A Baby Daddy for a Werewolf Silencer (11 page)

He was so close to coming right now, so close that he could
feel it rattling in his teeth, buzzing in his spine, throbbing in his cock. His
body was like a single nerve exposed to the ruthless intensity of Erdi's
passion.

And yet, Jensen must have preserved some semblance of
coherent thought, insofar as he could still be goal oriented. Or maybe it was
just instinct and the rightness of the moment that triggered his actions.
Either way, he found himself tilting his head, offering himself to Erdi.

Sharp pleasure-pain exploded over Jensen as his mate buried
his teeth in the juncture of his neck. At the same time, a particularly strong
thrust hit Jensen's prostate, and Jensen fell over the edge, the sensations too
much for him to endure.

Erdi followed him into climax, pumping Jensen full of hot
spunk. His cock head expanded inside Jensen, triggering new waves of pleasure
through him. Jensen felt it all through a haze, as if he was in a dream, his
consciousness doubled, entwined with Erdi's. He felt Erdi's pleasure echoing
inside him, but more than that, he experienced his emotions, all of Erdi's
desires, his yearning, his need, his almost desperate affection and
protectiveness. A tight, surreal but palpable bond clicked into place, glowing
with feelings, memories and words not spoken out loud.

"Jensen. My mate."

Jensen heard those words in his mind, and felt them in his
heart, at a level he hadn't even known existed. He had always prided himself on
his independence, but right then and there, he belonged to Erdi more utterly
than he ever had to himself. It was perfect, because Erdi belonged to him in
turn. All the masks were gone, everything that had hidden Erdi's true self from
Jensen disappearing into thin air. There was no more hiding, no more deceit.

It was beautiful, but it also hurt. Erdi's heart was an open
book to Jensen, but his tale was one of loneliness, guilt, sorrow and blood.
Erdi didn't shy away from him, though, showed Jensen everything that he was—and
Jensen was thankful for that trust, for everything Erdi gave him and everything
they could build together.

The carnal ecstasy and emotional richness of the moment soon
settled into exhausted contentment. Jensen came down from the high of his orgasm
with Erdi still stuck inside him. There was deep intimacy in that enduring
connection, and Jensen was very tempted to make use of it—or would have been if
he hadn't been too drained by what he and Erdi had already shared.

Erdi must have felt the same, because he made no attempt to
rekindle the fire of their passion. He eventually slid out of Jensen and
gathered him close to his chest. The kiss that followed tasted a little salty,
a little coppery—like blood, sweat and tears—and in it, Jensen read the promise
that he could still feel in their new bond.

The two of them weren't perfect. They had a lot of baggage,
and a lot of distrust. But as long as they stayed true to one another, as long
as they had faith in this, there was nothing they could not accomplish.

Chapter Seven

Jensen was too much of a realist to expect the mating thing
to work from the get go. Sure, he'd wanted it, craved it more than he'd
believed he ever would, but he hadn't been naive enough to think there wouldn't
be some hiccups.

Things changed, of course. They now slept in each other's
arms every night, and they'd stopped trying to hold back on sex. At the same
time, a renewed sense of comfortable trust was building up between them. Erdi
still had moments when he looked at Jensen as if he couldn't believe Jensen was
there, but they were both getting better at handling their insecurities.

Jensen would have liked to blame his forgetfulness on the
fact that he focused on the growth of their relationship, and the possible
danger he was still in. However, he was rudely reminded of a certain
mind-numbing fact a few days after they'd first mated.

Jensen stirred from his slumber as always, in Erdi's arms.
Usually, he'd slide under the sheets, maybe give his mate a creative wake up
call. This time, things didn't quite work out that way. A sudden sense of
horrible nausea flowed over him, and Jensen broke away from his lover's
embrace. He stumbled out of the bed and toward the bathroom, hoping he could at
least contain the nausea enough to prevent him from throwing up all over the
floor.

With a great deal of effort, he succeeded, but the moment he
was in the bathroom, he dropped to his knees in front of the toilet and hurled.
His entire stomach was rebelling, and he was dizzy and sweating badly. At one point,
Jensen was aware of Erdi coming in and kneeling next to him, patting his back
with strikingly gentle hands. It sort of helped, and Jensen's stomach settled
at last.

He slumped against Erdi while he caught his breath.
"Well, that was somewhat... unexpected."

Erdi didn't answer, at which point Jensen's brain finally got
the message. "Oh."

He felt Erdi wince against him. "I was worried this
might happen. I told you I had no way of preventing it."

And if Erdi's guess was correct, there had been, indeed, no
way. Because of the knotting thing, condoms were ineffective in couplings
between mates. Still, Jensen wasn't fully convinced. He turned to face his mate
and arched a brow. "You can't be sure what it is just yet."

Of course, he wasn't one to fool himself, but he also didn't
want to draw any conclusions from one single episode. "It could be
nothing."

"I suppose." Erdi didn't seem to believe his own
words. "If it is something..."

Jensen got up and steadied himself against the bathroom sink.
"We'll deal with everything one step at a time. Besides, I already told
you I'd love to have a baby with you."

That silenced Erdi, although Jensen could tell the man still
had doubts. He didn't really blame his mate. Erdi's family history wasn't the
best one to say the least, and he would never forget—especially not since he
carried the proof of it so visibly in his scars. Even so, when Erdi met
Jensen's eyes in the mirror, Jensen found hope shining in his lover's dark
orbs.

He was very tempted to kiss his mate just because of that
look, but given that he'd just thrown up, that wasn't a very good idea. To
distract himself, he ran the water in the sink and reached for his tooth brush.

Erdi didn't leave, instead settling his chin on Jensen's
shoulder, his hands settling on Jensen's waist. Jensen rolled his eyes.
"You're really going to stand there while I brush my teeth?"

"Why not?" Erdi grinned, and his palms slid over
Jensen's belly. Jensen couldn't help a small shiver. He didn't know how he
hadn't realized before, but they were both still naked. Jensen hadn't gotten
the chance to get dressed before he'd been forced to rush to the bathroom, and
Erdi clearly hadn't bothered, perhaps too concerned for Jensen to do so.

Either way, the end result was that Jensen was propped up
against the bathroom sink, his naked ass flush against Erdi's erection.

Suddenly, there was nothing he wanted more than to relive the
night before—and the evening before that. Although yesterday at lunch, Erdi had
been particularly creative, so maybe that was a good option too. Heck, Jensen
wasn't picky, as long as he got Erdi to touch him.

Unfortunately, before Jensen could get his wish, the sound of
the phone ringing interrupted them. Jensen tensed. They contacted the pack on a
regular basis, but it was pretty early for just a routine call. Had Saul
finally figured out the identity of Jensen's attackers?

Erdi kissed Jensen's shoulder and pulled away. "I should
take that."

Jensen nodded. "I'll be with you in a minute."

Erdi left the bathroom, presumably to find the ringing
sat-phone. Jensen quickly rinsed his mouth—he had a feeling he wouldn't get the
chance to do it after this call—then joined his mate.

The moment he stepped inside the bedroom, he knew something
was very wrong. He could read Erdi very well even on a regular basis, but this
time around, the man's stricken expression would have been very obvious for
anyone.

"What's the matter?" Jensen asked, his heart in his
throat.

Erdi ended the call and faced him, his eyes filled with glum
determination. "We have a problem. Alicia and the kids are missing."

****

Erdi had never liked waiting. He hated not having the
answers, and he felt exposed when he needed to rely on someone else for them.
As a former member of a silencer guild, he was used to it, but it always made
him uncomfortable, like the other shoe would drop any moment now.

The only reason he'd managed to stay calm in the past few
days was because his mate was safe with him. Even the guilds would have trouble
finding them here, and they would not risk breaching the pride's territory for
anything other than an official issue. To be completely sure he wouldn't be
taken by surprise, Erdi regularly went on patrols and had some non-lethal traps
set in the vicinity of the area. No one approached, not even the owners of the
land.

So... Jensen was safe. Given that Erdi's mate might very
possibly be pregnant, Erdi couldn't feel guilty for dropping everything to
achieve that goal. What Erdi hadn't counted on was the possibility that Jensen
hadn't been the main target to begin with.

The moment Erdi ended the conversation, both he and Jensen
shot into action. They cleaned up and got dressed as quickly as possible,
shoving everything they absolutely needed in their bags. Technically speaking,
Erdi had no responsibility toward Alicia Cook and her children, but they were
family for Gavin, for people who'd welcomed him—a silencer—in their pack. They
were innocents who didn't deserve to be hurt because someone had decided to use
them against Gavin. Erdi had to do something to help.

Ten minutes later, they were out of the house and hiking down
the mountain. The car was where they'd left it, and they both slid inside, the
tension between them so thick he could have cut through it with a knife.

"It's my fault, isn't it?" Jensen asked.

Erdi stopped before he could shake his head, since his mate
wouldn't appreciate empty reassurances. "There is a possibility that the
person who was after you noticed them when the four of you were together, and
decided to try to lure you out through them, but I don't think that's the
case."

He started the car and headed back toward the city, musing
over everything that had come to mind since he'd received the call from his
Alpha. "I always thought this whole thing was highly suspicious. Given the
circumstances, neither you, nor Alicia, Kyle and Jack would be a priority for
silencers. Gavin had already demonstrated his intention to keep his distance
from them insofar as it was possible, and the two of us mating would cancel any
potential issue on the werewolf side. If your attacker was a human, though...
Why would Gavin's family be targeted? You don't really know them, do you? Their
better bet would be your adoptive parents or people you know from the
orphanage."

Jensen went a little pale, and then fumbled with his cell
phone. Erdi set his hand on Jensen's knee.
 
This was the worst possible time for something like this to happen, and
a selfish part of Erdi hated that his mate would have to suffer through the
stress inherent to the situation. But he'd never manage to convince Jensen to
stay behind, so he had to go with the second best thing—encouraging Jensen.
"They're fine. Saul made some arrangements so that they'd be safe."

Jensen let out a deep breath. "Right. You're all quite
resourceful, despite having such a small pack."

If not for the seriousness of the circumstances, Erdi would
have smiled. "It's not a 'despite'. It's a 'because'. In any case, I have
a bad feeling about this."

Jensen arched a brow, as if to say "seriously?" and
Erdi elaborated. "I just... I'm worried about the consequences of this
whole thing. Like you said, we're a very small pack."

Erdi hoped he was wrong, but it was just one more reason why
he wanted to make haste to come to his Alpha's aid. Saul had said he and Dean
were attempting to track down Alicia's kidnappers, but Erdi's experience would
definitely come in handy. However, it would take far too long for him to drive
there.

Erdi didn't waste any time in going through with the one idea
he had. He'd never relied on someone other than a member of his guild, but this
time around, there was no other way. He asked his mate to pass him his cell
phone from the glove compartment and dialed the one contact who might be able
to help him.

Ian answered his phone at the third ring. "Hey, Erdi.
What's up? Everything okay?"

The shifter obviously realized everything was not okay, since
otherwise Erdi wouldn't have called him. Not to mention that the circumstances
were volatile enough to make everyone involved wary.

"Sorry about this, but I need another favor. I'll owe
you one."

Ian paused. Perhaps he was getting tired of pulling strings
for Erdi. Not that it was easy for Erdi to ask for help, and for a second time
at that, but he had to do it—for his pack, his mate, Alicia, and the children
who'd done nothing wrong.

"Sure," Ian finally said. "What do you
need?"

****

A few hours later, Erdi and Jensen finally met up with Saul
and Dean. Erdi's gambit had paid off, and Ian had provided them with a private
jet without too much fuss. Apparently, that sort of thing was very easy
compared to coaxing a pride of shape-shifter felines to accept and shelter a
werewolf silencer and his mate. Who knew?

Despite this success, however, Jensen was wary, and very
concerned. They hadn't been contacted by Dean and Saul again—not that they
could have been, on the plane. Jensen couldn't stop thinking about what Erdi
had told him earlier. He hoped Erdi had been jumping at shadows and the pack
was ready for anything that might come their way.

They definitely hadn't been ready for Alicia's kidnapping.
The four of them met two blocks from Alicia's address, in a small park. Saul
and Dean looked morose and didn't even greet Erdi and Jensen. "We lost
track of whoever took Gavin's family. It's almost impossible to follow the
scent through the city," Saul told them instead.

"Do we know who it was?" Erdi inquired in the same
no-nonsense tone.

Dean shook his head. "We were unable to approach the
actual scene because of the human police. Drawing attention to us would've been
incredibly risky."

Jensen mused over their predicament. "I could hack into
their files and see if they have any suspects. Police procedures are slow, but
if they can give us a clue, we might be able to track Alicia down faster."

"Good thinking, Jensen." The scowl on Saul's brow
smoothed a little. "What do you need?"

"I have everything I need right here." And
everything already in place, although he didn't tell them that.

For someone like Jensen, it was always a good idea to keep an
eye on authorities. He'd never actually had problems with cyber crime
departments, but that was only because he knew how to cover his tracks. Most of
the time, an individual like him wasn't as visible as organized hacking groups,
especially since he preferred to keep a low profile. As such, it wasn't his
first time sneaking a peak at files he shouldn't be looking at.

His first foray into something like this had been risky at
best, and extremely rash in reality. Since then, Jensen had dug up a number of
access codes he could use, most of them belonging to older officers on the
force that wouldn't check their logs or find anything suspicious—if there was
something to be found once Jensen was done.
 

He worked quickly, inputting the commands with the ease of
practice, fueled by both adrenaline and the need to help. His laptop soon spat
out the info he needed. There was a file on Alicia Cook and her two children,
and for once, it helped a lot. One of her neighbors had heard alarming noises
and had called the police, but by the time anyone had intervened, she'd already
disappeared. However, nearby cameras from a supermarket had caught a visual of
Alicia Cook's ex husband loitering in the area a few hours before the event.

Saul cursed. "Of course. Of course it's going to be that
asshole." He cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to enjoy having a
little conversation with him."

Obviously, Saul had a grudge of his own against Martin Cook,
although Jensen knew better than to ask about it. "There's currently no
sign of him. If he did take Alicia and the children, he's probably on the move.
I could hack into other feeds, but it'll take far longer than this."

He didn't know if Erdi and the other werewolves had a better
way, and he didn't want to deceive them by promising quick results. To a
certain extent, he felt relieved, because this kidnapping suggested Jensen
hadn't been at fault for any of it. And maybe it was selfish of him to think of
that now, but he couldn't help it. The guilt had been crushing him ever since
he'd first heard the news.