She was in a special kind of hell, and no one was there to help her. For the first time in her life, Kira was on her own to figure this shit out. And it sucked! Finally, she decided that if she did not get out of the room, she might get arrested for killing the person who smelled in the next room. She was sure the snoring she heard coming from the thin wall, was the same one who smelled like beef jerky. Also the same one who brought back hookers every night and paid them to call him „daddy". She had almost gone over and kicked his ass after the first night. If it weren"t for the fact that he only lasted about thirty seconds and then he was done, she would have.
At least with her gone, the housekeeper would be able to come in and do a better job than Kira had done. Food containers littered every surface; at least she had kept her stuff in the bag she brought from her apartment. She kept packed in case she had to bolt quickly. Stopping at the door, she bit her lip, then grabbed her clothes and computer and left. She would find another place to stay. Leaving her stuff would mean if she had to run she would be without. That was not smart.
Kira tried to think about everything her father taught her all those years ago. Her parents drummed into her head what she would have to do if she had to go into hiding.
Survival skills, that is what they called it. She called it boring and had listened halfheartedly. Now she wished she had listened better. Her father would know the best places to go and disappear. And they were probably cleaner than the place she chose.
Maybe she would go to a coffee shop and log onto her computer. She could contact her parents and let them know she was safe. At least if she was being monitored, she could move around. With a plan in mind, she shivered in anticipation of actually getting out in public. She never realized how much she hated not talking to people until she had been in the room by herself. The television had not even helped. The only channel the forty year old box had gotten was PBS. Watching Sesame Street had not calmed her nerves much, so she had left it off.
Kira stepped out of the room for the first time in three days and looked around slowly.
She held on to her bags tightly and walked quickly to the stairs that would lead her away from this shit hole.
Walking slowly so she did not draw attention to herself, Kira walked across the trash filled street and grimaced. If she had paid attention to her surroundings when she ran into the hotel she would have never stayed here. The wrong side of the tracks in Detroit was not a good thing. She did not even see a cab she could flag down to save her. Damn this is when she wished she was a full shifter.
She quickened her pace when she saw there were several men standing across the street taking interest in the fact that she was a woman by herself. Crap, she should have taken that spinner class when her co-worker asked her. She would have been in better shape to run. Which she was going to have to do soon, if they did not stop staring at her. She saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of her eye, a cab! Jumping into the street, she practically ran in front of the cab to make it stop.
“Please take me to a Starbucks on the other side of town.” She gasped when she flung herself into the back of the cab.
The driver looked back at her and smirked before taking off again. She was definitely going to have to find another place to sleep tonight. There was no way she was going back down that street again.
By the time the cab dropped her off, her heart rate had at least returned to normal.
Stepping out of the car, she looked around and did not see anything unusual. What did she expect? A couple of thugs standing on the street waiting for her? They were nowhere near her apartment, so she felt a little better.
Kira went into the coffee shop, ordered her favorite drink and pastry, then settled into a corner table and pulled out her computer. It did not take long for it to boot up. Her notifications immediately started to ping at her. Emails, twitter and Facebook notifications made her laptop sound like an alarm going off. She smiled when she looked around the room at the people who were watching her and smiling indulgently.
Obviously they understood.
She checked her email first. Her parents had responded to her email and were waiting for a response. Kira slowly typed her response so she would not make a mistake and give something away. At least she remembered that lesson. She told her parents that she was fine and waiting for her mates to come and find her. They would know that she was referring to her vision. Now she just had to figure out where she could hide until they got here.
Kira spent the next few hours responding to emails and looking for a respectable place that was hidden away for her to stay in. Finally satisfied that she had found the perfect place, she packed up her belongings and set back out again. When she went to exit the door, she saw a black SUV squeal to a stop outside the coffee shop. Kira did not even stop to think, she just turned and ran.
Chapter 5
Blaine stormed through the door to the Pack house for the fourth time in the last few days. This time the man had gone too far. He did not care if he was his mate or not, he could not keep messing with his well-ordered life!
“DALTON!” He yelled loudly and started to go for the library. It was where the Sidhe liked to spend his time while waiting to leave for their next trip. The Alphas had given him permission to go to the Elders of the Sidhe. They were supposed to be leaving tomorrow. A meeting had actually been scheduled and Dalton and he had worked out what they were going to say in order to get what they wanted.
“WAIT!” Jaden called and eagerly ran down the stairs carrying one twin, while Quin carried the other and was following just as quickly.
The rest of the New Council came out of various rooms all running for the library as he stomped down the hall. These people were just pissing him off too, but there was nothing he could do about that.
Blaine refused to be in a room alone with the man, even for a second. He would not be able to resist the temptation. While it pissed him off that he was repeatedly doing this in front of an audience, he could not chance it. It would have to be like this for a while, at least until they found their other mate.
He walked into the library and ignored the Council members who were already sitting in the chairs like they were at the movies. Each of them had smirks and expectant looks on their faces.
Dalton looked up from the book he had in his hand and smiled. “Blaine, how are you today?” He said.
“Really? That is all you have to say to me?” Blaine yelled.
“Uh, okay. Blaine, how are you today? I am fine, although the breakfast I had made my stomach a little queasy. It was the first time I tried oatmeal. I don"t think I like it.” Dalton said and put down the book he was holding.
Blaine swore under his breath and took a deep breath. “No, I was talking about my motorcycle. You know, the one you arranged to have painted and a freakin" side car added to it?”
“Oh, they came and got the bike then?” Dalton said gleefully. “Nice, huh? I thought it would be perfect, you know, for our mate. She can ride either on the back or in the car.
Did you see the sidecar has plenty of room? We can switch off and on.”
“You arranged to have my bike painted without asking me. They took my bike without even telling me.” Blaine said incredulously looking at the man and wanting to strangle him. His bike was one of his most prized possessions. The gas tank had a picture of his wolf on it and the tattoo he had on his shoulder also. It took him a long time to design that tank, and Dalton had someone come and pick it up without his knowledge and paint it. By the time Blaine had found where his bike was, they had already started on the painting and could not stop. They had also put on the hitch for the sidecar on the bike and to remove it would leave a mark on the metal that would last forever. His bike was no longer unmarred. It was no longer perfect.
“Oh, fuck me.” Cloe said from the other side of the room. At least someone recognized the ramifications of what was going on. Cloe knew what his bike meant to him. She had been the one to go shopping with him
every day for a month before finding the right one. Then when he had it painted. She was the one who helped him convince the artist to let him stay and watch the bike be painted so he would know there were no mistakes.
“Shhh baby, later, I promise. Don"t interrupt the show.” Teagan whispered.
“What?” Dalton said and smiled. “I did not change much, just added the Sidhe symbol and a bear. That is what she is, right? A bear? I thought you would like it.” Blaine looked up at the ceiling and then said calmly and slowly. “It. Was. My. Bike.”
“Yeah, I know. But you are going to have mates now. I would love to hit the open road, travel. Won"t that be fun?” Dalton said.
“No, it won"t be fun, because we are not going anywhere on MY BIKE!” Blaine yelled in frustration. “Because it is MY BIKE!”
“Why do you keep saying it like that? We are mates, and we have another mate. I thought we shared everything. I put you on my accounts already and ordered ATM
cards and stuff. You know, as in together forever?” Dalton said and rolled his eyes.
“Besides what were you going to do, drive separately?”
“No we won"t drive separately, we won"t drive together, and we won"t be traveling together. My bike was for me to hit the road. Drive alone. Get away. BE BY MYSELF!
Now it looks like a granny mobile on steroids. I can"t drive it. It is not the same. A hog is supposed to be manly and tough. If I go anywhere with that thing, they will laugh me out of the place. Who gave you the right to waltz into my life and change everything?
Okay, the wallet was fine, got over you touching my license. The maid, nice gift, although I had just spring cleaned the house, she was able to label the cans in the cupboard since I had not gotten around to it. The tailor I just could not do because the man wanted to measure every inch of me, but I compromised and did it myself in the bathroom. I feel like I have been very accommodating to all of your self-proclaimed wooing, but this is the last straw.” Blaine ground out.
“Cool trick, I don"t think your lips moved at all.” Dalton said and frowned. “First of all, the wallet was hand sewn alligator, which will never fall apart like your old one. The maid, who cost me 400.00 dollars, tried to give me the money back after you refused to allow her to clean the house. You seriously had her sit with a label maker while you arranged everything and then did it yourself anyway when she put just „SOUP" on a can of Chicken Noodle. I mean, who re-labels cans of food when they have a label on them already? The tailor called me seven times when you refused to allow him to measure your inseam and then showed him your jeans and told him they were a perfect fit. Now, as for your bike. You mean to tell me, that you were going to leave us to go on the road?
Why? We are your mates.”
“Of course I was not going to leave you. Well, I mean I was, but because I am an Enforcer of this Pack. That means there are times that I will be gone. Hell, I just found out I had mates, as in plural. I haven"t thought about it.” Blaine said, flung his hand up and ran it through his hair.
This man was so frustrating. The things he kept doing were nice and helpful, but a little over the top. It was like he researched him, all of his likes and dislikes. When the maid came, he confronted Dalton. The man had said he knew that Blaine was a neat person and wanted to help him while he was arranging their travel. The tailor was to fit him for suits to wear when he became a member of the Council. Blaine pointed out to him that everyone else wore jeans and t-shirts, but Dalton said that Blaine would be the sharpest dresser in the Council. Every time he had an argument, the man reasoned with him.
Well, he was not going to do it with his bike. HIS BIKE!
“Hey, I was just trying to make it easier. Besides, you are on the Council now. You will not be doing the Enforcer thing. No more travels for that. Now if you travel, it will be Council business, and then we will go with you.” Dalton said and ran his hand up Blaine"s arm.
“Oh, this is so better than watching cable.” Devon said.
“Yeah, we don"t have to pay for this. If we had some popcorn and beer it would be perfect.” Jaden said and laughed.
“Shut the fuck up!” Blaine growled over his shoulder.
“Fine, fine… continue.” Jaden said holding up his hands and waving them in a circle.
“How can I get you to understand?” Blaine said, the anger leaving him for a second and then returning. “I don"t have to get you to understand. It was MY BIKE! You are not allowed to touch MY BIKE! No one is allowed to touch MY BIKE, but me!”
“YOUR BIKE!” Dalton said with an exaggeration. “Do you know what that sounds like?
I was just trying to take care of you and our mate. I assumed you would want to express our mating on YOUR BIKE. I assumed you would want to travel with your mates on YOUR BIKE. I assumed that you would want us to be comfortable on YOUR BIKE, since that is our only mode of transport. And you seem to love riding YOUR BIKE! My mistake, I will buy you a new one exactly like YOUR BIKE! So you can have YOUR
UNTOUCHED AND UNBLEMISHED BIKE all to yourself!”
By the time Dalton was done speaking, he was yelling. It was the first time the man had lost his temper with Blaine. It was strangely hot and sexy. Gods, he was turning into a dysfunctional freak. And he had an audience to prove it.
“Listen, there are boundaries that you just cannot cross. That is one of them. I do not want a new bike. I will take care of it.” Blaine growled and stepped closer to his mate.
He did not know if he was going to be able to hold back from grabbing him and claiming him. He had never felt an emotion this strong. It was very disconcerting. His anger left him, and in its place an emotion he could not explain.
“Fine!” Dalton yelled and stepped around him, put his hands on his hips and yelled at the group that was sitting there watching. “And I am sick and tired of you dumbasses sitting there watching us like we are your own private soap opera! I am not here for your entertainment!”
Blaine put his head down and waited. This was going to go from bad to worse and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had no control over his mate because he had not claimed him. Maybe if he had, he would be able to stop it.
Jaden laughed and stood up. “Now Dalton, don"t go getting all upset. We are here for moral support for our man Blaine.”
Dalton snorted and said. “Moral support, my ass. You just like to see someone taking a chunk out of my hide. I know that you find this very amusing and all, but I am ending the show right now. If you will all excuse us, we have to have a private discussion.” They all grumbled and stood up. Cloe stopped and turned before leaving and glared at Dalton. “If it were me, I would have kicked your ass first and asked questions later.” Blaine nodded and looked at his friend. Cloe would always have his back. Dalton rolled his eyes and turned to look at Blaine as the door shut. He raised his eyebrows and waited for a minute to see if Blaine was going to say anything. When he didn"t, Dalton shook his head.
“Fine, I will start. We are mates. You recognize that already. So, we are going to have to set a few rules. First off, I am not trying to control your life, or rearrange anything. I am trying to make it easier. I talked to the mates of all the Council; I wanted to know how it works with three mates. How does everyone fit in? They said that each of them have a place in the relationship. One is more dominate than the others are, or as Cami likes to say, high maintenance. Then there is the emotional caregiver, the one who makes time for each of them to have space or to be together. That usually is the one more in tune with their feelings. And last, there is the organizer. The one who arranges things to make it easier on the triad to function as a group. I certainly know who the high maintenance one is and since I am not really good with feelings and shit, I figured I was the organizer. So I wanted to get started. I really don"t think it is too much to ask for a little gratitude for it either.” Dalton said pouting a little.
Once again, Blaine knew that he was not going to win this fight. The man was a major guilt player. Every time tha
t Blaine came to confront him, he left feeling terrible and ungrateful. His mother had even called him on the carpet for it when word had gotten back to her about him and his mate"s fights. It was embarrassing.
“Let"s talk about the rules a little shall we? Rule number one: All decisions need to be made together. I don"t want to keep repeating this subject again and again.” Blaine said and Dalton nodded and smiled.
“And?” He said leaning back on a table and crossing his arms in front of him.
“Certain things are off limits, like my bike, my cupboards, the refrigerator, the closet, and hell, let"s just say the whole cleaning thing.” Blaine said.
“Dominance is one thing, obsessive compulsive is another.” Dalton laughed and stepped toward him.
Blaine almost took a step back, but he stood his ground. This had been going on for too long. They needed to come to an understanding. “Okay, I realize that I may seem a little controlling about certain things.” Blaine said and Dalton snorted again.
“A little?” Dalton said stepped closer. He ran his hand up Blaine"s arm and started massaging his shoulder, then did the same to the other arm.
Blaine rolled his head back and just savored in the feeling of one of his mates touching him. His wolf rolled over on his back and wiggled with glee. It did not care if their mate was a purple elephant, as long as it was their mate. Damn it, this was not the way things were supposed to happen. First, they were supposed to find their other mate and then they would claim each other all together.
“Dalton.” He said wanting to tell the man to stop but he just could not get the words out.
“Mmmmm, Blaine.” Dalton said softly and then ran his hands down Blaine"s chest and stopped at his waist and pulled himself a little closer using Blaine"s belt buckles. They were touching from chest to thigh and Blaine was having a hard time thinking past the sensations that he was feeling. To finally be this close to one of his mates and not claiming them would be the death of him.