Skylar’s Devotion (9 page)

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Skylar couldn’t stop sneaking looks at Braelyn as he drove them to Roxie’s place to pick her up. Braelyn was his, all his. He hadn’t expected to claim her as his mate quite so soon, or without her at least knowing what he truly was, but he couldn’t complain about the end result. She loved him, had even said so out loud. And even though it had been sort of a game between them, she played along with him being a werewolf. Not that she had any inkling there was nothing hypothetical about him being one. He had high hopes she’d be able to accept him for what he was without any freaking out, especially since she’d said she would be able to handle seeing him in his wolf form. Even if she had compared him to a dog.

At the gated entrance to Beowulf and Roxie’s property, Skylar buzzed up to the house. He heard Roxie’s voice over the intercom telling him to come on up as the gate slowly swung open.

“Roxie has a nice place,” Braelyn said when they drove up the long drive.

“This was her husband, Beowulf’s, family home. His parents left it to him. He used to live here with only his younger brother, Wade. Now that Wade is married as well, he lives in Napa Valley on the vineyard his wife, Taryn, runs. So now it’s just Beowulf and Roxie, and the soon-to-be addition to their family.”

“Sounds as if you know them pretty well.”

“I do. So do the rest of my family. If we’re not here, Beowulf and Roxie are over at our place.” Skylar parked the car in the circular part of the drive, close to the front door, and turned off the engine. “A word of warning. Roxie is probably going to be a little pissed off with me. Just ignore her. She’ll settle down once all three of us have had that talk I told you about last night. I think it would be better if we held off doing that until we go to my house.”

He saw Braelyn didn’t really understand what he meant by everything he’d said from the unsure expression she wore. “This chat you want to have with Roxie, it isn’t anything bad, is it?” she asked.

“No,” he said quickly to reassure her. “Not at all. It will just be easier on me to have Roxie with us when we have this particular discussion.”

“All right.”

They both got out of the car, and Skylar linked his hand with Braelyn’s as they walked to the front door. He knocked once and opened the door. “Roxie?” he called.

“I’m in the kitchen.”

Skylar guided Braelyn through the house to the kitchen. Roxie was there drinking from a bottle of water. She smiled when she saw him, but it slipped a bit when her gaze landed on Braelyn.

“Skylar,” she said slowly, “is there a reason why you didn’t come alone?”

He steeled himself for what would come next. “Yes, a very good one.” At Roxie’s glare, he rushed ahead with the introductions. “Braelyn, this is Roxie. Roxie, this is Braelyn.”

Roxie turned her gaze onto Braelyn. “It’s nice to meet you. I’d recognize you anywhere. You’re even prettier in person.”

“Thanks,” Braelyn said. “It’s nice to meet you as well. Skylar told me you have used his family’s protection services for a while now.”

Roxie’s gaze flitted over to him briefly to give him another glare, then returned to Braelyn. “It’s true, though I was reluctant to have them around in the beginning. Now I’m used to it.” She looked at him again. “So, Skylar, did you have that chat you were supposed to have with Braelyn first, or did you take a page from your brothers’ book and went ahead and did it anyway?”

“I didn’t, and I wasn’t the only party involved. A man can only take so much before he loses his head and gives his woman what she wants.”

Roxie rolled her eyes. “How convenient. I suppose we’ll be having that chat with Braelyn later?”

“That’s what’s I planned on.” Skylar saw Braelyn looking between him and Roxie, more than likely a bit lost in the conversation going on around her. He decided it would be best to change the subject. “Well, Roxie, are you almost ready to go? We have to stop by Braelyn’s parents’ house first so she can change, then we’ll head out to Marin County.”

“I just have to grab my purse from the living room.”

“Beowulf went with the others?” Saskia had told him when she’d phone the night before that Beowulf and a few of his pack members were going to go to the meeting with Miles, but would stay out of sight unless things turned ugly and they were needed.

“Yeah. I should be okay for a few hours. I made him promise. I’m not in any condition to be going through that right now. I have enough going on.”

The “that” Roxie spoke of was the separation anxiety she’d have to go through if Beowulf didn’t show up on time. He didn’t blame her for wanting to avoid it. Now that he was mated to Braelyn, he wanted to make damn sure they didn’t have to go through it.

“Then I suggest we don’t waste any more time,” he said.

Roxie turned and put the bottle of water she held onto the counter. When she turned back to face him and Braelyn, she put a hand on her stomach and sucked in a breath.

“Are you okay, Rox?”

She waved his question away. “I’m fine. I just turned too quickly and got a cramp. I’ve been getting them lately, especially today.” She walked past him and out of the kitchen.

He and Braelyn followed her to the living room and then they went outside. Braelyn insisted Roxie sit in the front seat and she’d take the back. For her thoughtfulness, Skylar gave her a kiss, which turned into something longer than a simple meeting of lips.

The sound of his car horn blaring broke them apart. Skylar looked at Roxie who had yet to shut her door. “That wasn’t necessary.”

“Yes, it was. Either I did that or I’d sit here for god knows how long before the pair of you came up for air. I remember what it was like for Beowulf and me in the beginning. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. Actually, we still can’t.”

Skylar gave a disgusted snort. “As if I didn’t already know that. I’ve been around both of you long enough to have witnessed firsthand. Not that I really needed to see it.”

Braelyn laughed. “The two of you sound more like brother and sister than mere friends.”

Roxie chuckled. “What do you think, Skylar? Would you like to have me as your sister?”

“Not particularly. You’d have too much fun trying to make my life a living hell.”

He shut Roxie’s door and held open the back door for Braelyn. Once she was settled, he shut that door and walked around to the driver’s side. All three of them made idle chitchat as he drove to Braelyn’s parents’ house. Roxie asked about the different fashion shoots and shows Braelyn had done. Listening to them, Skylar realized his mate had been to a lot of major cities all over the world for her career. He was just glad it wasn’t something she could do for a long period of time. Once Roxie turned her, she’d stop aging at the normal mortal rate. Braelyn would have another ten years or so and then she’d have to drop out of the spotlight.

When they arrived, Skylar pulled into the driveway behind Braelyn’s BMW, which was parked beside the Buick Regal he’d seen when he’d dropped her off after their shopping trip. After shutting off the car, he came around to help Roxie out. Braelyn led the way to the front door.

“It looks as if my mom is still home since her car is here,” she said.

“You didn’t think she would be?” he asked.

“No. It’s Wednesday, and my mom usually goes grocery shopping around this time.”

“Maybe she waited for you to get home first.”

“Maybe.”

Braelyn opened the door and walked in. Skylar and Roxie followed her inside. He closed the door behind them. “Mom?” she called. When there wasn’t any response, she said a little louder. “I’m home, Mom. Where are you?” They were still met with silence. “She doesn’t seem to be here,” Braelyn said. “But with her car in the driveway, I don’t know where she would be. Our neighbors aren’t the type to invite her over for coffee.”

Skylar sniffed the air. “She’s here, Braelyn.” He met Roxie’s gaze. “And she isn’t alone.”

Roxie nodded. “One female and one male. Both mortals.”

He looked over at Braelyn to find her looking at him strangely. “It wouldn’t be my dad; he’d be at work. And how would you two know there are a woman and man here? And mortals? That’s what you called people who are not a werewolf in our little game, Skylar. How would Roxie know that?”

“A werewolf game?” Roxie asked.

“Yes,” he said. “A game where I was a hypothetical werewolf, and we were trying to decide whether or not Braelyn could handle finding out I was one.”

Roxie smiled. “Smart.”

Braelyn shook her head. “I get the feeling you two know something I don’t.”

Skylar took both women by the elbow and led them farther into the house. “Why don’t we go look for your mother, then we’ll get to your questions.”

A quick glance into the living room showed it was empty. The fresh scent of the mortal male and the recognizable one that was Braelyn’s mother were there. Following a scent trail that headed in the direction of the flight of stairs to the upper level, he urged Roxie and Braelyn on.

Just as they reached the bottom of the staircase, Skylar felt something hard crack into the back of his head. He stumbled as Braelyn screamed. Before he could recover, he was struck again. This time it was enough to send him tumbling into darkness.

Braelyn screamed again as the strange man who’d come up behind them whacked Skylar in the back of the head a second time with the metal pipe he held. Helplessly, she watched Skylar collapse on the floor. She didn’t even have time to see if he still breathed before the intruder dropped the pipe and lunged for her.

She tried to run up the stairs, but he managed to grab a fistful of her hair and painfully pulled her toward him. A loud growl, similar to the ones Skylar made, sounded, and Braelyn’s gaze shot to Roxie. Her upper lip curled back in a snarl as she growled once again. Her eyes seemed to softly glow.

Not taken aback by the strangeness of it all, the intruder pulled out a gun and aimed it at Roxie’s distended belly. “I don’t know how you’re doing that shit,” he told her, “but if you want your unborn brat to keep living, you’ll knock it off.” When she did, he said, “Move. Into the living room.”

With his grip tightening in her hair, he dragged Braelyn into the room while he kept the gun trained on Roxie. Once they reached the couch, he motioned for Roxie to sit on the floor and shoved Braelyn down next to her. “Turn around, both of you.” he barked. “And don’t try anything funny. I still have the gun on you.”

As they turned their back toward them, Braelyn saw him pull out some large tie wraps. He jerked first Roxie’s arms behind her, cinching the tie wraps tight around her wrists, then repeated the process with Braelyn.

“Turn back around and lean against the couch.”

They both did as ordered. He put another tie wrap around their ankles, effectively binding their legs together. Roxie sucked in a breath as if in pain. When Braelyn caught her gaze, she shook her head.

Finished with them, the intruder stood and looked down at Braelyn. “I’m going to get your boyfriend, whore. Don’t move if you want your friend here to remain alive long enough to give birth.”

He left the room and returned a few seconds later, dragging Skylar while he held him under his arms. The intruder had an average build and height. He grunted as he manhandled the much larger Skylar toward them and dropped him once he reached them, not caring that the back of Skylar’s head hit the floor, hard.

Using his foot, he pushed Skylar over onto his stomach and used the same tie wraps to bind his wrists and ankles. With Skylar’s face turned toward her, Braelyn searched it, looking for any sign of him waking up. There wasn’t any.

When the intruder came to stand in front of her once more, she asked shakily, “Where’s my mother?”

“She’s tucked away safe upstairs. I’ll bring her down in a few minutes.”

“Why…why are you doing this? If you want to rob the place, take whatever you want and leave.”

He squatted down, bringing him to eye level with her. “Didn’t you get my letters, Braelyn? Didn’t I warn you what happens to whores like you?”

Braelyn felt all the blood drain out of her face. This was the person who’d been sending her the hate letters. God, why hadn’t she shown Skylar the letter yesterday? Too caught up in their lovemaking, she hadn’t remembered until they were on the road to Roxie’s place. If she’d shown it to him earlier maybe they would have been more on guard when they walked into the house and her mother hadn’t answered their calls.

“I can see by your face that you
did
get my letters,” he said with an ugly smile. “I do like to leave a lasting impression.” He straightened to his full height. “I’ll get your mother, and then I have preparations to make for the little party you and I are going to have before I rid the world of another whore.” He laughed as if what he’d said were a big joke and walked out of the room.

Roxie, who was closest to Skylar, nudged him with her feet. “Skylar, wake up.” He didn’t as much as groan. But Roxie did.

The intruder returned with her mother in tow. He forced her down beside Braelyn and tore off the piece of duct tape across her mouth. “The three of you will sit here, and don’t even think of trying anything. I’ll just be in the next room and will be able to see you.”

Since there wasn’t any dining room, the living room was attached directly to the kitchen. A pair of French doors separated the two rooms. The intruder walked through them and shut them behind him. Braelyn watched him as he paced back and forth in front of the glass doors, loudly talking to himself, waving the gun he held around. Not only was he a stalker and potential killer, he also appeared to be psychotic.

“Mom, are you all right?” she asked in a low voice.

“Yes. I’m more concerned about what he’ll do to you. He kept asking if you’d gotten the letters he’d sent.”

“This is all my fault,” she said, her voice choked with emotion. “I should have gone to the police when I received the first threatening letter. I just thought it was some harmless nutcase and that getting hate mail was something I’d have to put up with.”

“The police might not have done anything,” Roxie said. “They more than likely would have taken note of it, but what else could they have done? I betting there isn’t a return address on any of those letters.”

“There wasn’t.”

“See? There would have been no way for the police to track down who sent them.” Roxie suddenly stiffened. “Oh, crap.”

“What’s the matter?”

Roxie sucked in a sharp breath. “Crap, crap, crap. My water just broke. I guess what I thought were just cramps were early labor pains.”

Braelyn looked at Roxie’s lap and saw a large patch of wetness had darkened the material of the pants she wore. “We have to tell him you’re in labor. Maybe he’ll let you go.”

“I wouldn’t,” her mother said. “There’s no telling what that man will do. He’s crazy. And I don’t think he’ll care about your friend going into labor.”

“Roxie?” she asked as the other woman breathed a little faster.

“I’m okay. Just another pain.” Once it seemed to pass, she said, “We just need Skylar to wake up and then the asshole in the other room will get something he never expected.”

Braelyn ran her gaze over Skylar. “He hit him pretty hard with that pipe. Skylar might not wake up, ever.”

Roxie chuckled. “Skylar has a hard head. Plus it takes a lot more than that to permanently incapacitate one of my kind.”

“One of your kind?”

“This was the talk Skylar wanted the three of us to have. Skylar and I aren’t like you. We’re werewolves.”

“What did you just say you were, dear?” her mom asked.

“Werewolves.”

“Um, Rox, are you sure your labor pains aren’t messing with your head?”

“They aren’t that bad, yet. I’d shift to prove it to you both, but at this stage in my pregnancy, there is a chance it could harm the baby. And now that I’m in labor, I wouldn’t be able to focus enough to tap into the magic inside me to make the shift. Crap, here comes another pain.” Roxie took deep breaths until it passed.

Braelyn quickly glanced over to the kitchen and saw their captor continued his mad pacing. “Do you know how farfetched that sounds? Werewolves can’t exist.”

“Why not? Just because the majority of the population doesn’t think they can be real doesn’t mean they aren’t. Skylar said you and he played a game where he was hypothetically a werewolf. Whatever he told you about what his werewolf would be like, I’m sure he told you the truth.” She sucked in a breath. “Another one.”

Braelyn waited until Roxie breathed normally again. “The truth? Are you saying werewolves can live to be three thousand years old, can only shift into wolf form, and they can’t be turned unless someone special who has more magic than the average werewolf uses a spell?”

Roxie smiled. “He told you the truth. And that someone special would be me. Only I can use the spell that can turn a mortal. Now that you’re mated to Skylar, you’ll have to decide whether you want me to use it on you or not.”

If she hadn’t been in the middle of a hostage situation with a crazy man preparing to do god knows what to her, Braelyn would have laughed off what Roxie had said and told her she had to be kidding. Or delusional. “Mated to Skylar?”

“Yes. I’m sure your mom isn’t going to like hearing about her daughter’s sex life, so I’m going to apologize ahead of time. The first time you slept with Skylar, you had to have felt something out of the ordinary pass between you, and not just amazing sex.”

Her mother groaned. “No, I definitely don’t need to hear this.”

“Sorry, Mom. And, yes, I felt something that first time.”

Roxie nodded. “That sensation is the mating bond being formed. A piece of your soul joined with a piece of Skylar’s. Once mated, there is no going back.” She gasped, breathing with deep breaths.

“Ah, I hate to say this,” her mom said. “But your labor pains are coming only two minutes apart. I don’t think it’s going to take hours before you deliver.”

“I’m not going to have this baby while being held hostage by a man who needs to be locked up in a nut house.” Roxie nudged Skylar with her feet again, hard enough to make his head move. “Come on, big guy. Wake up. You’re supposed to be one of my Protectors. Right now, you’re not doing your job.” Skylar groaned. “That’s it. You can do it.”

Skylar blinked open his eyes and quickly shut them again with a groan. “The room is spinning, and I feel as if I’m going to throw up if I move.”

“Just lie still,” Roxie said. “Oh god, here comes another one.”

“Another what?” Skylar asked.

Braelyn answered for Roxie as she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth. “She’s in labor.”

“Shit.” Skylar’s eyes snapped open, and he tried to move his arms. He froze when his bindings kept them in place. “What the hell is going on? All I remember is something slamming into the back of my head.”

Able to talk once again, Roxie said, “It would seem your mate has a stalker. He has sent her threatening letters and followed her here. He thinks she’s a whore and wants to kill her. You need to shift to free yourself and take care of the asshole before he hurts her, or before I end up delivering this baby, which will be kind of hard to do with my legs tied together and my pants on.”

Skylar’s gaze shifted to Braelyn. “I guess now I should be telling you about me being—”

“No need to,” Roxie interrupted. “I told both her and her mom what we are, but I don’t think either one believes me.” She started to breathe deeply again. “Another one. They’re coming closer together now.”

“Don’t you dare have this baby now,” Skylar said to Roxie as he moved his gaze to her.

“Like I have any choice,” she said with a loud growl.

Braelyn’s gaze shot to the French doors. As she feared, their captor had heard the growl. He stopped pacing and yanked the doors open. “Keep it down in here,” he barked and stalked over to her. “Unless you are anxious to start our party now. I’m almost done setting everything up.”

She quickly shook her head. “No, I can wait.” Since he’d done nothing but pace and talk to himself, she had no idea what he was “setting up” in the first place.

“Good. It’ll be better if I’m fully prepared.” He bent and lifted his pant leg to show the large hunting knife strapped to his calf. He pulled it free and showed it to her while he kept the gun aimed in her direction. “I’m going to have fun cutting up all that pretty skin of yours.”

Braelyn shivered when he squatted and ran the flat of the knife across her cheek. She bit her tongue to stop herself from whimpering in fear. The blade skimmed along her skin a second time before he stood and went back into the kitchen.

She started to shake so much her teeth chattered. They weren’t going to be able to get out of this. The deranged man in the kitchen would kill her, and there wouldn’t be anyone who could stop him.

“Braelyn,” Skylar said. “Calm down. I’m going to take care of him before he ever lays a finger on you. Do you understand?”

“How? You’re tied up like the rest of us.”

“Not for long. I’m going to shift.”

She fought the urge to laugh hysterically. “You can drop the act now, Skylar. It isn’t fun anymore. You’re not a werewolf, and neither is Roxie.”

“Do it, Skylar,” Roxie said with a groan. “Now. This baby is in a bit of a hurry.”

He met Braelyn’s gaze, then did what she thought was only stuff of Hollywood movies—he shifted. His eyes started to glow, then his body gradually began to shimmer, blurring just before a wolf with the same colored fur as Skylar’s light brown hair took his place.

Unable to truly believe what she’d just seen, Braelyn hurriedly looked over at her mother who had to be wearing the same shocked expression she wore. “He’s a wolf,” her mom said weakly.

Now free since the tie wraps had fallen away during the shift, the wolf walked over to her and put his head on her shoulder for a few seconds before he pulled away to look her directly in her face. Intelligence shone in the wolf’s eyes.

“Don’t be afraid,” Roxie said. “It’s still Skylar in there. He understands everything you say.” She then turned her attention on the wolf. “Time to finish this, Skylar.”

The wolf bobbed his lupine head up and down, then trotted closer to the French doors. He sat, threw back his head and let out a long howl. Their captor rushed out of the kitchen and stared at the wolf.

“How the hell did that thing get in here? And where is your boyfriend?” He waved his gun around as his gaze darted around the room.

Much quicker than when he had shifted into a wolf, Skylar shifted to his human form. “I’m right here, asshole.”

Moving almost faster than her eyes could follow, Skylar grabbed the gun out of their captor’s hand. The hunting knife held in his other was quickly taken away as well. Now that the man was no longer armed, Skylar put him out of commission. His fist slammed into the other man’s face, and the sound of crunching bone as his nose broke followed. He took punch after punch until he stood weaving on his feet.

Skylar pulled back his fist one last time. “Come near my mate again and I’ll show you how well I can use my teeth and claws while I’m in my wolf form.”

When he threw the punch, it landed on their captor’s chin. His head flew back with the force, and his eyes rolled back up into his head as he crumpled to the floor. Skylar sank to his knees next to him and searched his pockets until he found more tie wraps. He used them to bind the other man as he’d bound them.