Undying Hope (31 page)

Haven shook her head. He was Quinn, and he would find a way if it was a threat to her. The thought humbled her and frightened her. He was so gentle and tender with her when the
treòir
was in check, but she knew at his core was a violence so strong, there would always be parts of him that were broken. She suffered for him, it and made her more determined than ever to protect him, as much as he protected her. This was love, and she’d always wanted it, but never once had she’d ever thought she’d find it. Yet here she was, willing to give everything to the most powerful man she’d ever known or could ever know. He needed her, and for Haven, that made them equals. She’d never be as physically or magically as strong as he was. She’d never be able to provide for a family the way he could, but it was in the softening lines of his face, the way the world lifted off his shoulders just a little when he looked at her that told her everything she needed to know.

She did bring a lot to this relationship. She brought him laughter, love, and life. She gave herself to him willingly, and her return gift was his love and undying devotion. It was something she’d never expected, but knew she’d never be able to live without again.

She wrapped her arm around his waist and rested her head against his bicep as they walked to the elevator, Nikon ghosting her footsteps. “All right, we’ll go spend your money and see what other trouble we can get ourselves into.”

He growled quietly at her. “That’s not funny.”

She bit her lip. “But it’s true. Every time we leave the house, something happens that scares the hell out of me.”

His face twitched and went dark. “Then I will just have to fix that.”

She winced because he’d do just that. Nothing in her world was supposed to make her upset, and she knew Quinn had the power to bring down mountains so her world was right.

Bastian was looking at her with a big, owl-like stare. His eyes were unblinking as he assessed her, and for the first time she was able to see the Undying in him. He was already filling out in ways that told Haven he was going to have considerable height and mass on him. He wouldn’t be nearly as big as Quinn—she didn’t think anyone, human or Undying, could be that big—but Bastian definitely would have the sheer size the males of the race seemed to have. Not that she’d met that many Undying, but from Mason to Memphis, they were all incredibly large.

It had her thinking about what her own children would be like, if the girls would have size like the men did, or if they would take after her. She went still when she realized she was thinking about kids. She’d wanted her own before she’d met Mason, but then after, her only thoughts of children were to keep Bastian safe.

“What’re you thinking about?” Bastian asked when he finally broke his gaze and dug into the huge serving of cheese fries in front of him.

Haven blinked and flushed a little. “Uh, nothing. How ya been? Do you like Nadia and Riordan?”

Bastian gave her one of those arched-brow looks that Haven knew was an Undying trait. “Yeah, they’re cool, but I miss you.”

She wiped at the tear that suddenly formed in the corner of her eye. “I know, sweetie. I miss you too.”

He grimaced at the word “sweetie.” “Haven, what if my friends were here?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I knew it was going to happen. Sooner or later I was going to become uncool.”

He snorted. “You’ll always be cool, but a guy has to have a reputation, and you can’t go around calling me sweetie.” He shuddered in an over-dramatic teen way. “Why don’t you call me bruiser or something like that?”

Haven sighed. “All right, bruiser, eat your lunch. We have things to do today.”

“Oh, like what?”

“Quinn needs to see his lawyer. We are going to check out one of the cyber schools we talked about, and Quinn wants to spend some money on us.” She made a face. “It makes him feel needed.” Then she gave Bastian a critical look. “I think you’re growing out of your clothes again. I swear you’ve grown three inches since last week.”

Bastian nodded as he started to shovel more of his cheese-drenched fries into his mouth. His face went black when a total stranger sat down next to Haven and put his arm around her. Her insides froze. She peeled his fingers off of her, pushed him away, and stopped Bastian from reacting with a stern look. She turned to the man next to her. “Can I help you?”

His face was bright, and there was something wrong with his eyes, as if he wasn’t completely there. His head bobbed up and down. “You’re a pretty lady.”

“Thank you. If you don’t mind, this is a private table.”

He just smiled at her and went to put his arm around her again. Nikon rumbled low and dangerous under the table. He was curled up at her feet. The man didn’t seem at all perturbed at the wolf’s warning. “You’re a pretty lady,” the man repeated, as if it gave him every right in the world to be there. “A beauty like you should live forever.”

Haven scooted closer to the wall, trying to get away from the man. “Thank you, but please leave. I don’t know you.”

His face didn’t falter. Instead, he slid closer to her. Bastian came over the table, his hand curling around the man’s throat, and tossed a man who had fifty pounds on him out of the booth. Everyone in the restaurant turned to see what was going on. The man sprang to his feet. The stupid, vacant smile was still on his face, but his eyes filled with terror as he took off, shoving people out of his way as he bolted out the door. Haven reached out and grabbed Bastian before he could take off after the man.

“Quinn! Something strange just happened here.”

“I’m on my way.”

The manager came over just as Haven got Bastian back into the booth and turned her attention to calming Nikon down. “Ma’am, are you all right? Is that animal dangerous?”

“What? Oh no, he just doesn’t like me being upset. He’ll settle out.”

Nikon responded with one last ferocious growl and then took the bite of burger Haven offered him under the table.

“Would you like for me to call the police?”

Haven shook her head. “What would I tell them? And he didn’t stick around.”

Bastian’s face was still dark as he stared in the spot where the man had vanished from view. “I don’t like this. When’s Dov going to get here?”

“He’s on his way.”

* * * *

Donovan walked into the restaurant, his entire presence filling up every inch of the space. The
treòir
was on full alert, and for the first time, keeping his power in check wasn’t a struggle. He was coiled tight, ready to spring. Haven appeared harassed as she spoke with a manager. Her eyes would flick to Bastian, who was looking like a caged tiger waiting for his opening to strike, and Nikon, who was perched under the table, ready to lunge. Everyone’s focus was on Haven, and he could feel her anxiety. “What happened?”

The six-foot-four manager had to tilt his head back to look at Donovan’s face. He took a step back, intimidated. “Someone was bothering the lady, and I am trying to urge her to report him.”

“There was something wrong with that man, and I don’t know if a police officer would be safe handling him,”
Haven said into his mind.

“Humor the manager. I’ll take care of it.”

She relaxed and took refuge under his shoulder. He said for all to hear, “Sweetheart, you should report this. Odd behavior can be a precursor to violence.”

“All right.”

Donovan contacted Brody to track the strange man. The man could pose no threat, but with Kyros still out there, everything was suspect. They waited in the restaurant for the police to arrive. Donovan stood guard over Haven as she answered the officer’s questions. He couldn’t wait to have control of the Black Rose. Dealing with human authorities would become exponentially easier. This was the exact reason he’d set up the organization all those years ago. He wouldn’t have to worry this officer would be injured if the strange man turned out to be something a human shouldn’t handle.

Haven blew out an explosive breath when the officer walked away. “See? You can’t take me anywhere. I am going to become a hermit. I swear.”

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close. “I’ll fix this.” He looked at Bastian. “And you, young man, we need to have a talk.”

Bastian squared his shoulders and puffed up. “That freak had his arm around her. No way in hell was I going to let him get away with that.”

Donovan put a hand on Bastian’s shoulder. “I understand, and I am thankful you were here to protect her, but there are better ways of dealing with these things when humans are involved.”

“Oh.” Bastian’s face took on a goofy expression at the praise from the older man, and then he nodded. “I’ll do better next time.”

“Of course you will.” Donovan then ushered them out onto the sidewalk.

Haven held tight to Nikon’s harness, her head resting on Donovan’s bicep as they walked. “Did you get to finish what you were doing?”

“Yes. Now we go do the dreaded shopping,” he said with a measure of humor.

She waited for him to tell her. When he didn’t, she nudged him with an elbow. “Well?”

He shrugged. “I was working.”

Her eyes narrowed on him and then went wide before she whispered, “You were killing something.”

He kept his voice low. “I was planning what should be done with the Kyros situation.”

Haven took a step away and studied him. She bit down on her lip. “Do I need to worry you’re going off to get yourself killed?”

He wrapped his arm around her. “You’re Undying. You die if I do. I’m not going to let that happen.”

Her brow furrowed as she took up her place next to him. “That strange man. Could he have been Kyros trying to distract you?”

“Of course it is, but it won’t work.”

“You are so full of yourself,” she said.

He laughed quietly and dipped his head down to brush his mouth up her neck. “I’d rather you be full of me.”

Donovan wasn’t ready for this, but it had to be done. Three days after the strange man incident in the restaurant with Haven, he finally got the report that operatives from the Black Rose were scoping out the building. All they needed to do was get Haven down to the parking level. She was vital to making the plan work, and that pissed him the hell off, but it made sense. Killian and Kyros both would use Haven to get to him if given a chance. He was a generous man. He’d give the people what they wanted. Though, they’d probably regret the consequences.

“Quinn!” Her voice went shrill as two men came out from behind pillars as soon as the elevator doors opened.

His arm went tight around her to keep her pinned against his side. His tone was calm, but the cadence was lethal. “You’re all right. I think it’s time I met your family.”

She shivered, playing the distressed mate to perfection. “No. Call Memphis. You can’t meet my grandfather. This is a set up.”

The two men moved in closer. One was human and the other was a marrok werewolf.

“Ms. Killian,” the marrok said. “We’ve come to take you home.”

“No,” she said. “And it’s Mrs. Donovan.”

The two men paused and looked at each other before they both assessed Donovan. The marrok stepped back. His lip curled as his eyes turned the golden yellow of the wolf. “Mr. Killian desires to speak with both of you.”

Donovan evaluated the men standing in front of him. They were only following orders. The human was confused beyond belief, but the marrok sensed what Donovan really was and fear wafted around him. “Your guns are useless here. If one goes off, both of you will be dead in the next second.” Then he lowered his head so his mouth was close to Haven’s ear, but his gaze never left the men posing a danger. “We should go see your grandfather. The sooner he understands I am your mate, the easier it will be for me to gain control of the Black Rose.”

“I don’t want to see him,” she said, her voice cracking. “I am happy here with you. I don’t need to go back there.”

“Aye, sweetheart, I know, but I must speak with your patriarch. I will have Memphis and the others on standby should the need for them become necessary.”

“Quinn.” Her voice trembled. She reached up with her free hand and wrapped it around his. “I don’t want to do this.”

“I know. I will make this up to you. I promise, but this is one of those things I must deal with.”

“I don’t want to do this,” she whispered.

He petted her hair and kissed the top of her head. “You will not be hurt.”

“Can you prove he’s your mate,” the marrok asked in his growly voice.

Her face crumpled as she shook her head. “I—I don’t know how to prove it. He—Nathan, please, you know me. I don’t fear him. That has to mean something to you.”

The ground under Donovan’s feet began to tremble with a precise measure of released power. “You are unduly stressing my mate. If this continues, I will be forced to react.”

The human lifted his gun. “I don’t know what you are, but whatever you’re doing needs to stop.”

Donovan snarled low. “Put down the gun, human. This does not have to get violent.”

“Listen to him,” the marrok said. “He’s the same thing Mason is. He’s not something we want to fuck with.”

“Not the same!” Haven yelled. She was shaking so badly that the trembling ground could have been caused by her. “Mason is evil. Please, Nathan, you understand mates. I am Quinn Donovan’s mate.”

“I cannot go against orders,” Nathan said as he moved slowly over to the human and took the gun away from him. “Your grandfather wants both of you brought to him.”

“Then he shall get us,” Donovan said.

“Quinn!” She protested the way they’d practiced. All of his attention and focus was on the two men with weapons. She pressed her back up against Quinn. “Please, my grandfather will—”

“The longer things are left open between the Black Rose and I, the longer your life is in danger. I assure you by the time I am done with your grandfather he will be pleased with your choice of mate.”

* * * *

Haven didn’t like this alpha male crap one bit. But this hell needed to end. Fear bubbled up despite her wish it wouldn’t. “You’ve contacted Memphis?”