ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (75 page)

Clarisse took it to the couch, staring intently at it.  “I don’t believe so.  It can be bonded to its owner; that’s a common practice.  Some talisman’s can hold spells and things, but mostly they are used to identify what house a witch belongs to.  My house for instance has a ring.”  She held out her hand so Daniel could inspect an oblong ring of patterned silver on her forefinger.  The pattern reminded him of a Celtic knot. 

“Every one of your coven wears it?” 

“A coven can consist of more than one house.  A true house is a group of witches related by blood.  Unfortunately, my own house has none left but me.  Once we were large.  It consisted of my great grandmother, grandmother, mother, and two sisters, and several cousins to me.  They’re all gone but two cousins who have retired from the craft.”

“How foolish.”

“I agree.”  She said primly.  All eyes went to Becky accusingly.  Clarisse spoke to her directly.  “How is it that you’re not practicing?”

“I…”  Becky began with a stammer.  “I chose to stop a long time ago.  I was still a teenager when I did.  I had just come into my power.” 

“Are you entirely not practicing?”

Becky shook her head, fearful of Daniel’s wrath if she gave what he considered to be a wrong answer. 

“I dabbled with tarot cards and Ouija boards.”

Clarisse waved her hand gracefully.  “Parlor tricks.  A monkey with even an ounce of ability can learn it.  Well, I take that back…the Ouija takes a certain amount of channeling ability.”  She looked at Becky with renewed interest.  “You could do both?”

“Yes.” 

“Interesting.”  Her green eyes shone.  “Tell me, do you have any children?” 

“Yes…”

Daniel gave her a scorching look. 

“I mean…I raised my niece as my own daughter.” 

“Was it your sister’s child or a brother’s?”

“Sister.”  Becky whispered.

“Was she too a witch?”

Becky nodded miserably. 

“She was my wife.”  Daniel interjected. 

Clarisse whipped her head around, her eyes wide and her lips barely parted.  “The child is part vampire?”

He smiled icily.  “Yes, and she doesn’t know any of this.  She thinks Becky is her mother.” 

“I’m confused!”  Clarisse laughed.  “Why on earth didn’t you tell her these things?”

Becky felt a moment of indignation.  “For one I didn’t know she was a vampire’s kid, and for two, the craft is a choice!  Our family doesn’t do that forced thing!  A woman has to come into her power and then she gets trained, but only if she wants it!”  Becky felt her face go hot. 

“Yes, but she didn’t have that choice, now did she?”  Clarisse spoke softly and tilted her head.  “Why did you not know she was part vampire?”

“My sister didn’t tell me who…or what…the father was.” 

“But she exhibits no signs of either?”

“No.”

Clarisse moved her lips as if she were speaking to herself or an unseen presence.  “She could just be lying dormant.  She could perhaps have just been born without traits of either, but I highly doubt it.” 

“What would trigger a dormant witch/vampire to awaken their potential?”  Daniel asked, his eyes intense on Clarisse. 

“Some type of tragedy.  A shock of some sort.”  She held up one finger.  “But it would have to be substantial.” 

“Would seeing a loved one murdered before her eyes do the trick?”

“Oh yes, I think that would be a good way to do it.  There you would spark rage, shock, and grief all in one sweeping blow.” 

Becky and Tonya exchanged a rare look.  Neither could comprehend Daniel and this velvet and lace layered woman speaking so cavalier about a tragedy of that proportion.  Even Tonya had a hard time swallowing it. 

“Then I suppose I have a plan of action.”  Daniel grinned.

Thomas shook Dalton’s hand as Autumn hugged Belinda goodbye.  Most of the pack had waited around that morning to bid them farewell, after an evening of visiting and eating.  Autumn had felt part of something wonderful with their pack in Spotsylvania; but now that she had experienced their new sister pack in Williamsburg, she felt like the luckiest woman in the world.  She had wonderful loving husband, and a huge new family that totaled over thirty people. 

“We’ll, bring Troubled Waters to you over the weekend.” 

“I can’t thank you enough.” 

“No need for thanks.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll need a favor someday.” 

“Just don’t expect it to be one of Winnie’s prize layers.  She gets a little anxious about her chickens.”  Autumn laughed. 

“Oh, I know!”  Belinda smiled large enough for her dimples to sink into her cheeks.  “It was a pleasure getting to see and meet you.” 

Autumn made her rounds with the rest of the pack, as Dalton waited impatiently for her to finish. 

“I never knew she was so social.”  He sighed to Thomas.  “Hey, Autumn!  I would like to get to Bush Gardens today!”

Autumn hurried over to him.  “Sorry.  I just wanted to say goodbye.” 

Autumn hung an arm out of the window as Dalton drove away. 

“They all really like you.”  He said proudly. 

“I like them too.”  She turned her head and smiled.  “I hope we can visit again soon.  And I can’t wait to get Troubled Waters home!”

“Let’s go to the hotel first and drop off our stuff before we go on to Bush Gardens.”

Autumn looked at Dalton slyly from the corner of her eye.  “You just want a quickie!”

“Damn right!  We couldn’t fool around last.”  He looked at her as she started laughing.  “What?”

“You act like one night without it is an eternity.”

“No.  Waiting to get it in the first place was an eternity!” 

The hotel room was nothing but a blur when they first arrived.  Dalton dropped their bags on the floor and slammed the door, taking her face in his hands with one long forced movement.  He opened her mouth with his and kissed her deeply, his tongue exploring her like he had never tasted her before.

They undressed quickly and fell onto the bed in a flurry of arms and legs.  Autumn became blind and deaf to anything but Dalton, her limbs trembling from the need he had flamed.  He moved to touch her, but she pushed his hand away, guiding him with her small hands planted firmly on his hips. 

Dalton could hardly control himself.  He felt like a teenage boy getting his first taste of woman, his climax already trying to burst forth.  Sweat dripped from his forehead and ran in rivers down his neck as he strained to keep going for her. 

Autumn let out a tiny strangled scream, her legs locked firmly around his waist.  With a shuddering moan, Dalton let himself go.  He thought it odd later how he had whispered a tiny please as he thought of his seed entering her and meeting with an egg.  He chuckled to himself at the thought. 

“Why are you laughing?”  Autumn asked as she turned on the hot water of the shower. 

“No reason.  Well, a funny thing crossed my mind when we were finishing.”

“What’s that?” 

“I had this sex-ed kind of quirky image go through my mind of my sperm meeting with your egg.”  He laughed.  “It’s just foolish teenage boy stuff.  I hope I get over it.  My teen years sucked!” 

Autumn turned slowly and looked at him with an odd expression.  “I had the same thought, Dalton.” 

“What?”  His brows drew down over his sea water eyes. 

“Yes.  I had an image flash in my mind of that very thing.”

“Weird.” 

“I know.”  Autumn tried to laugh it off, but the strangeness of them both having the same image at the same time haunted her for the rest of the day.  She tried to chalk it up to the mystic strangeness of being mated to a werewolf, but she didn’t think that was quite it.  She kept secret the strange tingling she had felt in her head and throat when the thought had flashed in her mind.  No need for Dalton to think she was crazy. 

Brian was exhausted before it was even three o’clock.  Nothing had gone right that day, but he refused (no matter how many times Chuck and Saeed prodded him) to call Dalton. 

The well for Serena’s house took four hours more time to dig than originally thought.  The paunchy short man running the drill had laughed when it was over and said that there were underground streams crisscrossing the entire property, and wouldn’t you know it, he had been drilling in between two of them.  Brian had looked at him flatly and asked if that meant they would get a discount.  The man had laughed robustly and rubbed his round belly. 

The next problem was the foundation.  It was set, but it wasn’t right, and they had to start over.  Then there was the building inspector who threatened to shut the whole thing down if they didn’t get the foundation plumbed.  Brian had lost his cool and threw his clip board on the ground with all of Dalton’s precious notes on it, and screamed at the man that the only plumb he knew about was an edible fruit.  The inspector had told him he would come back the next day, and he sincerely hoped Brian would be feeling better.

“Don’t worry, babe.”  Mika said and rubbed his shoulders.  “You’ll take care of everything A-Okay.” 

“I hope so.  I don’t want to let Dalton down.”

“You won’t.  He wouldn’t leave things like this up to you if he didn’t trust you.”  Mika ran a hand over Brian’s freshly cornrowed hair.  “I did a good job this time.  They’re all tight.” 

“You always do a good job.”  He sighed, and kissed her gently. 

Brian frowned as Saeed came running towards him, his dark tan face frowning, and his unzipped jacket flapping. 

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a car in the driveway.  Some woman is there asking for Autumn.” 

Brian stood from his spot on the ground and pulled Mika to her feet.  “Did she say who she was?”

Saeed shook his head.  “She has a driver though.  He’s a big ugly.” 

Mika looked up at Brian worriedly.  “Maybe you should call Dalton now.”

“I can’t put this woman and her big ugly off until he gets back!”  He turned back to Saeed.  “Are Trina and Chris back yet?”

“No.” 

Brian drug his teeth over his bottom lip.  “They’re the only ones of us who came from where she did.  No one else knows where she is…”  He let his words trail off.  “Come on, let’s go see what she wants.” 

Saeed dropped into step with Brian as they walked along the newly graded driveway that connected to Dalton’s driveway and front yard.  He looked at Brian nervously. 

“Maybe I should go over to Winnie and Chuck’s?  Let them know?”

“Yeah, do that.”  Brian dug Dalton’s spare truck key out of his pocket and tossed it to Saeed.  “Just tell them to come over.” 

Brian and Mika paused as they came into sight of the car.  A woman of indeterminate age was leaning against the car with one arm crossed under her breasts, smoking a cigarette.  She was tall with wild tawny hair that reminded Brian a lot of Winnie.  The corners of his mouth turned down as he got closer.  The woman as a whole reminded him of Winnie. 

“Can I help you?”  Brian didn’t like the way she smelled.  It was an odd combination of things, and he sensed a war within her of utter darkness and some kind of strange humanity. 

“Only of you can tell me where Autumn Coates is.”

“She’s not here.”

“Yeah, she’s on her honeymoon!”  Mika piped in, her body partially hidden behind Brian.

Tonya looked at Mika with an amused twist to her mouth.  “Well, isn’t she just adorable?”  She said dryly.  She turned her attention back to Brian.  “When do you expect her home?”

Brian shrugged casually, his smile calculated.  “You know how honeymoons are…it’s really hard to say.” 

“I find it interesting that an alpha would leave his pack without saying when he would return.”  She returned the fake smile.  “Honeymoon or not.”  Tonya opened the passenger door of the sleek black Mercedes and spoke briefly to the large dark skinned man in the driver’s seat.  When she pulled her head out of the car she held an envelope.  She took several steps toward Brian and held it out.

“Please give this to her when she comes home.” 

“What is it?”  Brian asked, not moving to take the envelope. 

Tonya eyed him coldly.  “It’s none of your business.”  She tossed her hair, and Brian was once again struck with how similar this woman was to Winnie.  “And it’s none of mine either.”  She let the envelope drop to the ground, and began walking back to the car and opened the passenger door. 

Brian looked at the envelope lying on the ground like it was a snake.  He didn’t think he had ever seen a burgundy envelope before.  Mika huffed and went to pick it up. 

The black car was making a wide arc in the yard to leave when Winnie and Chuck came barreling up the driveway with Saeed right behind them in Dalton’s truck.  Chuck slammed on the brakes and the two vehicles began a standoff. 

Saeed maneuvered Dalton’s truck around Chuck and Winnie and parked it in the spot it was in before.  He climbed from the cab and watched the scene uneasily. 

“What’s happening?”