hair longer.

Cade had hair so long it nearly reached his shoulders. His
face was blank. Not cold, but he didn’t give a thing away. His brother would
have been identical, except his shorter hair curled at the ends and he wore a
smile, his eyes filled with warmth.

Marcus shook their hands and then it was Hanna’s turn. She
took a step forward, taking Cade’s hand as he stared at her solemnly. His hand
was firm, slightly calloused and warm. He stepped back to let his smiling
brother forward. Connor held her hand longer, his gray gaze running over her
with a look of appreciation in his eyes. She blushed.

Marcus growled from behind her, making her jump. Connor let
her hand slip free and she took a step back to stand beside Marcus.

“Shall we go inside?” Connor asked.

Cooper stared at Marcus solemnly. “We should get going,” he
said.

Marcus nodded, scowling at Connor and Cade. Hanna shivered,
grateful she’d never seen him look at her that way. Marcus turned to her and,
in a move that stunned her, picked her up, cradling her as though she were a
babe against his chest.

“You remember, you call me if you need me. I don’t care what
the fuck anyone thinks, I will be there as soon as I can.”

Hanna hugged him tight, burying her face into his chest, not
caring what the others might think either. Her heart shattering, she held on to
him as though he were hers. As though she had the right.

“You look after her,” Marcus growled. “If she gets one
scratch on her, you’ll pay, you get me?”

“Understood,” one of the twins replied. Probably Connor, she
guessed, he seemed more talkative. Cade had that tall, dark and mysterious
thing going on.

“What about security?” Cooper asked. “One of us needs to go
through the system with them.”

“Hanna knows how everything works,” Marcus replied, setting
her on her feet. Hanna forced herself not to cling to him, instead taking a
step back to put some space between them.

“Hold out your wrist, Tink.”

She frowned with puzzlement but nevertheless did as he
asked.

He removed his watch with the implanted security chip and
placed it around her much smaller wrist, cinching it up tight. She looked down
at the watch. He’d punched extra holes in the strap so it would fit her.

Hanna threw her arms around him once more. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

If anyone wanted entrance or tried to enter without
permission, she’d know. It was the best gift she’d ever received.

* * * * *

Four days later, Hanna stared out of the BMW’s window at the
sprawling complex coming into view. It had the look of an old Southern mansion,
but was probably only fifty years old. It had been haphazardly added to over
the years, giving it an odd appearance, as though it were sprouting roots.

Cade pulled the vehicle over to the side of the private road
that led down to the mansion. “Paterson certainly had delusions of grandeur,
huh?” he commented.

Hanna turned to look at him. She still wondered how the hell
this was going to work. She didn’t feel the slightest bit of interest for
either of them, and they were both nice guys. Sure, Cade was marginally
neurotic and missing a few social skills, but he said his mind and she never
had to guess where she stood with him.

Connor, on the other hand, had gotten all the charm. He
smiled often, joked around and was a total gentleman.

How the hell did she end up here? With two fake boyfriends
she wasn’t attracted to? She was so screwed.

She glanced down at the bracelet in the sun and twisted it
around her wrist. Cade had insisted on her wearing it, even though she’d been a
bit uncomfortable accepting jewelry from a stranger. But as he’d pointed out
they weren’t supposed to be strangers and a boyfriend would be expected to give
his girlfriend gifts.

“You ready for this, pumpkin?” Connor asked, sympathy clear
in his eyes.

Hanna glared at him. “Stop calling me pumpkin. It sounds
ridiculous.”

“Plus, she’s more of a celery than a pumpkin,” Cade
commented.

“What?” Connor asked. Hanna gaped at Cade in bewilderment.

He shrugged, obviously not understanding their confusion. “A
pumpkin is round and dimply. Hanna doesn’t remind me of a pumpkin. She’s more
like celery, thin and straight.”

Well, hell. Had she just been complimented or insulted? She
really didn’t know.

Connor shook his head, turning to stare at her. “Please
forgive him. Ever since that coyote stole him as a baby, he’s been a bit odd.”

Hanna’s lips twitched. “A coyote?”

“It’s true. One did take me as a baby while we were visiting
some relatives.”

“Seriously?” She looked over at Connor, who nodded.

“Yep,” Connor agreed. “But it’s the coyote I feel sorry for.
He didn’t know what he was in for by taking Cade. According to our father, they
found Cade sitting by himself under a tree, the coyote just staring at him,
whimpering. Cade was completely naked, covered in mud and the only injury he
suffered was a gash on his forehead. The coyote, on the other hand, was, well,
stunned I believe is the word my mother used.”

“Oh wow.” It was the weirdest story she’d ever heard.

“And Cade’s been a bit odd ever since.”

“Well, it’s not like I’m exactly normal myself,” she
replied. Although Cade could certainly rival her for the prize of biggest fruit
loop. The man carried a blue light on him. He liked to check for blood stains
before he slept in a room. Not that blood stains turned him off—he just couldn’t
stand the mystery of not knowing how they got there.

He’d made her go over and over the security at the cabin
until she’d been ready to scream. She wondered if that was how Marcus had felt
with her in the beginning.

Marcus.

Oh Christ. She was going to see Marcus again. As if she
could forget. It had been all she could think about for the last four days.

Seeing him, touching him, tasting him.

She had to pretend she didn’t know him. This was a test of
epic proportions. She’d only called him the once, even though she’d thought
about it a billion times a day.

That first night she’d lain awake, cold and afraid. She’d
ended up in the kitchen, scrubbing out the pristine stove. Connor had forced
her to sit down and call him.

Cade had finished cleaning the stove.

As soon as Marcus’ voice had come across the earpiece, she’d
relaxed. In fact, she’d ended up having to calm him down. He’d been set to race
out there and light a fire under Connor and Cade for not looking after her.

After she’d convinced him she was fine, just a bit unsure
and scared, he’d worked on soothing her. She’d fallen asleep about 3:00 a.m.,
with his voice still speaking in her ear.

She wasn’t even sure what they’d talked about.

The days since had been filled with getting to know Connor
and Cade, touching them, letting them touch her. Luckily, Cade wasn’t a cuddly
guy, so she only really had to worry about letting Connor close. And he was so
nice she couldn’t help but like him.

Still, the entire time she’d missed Marcus. Horribly.

The only times she managed to push him to the back of her
mind were when she was sketching. She’d nearly filled the pad Laney had gotten
her.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

“I’m ready.”

“Sir?”

Marcus looked up at the small, blonde woman who stood quivering
before him. Not for the first time, he cursed Leonard. What kind of a bastard
had he been that his own pack were terrified of him?

“Yes?”

“They’re here.”

A surge of anticipation made him dizzy. He quickly squelched
the emotion as he noticed the woman—damn, he needed to start remembering names—looking
at him strangely.

Sadie. That was her name.

“Good. Thank you, Sadie. Show them into the living room and
I’ll be down there shortly.” He refused to call it the ballroom as Leonard had.
Pretentious bastard. Looking at the Silverton pack’s accounts, it seemed Leonard
had financed all his ideas of grandeur by dragging every spare cent from his
people that he could.

Marcus ran his hand over his face and forced himself to
remain seated when every inch of him wanted to race down the stairs to her.

Hanna.

She was here. He’d missed her. Badly.

Finally he couldn’t wait any longer. Through sheer force of
will, he managed to walk calmly down the stairs to the large room that served
as the pack meeting place.

As he strode down the hallway, he grimaced at the deep-red
carpet, drapes and garish furnishings. Shit, if this were his place, one of the
first things he’d do is redecorate. It reminded him of a strip club, without
the easy supply of alcohol to filter his senses.

Then he stepped into the room and stopped.

There she was. Hanna. Gorgeous, sweet, shy little Hanna,
with her quirks and her large heart. She stood between Connor and Cade, dwarfed
by their huge frames. He clenched his hands into fists, fighting back the urge
to drag her away from them, to swing her over his shoulder and carry her up to
his room.

Instead, he forced himself to relax, not wanting anyone to
think something odd was going on. Everyone remained wary around him. Most of
them avoided him.

What the hell was Cooper thinking, putting him in charge? He
was so not a people person.

“Hello, I’m Marcus Chance.”

Connor stepped forward and shook his hand. The only thing
distinguishing him from Cade that Marcus could see was his longer hair. And
maybe he was marginally taller.

“Hello, I’m Connor Brady. This is my brother Cade and our
girlfriend, Anna.”

Marcus barely hid his shock at the name change. But it made
sense. If anyone here knew what Leonard had been up to, then they may have
heard her real name. Connor stepped back and took Hanna’s hand. Cade dropped
his hand on her shoulder and a surge of jealousy hit him.

Damn, they were touchy-feely. Hanna had only been around
them a few days. It had taken a week until he could even get close to her. The
wolf snarled possessively.

He glanced down at their joined hands and saw the delicate
bracelet glittering on her wrist. Something he knew she hadn’t owned before.
They had given it to her and she’d accepted it. His mind whirled, spewing out
possibilities. Was she sleeping with them? Had she jumped from his bed straight
to theirs?

Marcus glowered at Hanna, growing immediately ashamed when
she winced and looked down.

Fuck. What did he think he was doing? As if this wasn’t hard
enough on her and here he was, irrationally getting angry with her because they
got to touch her and he couldn’t.

Marcus didn’t know where this jealous side had come from and
he definitely didn’t like the way he was acting. Nor did he like the way Hanna
had grown pale, her eyes glassy. Fuck, he’d hurt her. Connor and Cade stepped
in front of her, protecting her.

It burned deep to know they were protecting her from
him
.

“I’m glad to have you all here,” he managed to say. “As you
know, your brother placed me in charge. My assistant Sadie has assigned you
some rooms. When you’re all settled, I would like to invite you to join me at
my table in the dining hall.”

Yeah, he sounded like a prick. But if he spent one more second
in that room with the three of them, he knew he’d do something to give himself
away. They were touching his woman. Taking care of his woman. Protecting his
woman.

They even smelled like his woman.

And that was enough to make any man go insane.

“Fucking asshole.”

Hanna looked over in surprise at the vehemence in Cade’s
voice. He slammed his way through the suite they’d been given, entering what
she figured was one of two bedrooms. She glanced over at Connor in a bit of a daze.

“Here, sweetie, come and sit down.” Connor took her hand and
led her to the sofa. She’d come so far in the last few days and found that she
was far stronger than she’d thought. Forcing herself to get to know these guys,
to let them touch her, get close to her—it had been one of the toughest things
she’d had to do.

And Marcus had just tried and condemned her for it.

Cade came out, a small black device held in his hand. His
bug detector. He’d shown it to Hanna the first day he’d arrived when he’d
checked the entire cabin for listening devices. “Bedroom’s clean.” He
disappeared again.

Connor squeezed her hand then stood. “I’ll run you a bath
while Cade does his thing.”

“Bathroom’s all clean,” Cade called out.

Dark, polished shoes appeared in her line of sight.
Well-pressed pants covered long, lean legs. A teal-blue shirt tucked into those
pants. Cade always looked well put together. There was nothing casual or
easygoing about this man.

“He’s an asshole. Want me to go beat on him for a while?” His
suggestion said he wouldn’t mind that at all.

“What? Who?”

“That asshole wannabe-Alpha downstairs. He’s not worth
crying over, kid. You need to show him you don’t give a shit what he thinks.”

Okay, they’d seen the look of disgust on Marcus’ face too.

“He thinks I’m a slut. That I’ve jumped into bed with the
two of you.”

“Which is exactly what he’s supposed to fucking think,” Cade
replied. “He’s shitty because you’re doing a good job at faking a relationship.
He should know how hard this is on you and then he goes and shits on you like
that, throwing you back into a bad place. I have my own bad place, princess,
and it’s not a good place to be. Come on, Connor’s run you a bath.”

Cade walked into a bedroom. Hanna stared after him, stunned.
That was the most she’d ever heard him speak. And he’d been sticking up for
her.

“He likes you.” Connor entered the room. “He doesn’t like
many people. You’re a good person, Hanna. You’re strong and kind and gorgeous.
Any man would be damn lucky to have you and if that jerk Marcus doesn’t realize
that then he doesn’t deserve you.”

She gaped up at him in disbelief.

“Hanna. Bath. Now.”

The numbness disappeared and she found her lips twitching as
Connor winced.

“I swear, that coyote has a lot to answer for.”

* * * * *

Hanna sat at the large dining table between Cade and Connor.
Apparently, each night Marcus invited different members of the pack to dine
with him so he could meet them. There must have been about thirty people around
the huge dining table. Marcus sat at the head. A Shadowpeak enforcer sat to his
left. What was his name? Josiah, that’s it. Dark and slight, he seemed cool and
dangerous.

She made a mental note to stay well away from him.

Reaching over, Connor squeezed her thigh slightly. She
jumped.

Damn it. She had to do better than this.

Connor splayed his large hand on the table, displaying all
his fingers. Their signal. As soon as the guys had settled into the cabin, they’d
all sat down for a talk. Recognizing her discomfort with touch and attention,
they’d come up with a signal. If she was becoming too scared or feeling
panicked she was to give them a number with her fingers. One finger meant she
was relaxed and feeling good. Five was full-blown panic.

She showed him three.

He gave a slight nod and leaned back, placing his hand over
the back of her chair. To anyone else it probably looked as though he was
hugging her, however he didn’t touch her at all. Hanna had discovered that both
he and Cade were good at that. Pretense.

On the other side of Cade sat a large, dark-haired man with
scars that ran down the left side of his face. Both he and Cade remained quiet
after some introductions.

Hanna struggled to remember his name. She’d been in a bit of
a daze while introductions were made, trying to keep from showing her hurt at Marcus’
earlier condemnation.

The man sitting across from her leaned forward, his
dark-blue eyes intense. “So, Anna, how did you find the flight here?”

“Well, generally I don’t like to fly,” she answered
truthfully. “But the drive from South Carolina is a bit long.”

Those sitting around her nodded.

“Can’t blame you for that. Not my favorite thing, either,” a
woman diagonally across from her left agreed. “Or yours, Ryder,” she directed
to the man who’d spoken.

Hanna smiled shyly at the woman. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get
your name?”

“Course you didn’t,” she replied kindly. “There are too many
of us to get it all straight the first night. I’m Blair. This is Ryder, my pain-in-the-ass
older brother.” She then pointed at the man beside Cade. “The big, silent guy
is Rafe. Don’t be offended if he doesn’t speak to you much; he doesn’t like chitchat.”

Blair smiled teasingly over at the big man. Hanna couldn’t
see much of his expression, but had the feeling this was a running joke.

“And over here is Honey.” The short, curvy brunette sitting
so quietly by Blair smiled at her then turned to stare at her food once more.
Shy. Hanna could relate and she felt an instant affinity with Honey, whose hunched
shoulders and tense demeanor screamed her reluctance at being here.

“So how long have you all known each other, Anna?” Ryder
asked. Hanna was glad Connor had insisted on using a name close to her own. She
was never going to make her millions as an actress.

“Oh not nearly long enough.”

Cade and Connor had been thorough in preparing her. They’d
talked extensively about their background, their likes and dislikes, quizzing
her hourly until she’d been on information overload.

“Yeah, how did you meet?”

“Through a friend,” she replied easily.

“How long are you all planning to stay?” Blair interjected
as Ryder stared at her.

“A few weeks,” Connor answered. “We’d always planned to
visit Cooper and when he said he needed some help, we thought the time was
right. Course we couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Anna for that long.”

“I’m surprised you’d bring her here though,” Ryder drawled.
“After all, if things are messy enough that the Alpha feels he needs outside
help, then surely you wouldn’t want your woman here.”

Cade stiffened beside her even as the whole table went
silent.

“Is that a threat?” Cade asked quietly, the first thing he’d
said. “Are you saying our woman is in danger here?”

Ryder stared at him, meeting his gaze. “Of course not. I was
merely curious as to your reasoning.”

Blair placed her hand on Ryder’s arm, looking over at Cade
with a soft smile, although Hanna could see the tension in her shoulders.

“I can assure you we’ll have no problems looking after
Anna,” Connor said, his voice firm.

“While you watch over us as well,” Ryder snarled. “Like we’re
naughty children who can’t be trusted.”

Hanna let out a deep breath as she realized Ryder’s problem
wasn’t with her. For a moment she thought he’d suspected who she was. But he
was angry about the pack’s situation.

“Cooper doesn’t know you yet,” Marcus interjected. “You can’t
expect him to give you blind trust, not after what happened.”

“He blames us all for Leonard’s actions,” Ryder growled,
standing. Everyone around the dining table sat on pins and needles, watching as
the large man clenched his hands, his eyes glowing amber.

Shit. Not good. Not good.

Connor leaned in close. “If I tell you to, I want you out of
here. Get to our rooms, lock the door and don’t come out unless Cade or I come
to the door. Got it?”

Hanna nodded. She was no fool.

Marcus settled back into his chair, staring coolly at Ryder.
“So what do you want? Instant trust?”

“Why the fuck should we trust him when he can’t give us the
same? Hell, he doesn’t even bother to come here himself. Instead he sends his
lackeys.” Ryder sneered at Marcus and Josiah.

Marcus raised a brow. “So your problem is with me then?”

“Why should we take orders from you?” Ryder snarled. “You’re
not our Alpha. You haven’t proven yourself. All you and your Alpha have done is
try to take us over and order us around. You look down your noses at us. We
didn’t know what Leonard was up to. Those who did are dead, killed by your
hands. What exactly do you want from us? We want to know what our future holds.”

Hanna felt sorry for them. The whole table of Silverton
wolves watched on, worry in some of their eyes, anger in others. How would she
feel if she were in their shoes? Probably scared about what the hell was going
to happen.

Marcus seemed to sense that as well. He leaned forward with
a sigh. “Look, no one denies this is hard—”

“Hard?” Ryder snapped back. “What the hell do you know about
it? You sit there and order us around and expect us to follow you. Why should
we? You didn’t defeat Leonard. You haven’t earned our trust or respect. We know
none of you want to be here, so why don’t you fuck off and leave us alone.”

The tension in the room ratcheted higher as Cade pushed back
his chair. Although Marcus appeared relaxed, his jaw clenched.

“Cooper is your Alpha.”

“Some Alpha. He was here off and on for the first few weeks
and then he sent you. Well, we don’t know you. How do we know you’re even
strong enough to lead us?”

Marcus crossed his arms over his chest. For all his
nonchalance, Hanna knew he couldn’t let a challenge like this go unanswered. If
he did, he’d lose any semblance of control he now had.

“Ryder,” Blair whispered urgently.

“Obviously you believe someone else should be in charge,”
Marcus drawled. “Yourself, perhaps.”

“Maybe,” Ryder said bravely, although Hanna sensed his
hesitance.

“Ryder, don’t,” Blair begged.

Marcus nodded. “Fine, I accept the challenge.” He stood.
“Two nights from now. Eight p.m. I’ll meet you in the backyard.” He turned and
strode from the room.

“Hope you know what you’re doing, kid,” Josiah said quietly.

Ryder sat.

Blair shook him by the arm, her face so pale that Hanna was
afraid she might faint. “Ryder, are you crazy? What have you done?”

Cade glanced over at him. “Signed his death warrant, I’d
say.”

* * * * *

Hanna walked behind Cade to their room. They’d made a quick
exit from the dining room, much to her relief.

Something beeped and Cade stilled. Hanna smacked into his back.
Connor grabbed her by the waist to steady her.

“Seems like we’ve got a visitor,” Cade said.

Hanna glanced up at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“He means he set an alarm in our room that tells him if
someone enters while we’re not there,” Connor explained.

“Oh. That was a good idea.” There was no way she could check
all the windows and doors in this place and that left her feeling slightly out
of control. But if Cade had their room security sorted, well, they were safe. If
there was one person more paranoid about security than she, it was Cade.

Connor glanced down at her incredulously. “For god’s sake,
don’t encourage him.”

“What’s the bet it’s our resident man in charge?” Cade
raised his eyebrows.

She jolted in shock. “What? You think Marcus is waiting for
us?”

Connor prodded her forward. “Only one way to find out.”

Hanna waited outside the room with Connor as Cade went in
first.

“Come in,” he called back.

Sure enough, Marcus stood inside their small living area
looking as uncomfortable as she’d ever seen him. Hanna came to a sudden stop,
jolting as Connor placed his hands around her waist and shifted her to the side
so he could enter.

A low, menacing growl filled the room. Marcus stared at
Connor, his eyes glowing.

The door slammed shut and Hanna turned, flabbergasted as
Connor glared back at Marcus, his own eyes turning amber, both of their wolves
so close to the surface they stirred Hanna’s wolf.

She took a deep breath. The air in the room thickened with
tension.

“You want to challenge me?” Connor snarled. “What are you
going to do? Go around fighting everyone until you get rid of that fury riding
you? Think that will work? Come on then, if you’re going to do it, do it.”

“No!” she cried, stepping in front of Connor as Marcus took
a step toward him. “No fighting. Marcus, what is wrong with you? You’re about
to face a challenge with Ryder, why are you here picking a fight with Connor?”

She didn’t understand his behavior—so irrational, so unlike
him that she couldn’t get her head around it.

“He’s jealous,” Cade said.

“What?” Hanna gaped at Cade who sat back in the armchair, watching
them all calmly.

“He’s jealous. He doesn’t like when we touch you; makes him
act like an idiot.”

Marcus snarled, but Cade didn’t look the least bit fazed.

“But why would he be jealous?” Hanna asked, ignoring Marcus,
who still looked enraged. “We don’t, I mean, he doesn’t…” She trailed off,
embarrassed.

“Oh I’d say he definitely has feelings for you,” Cade told
her. “Connor, touch her.”

Hanna barely held back her flinch as Connor wrapped an arm
around her waist. Immediately Marcus took another step forward, his hands
clenching, chest heaving.

Jesus, could Cade be right?

“Why are you acting like this?” she asked. “You’re being
crazy.”

“His hold on his wolf is tenuous, probably due to the
challenge and the shock of seeing us with you this afternoon,” Cade replied.

Connor still held her loosely, but even that small hold felt
irritating. Wrong.