The “that” Roxie spoke of was the separation anxiety she’d have to go through if Beowulf didn’t show up on time. He didn’t blame her for wanting to avoid it. Now that he was mated to Braelyn, he wanted to make damn sure they didn’t have to go through it.
“Then I suggest we don’t waste any more time,” he said.
Roxie turned and put the bottle of water she held onto the counter. When she turned back to face him and Braelyn, she put a hand on her stomach and sucked in a breath.
“Are you okay, Rox?”
She waved his question away. “I’m fine. I just turned too quickly and got a cramp. I’ve been getting them lately, especially today.” She walked past him and out of the kitchen.
He and Braelyn followed her to the living room and then they went outside. Braelyn insisted Roxie sit in the front seat and she’d take the back. For her thoughtfulness, Skylar gave her a kiss, which turned into something longer than a simple meeting of lips.
The sound of his car horn blaring broke them apart. Skylar looked at Roxie who had yet to shut her door. “That wasn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it was. Either I did that or I’d sit here for god knows how long before the pair of you came up for air. I remember what it was like for Beowulf and me in the beginning. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. Actually, we still can’t.”
Skylar gave a disgusted snort. “As if I didn’t already know that. I’ve been around both of you long enough to have witnessed firsthand. Not that I really needed to see it.”
Braelyn laughed. “The two of you sound more like brother and sister than mere friends.”
Roxie chuckled. “What do you think, Skylar? Would you like to have me as your sister?”
“Not particularly. You’d have too much fun trying to make my life a living hell.”
He shut Roxie’s door and held open the back door for Braelyn. Once she was settled, he shut that door and walked around to the driver’s side. All three of them made idle chitchat as he drove to Braelyn’s parents’ house. Roxie asked about the different fashion shoots and shows Braelyn had done. Listening to them, Skylar realized his mate had been to a lot of major cities all over the world for her career. He was just glad it wasn’t something she could do for a long period of time. Once Roxie turned her, she’d stop aging at the normal mortal rate. Braelyn would have another ten years or so and then she’d have to drop out of the spotlight.
When they arrived, Skylar pulled into the driveway behind Braelyn’s BMW, which was parked beside the Buick Regal he’d seen when he’d dropped her off after their shopping trip. After shutting off the car, he came around to help Roxie out. Braelyn led the way to the front door.
“It looks as if my mom is still home since her car is here,” she said.
“You didn’t think she would be?” he asked.
“No. It’s Wednesday, and my mom usually goes grocery shopping around this time.”
“Maybe she waited for you to get home first.”
“Maybe.”
Braelyn opened the door and walked in. Skylar and Roxie followed her inside. He closed the door behind them. “Mom?” she called. When there wasn’t any response, she said a little louder. “I’m home, Mom. Where are you?” They were still met with silence. “She doesn’t seem to be here,” Braelyn said. “But with her car in the driveway, I don’t know where she would be. Our neighbors aren’t the type to invite her over for coffee.”
Skylar sniffed the air. “She’s here, Braelyn.” He met Roxie’s gaze. “And she isn’t alone.”
Roxie nodded. “One female and one male. Both mortals.”
He looked over at Braelyn to find her looking at him strangely. “It wouldn’t be my dad; he’d be at work. And how would you two know there are a woman and man here? And mortals? That’s what you called people who are not a werewolf in our little game, Skylar. How would Roxie know that?”
“A werewolf game?” Roxie asked.
“Yes,” he said. “A game where I was a hypothetical werewolf, and we were trying to decide whether or not Braelyn could handle finding out I was one.”
Roxie smiled. “Smart.”
Braelyn shook her head. “I get the feeling you two know something I don’t.”
Skylar took both women by the elbow and led them farther into the house. “Why don’t we go look for your mother, then we’ll get to your questions.”
A quick glance into the living room showed it was empty. The fresh scent of the mortal male and the recognizable one that was Braelyn’s mother were there. Following a scent trail that headed in the direction of the flight of stairs to the upper level, he urged Roxie and Braelyn on.
Just as they reached the bottom of the staircase, Skylar felt something hard crack into the back of his head. He stumbled as Braelyn screamed. Before he could recover, he was struck again. This time it was enough to send him tumbling into darkness.
Chapter Ten
Braelyn screamed again as the strange man who’d come up behind them whacked Skylar in the back of the head a second time with the metal pipe he held. Helplessly, she watched Skylar collapse on the floor. She didn’t even have time to see if he still breathed before the intruder dropped the pipe and lunged for her.
She tried to run up the stairs, but he managed to grab a fistful of her hair and painfully pulled her toward him. A loud growl, similar to the ones Skylar made, sounded, and Braelyn’s gaze shot to Roxie. Her upper lip curled back in a snarl as she growled once again. Her eyes seemed to softly glow.
Not taken aback by the strangeness of it all, the intruder pulled out a gun and aimed it at Roxie’s distended belly. “I don’t know how you’re doing that shit,” he told her, “but if you want your unborn brat to keep living, you’ll knock it off.” When she did, he said, “Move. Into the living room.”
With his grip tightening in her hair, he dragged Braelyn into the room while he kept the gun trained on Roxie. Once they reached the couch, he motioned for Roxie to sit on the floor and shoved Braelyn down next to her. “Turn around, both of you.” he barked. “And don’t try anything funny. I still have the gun on you.”
As they turned their back toward them, Braelyn saw him pull out some large tie wraps. He jerked first Roxie’s arms behind her, cinching the tie wraps tight around her wrists, then repeated the process with Braelyn.
“Turn back around and lean against the couch.”
They both did as ordered. He put another tie wrap around their ankles, effectively binding their legs together. Roxie sucked in a breath as if in pain. When Braelyn caught her gaze, she shook her head.
Finished with them, the intruder stood and looked down at Braelyn. “I’m going to get your boyfriend, whore. Don’t move if you want your friend here to remain alive long enough to give birth.”
He left the room and returned a few seconds later, dragging Skylar while he held him under his arms. The intruder had an average build and height. He grunted as he manhandled the much larger Skylar toward them and dropped him once he reached them, not caring that the back of Skylar’s head hit the floor, hard.
Using his foot, he pushed Skylar over onto his stomach and used the same tie wraps to bind his wrists and ankles. With Skylar’s face turned toward her, Braelyn searched it, looking for any sign of him waking up. There wasn’t any.
When the intruder came to stand in front of her once more, she asked shakily, “Where’s my mother?”
“She’s tucked away safe upstairs. I’ll bring her down in a few minutes.”
“Why…why are you doing this? If you want to rob the place, take whatever you want and leave.”
He squatted down, bringing him to eye level with her. “Didn’t you get my letters, Braelyn? Didn’t I warn you what happens to whores like you?”