Mated To The Devil (7 page)

“I . . . ” For once, words escaped Pierre. He’d expected to find a male Lycan, one who’d perhaps run away or who didn’t know of his special place in the Lycan community. He’d never suspected he’d run into Mina, Remy’s lost mate, and he definitely never expected to find a child, one who reminded him so much of Remy, but with bright blue orbs. “Please. I didn’t come here to harm you or my grandson. I didn’t even know he existed.”

“And now that you know?”

Pierre swallowed hard, blinking back tears that didn’t belong to a man his age. “I’d like to meet him if you don’t mind.”

A flurry of emotions played out across her expressive visage: wariness, fear, hope, resignation. Biting her lip, she angled herself so that the child on her hip became more visible. “Jacques, say hello.”

The child, with his head covered in tousled brown curls, regarded him warily from his spot on his mother’s shoulder. A thumb pulled out with a wet pop before the child spoke. “Hi.”

Throat tight and eyes prickling, Pierre couldn’t help himself. He reached out a hand to stroke the rounded cheek of his grandson . . . and almost lost a finger.

He snatched his hand quickly back when Jacques snapped at it with his teeth, his little body suddenly rigid with tension.

“Jacques!” Mina cried. “No!”

Seeing the boy’s glowing eyes and sullen expression, Pierre’s cop brain put the pieces together. “It wasn’t you seeing the doctor, was it? You were having Jacques tested.”

A shutter went down over her face, blanking her expression, and her eyes grew wary. “How do you know about that?”

“We have people working at most of the medical labs keeping an eye out for our kind.”

She took a step back, her arms clutching her son tightly enough to make him squeak. “Your
kind
? Just who and what are you?”

“I am a Lycan.”

Puzzlement creased her features. “What’s a Lycan?”

“I have the ability to shift my shape into that of a wolf.”

She regarded him for a moment before she burst out laughing, the strident mirth softening the tension in her face even if it was at his expense. “That’s insane.”

“Really?” Pierre queried, not surprised by her reaction. To the unknowing, his claim did seem crazy. “Let me ask you, have you noticed how your son’s eyes seem to glow? How his teeth seem sharper than other children’s, his temper more volatile? Does he keep you up the nights of the full moon? Does he—”

Mouth round in an
O
of shock, she held up a hand as if to halt his words, and he stopped. She stumbled backward and sank onto a couch covered in a blanket that he suspected hid holes. She ran a soothing hand down her son’s back as the gears in her mind turned. Pierre waited for her inevitable question.

“Was Remy a werewolf?”

“A Lycan like me? Yes.”

Absently, she rubbed at her neck, and his keen eyes spotted the crescent-shaped scar. The mating mark. “And what about me?” she asked softly. “Are you going to try and convince me I am one of these Lycans, too?”

Pierre shook his head. “No, you’re still human, albeit a special one. Remy accidentally claimed you as his mate. The saliva in the bite on your neck set off a chain reaction in your body. You’ve probably noticed you heal rapidly, and you are stronger and faster. You also probably have a keener sense of smell, vision, and hearing now, too, I’ll bet.”

She nodded her head and peered down at her son, who’d crawled off her lap and chased after a ball. “And Jacques?”

“Is Lycan like his father.”

“I see.” Mina wouldn’t meet his eyes, choosing instead to follow the antics of her son.

Abruptly she spoke. “I guess that explains certain things, but not what you’re doing here. You came looking for Jacques or someone carrying this special Lycan gene. Why?”

“Because we had to see why and who was living outside of our pack. There are rules to follow. Things you have to do to keep our secret safe. The first one being no human doctors.”

“Kind of late for that now.”

“Not completely. My brother’s fudged the test result so that Jacques’ DNA looks normal. But you can’t return to that doctor.”

“I take it there’s no cure?”

“No.”

“Doesn’t that just figure,” she muttered. “Devil, werewolf, it’s the same thing in the end. Are we evil?” she asked, suddenly looking him in the eye.

Pierre started to chuckle then saw how seriously she waited for a reply. “Uh, no. Well, I’m not personally, but I am sure there are some who might be, just like there are humans who are. Being a werewolf is a biological thing. We can no more help it than you can help being born with blue eyes.”

“Except while Jacques was born this way, Remy somehow changed me when he bit me. Thanks for clearing that up. I guess being part wolf is better than a demon.” She stood up and gestured to the door. “Is that all I need to know? Keep the secret. Don’t go out on full moons. Take my son for regular walks. I don’t suppose there’s a pamphlet you can mail me or a book I can get on how to raise a werewolf’s kid?”

“This isn’t a joking matter.”

“Yeah, actually it kind of is. I guess it’s kind of a relief in a way. Here all these years I thought your son was the devil and that my son might be the Antichrist, but instead he’s a puppy. Forgive me if I’m finding all of this a tad hard to believe but put yourself in my shoes.”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” Pierre tried to explain. “Remy shouldn’t have claimed you like he did.”

“Obviously,” was her dry reply.

“There are rules we follow, steps to take before a male claims his mate and tells her the truth. Remy got ahead of himself. If given the chance, he would have made it up to you, but I’m afraid he was beyond foolish that night.”

“I wouldn’t call being drunk foolish. He chose to get loaded. I didn’t choose to get mated to the devil—sorry, to a Lycan—and have his child.”

“I am not excusing his behavior. However, you’ll be glad to know he did learn his lesson that night. He no longer drinks.”

“Good for him. Why should I care? Is he in AA looking for absolution? Finding the people he wronged and apologizing for his actions? Well, tell him he can strike me off his list.” Mina bristled, her earlier meek demeanor dissipating to show the strong spirit she hid inside, a feisty spirit that Pierre approved of even if it bordered on stubborn. Fun times lay ahead for his son.

“I am not here because of Remy.”

“Then why are you here? You say you didn’t know about Jacques. You obviously weren’t expecting to find me. But you were expecting to find a Lycan. Fine. You got one. So what now? You going to enter us in some logbook? Maybe send us a welcome basket?”

“Now that I’ve found you, found you both, you’ll have to come back with me.”

“Funny.”

“I’m quite serious. You need to come live with the pack.”

An incredulous look crossed her face. “Are you out of your mind?” She stared at him, and he saw the realization dawn on her face as she caught on he was serious. “You really do mean it. You’re actually expecting me to just bundle up my son and our stuff and toddle along after you just because you say so.”

“No. I expect you to do it so that your son grows up able to understand and control his heritage. I also think Jacques needs to get to know his father and others of his kind.”

Her chin lifted as pride buoyed it. “Remy can visit his son if he chooses.”

“And I’m sure he might have if he knew about him.”

The jibe saw her hugging herself, and her head tilted down a notch. “I tried to look for him, but came up empty-handed.”

“If it makes you feel any better, Remy looked for you, too.” He could see the doubt in her eyes. “I speak the truth. He’s not been the same since that night. He’s missed you.”

A snort escaped her. “I highly doubt that. So if you’re trying to use that as a way to sway me into coming, it’s failing miserably.”

Pierre changed tactics. “Jacques needs to be among his kind.”

“Says you.”

“Knows me. Trust me when I say his condition will get worse. If you don’t trust me, come with me and let him learn about his heritage.”

“And you don’t think leaving his home will affect him? He doesn’t do well with change, and I won’t see him upset or hurt.”

To Pierre’s mind, there was nothing worse than a mother protecting her young, but then again her protective instinct made him want to grin.
Remy’s in for a hell of a time.
Definitely not as meek as he’d first thought after all. “He’s young. He’ll bounce back. He’ll be too busy to notice he’s left. And besides, are you going to tell me you’re going to miss this?” Pierre swept a hand out and encompassed her clean but shabby living quarters.

Anger sparked in her eyes as pride tightened her features. “I worked damned hard to get us
this,
so don’t you dare think you can just waltz in here and act like it’s dirt. I’ve been on my own for almost five years now. Do you know how hard it’s been to make ends meet, first while pregnant, and then with a small child?”

“Exactly my point. Come with me, and you’ll get the life you would have had if Remy hadn’t fucked it up.”

“It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know I was pregnant.”

Interesting how she defended him. “But he knew better than to force you to have sex and claim you.”

“He didn’t force me. I could have said no.”

“I thought you did.”

Her cheeks reddened. “I am not talking about this.”

“Fine. But if you think I’m leaving my grandson here to live beneath his station, you’re mistaken.”

His comment finally made her snap. Out shot her finger in the direction of the door. “Get out of my home! How dare you insult me and threaten to take my son? Jacques is happy. We don’t need you or Remy. We’re doing just fine on our own.”

There was stubbornness and then there was disobeying the pack alpha—not something Pierre ran into often. It called for diplomacy. Since ordering wasn’t working for him, he changed tactics. “Remy deserves a chance at fatherhood. You owe him that chance.”

“I don’t owe Remy a darned thing. Now get out.”

Pierre would have argued more, but his verbal spat with Jacques’ mother set the boy off. His grandson began to howl, his bright blue eyes glowing. As pack alpha, Pierre could have stopped him, but seeing Mina’s stricken face, he decided not to. Perhaps dealing with a child whose feral side battled for supremacy would get her to rethink her words.

He flicked a card onto her kitchen counter as he passed. “If you change your mind, I’ll be at the hotel for three more days. My cell number is on the card. It doesn’t have to be like this. We can offer you help and a better life.”

She didn’t reply, but he heard the sound of the locks engaging as he left, Jacques’ excited yips drowning out her soft pleas to calm down.

Poor girl.
Pity and anger for her situation made him want to turn around and demand she let him back in. But he also understood her pride.

Pierre yanked out his cell phone and hesitated before he dialed as he thumped down the stairs.

Dean answered. “Hey, chief. What’s happening in the big city?”

“We’ve got a situation. I’m going to need your help.”

“Why aren’t you calling Remy?”

“The situation is a tad delicate. Trust me when I say it’s best we keep Remy out of it for the moment.” Because who knew what Remy would do if he found out Mina and his son lived in this cesspool. Pierre preferred to not find out. “So can you come?”

A thick silence hummed over the phone line. “I’ll be there in a few hours. I take it you don’t want me saying anything to anyone.”

“If anyone asks, it’s pack business.”

As he hung up, Pierre wondered if he’d made the right choice in calling Dean for aid instead of Remy. The problem with calling his son for help in this situation was he’d do anything to make Mina happy, including letting her stubbornly stay in this dump. Or foregoing the pack he would one day lead so he could protect his mate and son. Understandable really, but not the outcome Pierre preferred, whereas Dean would do whatever his alpha told him. A more useful trait considering he planned to help Mina come to the right decision. The only decision.
She and her son need to come home with me.
How he’d accomplish that remained unclear, but one way or another, he wasn’t leaving without them.

Chapter Seven

Jacques wouldn’t settle down after his grandfather left. Awash in confusion, Mina tried everything to calm her son, who went from howling to racing around the room on all fours growling while his eyes glowed eerily.

Unable to rein him in and overwhelmed at the knowledge Pierre imparted, she collapsed suddenly onto the couch, sobbing silently, with fat, salty tears tracking down her cheeks in a nonstop river. She couldn’t help herself. Couldn’t help indulging in the self-pity she thought she’d overcome.

For years she’d struggled to survive and to raise her son. For years she’d lived virtually alone and friendless with only Jacques to speak to. No boyfriend, or special partner, anyone, to talk to about what plagued her. No one she could count on. Call when things got too tough.

Now, out of the blue, in swept an older version of Remy, the charisma and energy roiling off his barrel-chested body, confidence shining from his aging face and intense dark eyes. He confirmed her suspicions. She was right, there was something different about her and Jacques. Of course she hadn’t expected the whole werewolf bit, but she found a measure of relief in knowing what ailed her son. At least being the son of a werewolf sounded a tad better than the progeny of the devil.

Although I’m still not sure I entirely believe it.
Nor did she completely believe that Pierre could offer her a better life, one with Remy in it. Did he also expect her to take up again with Remy? Not likely because Mina, despite everything that happened, still wanted love, not a man taking pity on her or out of a sense of obligation. Not a man suddenly deciding things for her when she’d spent the last almost-five years making her own choices.

No, she wouldn’t make the mistake of letting someone dictate to her anymore what she’d think or how she’d live, like her parents had. The adversity she’d overcome helped Mina grow up. Actually, more than grow up, she’d found her backbone, and she intended to keep it. At the same time, though, she couldn’t deny a burning curiosity. Just who was Remy? A college and frat boy who’d grown into . . . what? Their brief interlude never let her discover what type of man he truly was: kind, bad-tempered, profane, gentle. Sure, he’d rescued her, but he’d also seduced her. Did the one cancel out the other? If they met and got to know each other, would she like him? Would she still find him attractive?
Suffer that same heart-quickening electricity every time we touched.
Oh, how she remembered that odd electrical feeling between them.