BirthStone (11 page)

Matt and Dr. Passen stood. “Yes, Sir. I’ll
get started on the reports and then catch up with Passen to sketch
out a plan of action.” Matt rubbed his hands together. “Is it okay
if Davian returns and stays in my old quarters here? Something
tells me this project will take most of my time.”

Matt was mated to Davian Bennett, father of
the twins and Jasmine’s ex-husband. She had thought he was dead and
was not happy when she discovered her deceased husband was alive
and living with his mate. Former husband and wife had met and made
peace, but Silas’ wolf would never allow her to spend too much time
in close proximity to the man.

Silas nodded. “That’s good. Let me know so I
can scan him.” Silas would explain the limits of his generosity to
Davian, which would satisfy his wolf.

Matt nodded as he moved to the exit and
glanced back at Dr. Passen. “I still have the same office
area?”

“Yes.” Dr. Passen nodded and followed behind
him. “I downloaded the files and sent them to you earlier after we
talked. I look forward to our discussion after you’ve read the
data. This is exciting. I think we are on the brink of something
great for our people.”

Silas leaned against the wall thinking of
the repercussions of what he believed was happening. Asia was in
danger. If they could kill her, they would have by now. Obviously,
they couldn’t destroy her from a distance.

He exhaled. That meant they planned to send
someone for her. This was the absolute worse time for Jasmine’s
family and the minister to visit. Security would need to be on
steroids. His phone beeped. Alpha Jayden sent a message regarding
the upcoming challenge battle.

“
Will Cameron compete?"

Silas stared at the words on the screen.
Cameron wanted to fight for the Alpha position, but Silas thought
his desire to lead was for all the wrong reasons. He’d had several
conversations with his godson over the past few weeks and nothing
he said had dissuaded the young wolf. Silas knew Lilly, Cameron’s
mate and Rose’s twin, pushed Cameron behind the scenes. That in of
itself was not a bad thing. He would be the first to agree that
having a mate in your corner, pushing you to be the best you could
be, was part of the mate’s creed. But the job of Alpha was about
serving wolves beneath your care, not having the number one spot
for prestige. And that was the problem he had with Cameron’s
mate.

Lilly wanted Cameron to have the top dog
spot in the state. Silas believed, despite what Jasmine said to the
contrary, that the young bitch wanted the live in the Alpha house,
to step into the position of first family for West Virginia. Lilly
had no idea the type of work required of Cameron. Silas worried she
might bail when she realized being first bitch was not all that
glamorous; rather it was hard work, long hours, and very public.
And then she would convince Cameron to leave the post once reality
set in.

He and Jasmine were split over his decision.
She believed Cameron would do well and Lilly would make a great
First Bitch. The challenge was coming up soon and he had to approve
the combatants.

“
Jasmine?"

“
Yeah
?”

He could tell she was distracted, so he
spoke quickly.
I will allow Cameron to compete.

“
That’s good. I’ve got my hands full
right now. Renee and Adam ganged up on David. He is not a happy
person."
Once Jasmine snapped out of her depression, she'd
retook the nursery, much to the caregivers' relief. His pups were a
handful who required loving discipline; however, no one would do
that other than Jasmine or himself.

Silas’ brow rose. “
Really? Do you need
me?”
David had gone through a recent growth spurt within the
past few weeks and was now taller than the others. He dabbled in
each of his siblings’ interests. He would color with Renee, work
through puzzles with Jackie, and chase Adam around the room until
his brother collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggles. Seeing
David bloom filled Silas with wonder, amazement, and most of all,
love.

“
Always."

He waited for her to say more. When she
didn’t, he sent warmth through their link, not wanting to interrupt
her longer than he already had. Trusting his mate’s opinion, he
sent a simple message to Alpha Jayden. “
Yes, Cameron will
compete
."

Glancing at his watch, he realized he hadn’t
heard from Tyrese regarding Tyrone’s condition. “
Rese
?"

“
Sir?"

“
How’s Rone?"
Silas asked as he
stepped out into the corridor. He needed to beef up security both
for the christening and Asia. If Tyrone could be left alone, he and
Tyrese could get started making plans.

“
He and Rose are still resting. I haven’t
heard much from him in a while."

Silas had forgotten that Rose had taken off
because of the symptoms. “
Good. I need you to meet me in my
office in twenty minutes. Let Rone know where we are."
Silas
paused. “
Davian will be moving into Matt’s quarters until his
mate finishes a big project for me. Let Rone know that as
well."

“
Yes, Sir
," Tyrese said slowly.
“
I’ll tell him and meet you in twenty minutes."

Silas disconnected and headed for the
nursery. He wanted to see his pups, and give Jasmine the news in
person that Davian would be staying in the compound for a while.
His wolf wasn’t happy, neither was the other side of him. Jasmine
still hadn’t worn anything remotely frilly for him like she had for
her ex. He planned to remind her of that as well.

Chapter 9

Jasmine heard the soft sound of the door
closing. Three hours ago a call had come in the middle of their
sexual play. Silas had surprised her by answering the summons, and
then completely blew her away when he lifted her from his lap to
the side of the bed. Hurt and disappointment had warred with her
need to be wrapped in his arms as she watched him leave their
bedroom. He thrown a promise over his shoulder to return in an
hour.

Stewing with sexual frustration, she had
waited. After the first hour she'd shut down their link so he
couldn’t hear her horny thoughts and took care of her needs with
one of her toys. The vibrator took the edge off, but what she
really needed was Silas. Seeds of doubt rose within her fertile
imagination. It wasn’t that she thought he was cheating on her,
through their link she would know. Plus there was the whole 'can’t
get hard with anyone except your mate thing'. But that didn’t mean
he couldn’t lose interest.

Despite Davian’s claim to the contrary,
there were many days, before he met Matt, when other things had
taken precedence over meeting her needs. Many nights he'd slept in
the guest room, claiming he didn’t want to disturb her. The truth
of the matter was she had been so horny, she couldn’t get to sleep
without battery operated aid. She never thought she would need a
vibrator with Silas. At first his sexual appetite had been
enormous. She would take naps to recover, but lately…he seemed to
have lost interest.

For the past two hours he'd attempted to
reach her through their bond, but she was so damn frustrated with
her needs taking a back seat, she didn’t want to be bothered.

His irritation was a living, breathing thing
in their bedroom. “Jasmine.”

“What?” She didn’t bother rolling over. He
wasn’t the only one in the room unhappy.

“You shut me out. Why?”

“I was busy.” She pressed her thighs
together as her body vibrated with need.

“With what?” He sounded confused.

“None of your business,” she snapped, and
scooted to the edge of the bed.

The silence in the room stretched taut like
thread at the end of its elasticity. “Everything about you is my
business.”

She squeezed her eyes tight at his soft
reply. Damn it, he was supposed to get angry. She could remain
pissed at angry, arrogant Silas. Soft, loving Silas…she wouldn’t
stand a chance. And she needed to keep her wits so that they could
make some changes. After spending most of her day in the nursery,
she needed some adult time with him.

The bed depressed near her hips. He was too
close. “Talk to me, what is wrong? Have you stopped taking your
medication?”

She bit her lips as her lids lowered. Now
that she thought about it, she hadn’t taken her meds since
yesterday but she wasn’t depressed, she was hurt, angry. A
combination of musk and his natural scent wafted across her
nostrils, teasing her, tempting her to roll into his arms. Pressing
her lips together, she curled into a ball, refusing to speak. She
sensed him trying to connect through their link and slammed it down
tight.

“Jas…I’m sorry. I was gone longer than I
promised. There's the problem with the Lieutenant missing, and some
security equipment failure, one thing led to another, delaying my
return.”

Heat rushed to her face and neck at his
explanation. Rolling out of bed, she looked down at him. “I won’t
do this.”

“What?” He gazed at her, his face a mask of
confusion. And that hurt even more.

“I played second fiddle for twenty years to
one man. I am not doing this again.” She shook her head,
emphasizing her point. “Nothing you just said could not have waited
until tomorrow or least for a few hours. You could have turned any
and all of that over to someone else so that we could spend some
time together. Ever since the bomb scare, and then the depression,
we spend less and less time together. I know I went through some
health problems, but I’m over that now. You come in too tired to
make love. It’s been a quick screw, if that, and then you’re up and
out at dawn. We don’t talk, don’t cuddle or do any of the things I
need from you. You’re so damn busy –”

“Busy making sure you, my pups, and every
damn one else is safe,” he argued, standing slowly to face her. He
wiped his face with his palm before speaking in a low, clipped
tone. “A woman sat in my damn house for a month with a bomb inside
her body waiting…waiting to blow me up.” He slapped his chest. “I
fed that bitch, kept her warm, healthy, and for some fucked up
reason she probably could not explain, she threatened everybody I
love.”

She stiffened when he raised his voice. His
eyes took on an ethereal glow and changed to a frosty emerald
green, a sure sign of his mounting anger. “I am aware of that
–”

“Are you? Are you really? Because I wonder
about that, considering you’ve invited your family to visit at a
time like this. Right after we discovered two bombs and Rese was
kidnapped from below. What if something happens while they are
here? Huh? How do I keep them safe? How will you look at me if a
bomb goes off and they get hurt? Will you still love me? Or leave
me?”

Horrified by the scenarios he painted, and
that he would think she was that shallow, she blew out a breath.
Pointing her finger at him, she spoke through a tight throat.
“That’s not fair. I have never placed any kind of conditions on
loving you. Why are you dragging my family into this? What do they
have to do with you not spending quality time with me? What do I
have to do to get a few hours with my damn mate?” she screamed,
brushing the tears from her face.

He stepped toward her.

She held out her hand as she backed up. “No,
Silas. No. I refuse to do this again. It’s gotten worse not better.
If dealing with security because of the christening is freaking you
out, you should’ve talked to me. If this is too big of a deal, you
should talk to me. Not back off and disappear for hours at a time.
I am not doing that with you. Not happening.” She had backed up to
the door with no clear plan where she would go. She simply needed
time to think.

“You say you never placed any conditions on
loving me, but when you’re angry, you withdraw. You shut down, cut
me off and you know what that does to me. I have told you it’s like
losing a lung, it’s harder to breathe, and yet you do it every time
you are angry.”

It was the combined hurt and sorrow in his
voice that stopped her. She had never heard him sound so mystified
before. As if he had shared something with someone and they had
turned that knowledge around and used it against him. Surely he
wasn’t implying she deliberately tried to hurt him, when she merely
trying to protect herself.

“Stop that. I do not. You are trying to flip
this around.”

He held up his hands and then stuffed them
into his pocket. “No. Honestly, it’s not my intention to place the
blame on you. You are right, I could have returned sooner. I could
have assigned those tasks to someone else. On those issues you are
right.” He met her gaze. “But you are wrong to say you are second
in anything in my life. If I am working long hours, it is to make
sure you and my pups are safe. I want all of us to have thousands
of tomorrows. How could I pass on the responsibility to someone
else to take a look at security equipment when Tyrese was taken
from beneath my nose a few weeks ago?” He removed his hands and
took a step toward her. “You think I don’t hear the bombs going off
in my sleep?” he whispered raggedly. “I brought the enemy into my
compound and both of them were locked and loaded. Could’ve killed
my pups, my people, my mate. How can I allow anyone else to check
security? I can’t. That’s not the wolf… man I am.”