Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) (11 page)

“So how’s the shop, Dad?” Alana glanced over at her father.

He ran a shop that catered to hikers, backpackers and skiers
and most outdoor sports. Michael had shopped there himself when they needed
equipment.

“It’s good. Your mother’s still trying to find space to open
up a little branch of her boutique in the store,” her father said and glanced
over at his wife.

“I’m going to do it one of these days, maybe just a rack or
two of the clothing. It would certainly liven things up in there.” Her mother,
Georgia, touched Vincent’s arm in a soft, stroking caress.

Alana looked around the table and finally focused on her
sisters. Michael had wondered if she was going to ignore her sisters completely
in order to stop any chance of an argument. Since she didn’t know of their talk
with her family she might think it was a good idea.

“And how are you, Elisabeth?” Alana tilted her head and
stared at her sister.

“Oh, very good. Preparing for this little one of course.”
Elisabeth’s hand smoothed over her rounded stomach. “The catering company I
work for is busy. It’ll get busier with the coming holiday season.”

“She hasn’t been running from her life.” Mary’s voice cut
off the last of Elisabeth’s answer.

Mary’s mate put his hand on her arm and shook his head at
her. Michael straightened. They had all agreed not to do this.

“Yeah, well, I never claimed to be her. I make my own
choices. I don’t do what’s expected simply because it is expected.” Alana’s
voice hardened.

“What do you expect to do when you decide to come back here?
You were barely out of school, not even in college when you left.” Mary ignored
the way her husband and Elisabeth were trying to get her attention.

“Well, let’s see. If I come back here, I’ll use the degree
in accounting I got while I was out playing around with Protectorate and saving
the world on occasion. I always land on my feet.” Alana smiled sweetly at her
sister.

Ryder chuckled. “Should have known. You always did like
numbers.”

“Enough, Mary. You’ve already broken your promise. Don’t
push anymore.” Vincent shot a narrow-eyed look across the table at his
daughter.

“Promise?” Alana looked over at Kane.

“We wanted this to be a nice, relaxing meal where you could
talk with your family without the tension of past arguments marring the night.
So we had them promise not to bring the disagreement up tonight.”

Alana looked over at her brother. “Did you try to tell them
that didn’t have a chance of working? If it’s not all of them nagging at me,
trying to tell me how to live my life, it’s at least one of them.”

“I mentioned it, but was shouted down with ‘of course we’ll
give her some space.’” Ryder grinned. “I actually thought it would be Elisabeth
who broke first.”

“Nah, Elisabeth’s mellowed a little in the past months,”
Alana said.

“Enough from you two. It’s almost as bad as when you were
all growing up.” Vincent sighed and his narrowed eyes swept over both Ryder and
Alana. “Now, we’ll talk about something else.”

Surprisingly, Alana laughed and nodded. She didn’t seem to
be upset by her sister’s remark. At first, the conversation was stilted, but
soon everyone was talking. Alana knew quite a bit of the most recent news
around town. When the meal ended, Alana even hugged her sisters before they
began walking out of the restaurant.

“Now, we have to talk about the hotel. I’m going there. Do I
have to walk or are you taking me?” She looked at both of them. One elegant
eyebrow lifted in demand.

Michael fought to keep his mouth in a straight line. Their
cat was bold. They’d never doubted that. Normally, he admired the confidence
and attitude. Now he wouldn’t mind a little blind acceptance. He hadn’t
expected her to argue quite this much over spending a night in their spare
bedroom. Although he wanted to drag her back into bed with them, he knew she’d
only stay if she realized that the attraction and bond between them was too
strong to ignore.

“I hesitate to get in the middle of what looks to be a great
argument between you, but I was given this earlier by one of the Wizard Council
members to give to you three.” Ryder drew an envelope out of his jacket pocket
and handed it to Kane.

Before Kane could look at it, Alana snatched it out of his
fingers and ripped into it. She unfolded the paper. Michael saw her eyes widen
and then she growled, her lips pulling back and baring her teeth in a snarl. He
saw her muscles tense and knew she was about to take off at a run. He grabbed
her arm just as she took the first step.

At the tug, she stopped and swung around to face him. With
his free hand, he took the paper still clutched in her hand and handed it to
his brother to read. He wasn’t releasing her yet. She’d be down the street
before he could grab at her again.

“They took her bags from the hotel and left them at our
house.” Kane told him.

“We didn’t tell them to do that, Alana. We knew we wouldn’t
have to kidnap you, in spite of what we were teasing you with earlier.” Michael
didn’t know how clearly she was thinking at the moment, but he wanted to make
that clear.

She took in a deep breath. “I know. It’s them I want. They
had no right to interfere.”

“As much as you want to do something and I know it pissed
you off, you can’t go after them.” Kane shook his head.

Michael held his tongue. Hell, it infuriated him. Even
though he knew the Council was only trying to throw them together enough for
her to feel the full strength of the mating, the maneuver could make her more
resistant and distrustful.

“I just got here and they’ve done nothing except interfere.”
Every word came from between gritted teeth and she thrust her other hand
through her hair.

He squeezed her hand. “Why don’t we go to our house? You can
make sure all your stuff is there. Then afterward, you can spend a little time
thinking of ways to torture the Council that doesn’t involve mauling them.
Afterward, we can talk about the search and relax.”

“But mauling them would be so satisfying.” Alana sighed and
her shoulders slumped a little. “All right, let’s go to your house, but I’m
using one of those extra rooms.”

“We’ll get out the extra sheets and blankets for you while
you’re thinking about what you want to do to the Council that doesn’t involve
some form of bodily harm.” Kane ruffled her hair when he stepped close for a
moment and then led the way down the walk and around the building to the Jeep.

Alana threw back the sheet and blanket, giving up any
pretense of trying to sleep. She couldn’t rest. The leopard inside her
scratched and clawed, pushing at her to get closer to her mates. Then there was
the Familiar bond. Since she’d had it severed by a witch, it would have to be
resealed for it to completely fall into place. Her skin even tingled like it
had the first time.

The fucking Council had known what they were doing when they’d
made sure she couldn’t stay at the hotel anymore. They knew simply the scent
and presence of her mates would propel her closer to mating with Michael and
Kane, regardless of if she was ready for it or not. Then there was Kane and
Michael’s readiness. In spite of what they said, she couldn’t be sure if they
really had thought through everything.

The soft mattress should have lulled her to sleep
immediately, especially with the crisp pale-green sheets and warm blanket. After
putting on her favorite oversized t-shirt and after a long day, she’d snuggled
into the bedding. She’d thought she might get some rest. The entire room seemed
designed to soothe, with its soft blue walls and the large dark-wooden furniture.
It wasn’t working.

Although she was tired and drowsiness tugged at her, she
couldn’t settle. She paced the length of the room. She quickly stopped. Anxiety
rose and formed a knot in her stomach. Clenching her hands, she realized this
wasn’t such a good idea. It made the room seem even smaller, more of a cage.

Their house was huge, a two beautiful two story with a
wraparound front porch. She had no idea how they’d gotten this house in this
area. Places like this were usually snapped up by shifters because of the
closeness to nature. The lake was just down the hill from their back deck and
the forest almost surrounded the house.

On the tour, she’d learned they were renovating some of the
second story of the house. They’d given her a room on the first floor. Their
rooms were down the hall from hers. So easily accessible. She could follow that
scent trail, steal into one of their rooms and curl up beside them on the bed.
It sounded like a great idea and the cat within her wanted to do that and more.

Alana sighed and glanced toward the door. She didn’t know
what she was going to do. The urge to be with them clawed at her. It wasn’t as
if she could go out to the kitchen and spend some time with them. They’d headed
to their rooms long ago. She’d heard them come down the hallway and the closing
of two doors.

They’d given her time to think and then they’d talked about
the abduction sites and the kidnappings and motives. Not that they had anything
solid there. Speculation was all they had until they found some evidence. They’d
decided on a plan for tomorrow. Hopefully, the new day would bring a new
development.

She’d gone to bed, hoping a little physical distance would
help lessen the attraction she’d felt toward them when she sat at the table
with them. From her experience tonight, she realized only pure fury and the
newness of the Familiar connection had allowed her to leave so easily all those
years ago. Now that she felt the full force of it, staying in the same house
with them without being next to them was torture.

Her skin tingled. Part of it might have been from
sensitivity to their magic or simple anticipation, but most of it was the the
Familiar bond reestablishing and strengthening. That wasn’t even taking into
account her cat. The animal side of her was in heaven and hell. In some ways, the
feline part of her was satisfied being in the same house and surrounded by
their scent, but the wilder half was also clawing to get closer to them. She
wasn’t going to be able to hold out long.

She took a deep breath. She might be able to get through
tonight without going to one of them, just not in this room. There was enough
of their scent here to tease her, but not enough to comfort the cat deep inside
her. Exhaling heavily, she smoothed the long t-shirt down over her thighs and
strode to the door

After quietly easing the door open, Alana peeked out to make
sure they were both in their rooms. She slipped out into the hall and made her
way to the living room. The pale blue-gray walls seemed almost white in the
moonlight streaming in through the windows. She dropped down onto the couch and
grabbed one of the throw pillows. Her eyes rested on the fireplace, trying to
gather a little calm. Not even a glowing ember remained from the fire earlier
in the natural-stone hearth. It wasn’t one of those made of river rocks, but
had been constructed from slabs of the stone. It suited the house.

Her mind and the urgings of the animal instincts didn’t
subside much. She hoped the heavier scent here would be enough to let her sleep
for tonight. Settling back against the cushions, she tried to relax. After a
moment, she flicked on the lamp next to the couch. She didn’t want them to
worry if they noticed her missing from her room.

With their scent surrounding her, part of the clawing need
eased, but she still felt the urge to touch them. Resting her head on the plush
back of the couch, she closed her eyes. It was going to be a long night.

“Are you all right?” Michael’s voice came softly from the
doorway to the room.

Alana’s head rose and she looked at him, but it wasn’t only
Michael. Kane stood behind him. Oh yeah, the bastards on the Council knew what
they were doing when they’d had her things brought here. She wasn’t simply having
a problem resisting the temptation of the two men, although they were
attractive. Her eyes traveled over their rumpled hair and moved south.

The width of their chests drew her. She wanted to run her
fingers over that bare expanse. Kane’s chest was hairless and Michael’s had a
light smattering of hair. Without thinking about it, she glanced lower. Michael
wore the more fitted, black boxer brief underwear and Kane had light-blue
boxers. She wanted to peel those scraps of cloth off both men’s bodies and touch
and see what had been haunting her dreams for years.

Alana tried for a smile. “I’m okay. I just can’t sleep.”

Maybe if she reassured them, they’d go back to bed and leave
her here. If they weren’t close to her, she might get a chance to soothe the
cat without having to be physically near them. She didn’t want to have to come
to them this way. If they started a relationship, she wanted it to be done the
right way, not forced because her freaking cat wouldn’t settle.

Michael’s head cocked to the side and he studied her for a
few moments. “It’s your leopard, isn’t it? She’s keeping you from resting
because you’re so close to us.”

Her eyes widened. The problem involved a little more than
the cat, but that played a huge part in it. How had he known that? It wasn’t
something a wizard would normally realize. They didn’t have much reason to
think about the animal side of the shifters around them. At least, they didn’t
until they were confronted by it if they were turned themselves. She didn’t
know what to say, but she wasn’t going to lie when they’d hit the truth even if
it was a guess.

“Yes, it’s the leopard.” She ran her fingers through her
hair, frustrated. Tucking her feet closer to the couch, she fought the urge to
get up and go over to them. She knew once she did, she wouldn’t stop at a
touch. She’d be all over them and there wouldn’t be any turning back.

“Your brother told us it might cause a few problems if we
all slept in the same house before you were fully ready to accept us.” Kane walked
over and dropped onto the couch beside her. “What’s bothering her, um you? Do
you need to go run?”

I wish.
Alana glanced out the large glass doors that
led onto a deck. She could see the lake and the trees beyond that. Nothing as
simple as a run through the forest would settle the cat, although it did sound
nice. The leopard didn’t want a romp in the forest. It wanted Michael and Kane.
Apparently, her brother hadn’t explained just what the problem would be or
maybe even he hadn’t been sure.

“No, I don’t want to go for a run. I just can’t sleep.” She
didn’t want to use the anxiety and desire to be near them as any kind of
leverage to get closer to them. That had to be their choice, not forced on them
by the fact that her cat was going nuts to rub all over them.

Michael strode over and dropped to a knee in front of her.
Drawing one of her hands between both of his, he looked up at her. He held onto
her when she tried to draw away from him. “Why can’t you sleep? What,
specifically has the cat upset? I know it won’t be the same things you were
angry over. Well, not exactly.”

Apparently, they’d been talking about much more than just
this specific situation. They were right. The leopard saw things in much more
basic terms. The cat wanted to claim her mates and being in the same house with
them only increased that desire. The only thing that mattered was sealing the link.
She might be able to delay this, but Alana knew that if something didn’t change,
the instincts of the cat would take over and she’d find herself in one of their
rooms one morning.

“Come on, Alana. Talk to us. We’re not going to let you shut
us out this time. Tell us what’s wrong.” Kane took her other hand and stroked
his thumb across her knuckles.

“I didn’t want to force you into anything. I should be able
to handle her if I can be alone here.” She glanced at Michael and then Kane
through her lashes. Her eyes roved over their faces enjoying the opportunity to
simply look into their eyes or let her own linger on the sharp cheekbones or
hard edge of their jaws. The combination of the dealing with the Familiar bond
and the mating urge was going to be a bitch, but she was pretty sure she could
handle it for a night or two. Probably not more than that.

“What is it that your cat wants? We’re not going to leave
you out here to stay awake all night. We all need our sleep.” Michael squeezed
her hand.

Hell, she really didn’t want to pressure them, but knew from
the looks on their faces they weren’t going anywhere until she talked about it.
She didn’t know how they’d realized she was awake. They couldn’t have heard
her. She hadn’t made a sound coming down the hallway. It would be so much
easier if they’d slept through the night.

Even if she’d had a sleepless night, Alana could have
covered the fact that she was tired and given them at least another day to
discover if this was what they really wanted. She knew they said they were
claiming her, but they hadn’t even seen her in years. Saying it and actually
doing it were different things. She wanted them to be sure it was what they wanted,
not what was expected of them.

“How did you know I was awake?” She looked at Kane through
her lashes. The question wouldn’t distract them, but it was something she
wanted to know.

“A small spell on the house.” Kane shrugged.

Her eyes narrowed and anger spiked. “Did you think I was
going to simply run into the night?”

Michael cupped her cheek, turning her face so she was forced
to look at him. “No, we wanted to know if you were having trouble sleeping like
your brother said you might. You’re not going to suffer if we can help it.”

“It wouldn’t be suffering, not exactly. I’ve gone without
sleep before. If I stay out here tonight, it would let you have choices,
because I don’t know how long I can hold off on a full claim if I’m sleeping
even in the same room with both of you.” She wanted to wait until they got a
better idea of how being with her would change their lives.

Her own questions about the relationship were beside the
point. Most of those should be resolved with enough time, but since she,
Michael and Kane were thrown together, they didn’t have the luxury of waiting.
The pressure of fighting the urge to be with them and the feeling of being
trapped because of the forced proximity ramped up her agitation and the anger,
which only fed the feline’s need to act. It was a neverending cycle.

“You would be suffering. Didn’t you listen to what we said
in the Council room and outside it?” Kane released her hand to curve an arm
around her back.

“I listened, but you don’t really know me. We’d just met
back when the connection first formed. I’m not certain if a full claim is what
you want or if you simply want a Familiar. It’s a very different thing.” Alana
wasn’t too sure they’d ever really thought about it. They were her mates and that
changed things.

“We want the full claim. Do you think we’re prepared to
accept anything less than everything? If events had happened differently, we
could have gotten to know each other slowly over a few months. We didn’t have
that chance.” Michael brushed his fingers along her cheek. Tingles followed
that light caress.

“We aren’t aware of everything that will happen, but when
you do claim us as mates, you’ll bite us. The change will begin. Your brother
told us it will take time for the change to occur, about a year.” Kane shrugged.
“We’re not afraid of that. In fact, we’re looking forward to it. Finally, our
woman will be tied to us.”

Alana frowned at him. He sounded really happy about it. It
was something she hadn’t expected. She’d thought they’d require time to adjust
to the idea. Her brother had apparently told them a lot about the details in a
shifter mating. She wondered how long they’d been thinking so seriously about
the relationship.

“You’re not afraid of something that will make you different
than you are now?” She tilted her head and threw the statement out there. She’d
heard some people felt they lost a piece of themselves when they first became a
shifter. In a way, she could understand, because it was definitely life-altering.

Kane laughed. “The only changes will be physical. We’ll
still be the same people emotionally and intellectually. I think being able to
change into a cat will be fun.”

“Fun? Hmm. I think you’ll be in for a few surprises on that
front when it happens.” She glanced down at Kane’s hand covering hers. They’d probably
enjoy most of being a shifter. She did. “You don’t think it will make a
difference in how other witches and wizards see you?”