Grey howled with laughter in the front seat. Carlos calmly told him to turn around or else. It was the most I’d heard Carlos say the whole trip. Carlos acted more like I thought an Elder should act than Grey.
Meanwhile, Emmitt rolled his eyes and gave a slightly pained grin.
“No.” He ran his thumb over the back of my hand. “I’m just worried about you.”
I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m here. I’m fine.”
I pulled his head down and gave him a long kiss to show him. When I pulled back, I noticed his teeth were starting to extend.
“Enough of that, I think,” I said.
He nodded reluctantly, flicking a glance at the driver and the quietly grinning Grey.
****
The airport hadn’t yet fully come to life. Inquiring at the desk, we found a flight leaving in an hour that had four open seats. We booked the flight and checked in so we could look for somewhere to eat within the terminal.
We found a restaurant by following our noses. Both Emmitt and Grey were practically drooling as we crowded into a booth. Grey slid in first and patted the seat next to him while looking at Carlos.
“Come here, honey,” he said with a laugh.
Carlos sighed tolerantly and sat down.
I wondered about their story. Though Grey teased about being a couple, I didn’t think they were. It seemed like he enjoyed tormenting Carlos, and Carlos put up with it.
I sat across from Grey and shook my head as he and Emmitt both reached for a menu. This was probably the longest I’d seen Emmitt go without eating.
Looking over the menu, I debated what to try. With the ache in my middle, I wasn’t sure how much I’d be able to eat. I settled for a BLT with fries. Emmitt, as usual, went big and ordered two half-pound burgers. The server thought he was kidding until Grey and Carlos asked for the same.
I waited until the server walked away then asked something I had been wondering since Emmitt had burst into Frank’s hotel room.
“So how did you find me?”
“Your blood,” Emmitt said softly. His gaze turned troubled again, and I squeezed his hand.
Grey took up the story. “It was on your room’s door. We followed the scent trail out the side door. From there, we picked up the scent of the car. They had eyes watching the route, and we ran into a bit of trouble that slowed us down.”
“How many?” If Blake had taken men to the Compound, how many had he left here?
“Enough,” Grey answered vaguely. “Not too much for Carlos here to handle.” Grey nudged the other man with a grin. Carlos didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to look at the baseball game on the television.
“Thank you,” I said to both of them. Carlos surprised me by meeting my eyes and nodding.
The server brought us our bill just in time for us to pay and walk back for boarding. I sat between Carlos and Emmitt again. In addition to feeling squished, I felt safe.
The flight was short, but the layover at the connecting airport made up for it. Needing to kill three hours, Emmitt suggested we find somewhere to eat, again. Grey agreed and Carlos gave a shrug.
“That’s fine with me, but I want to check in with Liam and Aden first.”
They waited in a quiet area with me while I made the call. My brothers were having a blast with Henry and Paul and didn’t sound like they’d been aware of any attempts.
Content they were safe, I told my brothers I would see them soon.
Four hours later, we were back in the car Carlos had driven to the airport. Emmitt and I had the backseat to ourselves. We didn’t say much. He sat next to me with an arm around my shoulders. I relaxed into him and watched the trees and fields zip by.
I was excited to be going back home. Well, to the Compound, anyway.
When we finally pulled into the long driveway, I leaned forward to watch for the break in the trees. The sight of my brothers, waiting at the door for us, made my throat tight. I’d missed them more than I’d realized. Mary, Gregory, Henry, and Paul stood just behind them, hands on their shoulders to keep them from running toward us as Carlos parked.
I rushed from the car, ignoring Emmitt’s soft laugh, and squatted down in front of the boys to hug them tightly. They clasped me in return and started to tell me about their adventures. I encouraged them to head inside as I listened. I didn’t like standing out in the open when I didn’t know Blake’s whereabouts.
Thomas and Charlene waited just inside for us. Emmitt moved to the side to speak to them. I didn’t hear everything but did catch Thomas say something about scenting my Claim, and I started to blush. Liam noticed but didn’t say anything.
I smiled at Aden as he continued to tell me about the water balloon fight they had with Paul and Henry. He was quick to add that the water fight had been before Mary told them they had to pick inside games. Poor guys.
When the boys stopped to breathe, Paul and Henry asked if Liam and Aden could have another sleepover. All four looked at me with puppy eyes. I was in no shape to disagree. Aden’s energetic hug had pulled my hair and tugged at my wound. I did miss them and knew they missed me, too, but another sleepover was a good idea. My still sore stomach needed rest, and I had a lot to discuss with Charlene and Thomas. So I nodded, and my brothers immediately started to tug Paul and Henry away.
As soon as the boys left, both Charlene and Thomas moved toward me with huge smiles on their faces.
“Welcome to the family,” Charlene said, excitement lacing her voice. I was glad she refrained from hugging me. I didn’t need a visit to the white room at the moment.
“Thank you. Can we talk?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to rest first?” Charlene asked. She knew what I’d been through.
“No, there’s a lot I need to share, and I don’t know how much time…” I didn’t want to say too much more in the open but they needed to know what Blake had said and that there was the potential he could return.
“All right,” Thomas said. “Nana Wini is already waiting.”
As we made our way to the meeting room, Emmitt ran ahead to drop off our bags. When he returned, he had a sweatshirt for me. I didn’t know how he’d known I was getting cold but appreciated that he did. He claimed a quick kiss when he handed it to me. Holding hands, we walked into the meeting room.
Nana Wini sat at the table. I eased myself onto the chair beside her and tried not to wince at the tenderness in my stomach, a pointless effort since everyone in the room watched me closely.
“What happened to you? I can smell blood,” Nana said, concerned.
“I ran into a door.” I smirked at being able to use that line. No one in the room appreciated my humor. I cleared my throat and looked at Thomas.
“Thank you for keeping Liam and Aden safe. Frank admitted Blake attempted to get them back.” I glanced at Nana Wini. “I’m guessing Frank followed us here and called Blake. I think Blake was on his way here while we were going to him. Anyway, when we got to Wisconsin,” I gently massaged my head, remembering, “I got a visit from Frank. He’s the reason I ran into a door. He took me to another hotel and started saying some weird things… like I was just one piece of a huge puzzle and that they would start with me but get all of my sisters.”
“You have sisters?” Nana Wini asked.
“No, I don’t. I think he means women like me—us.” I met Charlene’s eyes. “I’ve been having visions of other women. So far, there seems to be five of us total. I’m guessing each of us has a unique ability. One of the women seemed to have a calming effect on the crowd around her. The other two were harder to tell.” I paused, thinking. “Does Gabby have any special abilities?”
“She’s told Sam about an unusual pull she has on human men. According to Sam, they appear to be very attracted to her. Yet, our men don’t seem any more or less attracted to her because of it,” Charlene said.
If I had premonitions, Charlene could control minds, and the redhead could influence people’s emotions, I didn’t see how being exceptionally attractive qualified as a special ability.
“Hmm. My abilities changed when I met Emmitt and again when I met you. You said yours first changed when you Claimed Thomas. Maybe hers will manifest when she’s with her Mate?”
Nana Wini spoke up. “She found her Mate but isn’t acknowledging him. We’ll have to keep an eye on the situation.”
“What happened when you met me?” Charlene asked, circling back to what I’d said.
“Well, it wasn’t exactly when we met but when we first touched. Before meeting any of you, my premonitions were about the stock markets. When I met Emmitt, I started to see people. Women. But when I first touched you, I was transported to another place. It was like a white nothing filled with monitors. Each monitor had an image of one of us, women with power. Around us, there were always werewolves. Somehow, we’re in the middle of them. I wasn’t able to study the images before I was pulled out of that place.”
“When I let go,” Charlene said, nodding. “It makes sense. I seem to enhance Thomas’s ability as pack leader through our mental link. Perhaps I enhance yours when we touch.”
“Maybe,” I said. “I did notice something else important, I think. The images I’ve seen played out when touching Emmitt are the same ones in that room. I’m thinking that’s my source. And I’m still not clear why I don’t see a vision every time I’m with Emmitt.” There was a lot I wasn’t clear about, actually.
“To be safe, we need to warn Gabby about Blake and his men,” I said. “And I think we need to look for the others like us. I don’t want any of them to have to deal with Frank or Blake on their own.”
Emmitt reached over and clasped my hand. I smiled at him reassuringly, not wanting him to think I was blaming him.
“Did Frank say anything more about the puzzle? What he meant?” Nana Wini asked.
“No. Nothing clear, anyway. He said they were going to stop this cycle so a judgment would be made. He was talking about Urbat, making it sound like it was another type of werewolf.”