Kianna and Her Three Alpha Wolves [Featherstone Pack] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (27 page)

Teaghen snaked his hand behind her neck, pulling her against his chest. “What problem?” he snarled, tilting her head up so that he could see her face.

Finally, when she couldn’t hold it back anymore, she let a smile spread across her face, and she turned her face to the other two men and gestured for them to all come closer. She giggled, then whispered quietly, “It’s illegal for me to marry all three of you.”

The men let out an audible breath and stepped back from their giggling mate.

“You will marry me because I am the eldest and the lead alpha, baby.” Teaghen smiled down at her then kissed her forehead.

“Since my brothers have given you all the lovey-dovey speeches, I guess I don’t need to tell you how I feel then because I feel just like them and more.” He placed her slightly away from his body and turned to start walking back to the house.

“Oh, no, you don’t, Teaghen Featherstone.” Kianna stopped him by grabbing a hold of his huge bicep. “You aren’t going to get away that easily, mister. I want to hear some lovey-dovey stuff from you, too.”

Teaghen stopped and slowly turned back to face his mate. His lips turned up at one side in a small grin.

“Do you not know how I feel about you, Kia? Do you not understand that every breath I take, from the moment I wake in the morning until I go to sleep at night, is made possible because you exist in my world? You are the heart and soul of our family and, baby”—he pulled her against his chest once more and quickly kissed her lips—“you are and have always been my reason for living, and I love you soul deep.”

* * * *

Lifting his hand up, Teaghen wiped away the dampness on her cheeks with his thumb and then brought it to his lips. The moment that one small taste of her hit him, he knew that it wouldn’t be enough. His desire for her could never be extinguished. Bending slightly, he picked her up in his arms and carried her into the house, his brothers not far behind.

As they entered the house, Teaghen’s body stilled. Something wasn’t right. Slowly placing Kianna on her feet, he gently pushed her behind him.

“What’s the matter, Teaghen?” she asked, quietly trying to see around him.

“Be still, Kia,” Duncan whispered in her ear. The authority in his tone made her immediately stop her movements.

Alex moved slowly in front of Teaghen and headed into the kitchen, Duncan right behind him.

“Teaghen, I think you need to come in here. It seems we have some visitors,” Duncan called to them.

Making sure that Kianna was still pulled in behind him, they walked slowly into the kitchen.

Sitting at the table were two of their most trusted betas, Devon and Cory. Both men were holding guns.

“Why the fuck couldn’t you have just left this bitch to Ray, Teaghen?” Cory asked as he flailed the gun around nervously.

“All you had to do was give her to Ray, and everything would be back to normal. You three can have your pick of any bitch in the pack, so why waste so much energy on this little slut?”

Alex’s wolf growled low and whispered to him,
He must die for his arrogance.
He moved slowly around to the side of Devon, his eyes never leaving the gun in his hand.

“You know that we do not choose our mates, Cory? Kianna is ours, and nothing could or would ever change that. You know this. Why are you doing this, beta?” Teaghen wanted to keep them talking for as long as possible. Maybe if they kept them distracted a little, he and his brothers would be able to figure out a way out of this without anyone getting hurt.

“Why are you here, Cory?” Alex snarled at him.

“Now that Ray and his friends are in jail, my income has dropped considerably. See, I’ve known about the Deacons’ side business for some time now, and when I went to Ray and told him I knew what he was up to, he decided that it would be a good idea to have an insider on his payroll. The money was just too good to pass up.” Cory turned and pointed the gun directly at Alex.

“You betrayed your pack…your families, for money?” Teaghen was pissed right off by not only those facts but also because they had been doing it without any of them knowing anything about it.

Devon had, at least, the good grace to bow his head in shame before saying, “Alpha, I will not excuse my actions, but the money for me was a necessity. Both my parents are extremely ill and need medical attention from the special hospital in Texas. You know, the one that caters to shifters?”

“Of course we know of it, we own it,” Duncan roared at him in anger.

Devon’s face paled immediately, and then he turned and looked at Cory with a questioning look.

“What’s he talking about, Cory? You said it was owned by the government and that I had to pay two hundred thousand before my parents could even begin being seen by their doctors. You told me that you had gone to the alphas for help and they had turned you down. It was all a lie, wasn’t it?” Devon turned and aimed the gun at Cory.

“Devon, don’t be such a pussy. They wouldn’t help even if we did ask them. They’re too worried about themselves to give us lowly betas any help.”

Devon turned to Alex, the gun still in his hand, and turned it so the barrel faced himself and handed it to Alex.

Kianna moved from behind Teaghen so quickly that he didn’t have a chance to grab her, but she slowed her pace as she moved closer to where Devon now sat at the table looking completely lost.

Placing her hand on his lowered head, she said, “How long have you been helping your brother, Devon?”

Devon raised his head to face her. “Only for about a week now, Kia. Cory told me that he’d been doing it for about six months before that and that if I helped, we’d be able to get our parents the help they need.”

* * * *

Turning to look at Cory, Kianna could see the hate in his eyes. He wasn’t concerned about his parents. He was in it for the money only. He looked at her just like Ray used to look at her right before he beat the crap out of her.

“So, Cory, if the money is so good, then why haven’t you at least started to pay for some of your parents’ treatment? And by the way, what are they ill with? My understanding is that shifters don’t get sick like us lowly humans do. They don’t get cancer or any other serious diseases, so what illness does your mom and dad have?” There was something wrong with this whole scenario, and Kianna knew it. She just had to find out what it was.

“Shut up, bitch, and sit back down before I put a bullet between your eyes. You’re the cause of all the problems. Maybe I should just shoot—”

Before he had a chance to say anything else, Devon leapt from the chair and knocked the gun from his brother’s hand.

“What the fuck are you doing, Devon? They’re going to rip our throats out now,” Cory screamed.

“It’s no less than what we deserve brother. But before they do, I want you to answer some of Kianna’s questions. You were the one that always took Mom and Dad to the doctor. You were the one that was supposed to be taking care of them while I was in the marines. Yet when I came home, they were both bedridden and didn’t even recognize me.” The realization that his brother had been lying to him was written in the agonized look on Devon’s face.

Duncan grabbed Cory from behind, his forearm across his throat, his claws extended. “Answer your brother, beta, and this time, be a man and tell him the truth.”

Cory looked at his brother and started to laugh. Not the happy kind, the sick, demented kind of laugh.

“You were the lucky one, asshole,” he spat. “You left and joined the marines, leaving me to look after the ranch and our parents. All they did was talk about you, how worried Mom was about you while I slaved away on that fucking ranch with an old man. But I made sure they did what I wanted them to do.” Cory’s eyes were wild with rage. “For the last year, I’ve been putting very small amounts of silver nitrate in their food. Not enough to kill them right away, but just enough to weaken them and let them die slowly so that it would look like natural causes.”

“You sick little fuck.” Devon’s claws began to show, and he swiped one across the chest of his brother.

Alex grabbed him and pulled him back, but Devon was enraged and couldn’t hear his alpha.

“Beta, you will stand down now.” The room went silent, and all eyes turned to Kianna.

Devon’s claws immediately disappeared, and he became visibly calmer.

“Devon, you will sit down in that chair and remain there until you are told to move. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?” Lowering his head, he did exactly as he was told.

Astonished looks met her as she turned toward Cory. “You are a disgrace to your family. Not only did you disrespect your alphas, your pack, and your parents, but you tried to use the love and trust that your brother has for you along the way.” Shaking her head, she walked to one of the kitchen cupboards and reached in and grabbed a first-aid kit.

“I know you will heal fast, but in the meantime, I don’t want any more of your blood dripping onto my kitchen floor.” She pulled out some ointment and gauze and not so gingerly bandaged the wound across his chest. Again facing him, Kianna said, “As your alpha female, I have no power to dispense any punishment. That will be my mate’s decision. My hope for you is that, if they allow you to live, you find the help you need and maybe someday repay your parents for all the heartache you have caused them.”

Having let go of Devon, Alex grabbed his mate and pulled her back against him, whispering in her ear, “You are in such deep trouble, my mate.” He smiled at her when she turned her lips to him for a kiss.

Chapter 16

Two hours later, Cory had been taken to the pack’s holding cell until his fate was decided. Devon still sat at their kitchen table, awaiting his punishment.

He tensed visibly when his three alphas walked back into the room after meeting with some of the elders and others. But from the look on Jeff’s and Sammy’s faces, Devon’s fate was grim.

“Before you pass judgment on me, can I say something?” Devon asked.

“Go ahead, Devon,” Teaghen said quietly.

“I understand and accept any punishment that you give to me. And even though I’m not in the position to ask a favor I will anyway because what Cory and I did, or were about to do, shouldn’t reflect badly on our mom and dad. They are good pack members, and if they hadn’t been poisoned by Cory…” Devon stood, shoulders back and chest out. Kianna watched as he then laid his neck bare for his alphas.

Somehow, Kianna knew that her men were not going to kill their beta.

“Devon, we realize that you were only doing what you felt was best to save you parents, but I have to ask you one question.” Devon straightened and faced Alex.

“What did your brother and you plan to do with our mate? We know what the real plan was, but what did your brother tell you?” Alex kept staring straight into his young beta’s eyes and waited.

“It doesn’t matter what he told me, alpha. I know now it was a lie, but that doesn’t make what I did right.”

Kianna couldn’t help when a tear slid down her cheek, so she turned away from the men to wipe it quickly away.

“You will be punished either way, but give me the courtesy of answering my question young man.” Devon cringed a little when Alex raised his voice.

“Cory told me that all we were to do was to take Kianna to the city and wait for one of Sal’s men to come and pick her up and hold her until you paid ransom for her.”

Stepping forward, both Teaghen and Duncan now stood facing Devon as well. Kianna watched as Teaghen raised his hand and then gently placed it on the young man’s shoulder.

“What you did was so wrong, Dev. We are your alphas, and as such, it is our duty and our privilege to care for all members of our pack. Your parents are already being flown to our hospital for the proper care, and from what I understand, now that they are no longer receiving the silver nitrate, they should regain their strength quickly.”