Finally Home (7 page)

“Bane?” Fredi said.

“I was announcing breakfast, I will see you there, I have a few things to take care of before then,” Bane said briskly and turned and walked down the path,
shit, he had no clue it was going to suck this bad
.

In the middle of the night, Bane decided he would step back and let Marshall and Fredi be mates without him. He couldn’t hurt her by being in a constant fight with Marshall, and thinking about it, the man rubbed him the wrong way. He was a fucking asshole, and Bane just didn’t think he could live like that, under constant tension. It was not his personality, so first thing this morning he went to Orfeo and his mates, told them his plan to back off, and argued with Cat for about an hour before her mate declared it Bane’s decision. Even Tripp couldn't believe his brother was being that difficult.

His Queen was pissed but nodded at him. The only thing she asked was to try to get along with Marshall, he was going to be a member of the Senate. Bane agreed and even went as far as to offer to tell them about breakfast.

It had gone well. Bane felt a twinge of wanting, but he had been able to hold his mating urge in check, and later, when he was done putting on the stupid brave face in front of his Queen and Jax, it was back to work—something he could handle.

***

“
You know this is not going to work,” Fredi whispered as she watched Bane, her mate, walk away from them. Marshall sighed and nodded.

“
I know, sorry, I guess it caught me off-guard, with everyone telling me I was your anchor—I was shocked. I didn’t mean to drive him away. I feel it, too, he is our mate, we are not whole without him. I guess I have a bit of sucking up to do,” Marshall said.

“
Can I ask? What exactly do you feel?” Fredi said and looked up at Marshall. She knew the dynamics of the Chosen was triads, some of the guys acted like brothers, and some like lovers. Neither would bother her, but she wanted to know which way the wind was blowing.

“
It is like he is my long, lost brother, meeting him just made things click, and I can see us being friends, and mates to you. But do I find him attractive—no. As weird as it sounds, knowing he is a vampire, I don’t think I would have a problem feeding him,” Marshall said.

Fredi let out the breath she was holding. She wanted both her mates right now, and getting Marshall to soften up was apparently the way to go about this. They hurt Bane and it was their responsibility to make it up to him.

“
We need a plan,” Fredi said and walked inside. “We have a half an hour,” Fredi said over her shoulder and Marshall nodded and closed the door.

***

They walked into the dining room at the main house and saw that Orfeo and Cat were locked in an embrace. Cat was sitting on Orfeo's lap and they were kissing passionately. Bane cleared his throat. They broke apart and Orfeo slowly set Cat on her feet.

Orfeo rose from his chair to address them, "Welcome, Marshall and Frederica. I trust you rested well?"

"Yes, thank you,” Fredi answered as Cat approached her. The two women eyed each other for a moment, then Cat nodded and turned. "I am so glad that you're here. Everyone should be here in a minute. Let me get you some coffee.”

Fredi felt her stomach sink,
shit they already offended the Queen
. Of course, Bane had spoken to them, he was friends and their HOS, but damn, it was an added stress she didn’t need. Besides, her cool demeanor was a constant reminder to how she fucked up royally.

"Hey, welcome. Man it's so good to see you,” Tripp said as he entered the room, shook Marshall's hand, pulled him into a hug, and nodded at Fredi respectfully.

Brin, Dante, and Jax walked in and Jax stared at them with intent before walking forward. “I had a dream.”

“Oh shit, here we go,” Cat sighed and sat down with a cup of coffee.

Jax kept eye contact with her and said with a dispassionate voice, “The females need to be found. Diavolo and Roarke know about them and they are already ahead of us. One of them they had and she escaped. Quin and the New Council Pack moved her somewhere, but she needs to be brought here for protection and to find her mates. The women need to understand if they do not take their triad, they will be the downfall of the Senate first, and then the New Council.”

Fredi nodded but didn’t say anything. Marshall stood behind her, put a hand on her shoulder, and said, “We know we made a mistake.”

Bane felt a burst of hope and then he looked at Marshall, who still looked pissed about sharing their mate. This was not going to work if they were fighting all the damn time, maybe Cat was right. They needed to have a plan.

“Sooo, I am assuming that you are accepting the mating with Bane. Because if denied, he will have to be sent away, losing a mate for a vampire will cause them to go mad. I have no problem getting him out of the way. Hey, maybe we can find a new man for you to mate with,” Cat chatted animatedly.

Jax snorted, “Yeah, there are plenty of them crawling out of the woodwork and coming here. I am sure we could find a more suitable mate for you. Bane is a little rough around the corners.”

Bane looked at his friends with a surprised expression. Cat met his eyes and glared at him, and shook her head. He finally turned and looked at Fredi, who looked pissed.

“You will not send my mate away. How dare you think I would deny him in anyway,” Fredi fumed.

“But you did, now didn’t you?” Cat said softly and looked at Marshall, who was looking uncomfortable.

“Oh hell to the no, you don’t get to talk about my mating. Marshall and Bane are going to take some time, get to know each other. Marshall said he felt the pull to Bane as if he was his missing brother or something. You don’t get to tell us what we are feeling. I know he is my mate, and I didn’t deny him, I was in shock, I made a mistake by letting him leave. It will not happen again. But I suggest you keep your nose out of our business,” Fredi stormed and Cat raised a hand when Orfeo went to step forward and protect her. Jax laughed quietly, and stood next to Cat and clapped.

“Well said, however, you hurt my friend again, and I will kick your ass,” Jax said.

Cat stood up and pushed a hand down her outfit as to straighten it. “Ditto, however, I won’t be so nice. Hurt MY brother again, and I will kill you.”

“What a good way to start out the day: threats and coffee,” Bane said and then stepped forward and kissed Cat on the cheek and then Jax. Fredi growled behind him and he turned to her surprised. “I say we start over again. This is all just a weird misunderstand.”

Marshall nodded and looked at the people around them. “Hello, I am Marshall, and this is one of my mates, Fredi, we are happy to be here.”

"Dude, you are such a dork," Tripp said as he faced Marshall.

"Shut up, dumbass, or I will call mom and tell her how bad you miss her, little brother," Marshall said back with a smirk. He knew just what to say to get Tripp to close his mouth.

Bane grinned at the accepting words, felt the tension leave him, and nodded. “Orfeo, Cat, Tripp, Jax, Brin, and Dante, these are my mates and new Senate members.”

“You are now part of the Senate, too, Bane,” Orfeo said softly and firmly.
Shit, he hadn’t thought about it
. Bane looked at his Sire in panic.

“Don’t worry, we will be easy on you. Now on to the real business,” Cat laughed again, and said, "It is nice to have another woman around here all the time. Jax and I are overwhelmed most days with all the beings moving in and the demanding men to keep up with.” She looked at Fredi and rolled her eyes.

Tripp lightly smacked her on her ass and he turned to put his arm around Cat. "Good to see you again. How is everyone back in Milliken?"

"Good. Mom sent a few things for you, I will give them to you later. Quin and Jaden asked that we conference with them around lunchtime,” Marshall said.

"That will be perfect. It will give us time to chat while they are in conference,” Cat said to Fredi.

The men all shook hands, while Jax hugged Fredi and welcomed her. "Another White Wolf I hear, this is interesting. I am so happy you are here, welcome,” Jax said and smiled at Fredi.

Orfeo cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Can we all sit down now and eat? We have a lot to discuss."

They all sat down at the table with Orfeo, Cat, and Tripp on one side and Marshall, Fredi, and Bane on the other. Jax, Brin, and Dante sat as well while the staff came in with plates filled with all sorts of delicious smelling items and set them in front of everyone. They ate in silence for a while, then Orfeo began to discuss the security with Bane and Dante while Marshall was telling Tripp news from home. Fredi focused on eating, trying to ignore the heat from the two men on either side of her.

Cat spoke up and said, "So, Frederica, what did you do in Milliken?"

"Call me Fredi. I was a chef, I owned the Melting Pot in town."

"No way! We went there before we left to move here. That was an awesome place! I have told Tripp and Orfeo how I wish we had something like that here,” Cat exclaimed.

Fredi smiled at her—she could see they were going to be fast friends. "I left it in the capable hands of my foster parents. I must admit to being sad at not being able to run it anymore. I miss it."

"Well, worry not, you will just have to cook for us here!” Cat said laughing.

"Maybe give those of us who need it some lessons,” Jax said with a grimace. "I burn water."

"I would be happy to do so anytime,” Fredi answered.

"After we let them settle in, darling,” Orfeo said as he smiled at Cat.

They all ate breakfast while they spoke about the compound and the men discussed security updates with each other. Then Orfeo, Brin, and Dante had to leave to take a conference call. Tripp and Cat decided to have a small conference together alone after a lot of giggling on Cat's part as they walked out.

Bane stood. "Shall we go back to the villa?"

The three of them walked back to the villa and sat in the living room. Fredi was a bundle of nerves sitting with the two men. She could feel the heat coming off their bodies as they sat on either side of her. She knew there was a lot to do to settle in and begin setting up the Senate, but she was more concerned about the two men with her right now. Every time she was with them, she felt jittery and she didn't know what to say.

Bane stood and began to pace the room. He didn't say anything for a few moments and then he spoke, "I have to go in to the office later this afternoon and settle a few things so that I may take some time away."

Marshall said, "Do you need any help?" He would make the effort to get to know Bane, this needed to work if they were going to be a triad.

“
I just need to set my second in charge and go over a few things. We have had a few disturbances from the pixies and the trolls are not settling in as well as we had hoped. So sure, anything you can do to help." Bane saw that Marshall was willing to try and he was more than happy to do his part in this relationship. The three needed to come to terms with each other.

Fredi couldn't believe all of the magical creatures that had settled here. There was to be a big meeting in a couple of days with representatives from each group. Orfeo wanted to hear grievances and settle disputes before something more dramatic happened.

“
Fredi, the girls said they would come over and talk in a few. We will be back later,” Bane said and looked at her expectantly. Fredi nodded and smiled.

“
I will be waiting,” she whispered and the men left quickly, before both of them took action.
Damn, this was going to be tuff.
She wanted her mates but knew they had a few things to work out first.
Men
, she would give them time. She just hoped it didn't take them to long to figure things out.

Chapter Seven

Fredi watched her men set the table as she finished with the preparation of their dinner. The men had been spending their days together while she spent hers getting to know the women. Her men talked about the security measures being set up and how the plans were coming together to find the rest of the Senate. But they never let her in on what they discussed or did to start the bond that seemed to be growing between the two men.

She'd silently watched them interact with each other for days now, close to a week. Fredi noticed the change in them. They were more relaxed around each other. She felt a small hurt that they didn't share what was so blatantly taking effect with their friendship and how they seemed to come to terms with the fact they were to be together but she didn't really care. The goal was for them to find a common ground and they seemed to have found it. Who was she to argue with that? Frankly, she just wished they would move with it, she wanted to mate. She was ready and the pull to them was strong. What the hell were her men waiting for?

Every day this week she had done her hair and made sure she dressed more and more provocative. They were still being nice, when all she wanted was to be thrown down, and taken,
shit, she was going to get all hot and bothered again. Thinking of those hands on her body, damn
.

Bane laughed and Marshall frowned at him. She realized she had missed what had been said between them. "Well, dinner is ready. Hope you are hungry." She smiled at them. What she wanted to say was,
"Hope you're hungry because I am starving for both of you."

"Awe, sweetness, another perfect meal," Marshall said, taking the platter from her hands. He brushed his fingers over hers and she felt the tingle.
Assholes are trying to kill her
.

"Yes, sweetheart, smells lovely," Bane replied and pulled the chair out for her to sit. As she sat, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
Bastard
, she thought and shifted a little in her seat, she could feel the wetness, there was no way they could not scent her arousal.

Great, just great, a shifter and a vampire, both with extraordinary senses but do you think they could tell she was burning up inside with want? Oh no, kissing her, the touches they placed on her as they walked by, or the hot goodnight kisses each gave her, but nothing more as they left her at the bedroom door every night. She was beginning to think she was going to have to take matters into her own hands if they didn't make a move soon.

The three talked through dinner and the men helped her clean up the kitchen then headed into the living room to watch a movie. They settled in, enjoying the movie and just being together. Time flew by and before she knew it, both men stood, yawned, and stretched. They had put in yet another long day. Fredi took that to mean they were tired and ready to hit the bed early so she walked out, headed toward the bedroom, the men followed.
Damn, finally, maybe tonight was to be the night.

They all stopped in front of the door to where she had been sleeping—
alone
. Marshall stepped up first, pulled her to him, kissed the breath right out of her lungs, and stepped back. She barely recovered when Bane latched on her, covered her mouth with his lips, and took what he wanted. Her mind spun.
Yes, yes, finally tonight
. Bane released her and stepped back.

"Goodnight, baby," both men said in unison as they turned and walked to their rooms.

Fredi stood and watched as they entered their rooms. The doors closed, leaving her standing in the hallway. She opened her own door and walked in shaking her head, thinking,
if it wouldn't end the Senate before they even got it off the ground, I would kill them both in their sleep. Assholes, getting me hot and bothered then they walk away.
As she prepared for bed, alone again, she wondered would everyone really blame her for the fall of the Senate and the New Council if she did kill them. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.