Kianna and Her Three Alpha Wolves [Featherstone Pack] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (25 page)

“You need to give us some information, Ray, if you ever expect to see the light of day again.” Kianna leaned forward and gently tapped on his wounded arm. As she watched him cower in pain, she felt almost sick to her stomach.

“I’ll get you fixed up first, big brother, and then you and I are going to have a very long talk.” She went and grabbed the first aid kit she knew Bubba had always kept on hand. He didn’t like having to pay for doctors, so if a bone got broken, he fixed it at home.

Sitting facing Ray, she noticed how he cowered away from her now. She didn’t like that feeling. Gently lifting his arm, she and Sammy splinted it as best they could until they could get him into the hospital. Jeff made a sling and gingerly helped him rest his arm inside it.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Ray asked quietly.

“I’m not like you, Ray. I was lucky enough to get away before you and Bubba either killed me or broke my spirit. You weren’t as lucky. Bubba broke you a long time ago, and I’m not going to kick you while you’re down, no matter how much you deserve it.” Kianna stood and started a pot of coffee, grabbed a chocolate chip muffin, and set it in front of Ray.

“Eat, and we’ll talk and see just how deep you’re in all this shit.”

Ray looked up at her as if he’d never seen her before. Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe for the first time, he was actually seeing her for the strong woman that she had grown to be.

“Who are the men that you are involved with? And what exactly have they asked you to do?” Jeff sat down across from Ray. Kianna could almost feel the anger coming off of her dad. She’d always known him to be able to control himself in any situation, but she knew he had to exercise all his control not to reach across the table and rip Ray’s throat out. Sammy wasn’t much better, but he made sure he stayed far enough away so his reach was too short.

“Their names are Eddie and Dante DeMarcos, and the big guy is their uncle, Salvatore. They partnered up with Bubba years ago, but when he died, he left them in the lurch, especially when he went and left the ranch to you. At first, I thought if I couldn’t get the ranch, I’d buy another place, and they could just fly in there, but Sal doesn’t like change and is insisting that he still wants to make the drops here. Then when he saw you last week, he decided that instead of killing you, he wanted to keep you, sorta, as a pet. He’d keep you until he got tired of you and then send you to some relatives of his overseas, and they’d sell you to the highest bidder. That’s if you lived long enough. Salvatore is real hard on his woman.”

Before she could stop him, Jeff was up and over the table and had his hands, claws extended, wrapped around Ray’s throat.

“Dad, you have to let him go, or you’re gonna kill him,” she cried, trying to pry his claws from around Ray’s throat.

“He doesn’t deserve to be alive, Kia. He’s like a rabid dog, and he needs to be put down.” Jeff’s voice was becoming more of a growl.

Suddenly, she realized what she needed to do.

“Dad…am I the mate of your alphas?” she asked.

“Yes, my daughter, you are their mate.” His eyes never left Ray’s.

“Then as your alpha’s mate, I order you to release Ray now.” She hated to have to pull rank, but Jeff was past the point of responding to anything other than pack law.

Slowly, she saw his claws recede back into his skin, and Jeff released Ray.

Breathing heavily trying to catch his breath, she knew Ray wanted to ask questions.

“You don’t want to know,” is all the answer she would give him.

* * * *

Teaghen, Duncan, and Alex shifted back into their wolf form and slowly made their way down from the forest hillside to the back deck of the motel.

Since the motel was virtually empty, they weren’t too worried about being seen by humans.

Quietly, they moved along the deck until they were outside the door of the room the three men were in.

Teaghen was aware that, once he shifted, knocked on the door, and they opened it, all hell would break loose. They had to make sure they got them secured quickly because they knew all the men had guns and neither he nor his two brothers wanted to be pulling bullets out of their backside later on.

Before Teaghen got a chance to knock, the door opened, and they went for it. The three men inside the room didn’t know what hit them, and by the time he and his brothers had shifted to human form, all three men were unconscious.

Teaghen tossed both his brothers a couple of T-shirts he found in one of the suitcases. He also found two pairs of jeans and a pair of shorts that they were able to pull on.

“Damn, Teaghen, I thought we were gonna be in big trouble when the door suddenly opened. I never thought, after getting all those pizzas, that they’d be able to move, let alone actually leave the room.” Alex couldn’t hold back the laughter in his voice.

“I think all those pizzas slowed them down some or else they are three of the sloppiest crooks I’ve ever seen. Not one of them had a gun close to him, and it looked like the big guy was gonna have a heart attack when he saw us coming through the door.” Teaghen was stunned at how sloppy they were.

Using the phone in the room, Teaghen called the ranch and told Sammy to send Tony and Duke to come and get them and to bring some clothes with them as well.

“How is Kianna holding up, Sammy?”

Sammy was quiet awhile and then said, “You need to see it to believe it, boss. Let’s just say you should be exceptionally proud of your mate. She knows how to handle herself in any situation, even ones that are quite unusual. But I’ll wait until you get here to fill you in.”

Teaghen hung the phone up.

* * * *

Alex, noticing the odd look of surprise on his brother’s face asked, “What’s up, Teag? Our mate’s all right, isn’t she?”

Alex would worry about her until the day he died. Their mate was headstrong and had probably gotten herself into all kinds of trouble.

“We’ll have to wait until we get back to the ranch, but from the sounds of it, our mate has done us proud.” Teaghen smiled, stepping over the body, which was now bound with rope right along with his two nephews.

Chapter 15

Kianna flew out of the door and into Alex’s arms the moment he got out of the truck. Tony and Duke had come to pick them up along with the three goons and take them back to the ranch.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said, kissing him all over his face and neck.

“Hell, woman, what about us?” Teaghen said.

“Don’t you worry, baby. I wouldn’t forget any of you.” And she leapt into first Teaghen’s arms and then Duncan’s, giving them each the same kisses that she had bestowed on Alex.

Tony and Duke came around the truck snickering as they headed into the house.

Teaghen picked her up and placed her over his shoulder like a sack of spuds and headed into to kitchen.

“Put me down, you big oaf,” she screeched and laughed at the same time.

Teaghen smacked her ass before lowering her slowly against him, kissing her gently, and sitting her on the counter.

“Well, I see that Ray got some of what’s coming to him,” Alex said as he glared at the man sitting with his arm in a sling.

Tony stepped forward and was about to say something but was suddenly cut off by Jeff.

“I fucked up, alpha,” he said, with a grimace.

“What are you talking about, Jeff? You are one of my most loyal betas. What could you have done that is so bad?” Teaghen asked.

“I almost killed, Ray,” Jeff told him.

Teaghen looked at Ray and finally noticed the dark-red marks around his throat along with some very distinctive scratches.

“What do you mean, Jeff?” Alex stepped forward and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“We need to go into the living room to discuss this, I think, boss,” Sammy said and put his arm around his brother to take him to the next room.

They all followed, curious to find out why Jeff looked like he’d done something horrendous.

Once everyone was seated, Jeff told them exactly what happened. He explained that if it hadn’t been for Kianna’s directive, he would have killed Ray.

“He’s not telling you everything, Teaghen,” Duke, who was usually silent in all situations, spoke up.

“What he failed to mention was the reason he almost lost control of his wolf. Ray was rambling on about this Sal guy and told him exactly what kind of torture would be inflicted on your mate should he get a hold of her. Jeff’s wolf only responded to the threat to his daughter.”

“Is this correct, Sammy? Did you also lose control of your wolf?” Teaghen asked.

“Yes, it’s true, boss. And the only reason I didn’t lose control is because I was further away from him and was able to leave the room for a minute to compose myself. Had I not left, I might have done the exact same thing,” Sammy told them.

“So if Jeff lost control, why is Ray still alive? Stopping one of us when there is a threat to our family is very difficult and somewhat dangerous,” Alex said, looking between all the men.

“That would be your mate, boss.” Tony smiled as if he was a proud uncle.

“You should have seen her. When Jeff started to lose control, all of us that were outside felt it and came running. We weren’t sure why he was having trouble controlling his wolf, but when we came in the back door, your mate was ordering her beta to stand down. Without any knowledge or training in pack law, she rose to the challenge. It was incredible.”

Teaghen stood and said, “Jeff, come here and face your punishment.”

Kianna was beside him in seconds trying to explain that it wasn’t Jeff’s fault, that he only reacted because of the threat to her.

“Enough, Kianna, as alphas of the pack, it is Teaghen, Alex, and Duncan’s duty to punish one of us who breaks pack law. By partially shifting in front of a human, I broke that law and will accept my punishment.” Jeff went and stood before his alpha.

Placing one hand on each of his shoulders, Teaghen could only smile at the man standing in front of him.

“Jeff, your wolf had every reason to fight its way out. Your child was in danger, and you wanted to make sure she was protected, and for that, and so much more, my brothers and I can never thank you enough. You raised Kianna to be the strong woman that she is today, one that is able to take on three alpha wolves and put them in their place when needed. Without your guidance and loyalty, we would have been stumbling along for many years to come. Your punishment will be as follows: you and your brother will lead the new security honor guard, along with Tony and Duke.”

All four men smiled and bowed their heads to their alpha.

“This honor guard will consist of only the most trusted betas and omegas in the pack, and their main function will be the protection of the alpha’s mate and future children. Only those whom we trust with our lives would we allow protecting our mate. You honor me every day by being my friend.”

Everyone was so happy and excited that they didn’t pay much attention when two of the betas, both looking angrily back at Kianna, left the room.

* * * *

Kianna couldn’t hold back the tears that streamed down her face. She was so proud of all the men in the room, especially
her
men.

“Why all the tears, baby? Teaghen would never hurt Jeff simply for doing what is natural, protecting his family,” Alex said as he pulled her back against him.

“I know it just makes me so proud of all of you.” She turned and pressed her face into Alex’s chest and sniffled a little.