Sean didn’t press the issue and opted to changed the subject. “Wyatt said they were scheduled to get there late yesterday. I wonder if they did?” Wyatt and Marisela had left for Tampa immediately after the ceremony and taken an earlier flight.
“Probably,” Emery said. “You know he doesn’t like to miss a good party.”
“I never realized he was so high on the food chain.” Sean winced. “Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant high in his…whatever gators call themselves.”
Emery smiled. “Congregation. And how do you think he was able to so easily contact the dragons for us back in October?” He frowned a little. “And he wasn’t even officially in charge back then.”
Sean didn’t want to go there, didn’t want to talk about whatever happened when Emery went to Louisiana to help Wyatt out. Not right now, when he was already stressed enough. “I thought he was just a social butterfly.” A thought struck him. “Are there…you know…butterfly shifters? Or other insects? Or fish shifters other than sharks?”
Emery’s smile spread to a full-on grin. “I doubt it. I’ve never heard of any.”
“Good to know. Don’t want to feel guilty next time the exterminator comes around. Or the next time I go fishing.”
* * * *
The low-hanging clouds and crisp, damp temperatures didn’t squelch Sean’s enthusiasm for the new-to-him landscape despite his residual nerves over the reason for their journey. Even Isla stared, in as much wonder as Sean, at the unmelted snow packs in the upper elevations of the park.
“You’ve never seen snow before?” Emery asked him.
“Dude, what part of ‘Florida native’ did I not make clear when we got together?”
Isla giggled from the backseat.
Emery even pulled over so Sean could take pics of the herds of bison along the western side of the park. It was late in the day when they checked in at the Old Faithful Inn. The people he saw mingling around the iconic hotel’s lobby didn’t strike him as unusual or out of place, even though he knew everyone there was somehow affiliated with the shifter Gathering.
“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Sean asked Emery in a low voice as they stood at the front desk, awaiting their room keys.
“Yep. They’re as normal as anyone else except in one way.”
“Not just one way.”
Sean spotted Wyatt and Marisela on the other side of the lobby and waved to them. They walked over, giving out hugs.
Sean was happy to note Marisela appeared as nervous as he felt.
“Mari!” Isla happily squealed. She reached for Marisela, forcing Sean to finally hand the squirmy toddler over to the woman.
“She really likes you,” Sean noted.
Marisela always seemed to wear a veil of sadness around her. Not overwhelming or even necessarily obvious to others who didn’t know her well.
Sean, however, noticed.
Marisela smiled. “She’s such a beautiful little girl,” she sadly said. “You two are so blessed.”
“One day, Mari,” Sean told her, draping an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry.”
She looked up at him with her green gaze. “I know. You and Emery give me hope.” She kissed Isla on the forehead before handing her back to Sean and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Sean suspected part of the reason Marisela was so fond of him was due to him being involved in her rescue and meeting Wyatt. Not that he minded. The younger shifter was like a little sister he’d never had, and he knew she felt the same about him.
That she was mated to a man he considered a brother didn’t hurt, either.
Wyatt and Marisela’s room was just a few doors down from their own. Wyatt helped them wrangle their luggage while Marisela watched Isla. When they met up in Emery and Sean’s room a few minutes later, it was obvious the alligator shifter wanted to talk business.
With Marisela occupying Isla over on the floor in the corner with a few toys, the men talked in low tones.
“I already met up with the wolves’ head honcho,” Wyatt said. “The Lyalls and Alexandrs are here, too, as well as a few others y’all need to make the acquaintance of.”
“I really appreciate this, Wyatt,” Emery told him.
Wyatt shrugged. “No big thing, man. They formin’ a mega-Clan amongst all the races. You part of dat, too.”
“What about the sharks?” Sean muttered.
Wyatt slowly nodded. “Dem, too. Like it or not, if dey gonna play nice, dey need to be included in the process. Dey can decide if it’s not for dem.”
“Has this Castle guy contacted any of them yet?” Wyatt asked.
“Not so’s I heard yet,” Wyatt said. “But dat’s another reason y’all need to meet up wit’ dem all tonight. Figure out what to do next about dat.” He glanced over at the corner. “She can babysit for y’all, if you want. I really think, considering your pod dynamic, dat Sean needs to be there, too.”
Sean doesn’t think Sean needs to be there. “I’m good with hanging out here, with Mari,” he quickly offered. “Seriously. No skin off my nose.”
Emery reached over and patted him on the thigh. “It’ll be fine. Broaden your horizons.” He smiled. “The sooner you get over your nerves around the other shifters, the easier it’ll be for you. Wyatt’s right. We need to close ranks with everyone. Including the sharks.”
“Wolves and sharks and bears, oh, my,” Wyatt said.
Sean’s eyes widened. “Bears? Frickin’ seriously? There are bear shifters here?”
“Yeah. Wally Medved’s with the wolves. Nice guy. Brother-in-law to the head of the wolves. We got a tiger, some jaguars, a bunch of different things. Horses, antelope—”
“Can I hang with those people?” Sean asked. “The horses and antelopes? They’re vegetarians, aren’t they?”
“In four-legged form, probably,” Wyatt agreed. “Dey also not apex predators.”
“Preadato…” Sean didn’t want to continue that thought to its potentially grizzly conclusion. “Whatever. Never mind. Just tell me where I need to be and when. Geez, now I totally get how my mom felt at first.”
* * * *
Dinner that night would be with the same people they were there to meet and hobnob with. Emery knew Sean felt nervous about it, but also knew this would be one of the easiest ways to force him out of that mindset.
Throwing him into the deep end of the pool, so to speak, with their contemporaries.
He left out the fact that the vampires actually ran Yellowstone, which was how they got the special spring and fall “family reunions” at the park. He suspected that knowledge would be far too much for Sean to handle right then.
For years, Emery had lobbied his father to spend more time with the other shifters, build stronger bonds. He’d always had reasons not to. Citing business or other pressing matters.
Now, with another common enemy possibly stalking them in Florida and with the ability to threaten all they held dear, it was time to clear away all the bullshit once and for all and close ranks.
It didn’t matter what kind of shifter they were, or what other abilities came along with that territory. They weren’t “normal” humans. That right there meant they all had something in common worth protecting.
Their privacy and their families. Even more important, their lives, if the government ever got hold of one of them and tried to prove what they were, or someone like Castle exposed them to the world likely to treat them with fear and revulsion than with open arms.
With Sean carrying Isla and Emery carrying her bag, they followed Wyatt and Marisela over to the Old Faithful Lodge, where they’d have dinner.
“Do the people working here know what the heck’s going on?” Sean muttered to him.
“Most of them, yes. The ones who don’t know exactly what’s going on, they’re used to…unusual family reunions being held here twice a year outside of season. Still, to be on the safe side, people tend to keep things on the down-low.”
Emery didn’t want to
tell Sean that the most rich and powerful vampire in America actually controlled the park. Matthias Hawthorne’s people personally handled the shifter Gatherings. But Sean didn’t need to know all that info on this trip.
“I can imagine,” Sean said.
As they were walking past the Old Faithful geyser, it went off, sending Isla into a round of delighted deep belly laughs over it.
Wyatt stopped and turned. “Y’all gonna spend some time sightseein’ while you here?”
“Maybe,” Emery said.
What he didn’t want to admit out loud in front of Sean was the dark, tense ball forming at the base of his spine, an instinctive tingling he rarely felt.
One he instinctively knew he should pay attention to.
One that had helped save his life, and Wyatt’s, in Louisiana.
One that told him there was something looming on the horizon, and it wasn’t good.
“That’s really neat,” Sean said as he watched the eruption.
“Stinky!” Isla said.
Emery reached over and touched her nose. “When we get home, ask your grandmas to teach you about geysers.”
“Okay!” She turned back to watch the geyser’s final steamy spasms before the eruption ended.
Marisela had stopped and watched with the rest of them, her arm looped around Wyatt’s. When Emery met her gaze, he saw she wore a more grim look than usual, and gave him a slight nod.
Whatever was going on, she felt it, too.
Isla clapped. “Again!”
“Sorry, sweetie,” Sean told her. “We don’t have control over that. It’ll go off again in a while.”
She stuck out her pouty lip, earning her laughs from both her dads.
“I keep warning you, your face’ll freeze like that,” Emery teased.
“Again,” she firmly commanded.
“Maybe, if it’s still light enough after dinner,” he told her.
* * * *
Sean made a concerted effort to relax and enjoy their time there regardless of the reason for their visit. Inside the dining room, they followed Wyatt and Marisela to a table and had a seat. Sean was getting Isla settled in her high chair when a man walked over. Dark hair, green eyes, he radiated confidence and control. Callie followed in his wake.
“Wyatt,” the man said as he extended his hand. “Good to see you again.”
“You, too, Blackie. You’ve already met my mate. And this is the Alpha of the Placida Pod, Emery Nadel, and his mate, Sean Morita. Guys, this is Daniel Blackstone, head of the wolves’ Clan out of Maine.” He playfully touched the end of Isla’s nose. “And Little ’Un here is their daughter, Isla.”
“Nice to meet you all,” he said, shaking hands with the men. “Call me Blackie.”
Isla peered up at him, eyes narrowed. “You don’t look like a wolf.”
He smiled. “I do when I shift.”
“Oh, okay.” That answer seemed to satisfy her. “Who are you?” she asked Callie.
Callie smiled at her. “I’m his wife.”
“Are you a wolf, too?” Isla asked.
“Who wants dinner?” Sean asked her, trying to derail Isla’s train of thought.
Fortunately, the child’s tracks ran straight through her stomach. “Me!” she happily squealed.
He scooped her up from the high chair. “I’ll get her dinner while you guys talk,” he said.
When he returned with Isla from the buffet line, Callie and Blackie had departed and Wyatt and Marisela were lining up to get their own food. He sat Isla back in her high chair and put the food in front of her. “Once more into the breach,” he said before heading back to the line for his own dinner.
When he returned, Emery was helping her eat by cutting her chicken for her.
“We’re meeting with them after dinner,” Emery told him. “Marisela said she’ll take Isla back to the room for us.”
“You don’t really need me there,” Sean muttered.
“Sure I do. You’re my mate. And I want you there.”
He let out a sigh. “That’s cheating, you know.”
“What?”
“Sweet talking and flattery. That’s cheating. You can get me to do anything with it.”
Emery’s handsome smile lit his face. “Then I’ll cheat all the time, because it’s the truth.”
* * * *
Before they went in for the meeting, Emery pulled Sean aside and used his mate-bond with him. “I need you to listen tonight, babe. Please don’t ask questions.”
“Then why the fuck am I here?”
“Because I want you here.” He glanced around. “There’s things I can’t tell you yet, okay? But I promise I will. Not here, though. Okay? Not now. Not tonight.”
“About what happened in Louisiana?”
“Partly. But there will be some things left unsaid that everyone will know what they mean. We can’t risk the possibility of someone bugging our meetings and recording them. Just go with it, please?”
Sean fought a battle with his frustration and finally let it go. Emery needed him. The least he could do was be there for him. “Okay, fine.”
Emery kissed him. “Thanks, babe.”
Sean sat next to Emery as the meeting went on. If he didn’t know who the other people were—rather, what they were—it would have felt more like a strategic planning session for a marketing group or something innocuous like that.
Except when someone turned on a laptop and flashed a presentation on a sheet that had been tacked to the wall. Displayed, a map of the world, showing places shaded in orange and red.
Daniel stood by the map. “This is the intelligence we have now. As you can see, there have been incidents around the world. This is why we have to band together. Why we’ve brought you all here tonight. The…organization we want to form will only succeed if we bring our various strengths and information to the table and work as one. This isn’t about politics or posturing. This is about our survival against a growing threat. A threat I know I don’t need to name.”
Sean sat on his hands to keep from asking about the dot in Louisiana. He looked across the table at Wyatt, who unflinchingly met his gaze. Then he slowly nodded at Sean.
What they were talking about was apparently evident to everyone else there, except Sean. No one named the group of people, but it was obvious they were some sort of shifter race and that their reputation proceeded them.
In a bad, bad way.
After an hour, the meeting adjourned. Sean felt clueless and scared and was dying to ask Emery for clarification.
Emery looked shell-shocked as they walked down the boardwalk toward their hotel. “Can we talk now?”
Emery shook his head.
“Why?”
“Because…” His voice sounded ragged, exhausted. “Because I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all.”
Sean stopped him. “Answer me this, then. Those people we just listened to. They’re on our side, right?”
Emery nodded.
“You’re sure?”
He nodded again.
“Okay. But at some point, I expect an explanation.”
“Just…not tonight. Please.”
He laced his fingers through Emery’s, feeling the strain of whatever it was on Emery’s mind weighing his entire body down.
“Okay,” Sean agreed. “Not tonight.”
Chapter Fifteen
The next morning, Sean felt more relaxed and hoped they’d be able to do a little sightseeing after Emery finished with his morning meetings. He told Sean that it was okay if he wanted to skip them and take Isla on a walk around the Old Faithful basin.
Sean thought that was a damn fine idea. After breakfast, they said good-bye for the morning and he led her out along the boardwalk with a park guidebook in hand.
Isla wasn’t the only one fascinated by the thermal features. And she got to see Old Faithful erupt again. In fact, except for missing Emery, it was a perfect morning.
Until they headed back to the lodge are
a around lunchtime.
A flurry of activity near the Old Faithful Lodge caught Sean’s attention as they were walking toward it via the boardwalk in front of Old Faithful.
“What’s going on?” Isla asked.
“I don’t know, sweetie.” But in his gut, Sean suspected whatever it was, it wasn’t good news. He grabbed her and propped her on his hip as he walked toward the lodge.
Emery came running out and Sean called to him. He immediately changed course and headed for him. “We need to get back to our room. Right now.”
“Why?”
“Don’t argue with me. We have to go.”
Wyatt came running up. “You tell him?”
“What the fu—rack is going on?” Sean asked, holding Isla just a little bit more tightly against him.
Wyatt and Emery exchanged a glance. Sean didn’t miss how Wyatt shook his head.
“We have to go, Sean,” Emery insisted. “Now. We need to pack and leave right now.”
“I don’t wanna leave,” Isla said. “I wanna see the lake.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Emery said. “But something’s come up.”
Sean wanted to strangle both men. He handed Isla off to Emery. “Take her. I’ll be right behind you.” He met and held Wyatt’s gaze.
Wyatt didn’t flinch. “I’ll make sure he get back,” he told Emery. “Go on, now.”
Emery took off.
When they were out of earshot, Sean said, “You going to tell me?”
“You really want to know?”
No, now he wasn’t sure he did. “What happened? Why do we have to leave?”
“Man got abducted. Mate of one of the Lyall wolves.”
“Why isn’t Emery helping find him?”
“Because I tol’ him to get you and Little ’Un out of the park.”
“Then why aren’t you leaving?”
“’Cause I got skills they need, like tracking. You don’t send a dolphin into the desert, or into the mountains.”
“You’re from the swamp.”
Wyatt grinned. “Bayou, but I see your point. Still, I know how to hunt and track. And I owe a few favors I need to repay by helpin’ out. I’ll be standin’ guard for them, at the very least.”