Sanibel Sizzle - Vampire Werewolf Menage (12 page)

Jayce gripped her elbow, pulling
her behin
d him and blocking Gage’s view.
“Words are sufficient, hellcat.”

“Can’t he call me Tatum? 
He did before. 
You know I hate these formalities, and he’s helped us so much.  We’re friends.”

“Yeah,” Jayce
returned
, s
taring throu
gh Gage one werewolf to another.
Jayce recalled Gage’s love confession regarding Tatum.  And it didn’t comfort the Alpha to know
Gage had witnessed
every sexual moment of her life for the past two
years; courtesy
of her dearly departed ex-husband and his
fucked-up
website.
“He’s helped us alright.”

“Rock, wa
lk Tatum back in,” Bren spoke quietly, kissing her
head and steering her toward her guard.  “I need a few minutes to work out plans.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen, no need to
escort
me there.”  She
rolled her eyes and gave Bren a smooch before stepping
from the lanai. 

“I know you don’t want to hear this,” Gage started.

Jayce interrupted, “No, I don’t.”

“We have our ace
.”

“We need
more information,” Bren argued
.

“
Currently,
I
have
two of their s
pies,” Gage continued.  “They’ve been
locked away
in Miami
since a few days after Rebecca’s abduction
.
”
Time wasn’t on their side, so he rushed his explanation
. “
One night a
fter getting shit-faced
off some homemade, fermented agave brew
, the bastards
attended a strip dive and
bragged to all listen
ing. 
Stupid
wolves nearly exposed
our race
to
humans
.
There were a couple of pack members there, and they hauled them in.
”

“Go on,” Bren sounded hopeful.

“Steve
didn’t know the full story. 
Rebecca was taken to Scotland. 
I invaded our prisoners’ memories, saw what I could.  Most other
pertinent
information I
persuaded
from them and moved fast.”

“Explain,” Jayce beat Bren to it.

“I just met with Blade.”
Gage continued
quickly.
“With careful consideration
and planning
,
I sent him to
Scotland under a guise.  Not only has he found Rebecca
alive
, but he’s an acting pack member who’s fed and clothed her.
She’s in Weremiasma
Castle
and
is safe for now.  All this time, Rebecca has pretended to be Renee.  And so far, Ciaran is none the wiser
.
  Certainly she continues to fool
him,
so he won’t come back for a round two hunt and snatch the real Renee.” Gage rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  “O
bviously, Ciaran’s arms reach wide in our country
and Rebecca knows this.
  I swear he could pluck death from the Gri
m Reaper himself.
Your sister is
incredibly smart if she’
s duped him for this long
.
” Gage winced. “
Of course, he’s been tearing through Sc
otland, battle after battle.  Ciaran
has been preoccupied.
”

“She’s
confirmed
alive,” Jayce spoke, splaying his h
eavy palm
over Bren’s heart.  “Maybe
Ciaran is
postponing the execution and
using her for protection, hoping to gain my alliance by force
of hand
.
”
  Jayce pushed a speechless Bren
down
on a nearby chair.

“Not from what Blade could make out
,” Rock clarified.
 
“
Until this day, Ciaran remained
true
to his word.  He planned to execute her at Weremiasma,
but the pack
dissented
wanting rights to mate.”

“Holy shit,”
Bren
exhaled
,
“I’m gonna
puke
.”

“Calm yourself, Bren.” Gripping Bren by the shoulder, Jayce turned his anger on Gage.  “We all know your hierarchy here, Gage. You have the best laid plans and haven’t truly failed me
once
.   But this is way too much.
”
His Alpha beast flashed, wanting a moment or two with Gage.
“Why keep this information from us? This is
major
shit
and Rebecca is Bren’s
very blood.   We would
have held
better
hope weeks ago.”

“From the fir
st, how was I to know those
assholes weren’t planted to throw us off Rebecca’s scent?  I only heard from Blade today.  I feared him dead and had
were
wolves searching for him
night and day
.”  Gage
propped
himself against a column.
“As far as hope, call me a pessimist.
” He shrugged. “
I don’t care.  But I’m not cruel enough to offer someone hope until I have proof
that
there’s a reason.”

“Then
it
isn’t
hope,”
Bren whispered
.

“My hope may be lost and my trust shattered, but maybe that’s why I’m still alive,” Gage threw back.

“Yeah,
Gage,
you’re nearly
as
old as God.”
Jayce didn’t smile.  “All news
will
pass from your lips to my ears
.
 
N
o more of this withholding intel bullshit
, we clear?”

“Crystal, sire.” Gage answered respectfully.

“And you,” Jayce accused Rock,
pointing an angry finger,
“
how long have you known?  Better yet, when did security find out?
   And don’t play stupid
because
we all know that
you head that sweet little department
.”

Gag
e cut Rock off and admitted,
“I outrank
Rock,
and I ordered him to keep it on the quiet talk.
” 

“Y
ou both better make sure of it this never happens again.
I run our pack.  I. Am. Alpha
.”
Jayce
growled, low and deadly.  “If either of you want to challenge that
then step into the marsh.”

“It won’t happen again,” Gage assuaged respectfully.

“No, it won’t.” Jayce frowned while running his palm over Bren’s racing heart.
“She’s coming home.  You have my word.”

“Dear Lord,” Bren whispered, meeting Jayce’s eyes
. 
“
The rumors are true. 
Ciaran
formed
a rebellion to take
back his throne, and
put
my
baby
sister is
in the middle of it
– in the middle of his
suicidal
war
.”

“The Alpha’s word isn’t al
l you have, Bren.”
  Rock
fixed eyes on Bren, willing peace.
“Blade’
s her mate
.”

A deafening growl left Bren’s lips. 
“That pup
isn’t good enough for my sister.
  I’ll kill him along with Steve.  I’ll rope the
m both by their ankles, and slice
their skin until blood pools the sand.  Whatever crawls out that night will have dinner served courtesy of me.”  Bren stood and kicked a potted palm.  Da
mned thing must have weighed three
hundred pounds; Jayce thought, and it skipped across the grass like a pebble. 

Rock
’s eyebrows popped before continuing
.
“My point is that he’ll
surely
die to save her.
And that may happen considering he’s spying inside a regressive pack.”

“
By the chance he fails, we have our out,” Gage lowered his voice
.  “We all know what
can be offered.”

Deep silence thickened the air.

“When
can Bane get here?
”  Rock’s voice was sharp, cutting through the stagnant air
.

“Dru
was on his way home, should be on Captiva by now
,” Gage answered. “
Bane
is misting
as soon as Renee is secure
with him
.
”
 

“Good
for them,” said Jayce. “I expect perfection from Bane, but Dru has impressed me.  The
vampire
protects Renee
as I would
.”

“Like a species vampire wouldn’t protect his bride,” B
ren joined in, rolling his eyes. “He refuses to let our sister
-
n
-
law
finish this college sem
ester, retain a job, or even stroll
the market for
her disgusting
tofu.  Renee’s a perpetual color of pissed off.”

“We all know t
hat’s temporary
due to this
horrendous
situation.  They’re protecting her
precious
life,
” Jayce said
, “And Bren?”

“Yeah?”

“Pot meet kettle,” Jayce laughed
, lightening the mood a touch.

“Whatever.
What’s
the plan?”  Bren stretched
tan arms over his head, huge and powerful.
  Jayce knew Bren was trying to calm himself.   And right now, short of finding Rebecca, Tatum was the best antidote to Bren’s suffering.
Just the thought of his
beautiful
mate made him stiff.

Rock began, “Blade found two weaknesses in Ciaran’s wards.  That’s how he slipped out.  Even if they remain, Rebecca
can’t mist.  He’s put some force
on her that Blade can’t undo.”

“So they’ll
have to r
un instead of mist,” Gage filled in, “dangerous
but true.  Blade understands that
one significant b
attle
is coming.  He’s not sure of when, but it’ll be soon.  And when that goes down
, he’s slipping her through.  We’ll be ready on the other
side,
but it’ll be tricky.  Wards shift constantly
.”

“I’ll be on the other side,” B
ren said.
“I can track my sister.”

“On the flip side
,
if we made the offer
,” Gage argued another alternativ
e, “this all might be avoided.
Alpha, will you approve this?”

“No,” Bren
barked,
“there’s got to be another way.  I’m against it, Jayce.”

“Your sister,” Jayce
reasoned
.  “We have to get her back
.  She’s trapped inside a dangerous uprising.  And our secret may set her free without risking her.”

“I told you before,” Bren said, circling
Jayce, “I
will not lose Tatum
.  Since I have Rebecca’s
precise
location now, m
y
werewol
f will hunt
his sibling
on its own without risking his mate, my very reason for living
.”

“Listen to yourself, Bren.
Granted, you’re powerful, but we’re talking
about
armies here. 
Armies.
 
You can’t go against them alone.
Pack members
don’t go it alone.  That’s why
we’re called packs.  So we’re going to work together as
packs
do.” He took a calming breath. “
We’ll deal with the
up
coming
situation and
Tatum.  We knew it would happen
eventually.  Unfortunately for you and me, it’s happening now.”