Chapter Eighteen

 

They got back to the house an hour later. Grant had already called Cliff and told him what had happened. Jeffrey was safely back at the house; Pete and the other werewolves had hustled him home as soon as they’d been notified that Celeste was missing. Jeffrey had never been told that Celeste was in danger, however; they’d hoped to get her back before they had to tell him, and they’d succeeded.

As they walked in to the foyer, Reynaldo came to greet them, his expression tense. “Cliff’s not going to die,” he said.

“That’s not exactly reassuring. What happened to him?”

“Talbot apparently found out that he’d been identified, and he was already fleeing the lodge with his men when Cliff and the others went after him. There was a fight. There were serious injuries. Cliff was badly hurt, but there’s a healer with him, and he’ll recover.” Reynaldo rattled off the news quickly. “Six of Talbot’s men were killed. His Beta and Omega survived, and now they’ve turned on him. They admitted that they’ve known he was up to some shady dealings and they were plotting to challenge him. They’ve been taken into custody and we’re interrogating them to find out what we can.”

“What about his pack?”

“His pack has been notified.” Reynaldo’s tone was grim. “If he tries to go back there, they’ll do their best to arrest him, and if not they’ll kill him. As far as we can tell, most of them had no idea what he was up to. His loyal supporters went to the lodge meeting with him, and died. His pack has agreed to let a Truth-Maker visit and speak to any pack members, including the elders, and they’re going to give full access to Talbot’s property, his office, his files, anything that might be useful. But it’s going to take time.”

“Do we have any idea why Talbot was so obsessed with getting his hands on Jeffrey? Or why he’d talk about…breeding Celeste?” Grant was fighting for self-control, but that last part came out on a growl and fur covered his entire body. The thought of anyone else taking his son – of anyone being with Celeste – made him homicidal. He shook himself, hard, and struggled to force his beast back down. It hurt; his skin burned and his bones throbbed with agony. His beast wanted out. His beast wanted to hunt and kill.

Celeste reached out and lightly stroked his arm, lending him her strength. “I’m still here,” she murmured to him. After everything she’d been through, after the beating she’d taken, she was thinking of him, not herself.

I love you. I will never let you go.

“Not yet,” Reynaldo said, shaking his head regretfully.

“Call Taylor,” Celeste urged him. He pulled out his phone and dialed.

She answered on the first ring. “Grant. Everyone okay?” He could hear the strain in her voice.

“Fine. How is he?” he asked.

“He’ll be okay. Rusty got hurt too. We’re lucky there were healers here. They’ll be all right within a couple of days. Talbot got away, though.”

“We’ll get him,” Grant vowed. “Do we have any clue yet what’s behind all this?”

“No, this is all just unfolding now. I can’t believe it. He seemed totally normal to me. Honestly, I thought Cliff was exaggerating when he said that Talbot was known as a bully and a hothead, because he was always really chill here. He didn’t get involved in a single physical fight. Oh, here’s something weird, by the way. When everyone went after him – he still didn’t shift. He used a gun with silver bullets, then ran to his helicopter and took off. Left his men behind to be killed.”

“That’s strange. I’ve seen him shift before at the slightest provocation,” Grant mused. “So I know he can. I don’t know what his game is, but we’ll find out. I just hope nobody kills him before I get to have a little chat with him.”

Celeste headed off to their room to take a shower and some painkillers, while Grant went to tell Jeffrey that she had a headache and needed a little alone-time. Fortunately, Mandy and Truman were there, and the house was crawling with werewolf security. He’d have plenty of entertainment, and these days Jeffrey no longer feared abandonment every time Celeste left the room.

After her shower, Celeste lay down on their bed with an ice pack pressed to her head where Boone had hit her.

Grant came and sat down on the bed next to her. “Are you feeling okay? Next month, we’re going to start prepping you to turn. If that’s what you want,” he added.

“Yes. I’d be stronger,” she said. “I’d be able to defend Jeffrey if anyone came after him.”

What an amazing mother she is, he thought, and she doesn’t even realize it. She’d make a perfect werewolf. She was fierce, and strong, and loyal to her mate and her cub.

He trailed his fingers lightly along her arm.

She stifled a moan of desire. He stopped instantly.

“Am I hurting you?”

“Not at all.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I’m torn between wanting to rip your clothes off and wanting to curl up in pain.”

He lay down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. “We can just lie here together,” he said. “We’ve got all the time in the world to be together.”

“So what happens now?” she asked.

“Well, the humans are going to figure out pretty quickly that Rhona is missing, but there’s nothing tying it to us,” he said. “The final hearing is just a formality at this point. The judge will give us full custody of Jeffrey, and we’ll hightail it back to Hidden Hills. You guys will be safe there. We’ll keep searching for Talbot until we find him. He’s been burned. He can’t go back to his pack, and now that we’ve got most of the werewolf packs signing up to the database, everyone will know what he looks like. He won’t be able to take refuge anywhere. He’s been used to a life of luxury and privilege for a long time now; he’s not your typical feral rogue who’s happy squatting in the woods. He’ll screw up.”

“He’s a computer security expert,” Celeste mused. “He was going to help design the database. He was really gung-ho about it.”

“Yes, he was,” Grant said. “And when we were meeting at the lodge and it seemed as if the database was never going to happen, we think that Talbot took action. Anthony Craddock said he’d never go along with the database, and the next day, that very public lone wolf attack happened in upstate New York. It was an attack so obvious that it seemed as if the werewolf wanted to be noticed. After that, most of the packs that had been resisting felt like they had no choice but to sign up. We think Talbot staged that attack, and most of the other lone wolf attacks that happened in the months leading up to our meeting at the lodge, and we think he sent those men to attack us.”

Celeste lay there quietly for a minute, deep in thought. “He wanted to have access to information on every werewolf in existence. What was he looking for?”

“Good question. He’ll never have access to it now, though. Our pack and Ford Blackwood will be starting from scratch to design the software for the database to ensure that he can’t get access to it. Don’t worry about it right now. You’re safe, Jeffrey’s safe. Get some rest.”

He wrapped himself around her, reveling in her warmth and softness, and gradually, her breathing slowed and she dozed off. He put the ice on the night stand and fell asleep next to her.

A knock on the door woke them up. They sat up, yawning, and saw Mandy standing in the doorway. Grant glanced at the wall clock; they’d been asleep for three hours.

“Hey, I hate to bother you, but I’ve come up with some interesting information,” she said. She walked in. “What gives? You’ve both got all your clothes on. Has the magic died already?”

“I just got the tar kicked out of me a few hours ago,” Celeste grumbled. “I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t put me in an exceptionally randy mood.”

“It doesn’t?” Mandy looked at her questioningly. “Humans are strange.”

“You came in here to annoy us for a reason?” Grant said, exasperated.

“Well, other than the fact that I genuinely enjoy annoying you, yes, I did.” Mandy sat down on the bed next to them.

“Please, make yourself comfortable,” Grant growled. “It’ll be just like old times when you’re on my bed not having sex with me.”

“And to think, you paid me for that. Weirdo. Anyway, if you’d just let me talk, I could let you get back to not having sex with your mate,” Mandy said impatiently. “I’ve done some asking around. An interesting thing happened about fifteen years ago. A lone wolf disappeared. He was a rarity. Like Jeffrey. His mother was actually human when she gave birth to him. He was kidnapped by a man who shot him with a tranquilizer gun. He was with another lone wolf at the time, who managed to escape, but there was no way to safely report it. As a lone wolf, he would have risked being killed on sight if he tried to approach an official pack.”

“So how did you find out about this?” Grant asked her.

Mandy shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. It’s important information. And here’s another thing. The year that lone wolf disappeared…it was the same year Talbot came out of nowhere and took over a small pack, then started building his way up. I heard Austin and Reynaldo talking about it a little while ago. Apparently Talbot had some story about coming from a really small, completely isolated pack in Canada, but Cliff started making some inquiries. It seems pretty clear that the pack doesn’t exist. He literally came from nowhere. I can’t quite wrap my head around what’s going on, but this is somehow connected to why he wants Jeffrey.”

Celeste sat up. “Are you a lone wolf?” Then she looked at Grant. “Because if she is, you can’t kill her. No matter how annoying she is. She risked her life to save us.”

“She’s not a lone wolf,” Grant said. “I know her pack.” His eyes narrowed. “She’s a member of the Network. And all those people who came to save us when those men tried to kidnap Jeffrey, and the people who came to rescue us when we were in upstate New York and then vanished? You called them, Mandy. They were lone wolves.”

Mandy quirked an eyebrow. “The hell you say.”

Grant nodded to himself. “That explains a lot. Like why you were free to just ditch everything and come hang out with me whenever. And why you agreed to come to this meeting at the lodge. You wanted to know what we were up to, and how it would affect the Network.”

Mandy shrugged. “Well, it wasn’t your boyish charm or your stunning good looks. Nothing personal, but you’ve never been my type.”

“That’s because Truman is your True Mate,” Celeste said. “And that’s why you never made a move. Because you had this whole secret life going on, and you were forced to deny yourself the wolf you love the most. It’s so romantic!”

“Yeah, it’s been a real joy,” Mandy said glumly. She sighed and stood up, moving away from them. “So, Grant, not that I am confirming or denying, but what’s your next move?”

“Listen,” Grant said to her. “This central database doesn’t have to be a bad thing for lone wolves. I’ll talk to Cliff about it. We could start working with the Network to find placement for lone wolves who have legitimate reasons for wanting to leave their packs.”

Mandy looked at him suspiciously. “You would do that?”

“As long as you understand that a lot of lone wolves genuinely are dangerous, and need to be put down. You know Austin hunts rogues. You know that the only wolves he puts down are mentally ill, violent killers.”

“Yes, I know.”

Grant frowned. “Have you and Austin been working together? Does he know you’re in the Network?”

“Does who know what now?” She blinked at him, wide-eyed and innocent. “The first rule of the Network is…you know the rest of the quote.”

“Honestly, I’m better off not knowing. So will you work with us?” Grant asked. “If we can work with the lone wolves, if they could come to us when they had useful information, we’d all be that much safer.”

Mandy looked at him thoughtfully. “You’d have to work through me. They’re not going to trust easily.”

“You should tell Truman,” Celeste said. “He might be okay with you being in the Network. At least give him a chance. Let me tell you, there is nothing more amazing than being with the wolf that you love.”

“I’ll think about it.” Mandy avoided her gaze.

“No, now,” Celeste insisted. “Don’t make me argue my case. Because if I have to, I will describe to you in graphic detail why Grant is so amazing.”

“No you won’t. You’re kind of a prude,” Mandy challenged her.

“Let’s start with Grant’s oral skills,” Celeste suggested. “I think his tongue is actually double jointed. So what he does to my—”

“Ahhhh!” Mandy shrieked, clapping her hands over her ears, and ran out of the room.

“So you like my tongue?” Grant grinned at Celeste.

Celeste smiled at him. “I love your tongue. I’m in a lot less pain now. You know what would distract me?”

Grant grinned wolfishly. After her shower, Celeste was dressed only in pajama bottoms and a vest top, and he made short work of removing them and tossing them onto the floor by the bed.

He threw the covers over his head with a flourish and slid down her body, parting her legs and nestling his head between them, inhaling deeply as he pressed his face against her pussy.

He started by licking the full length of her slit – long, slow licks that made her ache and writhe. It was slow torture, and he drew it out until she was half-crazy with need. Then he played his tongue over her folds, exploring each ridge and valley, lapping up the honeyed moisture that flooded her core.

She moaned her approval, and he responded by swirling his tongue around her entrance then thrusting it into her cunt, licking her inside and making her squirm. She spread her legs wider, and he pressed deeper, grazing her clit with his upper lip while his tongue danced inside her. She thought she might die if he stopped.

“Oh god,” she moaned. “Oh god, I love your tongue.”

She felt him smile against her most intimate flesh. Then he parted her folds with his thumbs to get better access to her clit, and he lashed the delicate bundle of nerves with his tongue, flickering it rapidly up and down, then switching to swirling movements around the exquisitely sensitive nub.

Celeste cried out and arched against him, pushing her hips against his face, wordlessly begging him for more.

He responded by holding her hips in place, kissing her pussy, rolling her clit between his lips until she was gasping and clutching at the bedclothes.

Then he pulled back for a moment and lifted her leg to hook it over his shoulder. He did the same with the other so she was wide open to him. He took a moment just to look at her, her flesh pink and glistening from his tongue and his fingers working her, making her wet for him. And he went back to work, lapping at her pussy, working her with his mouth until she spasmed, hard, against his mouth, groaning and thrashing her head against the pillows. All discomfort was gone, all thoughts of trouble and danger disappearing as fireworks went off throughout her body, lighting up her core and sending sparks to the very ends of her fingers and toes.

“Oh my God,” Celeste gasped. “To think I lived my entire life without this.” She sat up, smiling. “I need to go check on Jeffrey. First I want to go find Mandy and see if she talked to Truman.”

“I bet she chickened out,” Grant said. “That woman doesn’t have a romantic bone in her body. Trust me, I’ve known her for a long time.”

“We’ll see about that.” Celeste took a quick shower and headed out.

She came back a little while later with Jeffrey, who was carrying an armful of storybooks.

“Did you find Mandy?” Grant asked her.

She flashed him a smile. “Yep. I mean, I started to walk in to her room, and…then I walked back out. She was kind of busy. Let’s just say you lose your bet.”