OmegaMine (22 page)

“I’m not involved, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“What is it that you want?” she repeated, unable to think of
anything snarky or intelligent to say.

“Call me at this number when you’ve discussed things with
your better half. I want to stress just how important it is that our meeting
should occur sooner rather than later.”

“Tell me what is going on.” Panic overcame her fury. “You
can’t leave me entirely in the dark.”

“Let’s just say…” He didn’t speak for a moment but when he
finally did, his voice—eerily serious and somber—gave her the chills. “It’s a
good thing fate tossed a shifter mate in your path.”

Chapter Fourteen

Trey returned to Dougan’s and didn’t bother with the crowds.
He knew Diskant and Kinsley would be in the far back room at the base of the
stairs, where a table and chairs were placed in a quaint and private alcove.
The location provided adequate protection for Diskant’s female as he could
monitor who ventured up the stairs while allowing them privacy to talk,
ensuring they wouldn’t be interrupted or disturbed.

When Trey made it around the corner they were just as he
expected, seated across from each other with a couple of shot glasses and a
bottle of Jack Daniels. Both stopped talking and looked up when he approached.
Diskant kicked the chair closest to Trey from the table and sat back.

“It’s all taken care of.” Trey took a seat, snagged one of
the glasses and poured a shot. “Aldon is ready to present a roadblock when we
need it.”

“What about my mate?” The friendliness in Diskant’s face
vanished. “Did he have an explanation for why his kind attacked her?”

Trey shook his head. “He had no idea what I was talking
about. He said it had to have been rogues in the market for a blood slave.” At
Diskant’s infuriated glare he added, “It would make sense. You can’t say you
don’t understand the temptation.”

“How in the hell did you get involved with Aldon Frost?”
Diskant said the vampire’s name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“He needed a security system when he moved here. I helped
him out in exchange for a favor owed.” Trey shrugged and downed his shot.

“Most people pay for that kind of thing with money,” Kinsley
remarked. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be in business.”

“He needed a rush job. I don’t do anything that eats away my
private time without expecting something extra in return.” He poured another
shot with a steady hand, even though his insides felt as solid as Jell-O.
“Where is Emory?”

“He went to an unoccupied room on the second floor. I told
him to get a shower and a decent change of clothes. He might feel like shit but
he’s not doing us any favors by looking like it.” Diskant took the lone shot
glass from the center of the table and studied it as he rolled it between his fingers.
“I sent Nathan to watch over him. He’s on a short fuse, Trey. He’s eventually
going to become feral.”

Trey nodded, unable to argue the point.

A year before Emory had started having trouble controlling
his bestial half. It had been obvious his younger brother was an Alpha; his
disposition and temperament made that apparent shortly after his first shift.
They were damn fortunate he’d managed to keep the wolf at heel for so long. Now
he was too old to deny exactly what he needed. Alphas could survive as a member
of a pack without being in charge but only if they were mated. The bond calmed
the beast and allowed for a measure of peace—which was exactly what Trey was
banking on.

“We have to reunite him with his mate.” Trey lifted the shot
glass full of whiskey, studying the clear amber fluid. “After we take out the
Shepherds we have to take him to Colorado to retrieve her.”

“Have you lost your bloody mind?” Kinsley snarled. “You
cannot bring a Shepherd into the city to mate with your brother.”

Trey turned to the cat shifter, relieved that Diskant had
imparted the ugly truth about Emory mating a Shepherd. If he was going to bring
an unwilling female to his city he didn’t need prying Alphas making a fuss.

“What would you have me do? Watch him slowly go mad until
we’re forced to put him out of his misery?”

“He’s been a danger to everyone in his path.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Trey corrected Kinsley
smoothly. “The entire time he was in Colorado he never lost control. It wasn’t
until
after
he was separated from his female that the changes started.”

Kinsley’s brogue thickened, as it was prone to do when he
became angry. “You cannae trust information from your brother.”

“This is information straight from Gerald Night.” Trey
smiled when Diskant’s head shot up and Kinsley’s anger changed to shock. “I
contacted him shortly after Emory arrived. He said that Emory was just fine
with the pack in Colorado Springs. There were no issues whatsoever with his
control.”

“That’s not possible,” Diskant said. “If I couldn’t break
through to his wolf, there’s no way an Alpha could.”

“I’m not sure why it happened, although Emory was close to
his mate so I imagine she was partially responsible.” Trey stared at Diskant
and braced himself when he asked, “Ava is telepathic, isn’t she?”

Any friendliness in the Omega’s face vanished. “Why the fuck
do you want to know?”

“If we can keep one of the Shepherds alive she can tell us
where we can find Mary.”

Diskant’s eyes shifted color and the fingers around the
glass he held slowly fisted. “I’m not taking my mate anywhere near them.”

“You don’t have to. We can bring one of them to her. All we
need is a location.”

Trey thought his close friend and pack mate would say no. No
matter their closeness or connection, the female had overtaken his importance.
Then Diskant’s irises became a familiar warm amber hue and the tension left his
shoulders as he placed the shot glass on the table.

“If we do this, we do it my way. You’ll bring him to a place
I decide and you’ll follow my instructions.”

Trey nodded and retrieved the bottle of Jack. “The sooner we
do this the better.”

“You’ve got that right,” Kinsley said. “The prides took my
word that this was settled but with Shepherds they won’t believe a word until
the threat is removed.”

“I sent five of my best scouts to sniff them out before I
left. We should know something in a few hours.”

“What are you thinking?” Diskant asked.

“We find and have Kinsley approach them with an offer to
hand over Emory to throw them off the scent, then conduct the actual exchange just
before dark. Shepherds won’t expect vampires to be involved so when Aldon does
his part it will give us all the opportunity we need. But we have to make sure
we take one alive.” Trey filled his glass to the rim and paused. “We need to
know where Emory’s mate is.”

Diskant took the bottle from Trey and began pouring his own
drink. “If we can stop them before they leave the state, it shouldn’t be
difficult.”

Trey nodded and sagged as the invisible weight on his
shoulders lightened considerably. Everything was falling into place. “Once we
have the information we need I can start planning a trip to Colorado.” At
Diskant’s questioning look he explained, “With your help, Nathan can take care
of things in my absence. I’m going to contact Gerald and ask if he’s willing to
offer assistance after we arrive. He wasn’t happy when he learned he had a nest
of Shepherds living so close, so I have a good idea what his answer will be.”

“So that’s the way of it then?” Kinsley mused. “No room in
your plan for the rest of us.”

“There won’t be enough of them to go around.” Diskant
grinned, revealing elongated canines that matched his gleaming, catlike green
irises.

The sounds of heavy stomping coming down the stairs stalled
the conversation. The footsteps approached, coming closer, until Emory appeared
with Nathan. He was clean-shaven and his hair was slicked back. The clothing
was clean—a black T-shirt and jeans—and fit him decently enough. Though his
irises were still bright, he no longer appeared agitated.

Trey lifted his glass, drank the strong beverage and rose
from his seat. As he placed the glass on the table he turned to his sibling.

No matter what Emory had done in the past, he was still his
brother. He wouldn’t be the one delivering the bad news to his mother and father,
informing them that their son had returned only to be condemned to death.

“Come on.” He moved to Emory’s side and clasped his
shoulder. “You need to eat and we need to talk.”

Diskant watched as Trey, Emory and Nathan walked down the
hallway and disappeared into the crowd. The bar was still crowded with members
of Trey’s pack who would remain until the Shepherds were taken care of. That
was the beauty of the location. There were five floors in the building: the
bar, the second, third and fourth floors comprised of bedrooms and showers, and
the fifth floor apartment for him or important guests they protected during
times of crisis.

When he thought of the apartment, recollections of Ava
weren’t far off. He was still stunned by the level of their connection. The
telepathic joining was as powerful as the bloodbonding—perhaps stronger in
ways. Feeling what she felt, knowing beyond a doubt that she yearned for his
touch as much as he ached for hers provided a powerful rush he couldn’t deny.

“You should probably get back upstairs,” Kinsley remarked
knowingly. “If I had a lass as lovely as yours waiting for me I wouldn’t waste
my time down here with a bottle of Jack and the company of a friend.”

He grinned. “She is beautiful, isn’t she?”

Kinsley bowed his head, studying the shot glass in his hand
and nodded. “That she is.”

He stood and stepped away from the table. “Are you going to
stick around for a while?”

Kinsley lifted his head to look him in the eye. “I think it
best I visit a few of the prides before the morn. There is liable to be tension
and we need to know if they’re planning on doing something stupid. Not that I
think they would, mind you. None of them are willing to risk their tails over a
death in the ranks. We’re not the loyal sort wolves are.”

“Thank you.” He extended his hand and Kinsley shook it.

“Not a problem. If you learn anything between now and then,
you know how to reach me.”

Diskant turned and took long strides toward the stairs. When
he reached them he climbed up three at a time. He finally reached the top floor
and stopped, attempting to cool his desire before he opened the door. Images of
his mate waiting for him totally naked, spread out and draped across the bed,
sent a jolt through his cock.

He’d never be able to get enough of her. No matter how many
times he lost himself in the heavenly cradle of her body.

He froze when he entered the bedroom and found
Ava—completely dressed and perched on the corner of the bed—with a cell phone
in hand. She gazed up at him with stormy indigo eyes, her expression
unreadable.

After walking to her slowly, he kneeled in front of her.
“What’s wrong?”

She shook her head and shrugged. “I have to tell you
something but I don’t know where to start.”

“The beginning is often best.” He patted her chin playfully,
hoping to lift her mood. Instead she averted her eyes and sighed.

“Everything is so confusing.”

“Why don’t you start by telling me who was on the phone?”

When her blonde head lifted to meet his concerned gaze, she
looked torn and afraid. “I don’t want you to freak out. You have to listen to
me.”

“I’m listening.”

She took a deep breath and answered, “It was Craig
Newlander.”

Several volatile emotions overcame him as his protective
nature awakened. He rose and moved away from her before she could see his
facial features changing or notice that his canines were beginning to elongate.
As it was, his fingers burned as his claws attempted to break through the skin.

He faced the wall, willing his temper to ice. “You said you
weren’t involved with the Villati.”

“Diskant…” He heard her weight shift from the bed, as if she
were standing to move closer.

“Don’t, Pinkie,” he cautioned in a low, steady growl. “Stay
where you are.”

She didn’t listen.

He felt her arms wrap around his waist, her chest pressing
into his back. “Craig approached me shortly after my parents died. I met with
him a few times and accepted the information he offered but when I got a bad
vibe I decided that whatever it was he wanted it wasn’t worth the risk. Then
Thomas stole something I treasured and sold it to Craig to pay off a gambling
debt.” Diskant’s anger receded as she continued speaking, her fingers gently
stroking his chest. “I made a deal to get it back but the meeting never
happened.”

“Why?”

She released him, stepped around and placed her body between
him and the wall. Gazing up, she rested her hand on his chest, over his heart.
The frantic tempo immediately slowed beneath her palm and the tension left his
body, causing the muscles under her fingers to go soft.

“The night I was supposed to meet with his liaison was the
night I met you—the night you saved me. The next morning, after I left your
home…” She shook her head, as if embarrassed by the memory and her decision to
leave him high and dry. “I told Craig I was done. He tried to contact me but I threw
away the phone he’d given me and refused to take his calls at the club.”

He brought a hand up and placed it over hers. “What does he
want?”

“I don’t know but whatever it is, it’s not good. He knows
that vampires attacked me that night in the alley.” Diskant’s hackles rose at
the memory and when he growled softly she soothed him by rubbing her hand over
his chest. “There’s something he’s not telling me. Something important. I tried
to get him to talk but he wants to arrange a meeting with you before he’ll
spill.”