She made a note to purchase knickknacks, plants, area rugs, and accent mirrors to give the place a homey feel. While Kian was being so agreeable, she wished she had time to paint but knew none of the men would allow it. To feel useful, instead she found one of the rarely used bathrooms upstairs and stole the shower curtain, floor mats, and coordinating decor to fix up Kian’s.
When the rest of the group arrived, literally within minutes of each other, Kian’s basement retreat had been thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed and looked inviting. Best of all, Kian seemed pleased with the results.
“This doesn’t mean you get to hide down here,” Shayla warned Kian.
Kian smirked and nudged her up the stairs to greet her guests, going furry and four-legged before she could get the door open. Shay shook her head but didn’t complain. She didn’t have time. As soon as she opened the door, Shannon and Kiesha blasted her with questions.
“I’ll explain everything as soon as Rory arrives,” Shay told them. “Nikolai, Alex.” She greeted the men with a nod as they entered.
“Explain what?” Caleb asked. “I thought this was a simple family get-together.”
“So she didn’t tell you either?” Alex mused. He held out a hand. “Alex Wolfe, alpha of the Raven pack.” As Caleb gripped his hand, Alex continued with the introductions. “My mate, Kiesha Wolfe. You know Shannon, and this is her mate, Nikolai.”
“Caleb Jones, Rory’s second. We’ve seen each other but never officially met,” Caleb said as he acknowledged each one. “Looking good, Shannon.”
“Thanks, Caleb. Good to see you,” Shannon said.
“That’s Kian,” Shay stated with a flick of her wrist to indicate the pony-sized wolf hovering in the background. “Now that the introductions are over—Alex, you brought your stuff?”
In answer he held up his medical bag in one hand and her file in the other.
“Good. Let’s get this done.” Shay crossed over to the stairs and headed up. Hearing too many footsteps trailing her, she stopped and turned. Behind Alex were Caleb, Kiesha, Shannon, and Kian. Only Nikolai seemed disinclined to follow. “Whoa! Back it up. Alex, you come. Kiesha, you too. Everyone else, scat.”
Caleb shook his head. “While Rory’s away, I’m responsible for you. Where you go, I go.”
“I’m not getting a prenatal checkup with you in the room,” she told him.
When he crossed his arms, a set look on his face, Shay groaned. “You werewolves are stubborn.”
“Shifters,” half the group corrected.
Rolling her eyes, Shay said, “Whatever. If Shannon comes with me, will that satisfy you?”
Caleb eyed Shannon thoughtfully before giving an abrupt nod.
“Okay, Shannon, you’re with us. Now if we can get this over with?” She turned and started up the stairs, muttering, “Since when did doctors’ visits become a group event? That’s what I’d like to know.”
“When you became mated to an alpha,” Alex answered in a low, humor-tinged voice.
Kian came too, but somehow with him in wolf form, it was easy to overlook his presence. She headed for the master bedroom. Kian shot ahead, blocking access to the door while nudging her away from the room.
Before she could question him, Alex said, “If that’s your bedroom, pick another. Rory won’t be happy to have another male’s scent in there.”
Remembering how psycho possessive he went at the thought of Alex seeing her naked when they went to Refuge for her first checkup, Shay swallowed hard and chose another room. No sense pushing Rory’s buttons if she didn’t need to. Not about something like this.
Shannon and Kiesha stood a distance away, giving Alex the room he needed to complete the exam and Shay some semblance of privacy. When finished, he jotted down a few notes in her chart, then told her, “Get dressed and come downstairs. I’ll go over the results down there.” Then he left the room.
The two women immediately ganged up on her. “Now tell us what all this is about,” Kiesha said, and Shannon echoed with, “Yeah.”
“Gee, guys, can I at least get my panties on first. Naked here,” she reminded them with a glance at Kian, who immediately turned his muzzle in the opposite direction.
Fisted hands on their hips, Shannon and Kee stood side by side, an immovable mountain of female determination.
“Put your clothes on, Shay. But you’re not leaving this room until we get some answers,” Kiesha said.
Chapter Fifteen
Shayla narrowed her gaze at the two pains in her behind masquerading as female family members blocking the doorway. “I mean it, you two. I don’t want to get into this, not without Rory here. He’ll be pissed if I tell you before telling him, and he’s going to be furious enough as it is,” she said as she dressed.
“Tell us something,” Kiesha appealed, switching from combative to pleading. “Shannon said you told her there was trouble.” In a lightning-fast mood swing, Kiesha asked with a dangerous glint in her eye, “It’s not Rory, is it? He’s not starting with you again, is he?”
“Jeez, woman, let it go,” Shannon said irritably. “You act like you and Alex never had a fight. She wouldn’t be waiting for Rory to get here if he was the problem.”
The two women glared at each other.
Shay sighed. “Kee, Rory loves me, and I love him. He’d be the last person to do me harm.” She sat on the bed to tug on her socks and tennis shoes.
“Someone in the pack wants to hurt you?” Trust Shannon to latch on.
“Who?” Kiesha demanded.
She studied the both of them. They weren’t going to quit unless she gave them something. And as crazy as they both could make her, she loved them. If the situation were reversed, she knew she’d be just as determined to get answers. “All right, all right. Sit down.”
Shay waited while they relocated to the bed, both of them perching tensely on the mattress. Mentally she sifted through and decided what she could tell them. “At your wedding reception, Conor gave me a warning. You know how he is, Kee. He sees stuff. Usually he’s dead on the mark,” she added for Shannon and Kian’s benefit.
Shay repeated Conor’s warning without flourish.
Kiesha shot to her feet. “What! And you didn’t tell me?”
“That’s why you asked all those questions about the pack,” Shannon stated.
“Yes. Though I would have wanted to know what I was walking into anyway, his warning gave me more incentive to learn,” Shay said in response to Shannon. To Kee she said, “My pack. My problem.”
“Spoken like a true alpha-fem,” Shannon murmured, smiling in approval.
“Screw that! If you get yourself killed dealing with these yahoos, then it’s mine. We’re family. If they don’t like it, tough. They’ll just have to deal.” Kiesha’s face was flushed, and she breathed heavily.
“Kee, take a seat and calm down before Alex comes storming up here to see what the problem is,” Shay clipped out. She refused to continue until Kiesha complied; then she said, “Kian and I now know one person behind the threat to my children. I’ve hopefully come up with a plan to flush the rest out.”
“Who is it?” they both demanded.
“Unh-huh.” Shay shook her head. “That’s all you get until Rory arrives.”
Both women argued and cajoled, but Shay refused to budge. Finally Shannon asked, “How soon do you expect him?”
“Not for another hour.”
Both Kiesha’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline, and her mouth dropped open. “An hour! You expect me to wait that long?”
“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Shannon asked.
“First, I’m going downstairs to get the results of Alex’s exam. When that’s done, you two can go shopping with me.” Shay strode for the door.