Barely Winging It (9 page)

The woman took her hand and comfortably shook it but
didn’t speak. Gale introduced her. “That is correct. This is
Bronya
, Nix’s mate. They were attacked last night, and she
got a rude eye-opener to the paranormal world.”

Havana cringed. “
Eww
, Nix
hadn’t had time to tell you yet?”

Bronya
kept quiet but shook her head. Again, Gale spoke. “
Bronya
,
Havana is
Dultyn’s
mate.”

Havana noticed a show of some recognition on the woman
and a surge of jealousy sparked through her, but before she could say anything,
Gale, seeming to read her ire, quickly explained. “
Dultyn
was nearby when they were attacked. From what
Alphy
told me,
Dultyn
flew in to her rescue just in the
nick of time. He saved her life.”

Havana calmed just a little bit, enough to notice the
plate of food being placed in front of her by Connie. Mumbling a thank you to
the motherly woman, she sat down.
“Sorry,
Bronya
.”

“She understands. I’ve already had to explain several
other things to her while Nix is in the meeting with the others,” Gale
responded.

Havana’s brow knitted. “Not that I mind you, Gale, but
how come you keep answering for
Bronya
? Can’t she
answer for herself?”

“She’s still in a little bit of shock from the reveal.
She only got a few hours’ sleep, and with so much to absorb, she…”

“Ah, I
gotchya
.
No problem,
Bronya
. Take
all the time you need and if you need anything, just holler.” After shooting a
wink to the silent woman, Havana turned to enjoy the hearty meal.

“So Havana,
puhleez
tell me
what it was that
Dultyn
got you for your birthday. I
was here when it arrived yesterday all crated up.
Alphy
wouldn’t even let me peek.” Gale pouted.

Havana chuckled. Gale was only a year older then she
was, so they were both pretty big on dramatics.
“A print from
one of my favorite artists.
I’ll show you after breakfast. You can help
me hang it on my wall.”

“Sweet.
Ok,” Gale chirped.

The working crew started to arrive and helped themselves
to finger-foods like muffins and bananas. Gale introduced them to
Bronya
. Before they left,
Kace
emerged from the office.

“
Mornin
’, guys. I heard you
being introduced to
Bronya
. The attack last night was
orchestrated by that beta, Damon. We think they possibly followed Enzo to the
hotel after he left here last night. Damon wasn’t part of the group that
attacked, so he’s still out there and we think he isn’t alone. Keep an extra
close eye on your surroundings. I’ll be
joinin
’ you
out there when I can.”
Kace
then refilled his coffee
cup and headed back into the office where the meeting continued.

Havana thought about the part her mate had in the
rescue. She smiled to herself as she thought about her mate being a hero. She
smiled even more as she let her mind think over the letter he had written her.
She decided today she was going to wait in the barn until her mate actually
came out of roost. But first, she had to help with the dishes. She reminded
herself, like she did every morning, not to complain.
There are so many jobs that are worse
.

She remembered when they first arrived, her brother
had chanted several colorful words after an encounter with a spider and Betty
sent him to clean out the chicken coop. Nor did she forget when she, Gale, and
Connie had ridden to town without an escort and were forced to endure a whole
shift working for the doctor.
That
vampire seriously has control issues.

With the last load in the dishwasher and the final pot
in the drying rack, Havana dried off her hands. Gale was ready with nails and a
hammer. With their new friend
Bronya
, they headed up
to her room to hang her picture.

Gale was very vocal with her “oohs” and “
ahhs
”, and even though she didn’t say anything,
Bronya’s
face showed appreciation for the picture. As they
were hammering in the nails, Connie and even Seamus stopped by to view her
gift. It pleased Havana greatly to know the people she cared about appreciated
something she loved so much.

After everyone left, Havana made a quick sweep around
the room, readying it for her mate to join her. She even added some things
nearby they might need. Grabbing her new laptop and some of her drawing things,
she headed down stairs. Just before she stepped onto the main floor, the
doorbell rang.

“I’ve got it,” she called out. Being in a house with
so many people, she was learning little things mattered. Opening the door, she
eyed a young delivery man holding a bouquet of pink and white flowers. “Hello,
can I help you?” she asked.

“Uh, yes, I’m looking for a Mister Enzo Boyce. I
really hope I have the right place.” The man looked around nervously.

“Yeah, you do. Wait here and I’ll get him.” She
lightly closed the door, placed her things on the entry table and trotted to
the office. The men looked up at her expectantly as she leaned into the room.
“Enzo, some guy with flowers is here for you.”

Enzo’s shocked look let her know he had no idea what
she was talking about. She giggled seeing everyone follow and crowd the
entryway as Enzo opened the door. The nervous delivery man was looking around
and quickly looked back when the door opened.

“Can I help you?” Enzo questioned with a doubtful
tone.

The young man, Dylan, if you could go by the name tag,
smiled and blushed a little, “No, someone else did, for you. These are chrysanthemums.
The person who ordered them sure knows their flowers.”

Receiving the bunch, Enzo questioned him. “I’m sorry,
I don’t. What are chrysanthemums?”

“Uh, these are.” The man looked puzzled but then obviously
realized what Enzo really meant. “Oh, yeah, they mean secret admirer. Uh,”
coughing to clear his throat, the young man continued, “there’s a card.” He
pointed to the tiny envelope sticking in between the yellow blooms.

By the look on Enzo’s face, he didn’t know what to do
or say. Havana giggled along with Gale, but Connie didn’t seem to be so shocked.
“Seriously, men, you would think it was a three headed horse. Give them to me,
and I’ll quickly put them in a vase while you tip the kind delivery man.”

That chastising, of course, got the girls laughing
harder as they watched the gob-smacked Enzo release his bundle and dig into his
pocket, handing the driver a twenty dollar bill. After closing the door on a
shocked deliveryman, Enzo opened the note and read it. Havana tried to read
over his shoulder, but he was careful not to allow anyone else to see it,
except for
Alphy
. No one could deny their alpha.
Havana huffed as
Alphy
chuckled and slapped Enzo on
the back. Now she really wanted to know what it said. And of course her brother
couldn’t throw them a bone and say anything, not even a quip.
Damn it!

With the delivery man’s engine gone and the crowd
dispersed, Havana picked up her burden and skipped out on her way to the barn.
She saw Matteo and Slate heading that way, too, but she didn’t pay much attention
to them. The sun was peeking between the clouds, warming the air that seemed to
add to her cheer. Passing the garage, she stopped and watched Seamus standing
still with his eyes closed and his nose slightly up in the air. Looking around
and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she raised her nose in the air and
tried to capture what had his attention on the breeze. The air brought a watery
fresh pine and foliage scent, fresh and sweet, but nothing else stood out.
Maybe she couldn’t smell it where she was. She knew the wind could make a scent
flurry around in circles at times. Daring closer, she tried again but still
didn’t notice anything.
“
Whatchya
smellin
’, Seamus?”

“I’m not sure. I need to talk to
Alphy
about it,” he mumbled and walked away.

Looking towards the barn, Havana saw Slate, Matteo,
and another pack member escorting what looked like a prisoner into the woods.
Everyone’s so busy.
Shrugging her
shoulders, she continued to splash her way through the muddy path to the barn.

The familiar scents of wood, metal, cement, barn owls,
and critters wafted over her as she opened one of the doors. The faint scent of
long ago visits from herding animals was still slightly imprinted into the
surroundings. But if they were to fill it once again with horses and such, they
would have to get rid of the building materials first.

Havana kind of liked the idea of being around farm
animals. She was raised in the suburb country, so it was like the city’s
version of country. Chickens were an oddity for her, so she couldn’t imagine
how fun the others would be like.

The boards creaked as her weight shifted on them when
she climbed the stairs to the second level. Having thought more about why her
mate roosted out here in the barn instead of in her room made sense, this time,
but after tonight, he’d better not do it again. She was going to let him know
he was forgiven, and just so he wouldn’t have any more misconceptions or misjudgments,
she decided she was going to be blunt with him. After hearing the tragedy he’d
endured during wartime, she felt fate brought her in his life now so he could
be pulled a little bit from his serious side and to loosen up. He needed to
have a little more fun. And she wasn’t going to admit this to anyone, but being
as young as she was, she figured it was also fate trying to temper her a bit.

Nearing the corner of items, she placed her things
down and walked around to see her petrified mate. Soon, once he claimed her, he
would go through molting and be able to choose when to roost. Thinking of that
made her happy that he would see a sunrise and sunset for the first time with
her.

Rounding the corner, she stopped and fought to catch
her breath from an intense loved-filled shock.
Dultyn
looked like he was already holding her against him, with her face in his right
hand. And frozen on his face, staring down to where she would be standing was a
look of pure, unadulterated, passionate love.

Havana moved slowly to her mate and stroked his cheek.
She maneuvered her body into his perfectly placed hands positioning her against
his warm hardened body. His arm wrapped perfectly around her waist. She tilted
her face and rested her cheek in his large clawed hands. The smooth stone
rubbed softly over his skin, and his warmth seeped into her, warming her. When
she looked up, their faces were so close that she was looking directly into his
face. It held so much emotion. She couldn’t stop the stream of tears that,
again, began to fall.
Wow, when my mate
makes up for his mistakes, he does a good job. How am I going to beat this? And
my mistake was worse.

She didn’t know how long she spent in his arms, but it
didn’t feel long enough. She let her hands rove over the smooth stone dips and
curves of his arms, chest, and face. She traced his fingers with hers, and
placed kisses on his face. She even brushed her lips over his.
Yeah sappy
, she thought, but she wasn’t
going to be like this for anyone else. She made sure her scent was well spread
along his surface, easing her bear some. Hearing her cell sing “I’m a Gummy Bear”
she sighed. It was Reese’s ringtone.
Figures
.
She reluctantly pulled herself away from her
perfect stone cocoon.

“Yeah?”

Her younger brother’s voice sounded over the line.
“Hey, sis, Connie asked if you would come in and help her with lunch.”

Ok, she couldn’t help but act her age. She whined.
“But—but I wanted to spend time with my mate.”

“Sorry, sis.
I’m supposed to be helping Seamus since Katie is too
sick, and Gale left with
Alphy
who is traveling with
Nix and
Bronya
to Toronto. They’re not supposed to be
back until supper.”

Havana groaned. With so many people coming to the pack
house for meals, and with Betty gone, and of course none of the uber-macho men
could do anything girly like cook, that left the girls having to team up to
produce the mass quantities of grub. Ok, maybe she was a little too hard on the
men. They were doing loads of other things like building houses and protecting
them.
Blah, blah, blah.
She really wasn’t happy about this.

Huffing out her irritation, she answered, “Fine, but
no one had better complain they don’t like the food or I’ll go all bear on
their asses.”

“Sure thing, sis, I’ll let Connie know.” Lowering his
voice, her brother continued, “Just between you and me, she’s looking pretty
tired. I think all the stresses of everything, and maybe perhaps the twins on
top of it, have really exhausted her.”

Now Havana felt slightly guilty for not thinking of
the friendly woman. Sighing again, she answered, “Let her know I’m on my way
in. Don’t
worry,
I’ll lose the bitch side of me before
I get there so she won’t feel bad.”