Chapter 13
Vanessa
It was lunchtime and after that would come naptime. Both Emma and Mary were working today, so when Isaac called, I immediately ran to let them know I needed to leave.
The second he’d spoken, I knew exactly who it was. Even through the phone his voice sent butterflies through my body.
“He found them,” I told Mary.
“Who? Kyle? I know he took two teams out to search for them today.”
“No, Isaac.”
“Isaac? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from him? Now he’s calling you? He doesn’t call anyone. When did you give him your number?”
“I didn’t. He must have looked it up somehow. But he found the boys and I need to go and make sure for myself that they are okay.”
“If Isaac found them, then Kyle is already on it. I’m sure he’s lined up a foster home for them.”
I scowled. “We all saw how well that worked out last time. Can you please just watch the kids. They can finish their lunch then it’s down for naptime. I should be back before they wake.”
“Go on. We’ve got it,” Emma assured me.
Mary nodded, but she was eyeing me with open curiosity.
I decided I didn’t care. I’d been so worried about those boys that I knew I wouldn’t concentrate on a single thing today until I saw they were okay for myself.
Without a second thought about it, I left work, got in my car, and drove straight to Isaac’s cabin. It surprised me how certain I felt of the path this time. There was no questioning it and I drove straight there.
Other vehicles were in his driveway, but I didn’t care. I jumped out and ran right into the house.
Isaac started to protest but stopped when he saw me.
He just stared like he was seeing me for the first time. It took me a minute to realize he was. Last night I’d been covered in black from head to toe.
The way he was looking at me was doing things to me inside. I fought back the urge to squirm under his scrutiny. A part of me desperately wanted to know what he thought while staring at me like that.
“That was fast,” he finally said in a gruff voice.
“Where are they?” I asked, choosing to ignore his tone.
“No, hi.”
“Hi. Now where are they? And where’s Kyle? His mom said he was out here with some teams looking for the boys.”
“He is. They’re in the woods.”
I huffed. “Did you hurt the boys?”
“No, your little piggies are fine.”
“Please, Isaac.”
When I said his name, it looked as if something in him softened. He nodded.
“Right this way.”
He took me to a door and opened it. It led to the basement but the stairs were pulled up and didn’t lead to the actual basement.
“What’s this?”
“Didn’t want them to get away again.” He shrugged and then lowered the ladder down.
“Noah? Mason? Cam? Are you boys down there?”
“You can go down there.”
“And risk you locking me in there too?”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
He almost sounded sincere, but I still didn’t trust him.
“They’re just kids. You didn’t need to lock them up.”
“Those little pigs stole my food.”
“Food can be replaced. They cannot.”
“Who are these boys to you?” he asked.
“They’ve all come through my daycare. Cam’s currently in my pre-K fours class, or he was before they ran away.”
He shrugged again. “Boys don’t just run away without a reason.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“So why are you trying to drag them back? I mean don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to rid myself of these pigs, but I’m not sure they want to be found.”
“They’re just children. What they want might not correspond with what they need.”
“Ms. Vanessa,” a small voice said.
“Cam? Is that you, sweetie? It’s me Ms. Vanessa.”
He came running around the corner of a small wall made of cinderblocks.
“Cam, stop,” Noah said.
“But she’ll help us. I know she will.”
“She’s an adult just like the rest of them. We can’t trust her.”
“That’s right. You can’t trust anyone,” Isaac said.
I elbowed him in the ribcage.
“Don’t tell them that. What is wrong with you?”
Every time I touched him, it felt like electric shockwaves slammed into me, yet I wanted to keep touching him.
Calm down Vanessa and think about the boys.
“Noah, you can trust me. You all know me.”
“They separated us,” he said, sounding so small and broken.
“I know. I tried to stop it.”
“They’ll just do it again,” he insisted.
“We’ll find a way to keep you all together.”
Cam proceeded to come to me and this time, Noah didn’t stop him.
I squatted down with open arms and he ran full speed for me, wrapping his small arms around my neck.
“I missed you,” I told him.
“I missed you, too,” he whispered.
“I’ll find Kyle and let him deal with it from here. I just thought you’d want to know they were safe,” Isaac surprised me by saying.
“The Alpha? You called the Alpha? Are you crazy?” Noah yelled.
Isaac looked way out of his element. And turned to me for help. It was almost comical. My big strong mate that everyone was scared of was terrified of a couple of kids.
“Why can’t we just stay here?” Mason asked. “I like it here. It’s warm and the food is good.”
“My food you little street urchin. You pigs stole that from me.”
“We were hungry,” Cam whispered to me.
“It’s okay,” I assured him.
“It’s not okay,” Isaac said.
I glared up at him. “Would you be nice for five seconds, please?”
“No. This is my house. Mine.”
“You’ve already made that clear, but they’re scared and you aren’t helping the situation.”
He growled and stomped back up the stairs.
“Stay here and I’ll figure it out.”
“Okay, Ms. Vanessa.”
I ran up the stairs behind Isaac. Once I was clear, he raised the stairs again.
“What are you doing?”
“If you want to stay down there, then stay down there, but you aren’t getting away this time.”
“Was that really necessary?” I asked him.
He shrugged.
“Ms. Vanessa?” Cam yelled.
“You’re okay. I’ll be back shortly. Stay put. I promise you everything will be okay.”
“I’ll find Kyle. He can decide what to do with my rodent problem.”
“First they’re pigs, now rodents?”
“They’re whatever I want to call them. Those brats trespassed and stole from me. They’re lucky I didn’t shoot first and ask questions later.”
I snorted. “I expected as much from you last night.”
“You really thought I’d shoot you?”
“I was prepared for it. Mary warned me you’re a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy.”
“She’s not wrong.”
“So why didn’t you just shoot me?”
He stared at me as a slow smirk washed over his face. “I think we both know why.”
My breath caught. I hadn’t been prepared for him to say that.
“Um, we should get Kyle.”
“Yeah. I’ll be right back.”
He left the house to go and find him.
I rolled my eyes and called him instead.
“Vanessa? This isn’t a good time. Can I call you back?”
“No. I’m at Isaac’s and we have the boys.”
“What?”
“The boys are here at the cabin. They’re safe, Kyle.”
“Alright. I’ll head back there now. Do I even want to ask why you’re there?”
“Nope.”
“Fair enough. See you in a bit.”
I had no plans to go anywhere until I knew Cam and his brothers were going to be okay.
It wasn’t long before Kyle walked out of the woods. Silas, head of Bravo team, and Michael, head of Delta team, were right behind him. A few of their men appeared too, but hung back. And finally, Isaac reappeared. He walked over and said something to Kyle.
It was weird because I’d always thought Kyle Westin was the most handsome man in the world, but he paled next to Isaac. There was no comparison really. I could admit when I was wrong.
Last night he had been dark, mysterious, and sexy. But in the light of day, he was putting off entirely different vibes. He was gorgeous and it had meant a lot to me that he had called me when he found the kids.
“Vanessa? What are you even doing here?” Kyle asked, after I had ignored his question over the phone. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“Your mom and Emma are holding down the fort. It’s naptime so everything’s okay,” I assured him.
“I called her,” Isaac said, stepping up next to me in a protective stance. I wondered if he even realized he was doing it.
Kyle looked back and forth between the two of us and then he burst out laughing.
Silas and Michael looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
My cheeks burned.
“The boys are inside,” I told him, trying desperately not to cause a scene.
I had no idea what Kyle thought was so funny, but I couldn’t find any humor in this situation whatsoever.
“Take me to them,” he finally said. “Wait out here,” he instructed the others.
I wondered if he was aware of how territorial Isaac seemed to be and was giving him a bit of space.
As soon as we were inside, he turned on us. “So, when were you going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?” Isaac barked. “The kids snuck into my house, stole my food, and apparently moved into my basement.”
He seemed to consider that for a moment before turning to me.
“And how do you fit into the picture, besides the obvious? It’s not like you to just skip out on work like this.”
I did feel guilty about that, and Kyle damn well knew it.
“I called her,” Isaac said taking a step between me and Kyle.
“Why didn’t you just call me? You knew I was right outside.”
“I knew she was worried about the kids and I wanted to make sure they were the right kids and not some other street urchins.”
Kyle wasn’t buying that and we all knew it.
“How do you two even know each other?”
“We met last night,” I said. It wasn’t a lie and the simplest version of the situation.
“She’s your squatter?”
“That’s what I thought,” Isaac conceded.
“And that was the first time you met?”
“Of course,” I said. I had no idea what he was getting out.
“Wow. That must have been a shock. I thought you said she was dressed in all black.”
“I was.”
“And you didn’t know who she was,” he reminded Isaac.
“I didn’t. I didn’t even know her name.”
“Yet you called her here?” he guessed.
“Yes.”
“So how the hell did you know how to find her if you had no idea who she was?”
Isaac crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at Kyle.
“You told me.”
“What? No I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. You mentioned her while on the phone with your mother. It doesn’t take a genius to find someone here in the Pack, especially when you gave me her name.”
Kyle shook his head.
“You could have told me you’re mates.”
I gasped. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb, Vanessa. Alphas have a built-in radar of sorts to know when a mating male is nearby. I felt it this morning but it seemed strange to think it was coming from him. Now it all makes perfect sense.”
“How does any of this make perfect sense?” I blurted out, not even bothering denying it.
“If I had any doubts on who I was sensing, they were laid to rest with Isaac’s posturing right now.”
I sighed. I knew what he meant. My mate was standing between us, staring down an Alpha for questioning why I was there.
This was a nightmare. I wasn’t even sure I liked him, let alone could actually mate him.
Just because he was my true mate, didn’t mean I had to accept him. So far, his only saving grace was that he’d called me first. That had to mean something, right? At least it did to me. Otherwise, I got the impression he enjoyed being an asshole.