Christmas Moon (7 page)

His gaze shifted back to Abel. “What’s going on?”

Abel straightened, and the hard look was back in his eyes. He jerked his head toward the twins, the Hunters, standing next to them. Cain didn’t remember their names, but Abel provided them.

“Rule and Lawe. From the Panhandle. They’re chasing a rogue who happens to target twins.”

Twins. Cain stilled, focusing his attention on the brothers. Hunting this close to Christmas, which was only days away, was rarely done. Family, pack, was too important in the were world to ignore major holidays. These two should be home with their own pack. It would take a major threat, and sure knowledge, to make them skip it.

“How long?” he asked them.

“A few weeks.”

“Obviously, Greg and Jeff were not the first,” Abel said.

“The others?”

Abel’s mouth firmed into an angry line. “Dead.”

Cain knew exactly how he felt. They should have been warned. “And Jeff?”

Abel shook his head. “Still missing.”

Cain felt Abel’s conclusions mirror his own. They both knew it was likely Jeff was already dead. The door opened, and Trey and Eric came in, their mates following them, whispering, their heads bent close together. Eric and his mate walked in the opposite direction while Trey paused and looked around. His gaze stopped on their small group, and he moved in their direction. The crowd parted for him, and Cain hid a grin at the way his mate rolled her eyes. He may be the most feared Hunter in a generation, but his mate obviously didn’t share that fear. The two newcomers stopped in front of them, Trey holding his mate’s elbow and keeping her slightly behind him.

“Cain.” He nodded. “Abel.”

Then his gaze zeroed in on Delilah, as if taking her measure. Next to him, Cain felt her shrink under the penetrating look and sent her strength, reassurance. He felt the same from Abel. It bolstered her, and her spine straightened, her chin lifted. Trey finally nodded and smiled a little.

Trey Williams smiling did not give one the warm and fuzzies. Delilah’s hand shook in his before she controlled herself. Hell, it gave even him and Abel pause. Irritated, Trey’s mate jabbed her elbow in his side, and he woofed out a breath, rubbing his ribs as he looked down at her.

She stepped forward and turned to him, clearly exasperated. “I swear, sometimes I think you were raised by real wolves.”

She smiled at Delilah and held her hand out. “I’m Tara. And the rude one here is my mate, Trey.”

She spared a second to turn and glare at him over her shoulder. Cain used the moment to rub the smile off his face. When she turned back, Delilah let go of his hand long enough to shake Tara’s.

“I’m Delilah.”

Tara waited for further introductions, and he squeezed Delilah’s hand. She blinked, realized he expected her to introduce him and his brother. She nodded at them in turn. “Cain and Abel.”

It took a second to register, and then Tara laughed. Delilah grinned. “I know. The universe’s idea of a bad joke, I think.”

He almost took exception to her leaving the mate part off, but he was charmed by her smile, by the openness she showed Tara. They’d let her relax before they pushed the nature of their new relationship. He caught Abel’s gaze and knew he was thinking the same thing. The other twins were introduced as the door opened again.

Billy Cagle and his mate walked in, and Cain studied her. He’d heard the story of Wyatt, of course, had heard that Billy had to follow her to Florida to claim her. They’d obviously worked things out since she was pregnant, her belly big and round, her face radiant with happiness. His breath caught in his throat, and he wondered what Delilah would look like in a similar state, knowing the first birth would be twin boys.

She gasped, and he looked down to see her watching him, a blush spreading down her neck. He’d meant to share the image with Abel, but she must have caught it, too.

How did she feel about that? He couldn’t pursue that question in this crowd and was distracted from the thought when Clint approached. An older, retired Hunter, Clint had taken the Enforcer position after Jackson’s appointment as Alpha, until Abel had been able to retire and come home. At forty-two, he was the oldest werewolf Cain knew of who’d never been mated. He shook his hand.

“Good to see you home, Cain.” Clint cocked an eyebrow, taking in the threesome. “I take it it’s for good?”

Cain smiled while giving the obvious answer. “Yes.”

Clint’s arrival was apparently what Trey had been waiting for, and he finally spoke, his gaze steady on Abel. “I’m not Enforcer here.”

When he didn’t go on, Abel prodded him, his smile crooked, his tone wry. “But if you were?”

Trey shrugged. “I’d take advantage of all these single Hunters. Set up patrols.”

Abel didn’t bristle at the command in Trey’s voice. Instead, he smiled. Cain understood he’d already made those arrangements as his gaze swept the room again. There were several people he’d expect to see at this kind of gathering that were absent.

“Already done.”

Trey nodded, and Cain realized he’d known before he gave the suggestion. What was he up to then?

“The Hunters are sending an analyst. A profiler I guess you’d call her.”

Trey cut his gaze to Clint while everyone waited for him to go on. He felt his brother’s impatience join his own and wanted to ask what the big deal was. Finally, he said, “Ellen should be here soon. Jackson sent a driver to the airport. And she’ll need a guard.”

The three members of his pack straightened, curious and alert, and he asked the question they all shared. “Brant’s daughter?”

Trey nodded.

“I’ll do it,” Clint said.

Trey’s smile was slight, but there was no doubting the humor in it. “I thought you would.”

“Can it, Williamson,” Clay said. “I may have ten years on you, but you’d do well to remember who taught you how to fight. I can still kick your ass.”

Cain felt like he’d missed a whole conversation and struggled to remember Ellen. Her mother hadn’t been mated to Brant, and she’d left, taking her daughter with her when the girl was a teenager. She’d be close to thirty now. How had she ended up with the Hunters?

His questions would have to wait. Jackson and Summer came in, followed by Darius and his mate. Fascinated, Cain watched as the two pairs split and worked the room. In their wake, people began to leave. Finally, the two pairs stopped at his group. Considering how at odds they’d been a year and half ago, it was amazing to see them work so easily in concert now. And very cool to see, too. He remembered in the years before Brant died that Jackson and Darius often worked rooms like this together. It was good to see them allied again.

Jackson grinned at him. “So, do I get two Enforcers for the price of one now?”

He met Abel’s gaze, and together they glanced at Delilah. They would never leave her unprotected, and Jackson should know better than to ask.

Cain snorted. “No.”

“Well, damn,” he joked, turning his gaze to Delilah. The attention raised Cain’s hackles, and he had to remind himself Jackson wasn’t interested in his woman. The Alpha had a mate. “You made it in just before the storm shut the airport down yesterday. Sorry we couldn’t give you a room here. I got invaded last week.”

Darius and Summer both elbowed him in the ribs at that crack, and he glared at them.

“It would be nice if some people remembered who was in charge around here.”

Darius just grinned, and Summer rolled her eyes. She was the second mate he’d seen do that in less than hour. He didn’t like his mate witnessing it. They’d have to make it clear to Delilah that kind of disrespect wouldn’t be tolerated. He had the impression it would be a hard lesson to learn for all three of them and might not go in his favor.

“I take it your accommodations are okay? Do you need anything?” Jackson asked.

He held his breath, wondering if she’d ask about the cabin she’d been promised, wondering if she’d ask for somewhere else to stay. She hesitated longer than he liked, and Jackson gave him a hard look.

“Everything’s fine,” Delilah answered.

“Good.” He nodded then sighed. “It’s a dangerous time to be here though, staying with twins. I’m inclined to move you out of there.”

“No,” he and Able answered together forcefully. There was no way they were handing her protection over to anyone else. Not even their Alpha. Hell, they weren’t letting anyone near her even if there weren’t a rogue on the loose. He felt Delilah’s confusion. She didn’t understand everything that was going on, the different nuances at play.

Jackson met their gazes briefly then turned back to Delilah and let his gaze linger on her neck. Every were left in the room got the message. She was unclaimed.

“She came here to work for me, and she’s under my protection until…someone else steps up to fill that role.”

Cain was certain he’d been about to say until she was officially claimed by her mates, but he couldn’t be sure how much she knew yet. Next to him, Delilah huffed.

“I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time.” She tried to free herself from their grasps and glared at them when they wouldn’t release her. “I don’t need a keeper or a protector.”

At that pronouncement, Jackson became the Alpha. The friendly, open man morphed into a dangerous predator. His eyes shifted, going cold and glowing. Cain was damned glad he was on their side, but he didn’t appreciate that censorious gaze being directed at his mate. He bristled, while Abel mentally told him to chill the fuck out.

“Here we go again,” Summer muttered.

She laid her hand on Jackson’s arm, and the touch seemed to calm him, force him to collect himself.

“I’m sure there are many things that Delilah doesn’t know about us yet, but it’s best not to rush through all those explanations at once. Everyone...” Her gaze lingered on him and his brother before continuing. “...understands the need for caution
and
haste.”

Summer slid her hand down Jackson’s arm, and when she reached his hand, he laced their fingers together, bringing their joined hands to his lips. He smiled at her, and Cain didn’t like witnessing the private moment at all. He hadn’t been afraid that having a mate would soften him, unman him. Now he wasn’t so sure. Mentally, he pulled back. Closed himself off from Abel’s and Delilah’s minds. Slowly, Jackson released his mate and turned his attention back to the group.

“For now, she stays with y’all. Don’t make me regret that decision.”

Summer smiled, and he heard Delilah grinding her teeth, biting back the words she obviously longed to say before they could slip out. He squeezed her hand, trying to communicate his pride in her.

“Delilah, Summer’s going to show you around. I need to have a word in private with the twins.”

If it was possible, Cain stood straighter. Narrowing his gaze, he felt his wolf leap up and take control. His ability to protect her had just been questioned, and now he was expected to let her go off on her own? Not in this lifetime. Before he could form a coherent response, Billy was next to Jackson, big arms crossed over his chest. Waiting. Aggressive behavior against the Alpha wouldn’t be tolerated. Even his own brother growled at him, low in his throat with disapproval, the warning obvious.
 
Jackson just smiled, stood loose limbed and confidant, and watched.

Cain forced his wolf down, forced his anger down. He leaned over to Delilah, kissed her neck, and scraped his teeth over the delicate skin. Damn, he should have done it earlier. The hell with waiting for Abel. He let her hand go and took a step back, felt the room sigh in relief. He trailed his fingers down the side of her face.

“If you need us, call. You know how.”

Then Summer was taking her hand, leading her out of the room, and chattering the whole time. When they were gone, Jackson spoke again as he walked toward the door.

“Upstairs.”

He and Abel followed, his brother whispering to him on the stairs. “Don’t be a pain in the ass, Cain.”

He grunted. How could he not?

He noticed when they entered the study that everyone else followed inside. Jackson sat behind his desk, Billy perched on the edge, and Abel stood behind them both with his arms crossed over his chest and glared at
him
. If he didn’t find the situation so ridiculous, he would have felt like a schoolboy brought to task.

Jackson glanced over his shoulder at Abel then returned his gaze to Cain. “How much does she know?”

“She knows what we are, a little of how we’re organized. Not much.”

Jackson nodded. “It’s a start, but the situation can’t be allowed to continue. Claim her. Bind her. Get it over with tonight.”

He bristled again but forced a calmness into his limbs he didn’t feel. He didn’t need to be told how to take care of his mate.

“I’m tempted to kick someone out so y’all will have a room here until this is handled.”

Trey shrugged. “We’ll go. I still have a house nearby and there’s entirely too much togetherness here anyway.”

Abel shook his head. “No. We aren’t far, and all three of us can be here during the day anyway. She won’t be alone.”

Cain was damned tempted to throw in an
except for now
. She was close. He could feel her, but he couldn’t see her, and it made him nervous. And that pissed him off.