Hunters of the Gods_Protecting Their Heir Read online

  Chapter Three

  “How are you feeling?” Lodge asked Toby as Toby entered the room.

  “Better. Much better out of that cage,” Toby said. To Lodge, his brother still appeared a little off. There was definitely a difference in him.

  “What do we have going on today? I heard the fathers talking about some sort of investigation,” he asked, joining him and Corporal at the dining table.

  “We are heading out to do a little investigating into some safe houses Preston and his brothers heard about. You are to take it easy.”

  “Seriously, Lodge. I’m fine and I’m free. I need to get out and just revisit the town, and get out of this state of being bound by restraints.”

  “That’s a normal emotion to have, Toby, but you shouldn’t go out alone,” Corporal told him. Lodge’s cell phone rang, and he answered the call.

  “Yes, sir,” he said, hearing one of their commander’s voices.

  “There’s been some intel on a place thirty minutes outside of the pack territory between yours and the Saint pack. We’re organizing a small team. Word is that some women and children were spotted there going inside and not coming out,” he told Lodge.

  “We’re in. When and where are we meeting you?”

  “Twenty minutes, and down by the quarry road. We’ll take the back way in.”

  “Got it.”

  Lodge ended the call and stood up. “They got a lead on one of the safehouses or a place they believe some rogues are as well as women and children that were spotted.”

  “Then let’s go,” Toby said and took a large bite of the bagel he was starting to eat.

  “You should stay here,” Corporal suggested.

  “Screw that. We’re a team, and our packs are being hunted. We need to move on this, and I’m fine,” Toby said. Lodge looked at Corporal who shrugged his shoulders.

  “All right then. Let’s go.”

  * * * *

  “Your mom says you know a lot about your dad,” Puello said to Brock. Alyssa stood by the swing set along with them.

  “Yes, I do know a lot about him. I never saw him though, but Mamma has a picture and I look whenever I want.” Puello turned to look up at Alyssa, and she knew he could see the tears in her eyes.

  “That’s great that she has that for you to look at. I know your dad well,” he said to him.

  “Of course you do. You’re related to him,” Brook said and then hopped onto the swing. He looked at Alyssa, and she just held his gaze and waited.

  “How do you know that?”

  Brock looked at Alyssa, and she nodded. “It’s okay. It’s safe to tell him,” Alyssa said.

  “I can smell your scent. It’s familiar, and your eyes, they look like Daddy’s, and of course you are my mamma’s mate, too, so it makes sense.”

  “Do you know what that means that I’m your mamma’s mate like your daddy?”

  “It means she’ll be protected and loved, and she won’t be sad anymore,” He said to Puello and then started to swing on the swing set. That was when the sound of another vehicle approaching pulled up the dirt road. Preston greeted them long with Heracio, Saunder, Cab, and Alexandra who remained by the house. She felt it would be a good thing for Alyssa and Brock to meet Galvan’s other two brothers, Ross and Stark, alone.

  Her heart was racing. “It will be okay,” Puello said to her, and he walked forward and motioned for her to walk with him. The second the two very large men got out of the SUV, she stopped short. They were just as big and intimidating as Puello. One had very dark hair, dark eyes, a distinguished nose, and was tan, well-built, and serious as he squinted and shook his cousins’ hands hello. They introduced them to Alexandra, but then that one’s eyes went to her as the other one said hello next. He had wavy light brownish-blond hair and wasn’t as tan as the first man. Then the other one looked at her. Their chins tilted up, and she stepped back, right into Puello who placed one hand on her shoulder, the other on her hip. She had removed the hooded sweatshirt a while ago and now stood in a light blue V-neck T-shirt and her blue jeans. The three men towered over her, and she fought the feelings of recognition the closer they came.

  “Seriously?” the dark-haired one asked, eyeing her over and making her body react.

  “Where did you find her? Who is she?” the other asked.

  “Alyssa, I would like you to meet Galvan’s other brothers, Ross and Stark,” Puello said, introducing them to her. Ross, the dark-haired one, stepped very close and inhaled. His chest heaved up and down, and his arms were at his sides, his eyes slightly changing.

  “Apparently the reason why Galvan had disappeared so much before we left more than four years ago was because he was seeing Alyssa.”

  “A mate to all of us? Why would he keep her a secret?” Ross asked, sounding angry, and those eyes of his were dark, intimidating, and yet she couldn’t turn away. She gulped.

  “If you recall the danger around our pack at the time, and Mom’s abduction, you remember him worrying when we were being watched. He went to Alyssa to tell her to keep in hiding and to stay with her grandmother until his return. That didn’t happen,” Puello said.

  Stark looked at her body and licked his lips, but then he squinted and sniffed the air and looked at Brock. She stepped away from Puello and went to her son, who just jumped off the swing set.

  “Mamma, there are more?” he asked and looked at Ross and Stark. Both men inhaled.

  “Galvan’s son,” Puello said to them, and their eyes widened.

  Stark squatted down. “Hello, little man, what’s your name?” he asked. Brock looked at him, sniffed, and then smiled and looked at Puello.

  “Your brothers? My daddy’s brothers?” Brock asked, and Puello nodded his head. He stepped closer and shoved his little hand out. “Brock,” he said, and Stark shook his hand and stared into his eyes.

  “Stark,” he replied and then smiled and looked up at Puello. “He has Galvan’s eyes,” he said to him, and Alyssa felt emotional. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and Ross went closer and introduced himself to Brock. Then the boy went running to his great-grandmother.

  “We’ll take him inside so you all can talk,” Alexandra said. Alyssa started to walk away, but Puello grabbed her hand. He held her gaze and stared down into her eyes. She felt so different right now. It was immediate. That connection, the feeling that this was right, and then the counter emotion of it not feeling right at all. Galvan popped into her head. She hadn’t even realized that they were walking, or that she didn’t pull from Puello’s hand. She glanced way up at him. The short light blondish-brown hair, the gruff along his chin and cheeks with a hint of red with blond, and his muscles, enhanced by the way the tight shirt accentuated his pectoral muscles. Her eyes gazed downward, to the way his waist dipped in. He was in exquisite physical contention. Wide shoulders, large chest, narrow waist, and super muscular thighs. She thought of a large wolf and then shivered a moment, remembering the attack. She rubbed her hand over her belly and paused by the bench and tree along the path to the garden.

  Puello stopped, too, but then Ross pressed up against her back, placed a hand on her hip, and used his other hand to touch her hair and bring the locks toward his nose. He inhaled, and Stark appeared before her. She couldn’t explain the emotions that came over her body, or the way she leaned back toward Ross and then to the side toward Puello, while simultaneously watching Stark and absorbing all of him.

  Like a barrier of protection and power, her body reacted. Stark had wavy light brown hair, gruff along his chin and jaw that matched, and dark blue eyes. His neck muscles protruded from the collar of his shirt, indicating he too was pure muscle. There was a look in his eyes, a desire she recognized all too well. Galvan popped into her head, but not in a bad way, in a way that had her eyes filling up with tears.

  “Don’t,” Puello whispered, squeezing her hand, pressing closer. Ross slid his palm from her waist to around her midsection. His muscular forearm was rock solid, hard, against
her waist. Her eyes locked onto Stark’s as he reached up and cupped her cheeks. He stood as tall as Puello, over six feet three, but then his hands against her cheeks so commanding and masculine sent her into a panic.

  “I won’t hurt you. In fact, that is something my brothers and I would never do, mate.” He used his thumbs to brush away her tears and then pressed closer.

  “We shouldn’t,” she whispered in such a lame way even she knew it was stupid. Then his lips were closer.

  “We should,” he said and pressed his mouth to hers. He pulled her closer, and Ross pressed up against her back, his hand still in her hair, controlling her. It aroused her. They were wild, commanding, and so much like Galvan it was crazy. With her eyes closed and her mind absorbing the three men touching her, standing close, a protective shield around her, she could imagine Galvan there, too. Her heart ached, despite her body reacting. Her pussy clenched, and then her nipples hardened. She felt the tongue and then teeth to her neck and shoulder, and she moaned into Stark’s mouth.

  “You smell and taste incredible. I could only imagine what your cream will taste like on my tongue,” Ross said, and she felt the tug to her hair. Stark released her lips, and Ross tilted her head to the side and kissed her next. She turned to face him, and that was when she felt her thigh lift and Puello press up against her back, rocking his hips against her ass and thigh. With her one thigh lifted against Ross’s waist, she felt everything and was so turned on and stimulated she forgot where they were. With that thought, she remembered they weren’t far from the house, and that things were moving too quickly.

  She pulled back, lost her balance momentarily, and turned away from them, shocked at her reaction. She couldn’t do this. Not without Galvan. Not if he was alive.

  “Don’t fight it. You cannot resist the mating musk. Not when it is instant like this,” Puello said to her. His tone was once again commanding, fierce, and bossy.

  “I can’t. It isn’t right.”

  “It’s more than right. It’s a miracle for our pack, for our family, and for us as future leaders of the pack,” Ross said to her. She turned around to look at him and stepped to the side, her arms crossed in front of her.

  “I won’t be used, nor will I allow my son to be used.” She started to move, and Ross grabbed her and pulled her between them once again.

  “Never used. Maybe you don’t know what it is to be mated to wolves,” he said fiercely, his dark eyes boring into hers before they looked at her lips and then the deep cleavage of her breasts in the V-cut top.

  “No, I don’t, because I fell in love with a man, who turned out to be a wolf.”

  He gripped her tight. His teeth clenched. “He should have marked you,” he said to her, then licked his lips. She felt the pull. By the gods, she was aroused by his words, his hold, his mouth as he peeked his tongue out to wet his lips, looking at her as if she were his next meal.

  She closed her eyes. Puello gripped her hair and pressed his mouth to her bare shoulder from behind.

  “You feel it. It’s so fucking strong,” Ross said. She realized Ross was just as commanding as Puello, but in an almost pompous way. Like he wasn’t used to being denied what he wanted. What sane woman would deny him?

  “My son comes first,” she practically hissed as Stark slid his palm along her waist and cupped her breast. He pinched her nipple, and she gasped. Ross kissed her again, Puello suckled hard against her neck with tongue and teeth, and she came. She moaned into Ross’s mouth and then felt her body weaken. He released her lips and hugged her to him. She gasped for breath, pressed her face to his chest, and half wanted to cry and leap for joy. She didn’t have to be lonely anymore. She wasn’t alone. She had mates, and then came thoughts of Galvan.

  “But I miss him so much. This can’t be right. I’ve waited five years. I would wait forever. He was my only lover ever. I can’t let this happen.”

  They caressed her and kissed her head, her cheek, and comforted her.

  “We aren’t going to take you to bed right now and claim you, Alyssa. We aren’t beasts,” Puello said to her.

  “I don’t know. She is so damn appealing my wolf won’t last long accepting her out of my sight,” Stark said and caressed her hair from her cheek.

  “She is our mate, but she needs time. Perhaps spending time with us, learning about who we are, and who are pack is will help,” Puello said to her.

  She pulled back and looked up at Ross. Then she looked at Stark and Puello. “I think we should head back to the house. Brock will worry,” she said, but Ross didn’t release her. Instead, he slid his palm from her back to her hand and walked with her and his brothers.

  “I don’t think you need to worry about what Brock knows. Guaranteed he figured out what we were up to,” Stark said to her.

  “He’s smart and assertive. He knows we are your mates, and his father’s brothers. He’ll accept us, probably before you accept us,” Ross added as they got to the house. She stopped them.

  “I think you should go,” she said to them.

  Puello exhaled and then crossed his arms in front of his large chest and gazed down at her. “I was waiting for this.”

  “Even after that kiss, and making her come?” Ross added, sliding his palm along her waist to her ass and pulling her closer to him. She pressed her palms to his chest and looked up into his eyes. She stared up into them, and holy crap, she saw Galvan in him. In the expression on his face, and despite the different eyes, they were similar.

  Stark slid his hand under her hair to her neck in a very possessive manner that somehow turned her on instead of making her fearful.

  “This is what we’ll do. We’ll make some plans to come see you tomorrow. Talk more about Galvan, and us,” Puello said to her.

  She tried pulling back, and Ross shook his head slowly.

  “We’ve been away for years. Finding out we have a mate, and that our brother gave you a son, our blood, and future heir to the pack makes leaving you so damn difficult. In fact, you may not want us right in that house with you, but we will be nearby. Know that,” Ross whispered.

  She shivered with desire, and Stark cupped her chin and jaw. “And if that itch gets too much to handle, just give us a sign to enter, and we’ll make it go away,” he said and then pressed his mouth to hers. He gave her a wink when he released her lips, and she knew these wolves were experienced and that they were sexual creatures. She had been lonely for so long. Perhaps that was why she was feeling so affected.

  He released her only for Puello to pull her close then kiss her. When he released her lips, they walked her to the house. They said good-bye to the others and told them they would be back tomorrow at eleven. She watched them go.

  “Let Brock stay here with me tonight. I think you’ll have company at the house later on,” her grandmother said, and Alyssa felt the tears fill her eyes again.

  When her grandmother hugged her and Alexandra pressed close to her, too, she sniffled. “I don’t think anything will happen tonight. I feel guilty. Like I’m cheating on Galvan or moving on. I’ve waited, and I will continue to wait.”

  “It isn’t cheating. They are your mates and his brothers. It’s pretty simple. They are all meant to be yours. You need to accept this, and then the spell will break and you will know exactly what your abilities are and what Mom and Dad passed down to you,” Alexandra said. It sounded so simple, but her heart ached, and the guilt was very raw and real. She just wasn’t sure what would happen.

  Chapter Four

  “It isn’t safe here. People are picking up on us now,” Cobe said to Luna.

  “We have to try and find someone related to him. Alexandra and I made that promise. We’ve been successful before, and now is no different,” she whispered as they looked around the gymnasium. The town was quaint, the school small but nice, and an event today was drawing in townspeople for some kind of fair. Luna had a job to do for the Alphas. Find any family members that could take in the young orphans who were part of their bloodline.


  She felt the nudge to her arm.

  “Look over there.” She did and saw several men pulling three women along with them.

  “Oh, this isn’t good,” she whispered.

  “Should I call in backup?” he asked.

  “Not yet. Let’s follow them and see where they go.”

  “May not be your brightest idea.”

  “I think it’s a great idea, Cobe. Perhaps these men could lead us to the ones responsible for the children and women abductions. Wouldn’t that just be perfect,” she said and then reached back to check her gun, and they headed out into the afternoon sunset.

  The two of them hurried outside and around the building. They were in earshot of the conversation.

  “Get the first van to the warehouse, take the second one to distribution. We’re behind,” the one wolf said. He inhaled, and she quickly pulled back so he wouldn’t catch her scent. When she looked back, he got into the van, and the other two went off first, taking different directions.

  She saw Cobe in a black beat-up car pull alongside the building. She got in and they followed. That uneasy feeling began to fill her gut. Her wolf was on edge. Something wasn’t right about this. “Did you call in the other license plates?”

  “I did, and the other guys are each separating to follow.”

  “So our backup?”

  “Don’t know. Just was told we were covered if needed.”

  “Great.”

  “You know this is a risk coming to these safe houses or whatever they are. These locations where rogues hang out.”

  “Yeah I do, but what I don’t like is how this town is right here, and those women were walked out and no one paid attention at all. Something is going on around here. It stinks.”

  “Tell me about it,” he added and then slowed down and pulled the car off the road as they watched the van head along the path and to a warehouse on the side road.

  “This has to be a holding facility. How far off is backup?”