Wolf Creek Alpha (Texas Pack 1) (28 page)

Lisa couldn’t believe it.  She was supposed to just sit around for a month, waiting to hear?  “If you’re gone a month, I’m coming after you.”

“Oh, hell no!  Don’t you dare try to go to Faerie.  Remember the dumb zombie girl?  You’d be her.  Promise me.  I cannot have that worry in my mind while I’m gone,” he stated adamantly.

Lisa could see how upset he was.  “I give my word.  But you do remember I was only staying for two weeks, right?  I’ll be back home if you’re gone a month.”

“I am committed
to you.  I feel like we’ve lived a lifetime in a few days.  Please stay here, wait for me.  My family will take care of you and you’ll be safer here.”

She really didn’t want to go back to her old life, she realized.  She couldn’t imagine a life without him now and told him so. 

He hugged her tightly to him, kissing her again.  “You don’t know how relieved that makes me.  I’ll rest much easier knowing you’re here.  I’ll have Ian and Devlin patrol the hallway still at night, but leave your door open so they can make sure you’re okay.”

“All right, but I’d planned to let them sleep in my bed, you know, like you
did,
so they’d be close by,” she said seriously. 

“One day
,
that sense of humor of yours i
s going to get you a spanking,” he said.

“Really?  O
h yeah, spank
me,
baby,” she whispered
in a
deep, smoky
voice.

Shaking his head
, Rafe guided her out of his office, leading her to the pond.

Seeing Robert and Niall, they headed over to them.  The rest of the family stood back, watching and waiting.  The
fae
warriors stood with their arms outstretched over the
pond, storing up their magic. 

Before getting closer to them, Rafe stopped Lisa to whisper in her ear.  “I love you,” he said, quickly kissing her and walking away. 

Stunned, she had tears in her eyes as she stared at his back. 
Quietly,
she whispered, “I love you too.”

Rafe turned and stared at her and she realized he’d heard her. 
Damn wolf ears. 

Robert
and Niall both took
a
hold
of
his arms
,
and in a flash, they were gone.

Walking back towards the house, Devlin resolved to cheer Lisa up.  “I’ll make the sacrifice and sleep with you tonight, just to make sure you’re safe, of course,” he stated somberly.

Lisa glanced back at Ian and Devlin.  “Like I told Rafe, I thought both of you could sleep with me, you know, a
ménage
a
trois
.”  She calmly put her arms through Mack and Liz’s and entered the house.

Patting her hand, Liz said, “That was beautiful.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Devlin at a loss for words.
  I will never
forget that look of shock on their faces,” she said laughing.

Smiling slightly, Lisa left them both to go to her room.  She needed some time alone.  Her kitten wasn’t anywhere to be found.  She had started leaving her door open for it to roam, thinking they all knew by now it wasn’t prey. 
What a weird thing to have to think about.  I wonder how
they would
react to a puppy?

She was avoiding th
inking
about the guy’s mission.  Gathering up her dirty clothes, she went to the laundry room to get started washing. 
That took all of ten minutes.  Leaving once she had the washer going, s
he went looking for something to do.  Finding Anna dusting the great room, she asked if she could use some help. 

“Nope, I have a system, and I’m very particular,” she smiled, taking the sting out of her words.

    Melissa had come in and heard Lisa’s offer to help.  Grabbing her arm, she marched her to the kitchen.

“We’re baking today.  Whenever I need to distract my mind, I bake.  We’ll go nuts.  Cookies, cakes, whatever we feel like,” Melissa said.

“All right, but the only cookies I bake come from
a tube
.  That’s if I manage to get them to the oven before I eat the dough,” Lisa said. 

“You are such a plebian.  I’ll teach you how to make easy homemade cookies. 
Impress all your friends,” she said pompously.

Lisa was surprised to find
she could laugh.
Melissa was good for her.  Stephanie came in with the
girls,
and
before
very
long,
they were all covered in flour.
 

Amy and Sarah loved rolling out the cookie dough, then making their own shapes.  Liz came in to join the group, putting on an apron and diving in. 

When the men came in
for lunch, Liz
ordered them to go get
some
pizza
s.  T
he kitchen was off limits for now.

They had several dozen cookies cooling when the guy’s got back.  Setting the pizza boxes on the table, they all dug in. 
After pigging out on pizza and cookies, Lisa went to get her book and settle once again in the great room. 

She was trying to read, but kept picturing Rafe in
trouble
in some dark realm.  Laying her book aside, she decided to walk to the pond and try to ‘see’ him.

Ian and Devlin followed her out.  They hung back,
watching,
but trying to give her some space.  She motioned them forward, explaining what she was going to try and do. 
They both nodded, with Devlin telling her they would watch over her while she mind surfed.

Shaking her head, Lisa thought that probably was a
s
good a term as any.
  Reaching out her hands, she pulled magic from the pond, sending it through her body. 
She focused on Rafe, picturing him in her mind. 

She found herself in a dark forest.  Looking around, she suddenly realized she was seeing it through his eyes.  I’m in his head, she thought.  He was following
Robert, who was leading the way.  I wonder if he can sense me?

‘
Yes,
I can.  I don’t know if it’s dangerous for you to be with me, even in mind only, so pull out.  Robert tells me we’re not far from
Ciar’s
castle and I don’t want him sensing you.
’
 

Lisa saw a wall closing around his mind, cutting her off.  “Damn it!  Don’t shut me out!” she yelled.

She glared at Ian and Devlin.  “I was in his head,
but
he pushed me out.”

Ian guided her back towards the house.  “What did you see?”

“A dark forest.  He said they were almost to
Ciar’s
castle, so he wanted me to go.  Why didn’t they just appear there?  I know Dunstan told them where it was.”

Lisa flopped down on the sofa beside Melissa.  She put her
magazine down and listened in. 

“They would want to scout the area out first.  Never a good idea to just appear in the
enemy’s
camp without knowing what you’re getting in to,” said Ian.

“What happened?” asked Melissa.

Lisa told her about being able to ‘see’ through
Rafe’s
eyes and then him putting up a wall. 

Melissa looked at Lisa, studying her.  “You know you could probably break through his wall,” she said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. 
Obviously,
he had a good reason for keeping you out,” Ian said disapprovingly.

Ignoring him, Lisa asked how she could do it.

“You could imagine blasting through, like exploding the wall into pieces.  But that could be too abrupt.” Pausing, Melissa thought about it.  “Try to imagine a hammer or chisel and slowly chip away at it until you break through,” Melissa said
,
grinning hugely. 

“You two are unbelievable.  Are you not listening at all?” demanded Devlin.

“No we’re not,” said Lisa.  “He may be in danger and maybe I’ll be able to help him.  I’ll be subtle.  Yeah, I can do subtle,” she added
,
chewing on her nail. 
 

They decided to wait until evening, since she had just been kicked out.  She didn’t want him to know she was going to try again. 

Colin came in from work, asking where Stephanie was first thing.  Melissa told him she had been down at the stable with the girls earlier. 

Looking at Ian, Colin told him he
had sent the bullet off to ballistics.  “I had some friends look in to Stephen’s whereabouts.  He hasn’t been seen in days.  I think it probably was him that shot Rafe.  He must be under
Ciar’s
control because everyone
my friends spoke to said he was a normal, quiet guy.  More interested in research than socializing was the conclusion.”

“That’s so sad.  Will he be aware he’s being used or sort of like a zombie?” Lisa asked.

The men laughed at her metaphor, saying he would be unaware. 

“If Ciar releases him, he’ll h
ave no memory of anything he has
done,” said Devlin.  

Colin left to find Stephanie
and his girls
, while Melissa and Lisa went to eat a light snack for dinner. 
Lisa wasn’t
hungry.  S
he only
went along
to keep herself busy.

Robert was leading the way through the forest, with Rafe following while Niall brought up the rear. 
Getting close to the castle, they stopped to watch for any activity.

“I hate the dark realm
.
It’s
cold
,
and well, dark,” Niall whispered. 

Rafe chucked quietly while Robert shushed them. 
“I don’t see or feel any strong power,” Robert stated.

“I think we should walk right in.  They can’
t be expecting that.  Maybe we can find one of his minions and get some information out of him,” Rafe said. 

They agreed, figuring it was safe with Ciar gone.  They left the woods, walking right up to the huge doors. 
Not stopping to knock, they entered and saw they were in the great room of the castle. 

There was no one around.  This wasn’t right, Rafe thought.  Suddenly, both Robert and Niall drew their swords.  Rafe could
feel the change in the air.  H
e
stiffened
,
ready to shift.

Ciar appeared, sitting in the large chair that looked like a throne. 

“What a pleasant surprise.  Always good to see my
fa
e
brothers and their pet wolf.”

“We’re not
yer
brothers,” Robert snapped.  “We know you sent those men to attack Rafe.  We’ve come to give you a warning.”

Rafe interrupted before Robert could continue.  “Stay away from my family or I’ll rip your throat out,” he growled. 

“You dare to come into my home uninvited and threaten me?  Either you are very stupid or very brave.  I haven’t decided which it is yet,” Ciar said with distaste. 

Niall thought to distract him.  “What is it
yer
wanting?  You ke
ep
attacking his pack
and it
will bring the Queen and her warriors
to your doorstep
.”

“You have no proof I attacked anyone,” Ciar said smugly. 

“No word games.  What do you want?” demanded Robert. 

“Why, I just want to see my children.  You know a
father’s
love knows no bounds,” he said innocently.

“Since both
of us know
that’s a load of crap, I’m warning you now to stay away from them.  They want nothing to do with you,” Rafe stated. 

Ciar laughed.  “So arrogant.  I believe I will enjoy having a wolf pet and two
fae
to play with.”

“You’ve been warned, we’re leaving now,” Robert said.

Before he and Niall could take hold of Rafe, Ciar waved his hand and they were frozen in place.

“I don’t think so.  I believe the three of you should visit my dungeon.  I bet you’re wondering how I could
s
top you from leaving.  Well, that’s
my little secret.
  You’ll have to work for some information, you know.  Can’t make it too easy on you,” Ciar waved his arm and the
y
disappeared.   

They found themselves chained to the dungeon wall with
their
wrists and ankles shackled. 

“How the hell did he do that?  He shouldn’t be able freeze us.  Our magic should have protected us from him,”
Robert said,
confused.