Love Bites (Bitten Book 4) (25 page)

“Your mate is doing extremely well,” Lachlan murmured from behind me.

I turned to face him, leaning against the window sill. “What in the hell did you say to her by the lake last week?”

I hadn’t asked Ricki because I figured she’d tell me if she wanted me to know, but seeing the enormity of the change in her, I was curious as hell. Somehow, my alpha had known exactly what to say and do in order to help her.

Lach shrugged, smirking at me. “I gave her a pep talk.”

I frowned at him. “A what?”

“Pep talk,” he answered shortly.

I shook my head. “Must have been one hell of a talk,” I mumbled. “Give her a year and she’s going to be as good as Chloe. Hell, she may challenge me for position as beta.”

Lach laughed, the sound hoarse but not nearly as rusty at it had been a few days ago. The discussion he’d had with Ricki by the lake had done more than help her. It brought him back from some sort of brink. He started eating again, not a lot, but more than what little Chloe had been able to force down his throat since the night Belinda died.

The fact that he’d taken a witch as a mate had been a shock to the entire pack, increasing the tension between those loyal to him and those who were wavering. George Hayes accused Lach of selling out his people, playing politician to help vampires and witches while his own pack members died. Never mind that this agreement would provide us with powerful allies, who were already taking steps to help protect us all.

Then there was the little matter of the attack on the compound by the Faction. Had they come for Belinda? For Lach? Why was the pack of interest to them? After the attack, Ricki’s friend Kerry had been taken by one of her own coven members and delivered to Cornelius, the leader of the Faction.

That night, the vampires and shifters tracked Kerry using her cell phone signal and found the Faction safe house. Technology seemed to be their weakness. Cornelius could manipulate thoughts and loyalties but he hadn’t thought to destroy Kerry’s phone.

It made me curious. It also made me wonder if perhaps the rift in the pack wasn’t just from fear. That was how the Faction infiltrated the witches’ coven. Cornelius got to them, turned them against their own people, and then attacked.

“I’m worried about the pack,” I told Lach.

He nodded, rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers. “Me too. Why are you worried?”

I crossed my arms. “The witches. The Faction. Something about this situation with George Hayes and the other pack members suddenly having issues with the agreement we made with the vampire council. It just seems too convenient, if that makes sense.”

Lachlan leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the ottoman. “I agree. George has had an issue with the alliance since the beginning, but there were only five or six that sided with him. Now those numbers have increased considerably.”

“Yes, but how many are doing so out of fear since the Faction attacked the compound? I don’t think we have that many traitors here. I think that a few are planting seeds of doubt, and feeding them until they grow into an uncontrollable tangle.”

Lach nodded. “You’re right.”

This was where I got stuck. “So what’s our next move?” I asked.

The corner of his mouth lifted. “What, you don’t have a plan? You seem to have a grasp on everything else.”

I shrugged. “I’m still technically your beta. I’m not supposed to have all the answers. That’s your job.”

Lach sighed, pushing himself up slowly from his chair. “Someday, it’ll be yours, so you need to be paying attention.”

He walked into the kitchen, carrying his empty coffee cup. After he refilled his mug, Lach moved to the fridge and pulled out deli meat, cheese, and mayo. Familiar with this habit, I poured myself another cup of coffee and settled on a stool at the breakfast bar. I watched as he made himself a huge sandwich, taking the time to add lettuce and tomato to the stack. I almost offered to do it for him, but it was time for him to start taking care of himself again. The fact that he was eating without insistence was good.

Once the sandwich was made, he carried the plate and his coffee to the counter, taking a seat next to me. He took a huge bite and I waited patiently while he chewed and swallowed. Lachlan had a system. Situations that required a lot of thought were often discussed over a snack of some kind. Lach joked that, since he didn’t smoke, he needed something to chew on while he digested issues.

Another bite. Now I was getting concerned. Typically, by the time Lach completed this ritual, he would have some sort of solution before he took the second bite.

Finally he spoke, “If I were going to attack the compound, I would do it on a night when the pack would be together and their guard down.”

Immediately I realized what he was implying. “The full moon run.”

Most of the pack arrived for the run on a monthly basis and everyone used it as a time to blow off steam and relax. If the Faction had enough men, they could possibly take out the pack. There were only about one hundred and fifty wolves in the MacIntire pack at this time. About a third of those were females and pups. The females could defend themselves if necessary, but the pups would be unprotected if they joined in the fight. By splitting our numbers, we would be extremely vulnerable. Adding in the unknown number of traitors and things could go south fast.

The run was a week away. That gave us some time to prepare, but I worried it wouldn’t be enough.

“We’ll need to contact the vampire council and the witches. I’m sure there’s something they can do to help us. If the Faction does strike that night, it’ll give them a chance to capture a member and interrogate them.”

Lach nodded at my suggestion. “I agree. I’ll call Conner now. We’ll set up a meeting for sometime today.”

He pulled out his phone, but I put a hand on his arm. “Before you do that, we need to discuss something else.”

“What?”

“I realize that I’m still acting as the alpha as far as the pack is concerned, but I need to know when you’ll be stepping in, Lach. In a time of peace, I could lead them until you were ready to come back. Right now, they need you. Most of them think I’m too young and impulsive to do a good job as the alpha during a stressful time and I’m inclined to agree with them. Those who are fearful rather than traitorous will come around when you’re in charge again.”

Lachlan’s eyes grew distant. “I know.”

I hated pressuring him. Fucking despised it, but the pack needed him now more than ever.

Our conversation was interrupted by the front door flying open. Chloe stomped inside, her hand clamped on her forearm. Thin rivulets of blood trailed across her skin and between her fingers.

I jumped to my feet. “Shit, what happened?”

Ricki was right behind her, face pale and concerned.

Chloe, however, gestured toward Ricki with her head, a huge grin on her face. “Your mate just knocked me on my ass.”

I blinked in shock. Ricki managed to take down Chloe? After one week of training? That should have been impossible. Before she was turned, my mate had no fighting experience or instruction. How in the hell had she managed that?

Ricki rushed to the sink, wetting some paper towels. “It was beginner’s luck. I have no idea how I did it.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and snatched the paper towels from Ricki’s hands. “Whatever. You have an incredibly awesome teacher and you also have fantastic instincts. I’ve never had a student learn as quickly or as thoroughly as you do.”

Ricki’s face flushed at the compliment.

Lach scoffed. “You’ve never had students. You have punching bags.”

Chloe flipped him off. “Bite me, lake. You’re just worried because you know I can take you in a fight and now Ricki’s gonna be tougher than your wimpy ass too.”

“Did you just call him
lake
?” Ricki asked.

Wiping the blood from her arm, Chloe laughed. “Yep. That’s his name.”

When we all frowned at her, except for Lach, she explained, “
Loch
means lake. Calder calls him Lach all the time soooo…..”

Lachlan rolled his eyes and stood up, walking over to the sink where Chloe was twisting her arm in several different directions, trying to clean the cut. He grabbed some more paper towels, wet them, and firmly grasped Chloe’s arm.

She sighed in disgust but let him dab at the blood on her skin. “I’m pretty sure it’s healed up by now,” she argued.

Lachlan took the red-stained paper towels from her and tossed them into the trash can with the ones he’d used. “Nope. It’s still oozing a bit.”

My eyebrows lifted. That must have been one hell of a deep cut if it was still bleeding. “What happened?” I asked.

Chloe gestured with her free arm. “We were sparring and your mate pulled off a hip throw. There was a rock under a pile of leaves and my arm connected with it.”

Lachlan lifted her arm, studying the wound. “If you were human, you would have needed stitches.”

Chloe started to say something in return, probably a sarcastic remark, but she fell silent as Lach began licking the laceration. In fact, she was staring at him with something akin to horror in her eyes. She tried to pull away, but Lach held her fast, his eyes flashing up to hers.

“Stay still. You’re lucky you didn’t break the bone or you’d be out for the rest of the day. As deep as this cut is, you must have landed pretty hard.”

“Damn, Chloe, I’m sorry,” Ricki apologized.

At first Chloe didn’t seem to hear her, but she shook her head as though clearing a fog and tore her eyes away from where Lach’s tongue was gliding over her skin. “No worries. I’ll be good as new in a few minutes.”

I bit back a smile. I’d never seen her so distracted. My amusement faded though when I realized she was yearning for a male that might never fully recover from the loss of his mate to find another. Shit.

Chloe pulled her arm out of Lach’s grip. “I’m fine now,” she insisted. “Thanks.”

Lach shrugged, going back to the counter and sitting on the stool he’d used earlier.

“Okay, I think I’m done with training for today,” Ricki announced. “I’m gonna go next door and take a shower.”

She walked over to me and dropped a kiss on my lips. She tasted of sweat and the coffee she’d drunk earlier. “Bye y’all.”

Chloe and Lach answered her vaguely as I watched her leave. The mood in the kitchen felt odd…..off really.

The strange moment was broken by Lachlan pulling out his cell phone. “I’m going to call Conner.” He glanced at Chloe. “Go get cleaned up. I’m gonna schedule a meeting with the vampire council and the High Priestess from the coven this evening.”

Chloe braced her hands on the counter top behind her and watched him leave the room. As soon as he was gone, she looked at me and asked, “Why are we having a meeting?”

“Lach and I discussed it and we don’t think that the sudden divide in the pack is a coincidence. Something like this happened with the witches right before the Faction attacked them. He thinks that the Faction intends to move on us the night of the full moon run.”

“Great. Anyone else in the pack we can trust?” she asked. My expression must have been answer enough because she swore, “Shit.” She rolled her head around as though trying to release tension in her neck. “Think the vamps and witches will help us?”

Considering one of Ricki’s friends was a vampire, the other the High Priestess herself, and another, though human, deeply adored by her vampire lover, I already knew the answer. “Oh yeah.”

She grinned at me, rubbing her hands together. “Well, then this is gonna be fun.”

With that strange statement, she sauntered out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Shaking my head at the peculiarities of my pack enforcer, I drained my coffee cup and left it in the sink before heading back to my own house.

Chloe wasn’t the only one who had to get ready for the meeting today. I had to explain to Ricki that she wouldn’t be going with us. Maybe if I joined her in the shower and got her all nice and relaxed before I told her, I could avoid an ugly confrontation.

Ricki

“I
’m going,” I
insisted firmly.

“No, you’re not.”

I snarled at Calder. “Let me explain something to you; I’m going!”

He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

A knock on the front door kept me from continuing. I stalked over to the door and yanked it open. Chloe stood on the porch, a grin on her face.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to ask if you’d like to go for a walk before we leave for our meeting.”

“Sure, that sounds great,” I answered. “It’ll be good to stretch my legs before that long drive into the city.” It was a completely random request, but I needed to get away from my stubborn mate.

I ignored Calder’s growl as I strode out the door, slamming it behind me.

Chloe managed to keep her mouth shut for thirty seconds before she asked, “Lovers’ quarrel?”

I scowled at her. “You’re not funny.”

“I’m a little funny,” she teased.

I shook my head in disgust. “Why is he such a stubborn
ass
?!”

She laughed. “Because he’s a male.”