Chapter Twelve
Lyra told herself not to be hurt by Aleksy feeling he had to protect her and ordering Nathan to protect her when her mate couldn’t be at her side. He wanted her to focus on healing and was afraid she’d be a distraction instead of a help. She had only herself to blame for his lack of faith in her ability to take care of herself. He didn’t know all the times she’d fought and won, even when she’d been wounded. He only knew the time she’d fought and lost, been taken, beaten, stabbed and left for dead. It would be up to her to prove that had been an anomaly and not the norm.
She followed on his heels as he headed in the direction of the main door. He veered off, partway down the hall, stepping into a room with a wall of monitors showing the exterior of a building, probably the one they were in. Some seemed to show the immediate surroundings, including the doors and windows. Others seemed to show farther out locations, displaying varying angles of thick woods and foliage.
Her gaze stopped on one of the monitors, and she moved forward. There were four men forming a loose circle around two women. Lyra stepped forward, her fingers going to the screen to touch the video of one of them. The man in the very front. He had hair the same shade as hers. Eyes as blue as her own. It was like seeing a male version of herself. She knew without a doubt this was the man Blane had wanted to hurt, and she knew she couldn’t let that happen.
As if the other man sensed her, his face turned fully toward the camera. His gaze seeming to lock with hers. His lips parted, and he said something to the others. A lifetime of lip reading came into play.
“She’s here. I can feel her watching us. Be on guard.”
She shook her head. Why would he tell them to be on guard against her? Why would he think she was a danger to him? To them?
“I’ve been studying everything Tony gave me on the Oklahoma pride,” Nathan said, interrupting her thoughts. “Not sure how much you guys know about them, but I recognize all six on that screen. Want me to give you the rundown?”
“Yes.” The word was a whisper from Lyra’s lips as she kept her gaze centered on the screen and the man she knew was her brother. He could be her mirror image, her masculine counterpart. He was taller, broader, but the shape of his face, the set of his eyes and nose… They were the same she saw every day when she glanced in the mirror.
“Front and center is Reno Esponetti. He’s Utah Pearce’s second-in-command. He was a Marine with Pearce and several of the others. Spent eight years in the desert then left. He wandered with another member of their group for a bit then the two of them joined Pearce. They’ve been together ever since. He was taken by Blane’s men then rescued by the woman next to him. His mate. Amia Blane.”
Lyra felt her heart stop. Her brother had mated a Blane! Were they here to finish what the other Blane had started? That didn’t make sense. Marcus Blane had spoken of making someone suffer, of taking back what was his. The woman?
It clicked in her mind. “She’s his daughter.”
“She is Marcus Blane’s daughter,” Nathan agreed while Aleksy growled at just the name Blane.
“Blane wants her back. He plans to…use her…for breeding,” Lyra told them, repeating what she’d “heard” while she’d been captured. She reached out to rub Aleksy’s chest as she spoke, attempting to soothe the beast she knew was set on revenge. “She rescued my brother?”
“Him and many others,” Nathan said. “She was captured repeatedly and tortured. Blane kept her alive though. Maybe, for the purpose you stated. She always escaped. She’s a very brave woman.”
“Why would she come here? Why would her mate bring her here knowing that Blane might be in the vicinity? Knowing what he did to Lyra?” Aleksy demanded.
“Tony said she’d been held captive by hunters, but I don’t think he went into detail on which hunters.” Nathan shook his head. “The conversation centered more on Lyra and how she’d connected with Tah.”
“What the hell was Tony thinking?” Aleksy muttered.
“He was thinking about your mate,” Nathan reminded them.
“He…wants…her,” Lyra whispered then amended her thought as the two men directed glances of disbelief her way. “Blane…not Tony.”
“We’ll protect her,” Aleksy promised, and Lyra knew he was picking up on her guilt.
Lyra nodded in agreement. She couldn’t let Blane use her as the means to kill Reno and take his mate into the hell Blane had planned for her. Nathan was correct about the other woman’s bravery. Lyra saw the fighter in the way Amia stood, feet braced, weapon in hand. Her brother had chosen well.
“The other woman is Victoria Dorsey. She goes by Vic. She was part of the group of Marines Pearce commanded. She joined the group when they were still in Colorado. Her mate is the male with long, black hair. His name is Gideon. No last name that I can find, which is unusual. The other two males are Calloway Meyer and Zane Ephraim. Zane was also a Marine.”
Lyra felt something through her growing link with Aleksy.
You know him? Zane Ephraim?
He’s the nephew of the man who saved my life. We’re not on the friendliest of terms.
Why?
It’s long and complicated, and now isn’t the time to go into it. I promise I’ll tell you. Later. When we have more time. But our guests are heading this way.
“What the fuck is Tony thinking?” Nathan fumed as they watched Tony step up to the group on the screen. “They better not fucking hurt him, or I’ll rip them apart.”
Lyra lifted a brow at that. Was there more going on between Nathan and Tony then she’d realized? It was none of her business, but she couldn’t help but to be curious after Nathan’s outburst.
“He’ll be fine, Nathan,” Aleksy said with a sigh. “I swear the man has more lives than a cat. Good thing since he tends to barrel in to trouble.”
“Who’s the other guy?” Nathan asked as another man followed Tony.
Lyra saw the tension between the group and Tony dissipate as Zane stepped forward to embrace the other man. She could see the resemblance between the two and instantly knew who the new person was. The man who’d saved Aleksy’s life. So many questions filled her head. Why couldn’t Orsai keep Aleksy? And why did his nephew feel such animosity toward her mate?
“That’s Orsai Ephraim,” Aleksy answered Nathan. “I told you Tony would be fine. Looks like they’re heading this way.” He turned to Lyra. “You ready?”
She nodded. She wasn’t sure what a person did to meet the brother they’d never knew they had.
“Lyra.” Her name was a growl from Aleksy’s lips. “I won’t let you go with them. I can’t. Your safety means everything to me, but I’ll be the one to provide it for you. We will. Together. I won’t lose you now that I’ve found you.”
She cupped his face. I’m not leaving you.
He nodded, but there was a look in his eyes that let her know he was scared she might change her mind. She wondered how many people had left him to put such fear inside her mate. Then she thought of the man who’d saved him only to pass him off to others. Why? She swore she’d find out soon. Her long, lost brother wasn’t the only one she was curious to speak to.
“They’re here,” Aleksy said, pulling her into the hallway beside him just as the front door opened.
She felt Nathan behind them but couldn’t take her eyes from the door as people stepped in. Everyone paused, their eyes on her or Aleksy. Perhaps, the two of them together. Tony was talking, but she had no clue what he was saying. The last two people to step inside were the woman, Amia Blane, followed by Reno Esponetti. Lyra stared at her brother, trying to absorb everything she could about him in just one glance.
He was bigger up close, though not as immense as her mate. She saw Amia tilt her head toward Reno then peek at Lyra. She was pretty. Reddish-blonde hair with big green eyes. Lyra could see how a man would fall for this Blane and wondered what opposition the two must have faced due to her parentage. Yet, it was easy to see the love between the two, in the way they stood together, the casual touches and heated looks they shared.
Then Lyra’s gaze met Reno’s and held. His eyes narrowed as if he didn’t believe what he stared at. She took a step forward. Then another as Reno did the same. Silence cloaked them in a heavy veil that seemed to suck the oxygen out of the space around them. Neither of them stopped until they stood face-to-face. Both reached out at the same time. Him catching one of her curls between his fingers. Her touching his face to assure herself he was real.
“Who are you?” he whispered, and Lyra felt both relief and disappointment.
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected. Some glorious moment where he looked at her and just knew they were siblings? Instead, all she sensed from him was confusion and distrust. At least, he hadn’t always known who she was. It would hurt far more to discover she had a brother who hadn’t cared she’d been alone. Who’d never stepped forward to save her from the foster care system. Who’d left her to run and fight alone.
“Reno Esponetti meet your sister, Lyra Esponetti,” Tony said, stepping forward.
Reno shook his head. Lyra wasn’t sure if it was shock or disbelief she felt from him.
“You’re the woman Tah saw in his vision,” Reno speculated, staring at her. “He said you were like a female version of me.”
“He was right,” Tony said. “You two look remarkably alike.”
“I look like my mother,” Reno said.
“So do I,” Lyra agreed.
“Here’s where things get interesting,” Tony said. “I did a little digging when I found out who Lyra is and who you are, Reno. You know how everyone is said to have a twin in the world somewhere? Someone who looks just like them though they’re not related at all?”
Reno shrugged, but Lyra nodded.
“Follow me. I’d planned to sit and relax for a bit before we got into things, but I should know better by now. There’s no relaxing with a roomful of shifters.”
Tony led the way into the main room of the building. “Everyone have a seat. I’ll be right back.”
Lyra moved with Aleksy, staying close to his side, understanding it was what they both needed now. They were newly mated, and there were too many new people in the room. She noted Nathan stayed toward them while her brother and his mate, as well as the other mated couple, stayed across the room. The two Ephraims along with the other male gravitated toward the center of the room as if they could bridge the divide.
“Is this all of your group?” Aleksy asked.
“We have two more meeting us here, Murphy Dockery and Daniel Erikson. They were checking in on something else but should be here tonight or tomorrow,” Zane answered.
Silence descended between them after that, and Lyra’s tension grew. Amia kept staring between Lyra and Reno, and each glance seemed to upset the woman more. Lyra wasn’t surprised when she finally spoke out.
Amia Blane shook her head. “Reno can’t have a sister. Shifter’s mate for life. His father couldn’t have gone to another woman. Could he?” She directed the question to her mate, who pulled her close.
“No,” Reno said.
“Here’s where things get tricky,” Tony said as he reentered the room with several papers in his hand. “I don’t know the hows or whys of it, but you both share the same father. This is Reno’s mother.”
Lyra caught her breath at the picture Tony held up. It could have been her mother, right down to the mole beside the right corner of her mouth.
“This is Lyra’s mother.” Tony held up a second photo, placing them side-by-side midair.
“They could be twins,” the younger Ephraim said. Zane, Lyra remembered his name was.
“Exactly. Except they’re not related at all. The only thing they have in common is the man who impregnated them and the way they died,” Tony admitted.
Reno’s eyes caught hers.
“Hit and run,” she whispered.
He nodded. “Same. My mom by a drunk driver.”
“But…how did he mate two women?” Amia demanded.
“Yeah, I’d like the answer to that one, too,” the other woman said, and her mate growled. Lyra remembered Nathan saying they were Vic and Gideon.
“I don’t know,” Tony admitted. “I’ve never seen it with any other shifter. Shifter’s do mate for life, Ms. Blane.”
“Esponetti,” Reno growled. “She’s Mrs. Esponetti.”
“I apologize,” Tony said. “Mrs. Esponetti.”
“The only way a shifter can move from one woman to another is if the first wasn’t his mate,” Orsai Ephraim stated, bringing the room to silence again. “I’m sorry, Reno. But believe me, when you are with the woman who’s the other half of your soul, there’s no moving on from her. Ever.”
Lyra saw the look Zane gave her mate and heard the rumbled growl Aleksy tried to contain. She moved in to him, rubbing his chest with her palm.
“Enough,” Orsai said. “I’ll speak with the two of you later. It’s past time. Right now, there are other concerns to discuss. Regardless of the hows, it’s easy to see that Lyra and Reno are related. It’s also easy to see that Lyra and Aleksy are mated. Congratulations, son.”
Lyra saw Zane sigh and thought she glimpsed sorrow in his gaze before he glanced down and away.
“Marcus Blane hunted her down and took her because of you,” Aleksy said, his words directed at Reno. “When I found her they’d beaten her, broken fingers and ribs. She was bruised, one side of her face so swollen her eye could no longer open. They’d stabbed her in the side and left her for dead. To hurt you. To seek vengeance against the woman you took as mate.”
Amia gasped, one hand covering her mouth. “No one is safe as long as I’m here. He’ll kill everyone because of me.”
Lyra heard the whispered words and had the impression the other woman had said them before.
“None of this is your fault,” Reno stated with a hard growl. His gaze flashed rage at Aleksy. “Blane was here? How long ago?”
“We’ve only been here a few days,” Tony answered.
“You didn’t mention any of this to Tah while you were on the phone,” Reno accused, turning the full force of his ire onto Tony.
Tony shrugged. “Your alpha and I had a separate conversation. He was more interested in Lyra, and I was focused on figuring out how she’d connected with him, not once but twice. With her mind.”
“That is interesting,” Orsai agreed, giving Lyra an intense look.
“Speaking of Tah,” Vic said. “We need to give him a call. He’ll find this all very interesting.
“And be pissed as hell,” Reno snarled. “He isn’t keen on not knowing everything that’s going on. Believe me, Mr. Sandoval, he’s not a man you want to have for an enemy.”
“I shared what I knew at the time. As I learn more, so will you. Feel free to share it with your alpha. In case I failed to mention it, I’m a watcher, Reno. I’ve been watching over and protecting shifters since I was a child.” Tony swept his glance toward Aleksy but didn’t linger. “Blane is not an issue right now.”
“You have someone watching him?” the one Nathan had called Calloway asked.
“I do,” Tony answered. “Blane and his men weren’t keen on running into Aleksy. They started fleeing as soon as they knew he was in the area.”
“Can’t say as I blame them,” Vic said. “I thought Zane’s eyes were freaky, but yours win hands down.”
“This is what happens when your beast is always primal,” Aleksy growled.
Vic shared a look with her mate then cast a glance toward Zane. “How is that even possible? I thought you guys couldn’t survive in a primal state? Not without the animal taking over completely.”
“The primal state is all I’ve ever known,” Aleksy told them.
“He is an anomaly, even among shifters,” Orsai stated.
Aleksy snorted, but Zane looked pissed.
“You knew the state he was in?” Zane demanded of his uncle. “Knew and did nothing to help him?”
“I did all I could. Enough!” Orsai thundered when it looked as if Zane would say something else. “I said we’d speak later. There are many things I’ve kept from both of you. It’s time to remedy that.”
“What we need to focus on is the fact Blane is still around. He’s already tried to kill my mate to get to his daughter. He wanted the two of you here, Reno,” Aleksy informed them. “Here you are.”
“Are you trying to accuse us of something?” Reno yelled. “I repeat, we had no idea Blane was here. Do you really think I’d place my mate anywhere near him?”
“No, I don’t. I’m warning you, though. If this was some move on Blane’s part to draw you out, to draw both of you out, then you’ve played right into his hands by coming here. He wants you dead, Reno, and he wants your mate back at his side.”
“I’ll never go back. Never. He’ll have to kill me,” Amia swore as her mate wrapped her in his arms.
“Not if we kill him first,” Aleksy stated.
“Then let’s kill the bastard, once and for all,” Reno agreed.
Somehow, Lyra didn’t think it would be that easy.