Callyn
The boys were at my house a few moments after I texted them what Cat said. Now, we’re sitting here waiting for her to show up. I don’t know if I can take any more bad news about our lives. Is it too much to hope that she brings good news with her? Stop, Callie. You’ve faced everything else head on, and you will do the same with whatever Cat has to tell you.
“Whatcha thinking about over there, angel?”
“Just about what Cat has to say. You know she never really brings good news with her.” I shrug. “I guess, I’m just hoping for something good.”
Max walks over to me, wrapping me in a hug. “It’ll be alright. We’ve held our own against everything else that has been thrown at us, and this will be no different. You have us, and we’re pretty awesome if I do say so myself.”
I lean back slightly, so I can look into Max’s eyes. He’s right, they are pretty awesome. He leans down and brushes his lips against mine. I want to deepen the kiss, but we get interrupted by the doorbell. I sigh and place my forehead on his chest.
“That’ll be Cat. I should go and answer the door.” I start to pull away, but Max doesn’t let me go.
“I’ll come with you.” I smile. As much as Max jokes around, he’s very protective and can be serious when needed, like now. He knows I need support to face whatever is about to happen.
The doorbell sounds again. “Let’s go before she gets impatient.” Hand in hand we walk to the front door. I open it, and I’m surprised to see that Cat isn’t alone. Her mates are standing behind her. I catch her eyes and raise my eyebrow in question. She mouths later.
“Well shit. This can’t be good,” Max murmurs. My thoughts exactly.
“Come on in everyone.”
As soon as Cat enters, she grabs my hand and starts dragging me toward the living room. Graydon, Lucian, and Zeke are already there waiting. She doesn’t stop until we are sitting in the last two spots on the couch. I glance back to Max.
This must be bad. There are not enough places for everyone to sit.
Don’t worry about me, and they can stand as far as I’m concerned.
I roll my eyes. My eyes flicker between Cat’s mates. “If you guys want, you can grab chairs from the kitchen.”
“We’re good, but thank you,” Josh says.
Max walks over and lifts me, placing me on his lap and sits in the spot I was just in. I look over my shoulder at him. “Really?” he smiles, then winks at me. I roll my eyes again but can’t help the small smirk on my lips.
“Are you two done, because we really need to get on with this,” Cat huffs.
“Sorry.”
She sighs. “No, I’m sorry. It’s just that what I have to tell you, none of you are going to like.”
“Is Graydon going to bear out again? Because if so, I suggest taking this outside. No need to destroy Callie’s house,” Max states.
“Can you be serious for like two seconds? This is fucking important.” Cat looks me in the eyes. “I had a vision about Callie. I should start by saying that I have no idea when and where this is going to happen. Callie gets kidnapped.” Several growls and a roar drown out what Cat is saying. Max tightens his hold on me, and I can feel his body vibrating from his growl.
Calm down, so she can finish telling us what she has to say.
My guys don’t fully stop, but it’s enough that Cat can continue.
“I didn’t see who grabs her because she was already taken and being put in the room where they were going to hold her.” She takes a deep breath, almost like she is preparing herself for what she is about to say next. “The room where they take her, has no windows, and a chair in the center with shackles on it. I saw them place her in the chair and bind her to it.” The guys’ growls start to increase again. “I didn’t know it was Callie they took until after Circe walks into the room and pulls the bag off of her head. Circe plans on torturing you before she gives you over to someone else. I don’t know who because she never says his name, but I’m going to assume it’s Amos.”
Graydon gets up and stalks out of the room. I struggle to get out of Max’s hold, which kept tightening as Cat continued.
“Max let me go. I need to check on him.” Reluctantly, he lets me go. I make it to the backdoor just in enough time to see Graydon shift the second he steps outside.
“Graydon,” I yell. His bear stops and looks back at me. He turns around and sits, just waiting. I cautiously walk over to him. “It’ll be okay; I’ll be okay. Now that Cat has told us about this we can take steps to stop it from happening, just like we’re doing about our death vision.”
“Holy crap. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bear that big before,” I hear Stephan say behind me.
Max laughs. “Well, he is the mate of the Alpha Queen. What did you expect? Hell, wait until you see the rest of us. And if you think that Graydon is impressive, wait until you get a look at our Queen in her shifted form.”
I ignore all of them and focus on Graydon. I need to calm him down enough, so he will shift back. I know just how to do it. I wrap my arms around him the best that I can, hugging him. Usually, my scent is enough to bring him back.
“Come back to me my grumpy bear.” It takes a moment, but then I feel the size of him shrink and a pair of arms wrap around me, hugging me back.
Graydon
“I can’t lose you. I love you so goddamn much. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe,” I whisper as I bury my nose into her hair, pulling her tighter against me.
“You won’t. I promise.”
I grunt and can imagine that Callie is smiling at the sound. After a few more moments in each other’s arms, I look up to see that everyone has followed us outside. Max, Zeke, and Lucian walk over to me and Callie, standing protectively around her. Callie finally turns to face Cat.
“Do you think your vision of me getting kidnapped is because we finally changed that other one?”
“I don’t know?”
“What other vision?” Josh questions.
Cat looks at each of us, questioning.
It’s up to you Callie on how much you want her to share with them.
They’re her mates. I can’t ask her to keep secrets from them. You guys would hate that.
True, but you are the queen, and she will do as you ask.
What harm can come from telling them? It’s not like it’s a big secret that someone is trying to kill me. They were here for the last attack.
She sighs but nods her head.
“I had a vision a while ago that Callie and her mates die. We have been working to try to change the outcome. So far, I have only had one other vision about that night. The sides seemed more evenly matched, and it didn’t show me them dying. I honestly don’t know.”
I watch as each of her mates surround her, trying to comfort her.
“It’s okay Cat,” Callie says. “You can...we can only do so much. There are going to be things that we didn’t plan for, it’s just the way it is. But we can take steps to hopefully deter the worst of it.”
“Callyn’s right Kitty Cat,” Stephan says as he strokes a finger down the side of Cat’s cheek.
You can see the love and adoration in his eyes as he looks at her. I know because I look the same way when I look at Callie. Like she is the center of my world, because she is. There is nothing that I wouldn’t do for her. As much as I would like to wrap her up in bubble wrap and lock her away, I know that’s not going to solve anything.
“I have an idea. I don’t think Callie is going to like it but it’s a way to make sure she doesn’t get taken.” Everyone looks at me. “I suggest that one of us,” I look at Max, Zeke, and Lucian, “is always with her at all times.”
Callie’s eyes narrow at me. “You guys can’t be with me twenty-four seven.”
“Wanna bet.” I growl. “What do you think your aunt is going to say when she hears about this one? Do you really think she will tell us no? You know that she’ll let one of us sleep on the couch, and once we tell our parents, it’ll be a matter of time before there’s a schedule made.”
She sighs and loses the fight in her. She knows I’m right.
“Fine, whatever.” Callie turns to storm back into the house, but I stop her.
“I want to talk to you for a minute, alone.”
“Go on in everyone; we’ll be there in a few.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Callie asks as soon as everyone is in the house.
“I know the last couple of weekends you’ve been hanging out with the guys individually.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to come over this weekend and hang out with me?”
A smile graces her lips. “Why Graydon, are you asking me out on a date?”
“Yeah.”
“I’d love to hang out with you.”
She throws her arms around my neck, pulling me down to her, kissing me. I growl, pulling her closer. My hands move down her back, cupping her ass, squeezing gently. I’m rewarded with a moan, and it takes everything I have not to strip her naked and take her right here in her backyard. A catcall whistle breaks the moment.
“As hot as this is, and I mean Callie by the way, can you guys hurry it up out here? The rest of us are hungry, and we have some plans to make,” Max says.
Callie giggles. “Come on, the natives are getting restless.” She laces her fingers with mine and starts to pull me toward the house. I stop us before we walk inside, tugging her back into my body.
I lean down and whisper in her ear, “I can’t wait to continue where we left off.” I nip her earlobe, and she melts right into me. This weekend can’t get here fast enough.