Simon: Le Beau Brothers: New Orleans Billionaire Shifters with BBW mates Series (Le Beau Series) (23 page)

Cade and Marcus were already attending the wounded humans, doing what they could.

She tore from Simon’s arms and threw herself on the ground next to Jack and Michael
. “Don’t die, oh please, don’t die,” she cried. She was so distressed after witnessing their attack she was on the verge of hyperventilating. “Can you hear me? Do you want Etienne to make you a vampire? If you do, nod once.”

Both men gave a weak nod.

“Etienne! Hurry! What are you waiting for? Damn it move!”

“Come on
, cher, give Etienne room.” Simon gripped her shoulders helping her to stand.

“Not until he saves them.” A bulldozer wasn’t going to move her right now. She would stand, but she wasn’t leaving just yet.

Etienne began giving instructions to Cade and Marcus, time was of the essence if he was going to save both men.

“Rose,” Simon’s voice sounded like a prayer. He took Rose’s face in his hands and kissed her like his life depended on it. He had his heart and soul back in his arms. He ran his hands over her, as if convincing himself she was in one piece.

She clung to him, washed in relief at his presence and yet refusing to take her eyes from the gruesome scene before her.

His chest rumbled as he kissed her forehead. “I’ve been searching the bayou for you.”

“I tried to find my way back, but I was knocked out when I was brought out here and had no idea which way to go.”

He took possession of her lips again, it would be a long time before he would be able to release her from his hold. The world had dropped away for them and time stopped. He had his reason for living again.

Etienne spoke softly. “I have completed the exchange, they will rest for a few days and then rise as vampires. They will need time to adjust so you won’t see them for a while.”

Rose let out a long breath. She almost collapsed in relief but Simon held her too tightly to fall.
“Thank you, Etienne, I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for them.”

“My pleasure
, mon ami, it will be a very different existence for them. I don’t want you to be upset when you see them and they are your brothers but different.”

“I
’ll take them any way I can get them,” she insisted.

“Simon, may I?” He took her from Simon’s arms and hugged her tight
ly for a moment. “I am sorry I didn’t protect them.”

“You did everything you could, please don’t blame yourself. Travis is the only one to blame.”

He gave a single small nod, released her back to Simon, and moved away from the crowd toward the waiting boats.

“
Well, now,” Stefan drawled with a wicked glint in his eyes as he gave her an appreciative look, “all I can say is I’m never going to piss you off.” He looked pointedly at the stone she still clutched.

She smiled weakly at that and tossed her rock in the air, catching it again.
“Just don’t chase me for days through the bayou and we’ll get along just fine.”

Stefan's grin widened. “I like her
, Simon, I think you should keep her.”

Isaac cleared his throat. Taking her
shoulders, he looked into her eyes. “Rose, are you hurt at all? Hungry perhaps?”

Rose was about to answer, but she saw Travis move out of the corner of her eye. Before the men could react, she smashed him in the head again.

Travis collapsed to the ground and Marcus rushed forward to secure him before he had the chance to attempt anything else.

Rose stood over him glaring.
“I really hate you, Travis, I’ve only hated one person in my life but I can honestly say I hate you too. Do yourself a favor and don't move again. If you do, I’ll use a bigger rock.”

Stefan chuckled. He liked a woman with gumption. And awesome skills with a rock. “You’re one lucky bastard
, brother,” he slapped Simon on the back then joined the others at the boats.

Simon’s face was a mixture of amusement and absolute relief. He glanced at the cabin. “It isn’t a five-star hotel, is it?”

“Definitely not the Ritz,” she agreed. She was trying to see what was happening with her brothers but Simon stepped into her line of sight.

“Mon amour, you don’t need to watch that. I have food and water in the boat. Come on, let me take care of my mate. I don’t plan to let you out of my sight for the next ten years and then
I’ll think about it.”

Cade stepped away from the group surrounding Jack and Michae
l. “They’re going to be fine. When you are feeling up to it, I’ll explain what to expect from them as vampires.”

She searched his face, and with one last glance in her brothers
’ direction she nodded.

Simon wrapped her in his arms again and she allowed him to lead her to the boat.

“I want to go home,” Rose pleaded quietly to Simon. “Please, take me home.”

“Do you mean Denver?” His expression was drawn and le
ery.

She shook her head
. “No, ‘our’ home.”

Three days later, Simon helped Rose into his boat. T
hey’d been asked to attend the verdict of Travis’s trial at his pack’s plantation.

Travis’s
long matted brown hair was straggly and fell down his back in unkempt, untidy clumps. Arms wrapped around his knees, he rocked himself on the floor, moaning softly. His eyes popped open and darted to the two-way mirror, as black as midnight and as penetrating as steel.

Rose winced visibly and turned into Simon’s chest, when the disturbed creature turned those tortured eyes in her direction.

“He can’t see you through the glass,” he whispered in reassurance. Simon swept his arm around Rose and bent his head to hers. “You have tears in your eyes.”

“I know, I feel justified with his sentence,” Rose said and blinked rapidly. “But, I can’t help but feel terrible for
his uncle. How is he going to live with taking his nephew’s life? Are there any options other than death, or can’t someone else do it?” Rose whispered.

“Nothing we’ve tried has worked, and Travis is m
y responsibility,” Jason answered solemnly as he joined them.

A
maniaca
l
cackle sounded through the two-way mirror. “They’ll never stop. All of your women will die terrible bloody deaths. A new reign approaches, ready to take the throne from the absent king.” Travis stopped speaking as abruptly as he began.

Isaac st
udied the madness in Travis’s eyes before meeting the elder’s gaze with heartbreaking resolve. Grasping the man’s forearms in a long forgotten sign of respect from one warrior to another, he took a moment before he spoke. “My son tasked you with this responsibility, his crime is unforgivable and law demands the end of his existence. Ordering one family member to end another brings me nothing but pain. I’m sorry, I have no choice but to require you to carry out this heinous sentence.” He indicated for Jason to enter Travis’s room.

Jason, took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the small cell.

Isaac sighed. “Clear the room, and give them a moment of privacy. The least we could do is allow them a final goodbye.”

Jason held Travis in his arms. After a minute he pulled Travis to his feet and
along with the assigned witnesses led him from the building and into the nearby forest.

The Le Beaus and all of the elders from the local packs gathered on the lawn. The birds and wildlife went silent seconds before a mournful howl rang out.
The witnesses emerged from the forest and gave a single nod to Isaac.

Before leaving, the elders approached Isaac
. “We’d like to have an official meeting with you to discuss the issues that have been occurring within the packs. Are you willing to meet with us, my lord?” the spokesman of the group asked.

Isaac looked over the expectant faces eagerly awaiting his response. “Yes, I think it’s time.
I’ll have Emma contact each of you with a date and time.”

Chapter 15

The Claiming

Travis hadn’t given them the names of the men behind Rose’s kidnapping. All Simon knew was someone wanted to take the seat of power and reign as the new king. Neither the Le Beaus nor the elders from the packs wanted that to happen.

If the other shifters, whoever they were, wanted to challenge the Le Beaus, bring it. At least now they were forewarned. And as his assault team proved, fore-armed. If they wanted to take them on, then Simon wished them luck. They were going to need it and a whole lot of reinforcements.

He surprisingly was looking forward to the challenge
. He hadn’t felt this normal since before his enlistment.
I’m back!

Simon held
open the front door to their house for Rose, he wouldn’t be happy until he had her safely in their home. The threat from Travis was gone but there were others at play in this deadly game.

“Someone is out to get you and Anna. There’s a war brewing over
who’ll lead the shifter community. We need to find out who before the situation gets worse. If they’re willing to kidnap you and drive you into the belly of the bayou, they’re capable of anything.”

“Are you sure? Is Anna in danger
, too?  Oh my god, is Cade protecting her?”

“She is well guarded, you can be assured of that so don’t worry.”

“You do know I can take care of myself, right? I may be a soft city girl but I survived days out there on my own. Not that I don’t appreciate the rescue, mind you.” She ran her finger down his chest.

“Baby, after seeing you in action with nothing but a rock, I have nothing but respect for your ability to take care of things. But, I hope
you’ll humor me and pretend that you let me keep you safe.” He grinned boyishly. “My ego and my wolf have taken enough of a beating over this already.”

“I think I can play the damsel in distress once in a while.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

With his heart in his eyes, he leaned down and kissed her soft lips. “Thank you.” The touch of her lips re-ignited the heat that was always so close to the surface. “You’re always surprising me. I like it.”

Collecting every o
unce of courage she had, she slipped her hand into his and gently tugged him toward the loveseat in the living room. Simon wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled as close as she could get. He stroked her hair and rubbed his chin across the top of her head. A few minutes passed before Rose spoke.

“I said I wanted to complete the ritual. Now that my stalker is no longer a threat we need to talk.”
She pulled away to face him.

“You sound very serious, do I need to be concerned?” His lips drew into a frown.

“I had a lot of time to think over the past few days. I want to provide a full disclosure of who I am. You need to know a few things about me.” She took a deep breath. “When I was young, foster kids weren’t always treated very well. All of the homes I was in were wonderful, except one. That’s where I met Jack and Michael.”

“Rose…”

Raising her hand, “Please, let me finish. We had to steal food and clothing to survive and I got caught. Our foster father had a taste for young girls.” She looked to the floor afraid to see his reaction.

A ferocious snarl caused her eyes to jump to his. “Give me his name,”
he demanded.

Her mind recalled that life-shattering day
, taking her back in time.

She was too terrified to cry.

At the slam of the front door, she pressed herself further into the back of the closet. Her twelve-year-old body shrank behind a beat up cardboard box, its sides and flaps worn and breaking apart. Her heart hammered as she held herself to stop the trembling. Quiet. She must be quiet. He couldn’t be allowed to hear her.

Tightly she closed her eyes and let her mind drift to another place, the safe place she visited when things got too bad. Her body lay on the soft cool grass in her dreams. She was protected, safe.

For a fleeting moment, the terror went away.

Please, don’t let him find me.

Her prayer went unanswered. Heavy footsteps crossed the scuffed and gouged wooden floor toward her hiding place. With a grunt he jerked open the closet and yanked her out. He drew back his fist…this was going to be bad.

Shaking her head
, Rose dispelled the nightmare. “He died years ago. He’s no longer a threat to anyone. He managed to get me alone once, please don’t ask me to go into detail…yes, he did what you’re thinking and I survived. After that Jack and Michael made sure at least one of them was with me at all times. They even took turns sleeping on the floor next to my bed. He never got near me again and shortly thereafter we were all moved to another home.”

He was clenching his fist so tightly his knuckles were white.

She gave him time to absorb all she had said. “Now you know the truth,” she said. “I’ve stolen things. I’ve been arrested for shoplifting. A foster parent abused me. And I have no solid basis for having a healthy family or raising children. Are you sure you want to claim someone so broken as your mate?”