Deciding Her Faete (Beyond the Veil Book 2) (9 page)

Corrine, the only one in the room unaffected by Gabe’s display of dominance, stomped towards the boxing ring.

“Oh good grief, Gabe,” Corrine rolled her eyes. “This poor woman has been through enough, and you have made your two pack mates pay for being dumbasses and not coming to you before they rode off like white knights to get to their mate. Stop being a dominant asshole and let them up. I think there are a couple of questions that need to be asked, and I for one am not sure if we have all the answers.”

Gabe’s wolf looked at Corrine, acceding to her wishes, and then both he and Corrine left the room.

Chapter Fourteen

April closely watched  Gabe’s wolf as he trotted off after Corrine. Once they disappeared up the stairs, her wolf ascertained that her mates were finally safe and the need to protect them—even from their own Alpha, subsided. She looked at her two bloodied mates, who both sported equally goofy and perhaps somewhat lopsided grins, considering the fact that their faces were slightly
rearranged
. She then growled at
them
. What the hell did they find so amusing anyway, she wondered. If they hadn’t been wolf shifters, they’d both be rushed to a hospital by now, dealing with multiple broken bones and lacerations, and more than likely some internal bleeding.

“It’s okay, love,” Jason reassured. “It looks much worse than it is.”

“We’ll be fine in a few hours,” Donovan added with a wince.

A few hours my ass!
She was a healer after all, and no way would she let her mates hurt for a few more hours. April shifted easily this time. Her worry for Jason and Donovan were something that she and her wolf agreed upon.

“Let me heal you,” she ordered sternly.

“Isn’t she amazing?” Jason asked Donovan without taking his eyes off her.

“Absolutely perfect,” Donovan replied with the same amount of wonder in his tone. Then both men began to strip out of their clothing.

“Hey,” she snapped, “I highly doubt this is the appropriate time for sex considering your extensive injuries, not to mention the fact that we are in your asshole boss’s house and—”

Both Jason and Donovan shifted into wolves at that moment, effectively cutting off her tirade, and then moments later they shifted back into men. It hit her that they did so because shifting sped up the healing process exponentially. Both men looked much better, and by their movements, as they continued to smile at her cheekily while getting dressed again, she deduced that they felt better as well. Donovan seemed to move a little slower than Jason, however, given that he got the brunt of Gabe’s beating. She assumed it was most likely because he was the Beta after all. He was supposed to be setting the example for the rest of the pack, not ignoring the rules

Donovan pulled April up into a standing position and hugged her close before pulling off the scraps that were once her clothing. When he was done, she trailed her hands down his chest and then over to his ribcage, feeling that they were still severely bruised. She closed her eyes and let the blue sparks filter out of her palms and permeate his body.

“Thank you, my angel.” Donovan hugged her close again, fully healed this time. “But the first thing you need to realize is that Gabe is your Alpha now as well. The pack hierarchy exists for a very good reason, and so does its discipline. You’ll come to understand in time.”

She felt Jason step up behind her and immediately turned in his arms. He was pretty much healed already, but as she snuggled in close to him, she felt something off in his right leg. Again, she let her healing power out, and within seconds, Jason righted his footing. He then sweetly kissed her on the lips while Donovan kissed her neck.

Donovan gave her one more quick squeeze before saying, “As much as I love having you naked between us, you’re right that this is neither the time nor the place. I’m going to go rustle up something for you to wear.”

“Good idea, brother. I’d rather avoid having the urge to rip pack members apart for staring at our girl.”

April’s mood couldn’t help but be lifted at their teasing. She laughed and playfully smacked Jason’s arm, then turned to do the same to Donovan. He was quick enough to sidestep her, however. And just as he was about to ascend the stairs, she saw clothing fly down, hitting him square in the face.

“From Corrine,” came Gabe’s booming voice from atop the stairs.

April donned the light green female tracksuit as quickly as she could, considering both Donovan and Jason
helped
. Their help included zipping and unzipping her hoodie several times to play with her breasts. When she swatted them away for the last time, a familiar scent hit her nostrils.

“What is it, love?”

“Nothing.” April pushed passed Donovan and Jason and headed up the stairs, both her mates in tow. She turned to look at them when she reached the top of the stairs. “Does this smell like anyone you know?” she indicated at the material of the hoodie.

Jason and Donovan both sniffed the material. “Smells like Corrine,” Donovan replied. Jason nodded in agreement.

“Hmmm.” April turned and proceeded into the den where she heard Gabe and Corrine whispering heatedly.

“A strong healer, indeed,” Corrine remarked when they entered the den, looking from Donovan to Jason, neither of whom had a scratch on them. “Am I to also assume that you no longer have the wounds that that pig, Kheelan, inflicted, Jason?”

“Yes, ma’am. Your assumption would be correct.” Turning to Gabe, he added, “Are we cool now, Alpha?”

“As long as there is no further insubordination, we’re fine, though I must admit that I very much enjoyed the sparring session.”

April let loose another growl and felt her wolf coming close to the surface, but both Jason and Donovan placed their hand on each of her arms and spoke soothingly in her ear. Meanwhile, their arrogant son of a bitch Alpha simply stood there smirking at the three of them. April felt very grateful for the contact at that moment and not just because they were her mates, but because they helped calm her wolf down. She still had very little control over her newfound wolf and feared her taking over any time someone dared pissed her off.

Would serve them right
, her wolf chimed in.

Pipe down!

Everyone in the room turned to look at her, and suddenly they all erupted in laughter. Apparently she had chastised her inner wolf out loud. She stomped over to sit on the couch, grumbling underneath her breath until the laughter in the room subsided.

“Your punishment was just, Gabe,” Donovan stated, joining her on the couch. Jason sat on the other side of her. “But with all due respect, I can’t say that I would have done anything differently, even though I know perhaps I should have.”

“That’s what makes you a great second, Donovan. Your actions are always well thought out and done for a good reason.” April both saw and heard the respect emanating from Gabe for her mate. Perhaps he wasn’t as big of an asshole as she thought. “Your mates,” he directed at April, “are two of the finest men I know. I know that if they circumvented the rules, right or wrong, they had a damn good reason to do so, especially given the fact that they don’t do it often. I would trust them with my life and am proud to have them in my pack.” He walked over to sit on the couch across from her, Corrine following and taking a seat beside Gabe. “I recognize not only great strength in you, April, but fierce loyalty and goodness as well. The fates have chosen well for Donovan and Jason, and as Alpha, I am honored to welcome you into our pack.”

April felt her eyes welling with tears from Gabe’s speech. “Thank you.” She knew that her adoptive wolf family back in Washington had loved and accepted her, and by extension, so did their small pack, but she never felt like they were home to her. For the first time in her life, with her mates beside her, she felt like this was where she truly belonged. “I … um … sorry that I growled at you and you know … wanted to … well never mind that part.” No need to inform the very powerful Alpha that she wanted to tear him from limb to limb for hurting her mates.

Gabe threw his head back and laughed. “Don’t be sorry, April. It’s quite natural. Besides, I’m sure it won’t be the last time,” he added with a wink.

Just then, she heard the front door open, and they all stood when three new arrivals walked in—two wolves and one…

“April,” her former dungeon-mate, whose name she learned from her mates was Erica, shrieked right before she launched herself at April. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” she said when she was done squeezing her. “We were all so worried.”

Erica pulled her over to introduce her to Ben and Leo, her mates. After introductions were made, Gabe had apparently had enough with pleasantries.

“Right, let’s get down to business. We still have a sadistic fucker to kill and a few things to learn from our April here.”

All eyes were on April now, prompting her to go over the accounts of her captivity from everything she saw within the walls of that other realm to how Frederych tried to pull her powers from her. She decided to skip the conversation she had with Kheelan for now, not wanting to relive that part again just yet. She simply told them that she discovered that her father had been half wolf and that she only learned of her ability to shift a few hours ago. She also left out the part that her discovery was made after being fully mated to Donovan and Jason. They could sort that out for themselves if they wanted to or not.

Corrine remained stoic throughout, but April could tell that she was assessing every detail. Erica and her two mates seemed just as shocked as Corinne and Gabe had been when they discovered that she was also a wolf shifter.

Erica turned to Donovan and Jason. “How did you find her?”

“I had a vision,” Donovan replied, “when you touched my arm. It activated something within my tattoo that led us to April. Jason and I had to make sure it wasn’t some sort of trick used by Kheelan to lure us into a trap before anyone else got involved.”

Corrine strode over to Donovan. “Let me see it,” she demanded with urgency. Her eyes widened in shock when Donovan rolled up his sleeve and showed her the intricate design.

April had admired it earlier, but could not make out the symbols. Donovan explained to Corrine about his dream and how he came to have the tattoo on his arm.

“My sister used to draw this design all the time. It started when we were kids. Ilyra told me that it would be important someday and that it would save her—”

April gasped. “Ilyra was my mother.”

“Impossible. I was told that her child was dead.”

Gabe went over to put his arms around Corrine. April watched as several different emotions flitted across the woman’s face—shock, sadness, and perhaps even guilt. 

April had no choice then but to recount all that Kheelan had told her and hoped that Corrine could shed some light on the dark tale that Kheelan had woven.

“It makes sense now,” Corrine said. “That bastard Thornich had been one of Alefric’s supporters. I shouldn’t have believed him when he told me you were gone. But your father and mother had both been murdered, and there was no trace of you. I had no choice but to believe him.” Corrine got out of Gabe’s embrace and slowly approached April. She cupped her face in both of her hands. “I would never have stopped searching for you if I had known you lived.”

April nodded, tears pooling in her eyes. No wonder the clothes she wore carried a familiar scent. Corrine was her aunt. It also brought back a memory of her mother’s similar fragrance. And she couldn’t blame Corrine for not searching for someone she thought had also been murdered. The only ones to blame were Kheelan and his supporters. “Is everything Kheelan told me true then?”

Corrine dropped her hands and went over to sit back on the couch, prompting April to sit beside her. “I knew your father was seeing someone before he met Ilyra, but I didn’t know he had a serious relationship with Kheelan. Ilyra never told me, and she had no reason to share her husband’s history with past lovers with me or anybody else. It was between them. I know Kheelan, though, better than I would like. The way in which you described your parents’ murder and his unwavering attempts at locating you, sounds like vengeance of a lover scorned.” She took April’s hand in hers. “Your mother and father loved each other very much, sweetling.  And they loved you even more. I was devastated when I lost them, but I can’t tell you how happy I am that you were not lost, after all.”

“Do you know why I couldn’t shift until today?” April asked. She had so many questions, so much to learn about both the races that she was made up of, but she’d start with the most important ones for now. “Or why no one, including me, could tell I was Fae or wolf? I lived with a wolf family and their pack for years. I’ve even treated countless wolves when they were injured. Not once did anyone recognize me as either Fae or shifter.”

Corrine patted April’s hand and smiled. “Your mother must have administered a powerful potion, knowing her. She was even more skilled than I am at making them. I think she purposely made it so that it would start to wear off when you met your mates, and as for your inner wolf, well, Donovan and Jason are wolves. Let’s just say mates have a way of … bringing dormant genes out,” she trailed off suggestively.

“Oh,” was all she could say. April felt her cheeks reddening and suddenly found the rug very interesting.

“I guess her wolf wanted to come out and play, too.” Erica giggled as she came to sit on the couch on April’s other side. “Don’t be embarrassed. We’re all friends here.” She gave April’s shoulders a quick squeeze before adding with a wink, “Besides, if I was part shifter, you can bet your freckles my wolf would have burst out of me a long time ago.”

April threw her head back and laughed. She was right for thinking that she and this woman would become friends back when they were held captive in the dungeons. Once again Erica had managed to put April at ease. What did she care anyway if they or anyone else knew that her men were amazing lovers, so amazing in fact that their prowess in the bedroom literally made her turn into a wild animal.