19. Easton

Chapter nineteen

Easton

T he cats around here have a second sense. The minute I start heading to the basement, I have a small furry entourage following me, Kevin leading the way. No one else is home–Daniel's probably in class. Samuel is wherever the hell he goes during the day. I could go outside and grab one of my guys–it's always better to do this kind of work in pairs–but before I can head out that way, I find someone sitting at my own kitchen table who is far better for this little excursion than any of my men.

"Where's Emily?" Tracey asks me as I enter the room.

"Napping. You got a second? I have some questions for our guest downstairs."

Her face lights up and she jumps up from her spot. "I always have time for guests."

Thus, my entourage gains its first person. The cats fall back behind Tracey, giving us a little space to walk down the stairs without their tiny bodies in the way, only to rush to crowd the door when we stop at his cell.

"They're a bunch of eager beavers today," Tracey says with a snort.

They're a little too eager, but I don't say that out loud. I'm not sure this operation would survive long if I offended the cats.

Andreev glances in our direction, then starts to scramble back away from Kevin and the mini-sea of cats that glide toward him. "Get them the fuck away from me."

"Not even a please?" Tracey says, shaking her head. "This generation of men has no manners."

"I have manners," I point out.

"Yeah, and who the fuck taught you, young man?"

Andreev's ankles are zip-tied together, but he manages to bend his knees up to his chest quickly. Luckily, Tracey is faster than me. She digs a heel into his upper thigh as he kicks out toward the cats that gather at his feet. "You hurt my cats, and this is going to seem like a vacation compared to what I'll do to you," she says, digging deep into his flesh as he howls with pain. "Do you understand me, Andreev?"

"YEEEESSSS," he howls until she steps away from him and takes a seat in the far corner.

I need to bring Tracey down here more often.

"What's that smell?" Andreev demands as I step closer.

I ignore him and kneel down in front of him, my hand wrapping around his neck. "Why is your old man coming after Emily?"

This time, he doesn't look afraid. He takes in a long, deep breath and smiles. "Why do you care, Alpha?" His eyes meet mine, glinting even as I tighten my grip around his skinny throat. "That's what that smell is, isn't it? You have a good time marking your territory?"

Pure rage rolls through me and I tighten my grip, but Andreev doesn't know when to shut up. He just laughs. My hand is so tight around his throat I don't even know how he manages to get out his last words before he passes out. "Enjoy fucking my whore."

"Your girl sure as hell knows how to pick them," Tracey says from behind me as Andreev goes limp. I drop him on the ground and let the cats take over. Kevin MREOWS and a small army of cats dodge past me to climb on Andreev's unconscious body. Kevin sits himself on Andreev's chest, his butt practically in Andreev's face.

"How can he smell her on me?" I say aloud. "The Andreev family is human."

"Good question," Tracey says, moving closer to Andreev's body. She pokes him with the toe of her shoe and looks back at me. "Could he be another type of shifter?"

"Or another type of creature?"

She shrugs. "Vampires have a really good sense of smell."

"But if he was a vampire, how could he have gotten Emily pregnant?"

"Good point. Maybe he didn't get turned until after he left her?"

I nod. "That's a possibility." I turn away from the man at my feet and head for the door. I need to be near Emily. Being on a different floor is killing me.

Tracey follows me, stopping at the door. "Cats? Anyone want out?" she calls. A few look up at the sound of her voice, but none move.

"Mario watches the cameras. He'll let us know if they want out," I reassure her. She follows me out into the hall, her heels tapping softly on the concrete.

"So you've claimed your mate?" Tracey asks. It's like my mom asking if I'm still a virgin. There are no boundaries with Tracey, but you always know where you stand.

"We've been…intimate."

"That's not the question I asked you, young man." She puts a hand on her hip, her ‘tell' that she's about to lay into me. "Easton Degarmo, she's human. Are you really going to get involved with that girl and not tell her what it all means?"

"I explained what mates are."

She rolls her eyes. "Did you explain to her that she is your mate ? Did you give her a choice before you had sex with her?"

"I–I will tell her soon."

"Fucking hell, Easton. She's stuck with you now and you gave her no choice."

I turn away from the only mother figure I've ever really had and hurry up the stairs ahead of her. "There's always a choice."

Samuel and Daniel are in the kitchen looking anywhere but at us, trying not to smirk.

"Like fucking hell. She won't be able to just walk away from you now."

I keep walking. "She's not a wolf. It's not like she'd need the suppressants–"

"You son of a bitch. You're serious. She's vulnerable, she's pregnant, and here she is thinking she can trust you. You saw that look she gave you this morning when I was giving you shit. She was tripping over herself to defend you."

"Tracey, I'm not talking about this anymore. I'll talk to her."

Tracey spins on her heel and turns to my brothers. "Tell your brother he needs to talk to that woman."

"I told you I will talk to her," I repeat.

"I used to change your motherfucking diapers, Easton Degarmo. Do not bullshit me."

I walk away, unwilling to continue the conversation. She's right. I do need to come clean to Emily, but she's not a wolf. Walking away might be hard for her now that she's exposed to my pheromones, but it wouldn't be impossible. Not like it would be for me.

My ex, Kendra, might not have been a true mate, but the effect of cleaning the exposure to her manufactured pheromones made it feel like she was. Detoxing off of that stuff was excruciating. If I say nothing, Emily holds no power over me, nor do my enemies. She may be a target as my partner, but as my mate, the danger is even greater. Being able to strike at an Alpha's true mate is a temptation too great for some of the most ruthless men in this business. I can't let that happen. We can just have a normal relationship. At some point I can propose, and we can marry. It's not unusual for a wolf, even an Alpha, not to meet his true mate. It happens all the time.

Now that we've had sex, the pull I feel towards her is stronger than ever. She's in my blood. I walk to her room without a thought or care for all the things that need to get done today. Her room is dark and the scent of her fills my lungs as soon as I step through the door. My first thought is to sit and wait for her to wake up, but even sitting on the couch seems too far away. I strip out of everything but my boxers and crawl into bed beside her, pulling her warm naked body into mine.

Just like the nights I spent in her apartment, the scent of her sleeping calms my nerves immediately. I rest my hand on her belly, bury my nose in her hair, and fall asleep.