Chapter 24

Walker

The weekend did not go as I had planned. Where I thought we would be happily celebrating our mating with family and friends, we instead opted to heed Kyle"s warning and lie low. We didn"t even tell Maya and Dante, though Lindsey had wanted to. We'd even argued over it—makeup sex afterwards was totally worth it.

There was no way those munchkins didn"t realize something had changed with us, but they were too distracted to say anything. With the triplets living right next door, the five of them spent the weekend running between houses and enjoying their new friendships and freedoms.

Most of the weekend it had rained, though, so that had certainly put a damper on things.

Shelby had given the kids a couple of outfits each to get them through their first week of school, but I knew they were going to need a lot more. My house was kid friendly enough, but as the fun godfather next door, not as a full-time living space.

I had been a bachelor living on my own for a long time and after just one day at home with the four of us, they were already starting to change everything.

The thing was, I really didn"t mind.

Instead, I embraced it. And despite the rain on Sunday, I packed everyone up in the car and headed down the mountain and into the city to take them shopping.

I wouldn"t deny I had ulterior motives for this. Lindsey and I still hadn"t seriously talked about what she would do regarding Pack status. Of course I wanted her to stay. I didn"t care under which rule. If she wasn"t comfortable becoming an official Westin wolf herself but was okay with remaining here and living in the house that I was desperately trying to make ours and not just mine, then that was fine with me. It wasn"t like we needed the money.

Between my Pack stipend and my salary through Westin Force, I had more money than I would spend in two lifetimes. I was perfectly capable of providing for my family.

What I hadn"t anticipated was just how being in the city around all these people would upset the three of them.

"What"s wrong?" I finally asked.

"They"re humans," Maya whispered.

"Sweetie, they"re just people like any others. Maybe not as cool as us, but people just the same. Some are good, some are bad. For the most part, they don't care about us and we don"t care about them. But you need school clothes and some other things that are a lot easier to get here than back home."

I started to promise her that nothing bad would happen here, but then a wave of déjà vu hit me hard as I remember promising them that I wouldn"t let anything bad happen to Lindsey back in Louisiana. And look how I"d managed to botch that. I was lucky any of them were still willing to accept me after the way I"d failed them by letting her get shot.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my wolf.

We all knew I hadn"t "let" her get shot. It had been a horrible misunderstanding, and one I was grateful I didn't have to regret for the rest of my life.

"Come on. This could be fun," Lindsey said, but her tone told us all that she didn't really believe it.

"Let's make a deal. We get through this and do what we need to do without complaints, and I'll stop by Scoops on the way home."

"What's Scoops?" Dante asked.

"What's Scoops?" I repeated in a shocked tone. "Only the very best ice cream place in the entire world."

Maya looked at me skeptically. "Have you been to every ice cream place in the entire world to compare?"

I chuckled. "No, but I've been to enough of them to know it's awesome."

"I like ice cream," Dante said.

"Clothes, school supplies, and toys to have for fun. Deal?"

I held out my hand and he shook it.

Maya finally conceded and while Lindsey nodded, she skittishly clung to my arm the entire time we were there.

"Sorry. The last time I ran into town to grab a few groceries I ran into Leo and came home just in time to get shot."

I cringed.

"Sorry," she muttered. "But aside from the two little trips to the store I made there, I haven"t been around this many humans since before my time with the Raglan. And let"s face it, that didn"t exactly leave me with a fondness for humans," she said dryly.

I stopped and took a moment to settle my wolf.

"Hey, no wolfing out here. In and out, right?" she said.

Her choice of words certainly grabbed my attention. In and out. I couldn"t help but check out my mate and think of much more enjoyable ways to pass the day. In and out. In and out. Damn. I was growing hard thinking of how perfectly she felt under me as we made love.

Something on my face must have tipped her off to where my brain had just derailed because she smacked me and gave me a little shove.

I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to me. And then I kissed her.

Maya giggled, reminding me we were not alone.

"In and out," I agreed with a wink. Then I lowered my voice and leaned down to whisper in her ear even though I damn well knew she could hear better than anyone. "Tonight."

She stopped and blushed before pointing to the kids walking just ahead of us and shooting me a look that warned me to behave.

I just kissed her again, and then took her hand in mine and tried to channel some excitement for the task ahead. I had new motivation to speed this job up so we could get back home.

Three hours laterwe walked out with half the store to try to fit into the back of my truck.

Once they calmed down and started shopping, they may have gotten a little carried away. And I may have been far more indulgent than I should have been, but damn they were cute. Everything was new and exciting, and it saddened me how happy even a new pack of crayons could make the kids.

I wanted to give them the world. But for just one day, I"d managed to take away their fears and concerns. They weren"t looking over their shoulders all the time. And the smiles on their faces were genuine.

I may need to buy us a bigger house to accommodate all the crap we"d just bought, but I was cool with that.

Maya hugged me, and I leaned down and picked her up to carry her the rest of the way like I"d been doing this dad thing since day one. It gave me an odd sort of high I hadn"t expected. Which also explained the four heaping full shopping carts we were rolling out with.

I got to work loading up the truck while they stood by watching and offering assistance here and there. To anyone passing by, we were just a normal family out shopping on a Sunday afternoon.

But just as I"d loaded the last bag and turned to tell them to load up, I saw Dante"s face stiffen and his body begin to shake.

"Vision," I whispered as a sick feeling settled in my gut.

I knew what I was witnessing this time, and I dropped to my knees and carefully lowered him to the pavement to ride it out.

Several concerned bystanders hovered nearby, watching us. A few even tried coming over to assist and ensure he was okay.

"Seizures," I lied. "He"ll be okay as soon as it passes."

"Should I call 911?" a well-meaning woman asked.

Maya and Lindsey just stood there silently holding each other in fear of what Dante would say when his vision finished.

"No need. We know what to do. This isn"t a first. He's prone to them."

"Oh, that poor sweet boy."

Dante's body stilled as I leaned down to sooth him. No longer rigid, I scooped him up and rushed him into the truck before he started sharing his vision.

"Is he okay?" the woman asked.

"He will be. Thanks for your consideration. It"s best we get him home to rest now."

"Of course. I"ll be praying for him."

"Thank you."

I helped the girls in and then jumped in the driver"s seat and sped away just as Dante fully came to.

"A Challenge is coming. Anastasia. Chaos. Pain." He shuddered hard and then just sort of passed out.

I nearly wrecked the car. There was no way he could have known the Challenges were a possibility for us. He didn"t even know we were bonded.

I dared a glance at Lindsey. She looked more pissed than upset.

"They are going to force us into the Challenges and try to use Anastasia to manipulate it."

"That doesn"t worry you?" Because it scared the shit out of me.

"She can"t control me, though she doesn"t know that. Just like she"s too stupid to realize that Dante"s a seer and thinks every time she pulls his power it just triggers a seizure. She doesn"t know I"m not actually a witch. When she uses her powers, I see the others react and just shift so she doesn't know any better."

"Anastasia?"

"She"s a witch that works for our former Collector or whoever the highest bidder of the day is. She"s very powerful and knows it."

"What is her power?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to know.

"She can draw out the powers in others."

"She"s awful. I hate her," Maya said. "Vines just start shooting from me and I can"t even control it."

"Does she target just one person at a time or . . ." I let my voice drift off as Lindsey shook her head.

"She can, but she usually just opens it wide and calls out all the witches within her reach."

I gulped hard. "All of them?"

"Walker, what"s wrong?"

"If Kyle insists on hosting the Challenges here and Anastasia is going to disrupt the witches in the process, then we have a much bigger problem to deal with."

"Kelsey," she whispered.

I nodded. "And she"s not the only one."

"We have to warn Kyle."

I raced home and went straight to Kyle"s house. I jumped out and ran over to bang on the door. Kelsey answered the door.

"Hey Walker. Are you looking for Kyle?"

"Yes. Tell me he"s here."

"Afraid not. He"s over at his parents" house."

"Shit!"

"Is everything okay?"

"No. Nothing is okay. Has there been any updates on the Challenges?"

Her face told me everything I needed to know.

"When?"

"You should really talk to Kyle."

"Kelsey, have you met my kids? Maya and Dante?"

"No, not yet, but I"ve heard good things."

"They"re witches."

"I suspected as much from what I"d heard of how you and Lindsey met. Is everything okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Dante"s a seer, Kels. Trouble"s coming."

She stared at me for a moment and then nodded.

"Do you want to come in and wait for him? He"s on his way."

I knew she had just spoken with him telepathically.

"I have Lindsey and the kids in the truck. We just got back from shopping."

"Well, bring them in and make yourselves at home."

I hesitated then nodded.

Soon we were settled into the living room and the Alpha"s sons were entertaining the kids.

"That"s Zander Westin," Maya whispered. "He"s going to be Alpha some day and is the coolest kid at school. No one is going to believe us when we tell them we got to hang out with him and Jason. This is awesome."

Lindsey was a mess of nerves, but even she relaxed and smiled, having clearly heard our conversation even though she was across the room talking with Kelsey.

When Kyle finally arrived, we adjourned to his study there.

"Z, can you keep an eye on Maya and Dante for us while we talk?"

"Sure, Dad. We"re good here."

As soon as the door closed behind me, Kyle turned from jovial to concerned.

"What"s going on?"

"Are you aware that Dante is a seer?" Kelsey asked him.

"A witch, yes, but I didn"t know what type."

"I"m going to guess he"s seen something. Am I right?"

I nodded. "Yeah and it"s not good for any of us."

"Do I have a challenger yet?"

"Two of them, both NOLA wolves. I"m still working on it."

"It"s going to happen," I blurted out. "Dante"s seen it and he doesn"t even know we"re mated."

"Is that all? Is that what"s got you so upset?"

"Not exactly," Lindsey said speaking a lot calmer than I felt. "Are you aware of the witch Anastasia?"

"I can"t say that I am," he admitted.

"She"s a very powerful witch and she"ll be there when the time comes. Walker tells me my kids are not the only witches here, that there are several. That could be dangerous if Anastasia is coming here."

Kelsey stiffened. "What is her power?"

"She pulls the powers out of other witches. I"m told it makes one feel helpless to stop it. When she attacks Maya, vines uncontrollably cover everything and it appears to hurt her. I don"t know for sure, and I"ve never asked her, but she screams. They all do."

"She won"t come near you," Kyle said in a deadly tone.

"If Dante"s seen it, then it"s going to happen."

"Look, don"t fight the location," I warned him. "When it comes down to it, we"ll go wherever. It"s okay. He saw pain but not death. Lindsey is strong enough to defeat anyone they put her up against as long as she"s in her fur."

"I"ve already put my foot down on that one. The Council conceded. If she is to battle, it will be in her fur."

"That"s why they"re using Anastasia," Lindsey said with certainty. "They think she can manipulate me."

"But I thought she could only turn you into your beast."

"If I"m in my skin. But if I"m in my beast I do have enhancements. I"ve been targeted as a witch with speed and flight. I"ve been known to go crazy when she uses her powers if I"m in my fur already."

The smirk on her lips told me it had likely been quite the dramatic show she put on.

"But if your lose control during a Challenge, that could be very bad," Kyle reminded us.

"Except I"m not a witch," my mate boldly proclaimed.

"You"re not?" Kelsey asked.

I shook my head. "She"s not," I confirmed.

"They only think I am because I never bothered to correct them. Yeah, I have speed. I can fly. My hearing is better than maybe any beast on the planet, which isn"t always a positive thing. And there are other enhanced attributes, but that"s all genetics. As far as I know, if you aren"t born a witch, you can"t just become one, not even through gene sequencing. If it could be done, trust me, the Raglan would have found a way."

I shuddered at the thought, and it made me angry to remember my mate had been subjected to them for who knew how long.

"So she thinks she"ll be able to activate you in some way during the Challenge?" Kelsey asked.

"We think that"s the most likely plan of attack," I confirmed. "But here in San Marco, that could put all of our witches at risk. She has a Collector, Kyle. She"s no doubt a prized piece. If a Collector attends with her and sees just how many witches we harbor here, Westin Pack could be in danger of being a major target."

Kyle seemed to consider that for a moment. "I've already pitched a fit over the location. It's been settled. To change my mind now would draw even greater suspicion. Lindsey, please tell me your beast can fight."

"She was made to fight."

He grinned. "Good. They"re already crying unfair for it, but I simply reminded the Council just this morning that no one is insisting a challenge be brought forth. If someone wants to try to take the seat of an Alpha, they do so knowing the risks, and this is no different."

"They"re signing their own death certificate," I said confidently.

"I don"t relish killing another. I honestly can"t say it hasn"t happened before. When the Raglan released us, all Experiments were dumped into the river deep within the bayou. They expected us to die, but they underestimated us all. It was really bad, a fight for survival amongst the most deadly genetically altered creatures on the planet."

I shivered at her words.

"I"m still here."

Kelsey"s grin spread wide and Kyle looked just as pleased to hear it.

"Let"s bring all teams in for this. I"m not taking any chances. We need a plan."