ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (60 page)

“Trina!”  Loretta’s face was red, and she was in her usual bad humor.

Trina stopped, and turned with slouching shoulders.  “Yes?”

“Some guy called for you.  He didn’t leave a name, but asked if you would call when you came in.”  She thrust a small piece of paper towards her, and shook it when Trina didn’t grab it right away. 

“He asked for me by name?”

“Uh huh.”

“Can I call before I start shift?”

Loretta eyed her critically.  “Make it quick!” 

Trina dropped her bag on the floor and waited for Loretta to slide her sizable bulk out of the tiny space.  When she was gone, yelling at other staff members as she went, Trina looked at the number.  She didn’t recognize it. 

It rang three times before a man answered. 

“Hi, my name is Trina, you called Mountain Lodge in Syria Va. looking for me?” 

She could hear something like shuffling and a fast whisper. 

“Trina?”  The female voice was familiar. 

“Who is this?”

“You can’t let anyone there know you are speaking to me.  It’s Autumn.”

Trina doubled her body over her thighs and cupped the receiver.  “Autumn?  My God, where are you?”  She breathed. 

“It’s a long story.  Listen, I need your help.”

Trina’s blue eyes widened.  “Sure, anything!  Did Teddy do something to you?” 

“Not this time.”  Autumn licked her lips.  “I know about you and Chris, Trina, and that’s why I need your help.”

Trina’s eyes went from round orbs to small slits.  “You know what exactly?”

“I know you’re a shifter.  I’m with a pack of your kind and…we’re in danger.” 

Trina’s felt her head spin.  She knows?  “I’ll call you back in an hour.” 

Before Autumn could answer, she had disconnected the call.

“Loretta?  I need to go.”

Loretta placed her hands on her hips, her face a dangerous scarlet.  “The hell you say!”

“I’m really sorry, but I have to.” 

Trina walked away, ignoring the rants and threats of who, she was sure, was now her former boss. 

“How could she possibly know that?”  Chis asked again, his tall frame leaning over the kitchen table.

“I don’t know, Chris!” 

He straightened and pointed at the phone.  “Put that on speaker!”

Trina rolled her eyes and dialed the number.  Autumn answered on the first ring. 

“Trina?”

“Yeah.  So, what’s going on?”

“I’m fine.  Really.  I just…well we have a problem here, and I was hoping you and Chris could help us.” 

“How do you know what we are?”  Chris’s eyebrows were drawn together in a sharp V shape. 

“I met someone…I met him the last night I was at work.” 

Trina slapped a hand to her forehead.  Of course!  How could I have forgotten! 

“The late comer.”  She didn’t need to pose it as question, she already knew. 

“Yes.” 

Chris broke in again.  “He’s a shifter?” 

“Yes.”  Autumn replied, glancing into Dalton’s frowning face.  He shifted his weight against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms.  “He’s been taking care of me.” 

Trina glanced at Chris and he shrugged.  She ran a small hand over the wooden kitchen table.  “So, what do you need help with?”

“His pack is in trouble.  The pack is very small and another neighboring pack wants to take his land away.  We could use some other wolves to help watch the place and…”

“And maybe fight?”  Chris leaned his body over the table, his voice harsh, but Trina saw a glint of excitement in his eyes.  She had been happy living as loners, but she knew Chris craved life in a pack. 

“Yes.”  Autumn replied slowly.  “It may come to that.” 

Trina looked to Chris for an answer.  He straightened his tall body again and shrugged.  “Get directions.  We’ll go.”  He replied a little too eagerly for Trina’s taste. 

Trina felt the pang of indecision and wanted to argue.  Chris wasn’t an alpha, but for her he was.  She wouldn’t question him. 

“Ok, Autumn.  We’ll need directions.” 

Chris and Trina didn’t arrive to Dalton’s until almost seven.  The time change hadn’t happened yet, and there was still a small amount of day light hovering low over the property.  Chris drove his truck into the yard and sighed lightly as Dalton’s pack came out of the house. 

“Lord have mercy, Trina.  Look at that raga muffin crew.” 

Trina laughed nervously.  “Well, the little Asian is cute as button.”

“Yeah.”  He replied dryly.  “Cute as a little human button.”  He scanned the yard again, shaking his head.  “Four shifters and two humans.”

They got out of the truck and Dalton approached confidently.  “Thank you for coming.  I’m Dalton Brown.” 

“Chris Graves.”  He motioned towards Trina.  “This is my fiancée, Trina Hicks.” 

“Pleased to meet you.  Please come in.”

Trina and Autumn embraced momentarily before everyone went solemnly inside.”

“So, let me get this straight.”  Chris said with a mischievous glint to his blue eyes.  He nodded thanks to Autumn as she handed him another long necked bottle of beer.  “You were going to kidnap Trina, but kidnapped a human by mistake simply because you saw a pony tail in the dark?”

“That’s about right.”  Dalton grinned.

“Man, you have more problems than just a rival pack.”

“That’s what I’ve told him for years.”  Winnie said, and playfully pushed at Dalton’s arm.

“Yeah, well, I was desperate.  Anyway…”  He glanced at Autumn.  “I wouldn’t trade who I ended up with.” 

“Wow, this happened quick for you guys.” 

Chris looked at Trina and laughed.  “What are you talking about?  We met at a dance at the lodge and you moved in the next day!”

“That was different!  We’re destined as mates and…”  She stopped, her eyes opening wide as she looked at Dalton and Autumn.  “Oh, my gosh!  You’re destined to be mates!”

“Just like Brian and me!”  Mika chimed in, grabbing Brian in the crook of his arm. 

“Huh.”  Trina said and leaned back in her chair.  “I just didn’t know it could be that way for a werewolf and human.” 

“And you have a vampire interested too?”  Chris shook his head.  “I wouldn’t want to be on Daniel Blacksmith’s bad side.” 

“You know him?”  Dalton asked.

“I know of him, and that’s enough.  He’s ruthless, even for a vampire.  Don’t get me wrong; I’ve met a few that were actually alright, but I don’t think any out of his camp are that way.”  He took a pull from the bottle.  “He’s also more powerful than you think.” 

“What do you mean?”  Dalton asked, taking Autumn’s hand in his.

“He controls the Virginia Vampire world from Luray to Virginia Beach and a healthy part of the other side of the state as well.”

“Oh no.”  Autumn breathed.  She glanced at Winnie’s angry face.  She would have to ask her more on how she knew Daniel Blacksmith later. 

“Let’s put it this way; the only places he hasn’t touched in some way is what’s in the far south western part of the state.”  He stretched and stood.  “But Daniel Blacksmith isn’t the problem at hand, now is he?”

“No, he isn’t.”  Dalton agreed.  “We need to stay together until this thing is resolved.” 

“How many houses do you have?” 

“Just two.  There’s more room here, but the other is sturdier and that’s where our little farm is.” 

“Yeah, you need to protect that for sure.” 

Winnie spoke.  “Are we going on the offensive or defensive?”

“I won’t seek them out, but we’ll defend what we have.  I want it to be clear to all other packs in the area that we aren’t trying to expand; we just want to keep what’s ours.” 

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Mike Rodgers is a hybrid.”  Winnie said sourly. 

Chris frowned.  “A human parent and werewolf parent?  That’s common.”

“No.  He’s something else.” 

Dalton kept his eyes on the table.  He hadn’t wanted Winnie to tell this.  He really didn’t want Autumn to know, especially after seeing Tonya at the Bull Mitch.

Everyone looked from Winnie to Dalton.  He sighed wearily.  “Mike has Vampire blood from…somewhere.  Could have been a parent, or it could have come from a bite.”

“Like Tonya.” 

Dalton shrugged.  “Perhaps.”

Winnie bristled.  “Who’s Tonya?”

Dalton launched into a condensed version of their visit to the Bull Mitch.  The audience was rapt.  When Dalton said that Daniel claimed Tonya could be mated, Winnie gasped.  Dalton eyed her warily.  A war was happening across her strong features, and she was losing the battle of control.  He made a mental note to talk to her about it later.  She seemed to know more than she was letting on.  He looked at autumn, and caught her staring at him. 

“You should have told me.”  She said flatly.             

Four hour rotating watches were set up, with Chuck and Chris taking the first one.  For the night at least, they would stay at Dalton’s. 

Autumn and Trina laid in the dark of Dalton’s room, but neither could go to sleep.  Too many things ate at their minds. 

“I felt bad after you left that I hadn’t tried to be a better friend to you.”  Trina’s voice wisped upward like smoke. 

“It’s ok.  I wouldn’t have wanted anyone getting too involved in the ugliness I lived in anyway.” 

Trina shifted to her side and looked at Autumn’s profile.  “Teddy and Becky came to the lodge the Sunday after you left.”

“Looking for me?”

“Nope.  They came and picked up your car.”

Autumn barked a laugh.  “Well, they can have the little piece of crap.”  She paused.  “Did anyone call the police?  Was anyone wondering about me?”  Autumn hated the childish self-pity she heard in her own voice.  Her life was going to be so much better, why did she care?

“I called.  An old friend of Chris’s and mine works for the Syria’s Sheriff’s office.  He went out and questioned Teddy and your Mom.” 

“And?”

“And he didn’t really think they did anything to you, but their whole situation stank to high heaven, that’s for sure.” 

Autumn didn’t speak right away.  So many clues into how they really were, and what they were really doing snaked through her head.  “I was fairly certain they were sleeping together.”

“Gross.”

“He’s only ten years younger than her.”

“No, I mean gross because she’s your Mom.”

Autumn giggled.  “Yeah, that is pretty bad.”

“So, have you slept with Dalton?”

Autumn was glad for the cover of darkness, although she wasn’t sure if that mattered since she was lying next to a werewolf.  Her face stung from the sudden blush.  “Not yet. Almost.”

“He wants you that’s for sure.  I can practically smell the magnetism coming off of the two of you.”  She stretched catlike and readjusted her pillow.  “Sex with a werewolf, especially the one you’re destined to mate….wow…there aren’t proper words for it.”

Autumn felt a nervous twitch in her lower stomach.  She hoped she could find out for herself soon.

Daniel Blacksmith looked at his servant with an air of disdain.  The man actually trembled before him knowing full well that he had failed his master.  The thought of what consequences might come made the man shudder. 

“Explain to me why you couldn’t find out anything about her.” 

The dark haired man, Bretton, shifted his eyes nervously back to the floor.  “She worked at a….”

“Look at me when you speak to me.”  Daniel interrupted.  He didn’t yell, rather his voice slinked out of him smooth as a snake traveling through high grass.  Bretton jumped anyway, returning his strangled gaze back to Daniel’s smooth face. 

“She worked at a place called Mountain Lodge in Syria, but that’s all anyone would tell me.  They said she hasn’t been there in nearly two weeks.” 

“Her family?”

“I spoke to a large grisly minded woman who told me nothing except that she had worked there.”  He tried to laugh.  “She had the audacity to tell me if I didn’t stop snooping around and buy some lunch, she would call the police.” 

“Perhaps she will be lunch someday.”  Daniel murmured as he stood.  He walked to the tall windows and looked out on the cloudy day.  Rain the day before, rain today.  The cloudy days were better if he chose to stay awake through them.  Still, he could feel his strength ebbing away as he looked into the daylight.  He turned slowly, perhaps a snack would do him good. 

Bretton didn’t need to be summoned.  He had seen that look many times.  He obediently began unbuttoning his cuff and rolling the sleeve of his shirt up to the elbow.  Daniel winked at him once as he held Bretton’s arm by the wrist and elbow. 

Bretton winced, sucking in air between his clenched teeth.  Blood ran from his master’s lips, past the flesh of his arm and splattered on the floor.  The initial pain and shock left him, and once again he was left with an aching love for Daniel Blacksmith.  It was emotion that transcended relationship.  He would give his last drop if that’s what his master required.