Chapter 6
Quill inhaled deeply and drank in the sight of their beautiful mate. She had the prettiest blue eyes and the softest, most golden hair he’d ever seen. And that body.
Damn.
Lucky wasn’t a strong enough word to describe them.
“Our parents’ clan wasn’t part of a baro. They were just a clan to themselves, a baro on their own. When I was eight, three of our parents, including our mother, were killed in a car accident. They’d gone out to run errands, and a semi-truck lost control and hit them. We were left with our father Davion.”
He paused for a moment and rubbed the space over his heart. Even thinking about his dad made his heart hurt.
“Our dad was…just ruined by their deaths. I think if we hadn’t been around, he would have killed himself. After a while, he kind of snapped out of that depression, and he started talking about how it was the parents’ responsibility to choose their sons’ mate. We were young and didn’t know any better, and we believed him.”
Looking back, Quill could see how obsessed Davion had gotten. Overnight, he’d gone from a bereft widower to a man with a mission. And that mission had involved kidnapping an innocent young female hyena.
Angel’s mouth dropped open and she inhaled sharply. “What?”
Quill frowned. “Our dad paid someone to kidnap a little girl to be our mate. We didn’t know that was what he was doing. He told us that he was going to bring our mate to us, because that’s what hyena parents did. That males and their mate lived together from childhood, and the mate was chosen by the parents. He played it like it was an arranged mating, and we had no reason not to believe him.”
Angel’s skin paled. “It’s not possible.”
“What, love?” Brin asked.
“That’s my best friend Whisper’s story.”
It was their turn to pale. “I don’t understand. That happened in Kentucky. How could you possibly know her?” Ian asked.
“She was found in an abandoned crack house in Atlantic City as a toddler, and the pack alpha adopted her. She didn’t find her real family until she went to a gathering here last year, and met her biological brothers.” She frowned and then surged to her feet. “You said you were here last year. You were looking for Whisper?”
All three of them stood and reached for her, but when she backed away, they stopped. She looked plaintively between them, her eyes shining with tears. Ian took a slow step toward her and she leaned into him, throwing her arms around his neck and crying. They joined them, putting their hands on her to offer comfort.
“Do you think she’s yours?” she asked between sobs.
“Fuck no,” Ian said with a growl. “That was our dad’s baggage. We were kept in the dark all those years, baby. We didn’t know. I fucking swear we didn’t know anything about her, we hadn’t even met her until we saw her at the gathering.”
Angel reached for Quill, wrapping one arm around his neck and drawing him close. She did the same with Brin. “What happened?”
Quill said, “We told our dad something was wrong, because Whisper was clearly mated to that clan. When we said we thought it was time to move on and find our own mate, he went ballistic. He followed her and tried to kidnap her, but she shifted and attacked him. He refused medical treatment and told us the truth, and then he died.”
“We found out where Whisper lived in Kentucky and told her that we weren’t a threat to her or her mates, and that our dad had died,” Brin said.
She lifted her tear-streaked face from Ian’s chest. “I don’t even really know what to say.”
“Please, don’t leave us,” Brin whispered, his eyes luminous and glistening with sudden, unshed tears.
She pulled him close and kissed his forehead. “Never, I promise. I’m just a little overwhelmed. Your dad had my best friend kidnapped. I can’t fathom anyone doing that and believing it was the right thing to do.”
Ian said, “Trust me when I say we’re still struggling with it.”
Quill rubbed her arm and pressed a kiss to the inside of her elbow. “Angel, I don’t want to minimize the terror that your friend went through and how destructive our dad’s actions were, but that was him. We were pawns. In hindsight, we all feel like we should have known something was wrong, but we were cut off from other hyenas outside of going to gatherings, and we really did believe that what he said was the truth.”
For sure, Quill had wrestled with the situation for a long time, and so had his brothers. As bad as Ian had felt for not protecting them from their father’s insanity, Quill felt equally guilty for not being a better leader.
She brushed her fingers under her eyes and gave them a watery smile. “This is just surreal. What your dad did actually made a difference in a lot of people’s lives, for the better. It’s weird to think about it in a positive light, but it did happen. When Whisper was taken to Mack – the alpha who took her in – he was drinking himself to death over the loss of his mate. Without his adoption of Whisper, he wouldn’t have adopted Kross or Kayne. At the gathering, Whisper met her mates and her biological brothers, and her brothers mated my other best friend, Bliss. Then Kross and Kayne mated Heaven, who is a cousin of Whisper’s. Brierley was rescued by Bliss, and I brought her here and stayed.”
“It’s nice that there were happy endings when it could have been far, far worse,” Quill said.
“I’m just thankful we found each other,” Brin said.
“Me, too.” Angel agreed.
* * *
When they arrived at Ally’s home for dinner, Brin felt like things had changed significantly once more for his clan. First when they’d found Angel, and now after they’d discovered the strange connection they shared because of her friend. The day could have gone horribly wrong if she’d chosen not to forgive them for what their dad had done, but she hadn’t. After her initial shock, she’d embraced them. For a moment so painful that he’d never shared its equal, he’d worried she would just walk away from them because of it. But she hadn’t.
Brin knocked twice and heard an answering “come in” from one of males. He opened the door and held it for Angel, who gave him a sweet smile as she walked past. He and his brothers followed her into the cabin. The scent of apple pie was heavy in the air as they made their way to the kitchen.
The kitchen was large, and clearly that was necessary judging by the number of people in the room. Ally lifted a platter from the counter and handed it to Troy, one of her mates, who set it in the center of the table.
“How about introductions?” Richard said as he stood and smiled. There were nine males at the table: their sons, Harry, Mark, and Taylor; and two trios of nephews, Donnie, Edward, Ken, Jack, John, and Michael. “Our boys grew up here, and our nephews came to work for us after they graduated from high school.”
Quill introduced their clan.
Angel reached for the young blonde woman standing next to Ally and hugged her. “This is my adopted sister, Brierley.”
Brierley grinned. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
Everyone shook hands.
“Let’s eat,” Ally said. There were five empty chairs on one side of the table. Brin pulled a chair out for Angel and then sat next to her, with his brothers on her other side and Brierley at the end. Richard sat at the head of the table and Ally took the seat to his left, with her two mates next to her, followed by their sons. The others sat at a folding table nearby.
Platters and bowls were passed around the tables, and Brin made sure that Angel’s plate was filled first before he took any for himself. When the food had all been passed and the glasses filled with sweet tea, he smiled at Angel and said, “This is your favorite meal?”
She lifted the chicken salad croissant sandwich from the plate and said, “Maybe not my most favorite of all time, but definitely in the top ten.”
“The day that Brierley and Angel came here,” Ally said, “we had this for dinner. Angel said it was worth staying here just for the chicken salad.”
While they ate, Ally and her husbands peppered them with questions, while managing to never once feel intrusive or pushy. Brin wanted Angel’s bosses to like them because they were important to her. When the meal was over, their sons and nephews left, and the two quartets and Brierley headed into the family room with coffee to talk.
Brin and his brothers had spoken to Angel about being candid about their history, and she had agreed it would be better to be up front rather than appear to be hiding something. Although he and his brothers were ashamed of what their father had done, and harbored guilt over the lives that had been harmed because of it, Brin knew that they really couldn’t continue to hold onto that shame forever.
Quill told their history while holding onto Angel’s hand tightly as if she were an anchor and he was about to be blown out to sea in a storm. The whole room was silent when he finished, and Angel leaned on Quill’s shoulder with a sniffle.
Blake shook his head. “That is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Troy nodded, kissing Ally on the top of her head. “I can’t imagine the grief that would strike a male who’d lost almost everyone he loved. He must have been out of his mind.”
“He was,” Quill said. “It was hard to find a silver lining, but Angel gave it to us. Because of what our dad did, her friends found their truemates. It’s tough to imagine something good coming from something so dark, though.”
Richard leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. “You’re not your dad, though. You do understand that?”
Brin’s throat constricted with emotion. He’d wondered from time to time if his dad’s craziness was hereditary. But he felt grounded with Angel.
Ian cleared his throat. “We’re coming to terms with his behavior. What he did came from a place of love, even as misguided as it was. He’s responsible for his actions, and we don’t have to carry that blame.”
Of his brothers, Ian had taken it the hardest. He felt like he’d failed in the basic part of his duty to their clan – protecting them. With Angel, Brin knew they could find a new road to happiness. They were a mated clan, and they had each other’s backs.
“Good,” Richard said, nodding. “One of our fathers was an alcoholic. He ended up drinking himself to death, despite the rest of our parents trying to intervene. When we talk to unmated clans or females, it’s easy to put a rose-colored hue to everything. Being mated is one of the most wonderful things, but just because a group is mated doesn’t mean that life will suddenly be easy or that some or all of the clan might not suffer from one thing or another. Our parents are missing one of their clan members. No matter how they tried to help him, our dad always went back to the bottle. But that didn’t mean that my brothers and I had to skip along the path to destruction behind him. Guilt, shame, depression – they all come hand-in-hand with losing someone that way.”
Troy said, “I see three young males who are making the most of the cards that they were dealt. I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad that you found Angel. She’s special.”
Angel smiled. “I’m glad I’m here, too.”
Ally said, “We’d like to make a suggestion.”
“What?” Angel asked.
“Come work for us.”
“I already do,” Angel said.
Ally chuckled. “I was talking to your mates.”
“Oh. Oh! Really?” Angel asked.
Brin’s eyes widened, and he looked at his brothers who wore equally surprised expressions.
“I don’t know what to say,” Quill said.
Richard leaned back and put his arm around Ally. “Our nephews are leaving in a few weeks. They’ve been with us for a while, but they want to go back to their parents’ baro, so pretty soon it’ll be just us and our boys. The timing for them to leave isn’t great since the gathering is in November and that’s a busy time for us, but we’d never try to hold them back.”
Blake said, “Your mating with Angel is really timely. We’d like to invite you to move into one of our cabins and work for us. You wouldn’t believe how much stuff we have to do to get ready for the gatherings; plus, we have guests pretty much year-round.”
Ally said, “You don’t have to decide now. Take a day or two and think it over. Angel and Brierley’s cabin is a three-bedroom, which you could take.”
“Hey!” Brierley said.
Ally laughed. “You can pick another one, goofball.”
“Oh, okay.” Brierley grinned. “I thought you were kicking me out.”
“Never,” Ally said. “Anyway, there are also other cabins that have three or four bedrooms.”
Richard got up and went into the kitchen, returning with a map of the campground. He circled several cabins with a pen. “These are all empty right now anyway, but they’d need a good cleaning before you moved in. You could go check them out and see what you think about them. You don’t have to live on-site – you could always get a place in town – but if you want to live in the campground, we’ll give you the cabin as part of your salary.”
Brin looked at Angel. “Wow.”
She echoed the sentiment.
“Like Ally said, you don’t have to answer right this minute. And we won’t be offended if you say no. Angel’s job isn’t in jeopardy, but we wouldn’t be able to give you a larger cabin if you weren’t working here, too.”
“We understand,” Quill said. “We’ll discuss it and get back to you soon.”
“Thanks for dinner, it was great,” Brin said, standing and helping Angel to her feet. Everyone shook hands and they left, walking on a well-worn path back to Angel’s cabin. Brierley was with them, chatting quietly with Angel.
At the cabin, Brierley said, “Do you want me to find someplace else to sleep tonight? Ally said I could crash on their couch or in one of the unused cabins.”
“No, of course not,” Angel said. “This is your place, too.”
Brierley looked at them, her brows drawn and her mouth puckered in a frown.
“What’s wrong?” Angel asked.
“Nothing. I just can’t help but think that we were meant to meet.”
“You and me?” Angel said.
“Well, yes, but I also mean your mates. I just have a feeling like something good is going to come out of you finding your mates.”
“Something great came out of it,” Angel said.
“No, I mean something good for me. I’ve always felt like our paths were destined to cross. Without me, you wouldn’t have come here to live, and then you might never have met your mates. Now, though, I think things are going to turn up for me, too.”
“I hope so,” Angel said, giving her a hug. “You deserve all the happiness.”
“You do, too.”
Angel looked at Brin and his brothers with a sweet smile. “I’ve already got it.”
They parted ways, Brierley going to her bedroom and shutting the door, and Angel taking them to her bedroom. She kicked off her shoes with a yawn. “I’d really like some sexy times, but I’m dang exhausted.”
Quill pulled back the covers with a chuckle. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ve got the rest of our lives for sexy times.”
They undressed and climbed into bed together. The full bed wasn’t nearly big enough for them, but Brin and his brothers were used to tight quarters because the camper wasn’t big. When Angel was snuggled between Brin and Ian, Quill turned off the light and yawned.
“Tomorrow we’ll go see the cabins, and then we’ll talk,” he said.
“I’d love for you to work with me, but it’s up to you,” Angel said.
Brin kissed her forehead and inhaled her sweet scent. “I’m pretty sure we’ll say yes. The chance to live here, in a place you love, and to get to work alongside you, sounds like heaven.”
“To me, too,” she murmured.
In minutes, she was asleep, her chest rising and falling evenly.
“How is it possible to care about her so much already?” Brin whispered.
“Because we’re truemates, and it’s supposed to be this way,” Quill answered.
“She’s everything now,” Brin said.
“She is for all of us,” Ian said. “She’s the center of our world. I can’t imagine I ever thought I was living before.”
Brin was very sure he hadn’t been living before, either. His heart hadn’t really been beating, and his arms had never really hugged anyone. Not until Angel came walking into their lives. He was never, ever letting her go.
* * *
Ian woke up to his cell going off. He ignored it at first, pretty sure he was dreaming, but as it continued to ring, he realized it was reality and he needed to grab it before the noise woke Angel.
He’d left his phone in his jeans, and he slid from the bed and picked them up, hustling from the room as he dug it from the back pocket.
“Yeah?” he asked, not even looking at the screen as he answered. He stumbled into the family room, knocking his knee against an end table, which drew a muffled curse from his lips.
“I trust that you’re actually injured and near death, and not simply ignoring me.”
He rubbed his knee and shook his head to clear the fog of sleep. He recognized the voice. Wallace.
“I apologize for not calling you earlier, but I’ve found my truemate and my clan and I are busy with her. I won’t be back to the fights.”
He opted to go with blunt honesty rather than to beat around the bush.
There was a beat of silence, and then Wallace said, “I think you should change your mind.”
“I won’t. My loyalty is to my mate and my clan.”
“I have stakes in your fights. You’re costing me money.”
His beast didn’t much care for the male. He’d never considered him a friend or ally, simply a means to an end. He’d needed an outlet for his aggression and the money had been nice, too. At the moment, he disliked Wallace even more. What sort of male tried to put his own welfare over that of another’s mate? As if Ian would care about Wallace and the fights any longer. The only thoughts on his mind were entirely about Angel. His glorious mate. Soft as silk, sweet as honey, and oh-so-tempting. A goddess, if ever there was one.
“I won’t apologize for making the right choice. My priorities have changed. There are other males to take my place in the ring. And I’ll point out that I never promised you anything about my fighting.”
“Reconsider,” he ordered.
“No.” Ian would have gladly throttled the male if he’d been in front of him, but as they were on the phone, he could only punctuate the word with a growl.
“Fine.” The call ended and Ian stared at the blank screen, his beast wary. He doubted that Wallace was the sort of male who would simply disappear quietly, which meant he needed to be alert.
“What’s going on?” Angel’s voice cut through the noise in his head, and he turned to face her and his brothers.
He held out his hand. “Come here, love.”
She didn’t hesitate, crossing the room to him and settling into his embrace. “Are you okay?” she whispered. “I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but you sounded mad.”
He tucked the phone into his jeans and tossed them over the back of the couch. Then he wrapped his arms around his mate and inhaled her scent, which calmed him and his beast. “I am mad. Mostly because I’ve potentially put you in danger.”
Quill and Brin moved to them, both looking concerned. “I thought something was going on with you for a while, but I didn’t want to push you to talk when you seemed intent on working through our father’s deception on your own. Now, though, we need to talk. Who is Wallace and what are the fights he’s talking about?”
Thanks to their enhanced hearing, his brothers had no trouble eavesdropping on the conversation. He didn’t mind, though. He needed their wisdom. They moved to the couch, and he pulled Angel onto his lap. She rested her legs across his brothers’ and settled against Ian.
He told them everything, from the first fight he’d watched to the first one he’d fought in.
“When I started, I just wanted an outlet. I was so frustrated and angry with myself for not seeing through dad’s lies that I couldn’t handle it. I was a walking raw nerve. Everything made me furious. I haven’t lost a fight in weeks, and I’ve just been banking the money. Wallace lost money when I didn’t show up on Saturday night. I don’t blame him for being pissed, but I’m concerned that now I’ve put us in his crosshairs.”
His beast snarled in worry.
“What if you fight one more time for him?” Angel asked.
“Why would I do that?”
She sat up. “What if you agreed to fight once more, and give him all your winnings. Like a severance package. That way, he gets a chance to collect on you one more time, plus I’ll get to see you in action.”
“Oh hell no, you’re not going anywhere near that place,” Ian said.
“Well, you can’t go alone,” Brin said. “I’ll go with you.”
Ian couldn’t deny that it was probably a better idea than just pissing off Wallace.
Exhaling, he said, “Okay. I’ll take Brin with me. But Quill stays with you, and that’s final.”
She stuck out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout, and he grinned. “How are you sexy even when you’re pouting?” he asked.
“I’m just that irresistible.” She smiled, but sobered quickly. “You’ll be safe, right?”
He nodded. “I’m the best fighter there, aside from the one guy he uses as a bodyguard. I’ll be safe. And this is maybe the best way to ensure your safety and our clan’s. I don’t want you to be on his radar.”
“I trust you,” she said.
Quill said, “I wish you’d told us what you were doing. I don’t blame you, though. We all had to deal with Dad’s stuff in our own way.”
“How much money are we talking about, anyway?” Brin asked.
“Twenty grand,” he answered. “Give or take a few hundred.”
“Holy shit!” Brin said. “You fought so much that you saved twenty thousand dollars?”
Ian shrugged. “Depending on the night, I could pull in a couple thousand. I mostly just saved the money. Now I can use it to furnish our new place. We need a bigger bed.”
“Huge,” Angel said, her brows wiggling.
“I’ll call Wallace,” Ian said. “The next fight would be Friday night. Then we can mate Angel properly on Saturday night.”
She shivered. “I can’t wait for Saturday.”
Quill stood and lifted Angel from Ian’s lap. “Are you tired, sweetness?” he asked.
“Not really,” Angel said. “You’ll hurry, right Ian?”
“Give me a few minutes,” he answered as Brin followed Quill and Angel to the bedroom.
“You’ll forgive us if we start without you,” Brin said.
Ian shook his head with a laugh. He pulled his cell from his jeans pocket, found Wallace’s number in the recent calls list, and pressed it. Wallace answered on the first ring.
“I’m betting you changed your mind.”
“Yes and no,” Ian said. “I want to stop fighting, but I’m willing to fight one more night for you. This Friday. I’ll give you all my winnings, but you have to agree that I’m done fighting.”
“You’d just hand your winnings over?”
“To be done, yes.”
“She must be special.”
“She’s my mate, and that makes her my priority.”
“Ah, fine. But you best win every fight.”
“I will.”
Ian ended the call and exhaled, feeling some of the tension leaving his body. It wasn’t an ideal situation, and he had regrets about getting involved with Wallace in the first place, but at least it would be over. He’d fight, he’d win, and he’d walk.
Then Angel would be theirs, and they could start their lives together.
He couldn’t wait.