4. Vivianna
VIVIANNA
The jet was ready and waiting for us, just as promised, making the transition of exiting the cars and boarding that much easier.
Within five minutes, we were rolling down the runway, lights blinking into the night sky as we climbed into the air.
I was excited to see another part of the country, having been mostly stuck at my boarding school.
Even when I graduated, I immediately started working in the hospital.
The hours were grueling, never having enough staff to cover the basic needs.
Yeah, we weren’t on this trip for pleasure, but after everything I’d been through, finding one bright spot in the mess of things helped, as did Christian sharing all about his home state.
“The sun is shining most of the time. The weather is balmy. Okay, there are some scattered showers, but they don’t last all day…
most of the time. It’s the end of winter, so there has to be some downside.
It’s only fair to the rest of the world,” Christian chattered on.
“Our pack lands are near the ocean, so that’s a nice perk for you all. ”
The guys all seemed to relax as they questioned Christian about his pack and how things differed between the others.
Diane and Nicole sat in the back of the plane in a pair of wide seats, with Brady asleep in Nicole’s arms. I wanted to go over and comfort them in some way, but I knew I wasn’t the right person to do that.
My own life was too interconnected to the situation and if I was being honest, I’d locked away my own pain to deal with once we finished this.
I’d spent too long letting my emotions take control, hiding away in my wolf.
In doing this, it also took away my sympathy for anyone around me.
“Precious, it’s going to be four hours before we land. Why don’t you try to get some sleep? You’ve been on the go since breakfast,” Bentley coaxed, as he pulled me against his chest where we were sitting on the long couch.
Another pair of hands grabbed my ankles and pulled my legs up, setting them in their lap. “He’s right, dearest. A leader can’t lead well if they don’t have a clear mind,” Orion cautioned.
Blinking back tears, I nodded my head and snuggled into Bentley as he reclined, putting his feet up to make me more comfortable.
Seeing that I still wasn’t willing to sleep, he started to comb his fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp as he went.
I all but started to purr at his attention, when Orion slipped off my shoes and started to rub my feet, making it nearly impossible to keep my eyes open for much longer.
Finally, they got their wish, and I was out for the count, feeling the hum of my mate bonds as they all sent me little bursts of love and affection.
All too soon, I was woken up as the captain announced our descent into Florida, along with the time and weather.
Sure, it was going to be far warmer than it had been in Colorado, but nothing great happened after midnight.
Now that I’d given in to my need for sleep, Bentley all but had to carry me off the plane and into the waiting car Christian had arranged for us.
“It’s alright, go back to sleep. Christian says it’s about an hour drive to his pack lands,” Bentley whispered as he kissed my temple. “Then we’ll all tumble into bed and get some much-needed sleep.”
That man knows just what to say, and yet he believes he doesn’t have anything to offer us.
Well, if he needs me to remind him every day that he is special and important to me, then I’ll do it. I refuse to let someone I love ever to doubt my feelings for them. You never know when they could be taken from you.
Whoa there, missy. I know we’re dealing with a lot of shit, but let’s not get too crazy with the dark thoughts. There is not a chance in hell we’ll let anything happen to them.
Yeah—I said the same thing to Hope. Now look at us. She’s being held captive by a lunatic and his even more twisted half-brother.
Woman, how many times do I need to beat it into your head that you did the best you could with the situation you had. If you died, then what would happen? Hope would have no one left to save her because your mates wouldn’t know about her. Hell, they probably wouldn’t have survived you dying.
That type of pain is hard to live with.
Yes, but you have eight reasons to live and fight, so knock that doom-and-gloom shit off.
We have work to do, so take that anger and pain and put it into something useful, like coming up with ways to kill Vadik.
Faulk was good practice, but I think we could find something extra special for the dick.
I couldn’t help but smile at her words, as she started to rattle off ideas one crazier and more twisted than the next, which oddly comforted me enough to fall back asleep.
“Babe, we’re here,” Koit said gently, shaking my shoulder. “You just have to get up long enough for us to make introductions and find a bed.”
This time when I woke up, I felt more alert, and nodded as I was helped out of the car.
The building we were standing in front of looked like an old motel that had a major facelift with modern touches.
I could hear the ocean waves lapping at the shore, and there was a soft breeze flowing, bringing with it the tang of salty air.
A woman came out of the office and jogged right up to Christian, leaping into his arms and kissing him soundly on the mouth.
After a moment, he set her down and she turned to face the rest of us.
Kate was a stunning woman, with long wavy caramel-colored hair, bright green eyes and freckles sprinkled on her face.
Everything about her was warm and inviting as she gave a bright smile, dragging Christian behind her as she headed in our direction.
“You made it.” Kate exclaimed, walking right up to me, and wrapping me in a hug.
I didn’t know how to react right away, but the warm healing energy that came off of her made me toss all my worries out the window, and I hugged her back.
After what was considered far longer than appropriate for a first meeting, she pulled back from me, but shocked me again when she cupped my face with her hands and pulled my head down to hers.
Gently, she placed her forehead on mine, and we stood there for a moment.
Suddenly, the steel box that I’d been hiding all my heartache burst open and came flooding to the forefront.
A sob escaped my lips as everything hit me like a tidal wave, almost as if I was reliving the whole experience again.
Kate kept whispering to me as I stood there with her in a parking lot, in the middle of the night, bawling my eyes out.
“That’s it, let it out,” Kate murmured. “The more we hide from our feelings, the worse they become. Even though it’s painful to acknowledge them, accept them as truth.
It will give your soul a chance to heal from it and gain strength to keep fighting.
I promise, we will be with you every step of the way as we journey through all this suffering. ”
“Christian, you better explain what is going on right now, or I don’t care who’s mate she is, I’ll kill her,” Darius snarled.
Kate pulled back just enough so I could see her face. “Got a wild one there, I see. This was a good start. We’ll work on this more once you’ve had some sleep and adjust to exposing yourself to what you’re truly feeling.”
Nodding, I wiped my tears, still not sure what just happened, but I knew, without a doubt, she was going to be someone important in my life.
The second she stepped away from me, strong arms wrapped around my middle, clutching me to their chest while nuzzling into my hair.
Tristan’s warm soothing scent, that reminded me of a library, filled my nose, letting me know who held me as Darius stepped in front of me, worry etched on his brow. “What did she do to you?”
I gave him a soft smile. “She made me acknowledge my pain.”
“Why would she do that?” Tristan growled into my neck, his teeth grazing my skin.
“For her to heal of course,” Kate interjected, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “How can she even begin to heal if she won’t admit that she’s in pain?”
Christian wrapped his arms around Kate, giving an apologetic look.
“Yeah, I should have warned you that Kate is a healer of sorts… picture an empath on steroids. She can read people’s emotions, but it goes deeper than that.
She helps them process and heal from emotional trauma.
I just didn’t think my mate would be quite so direct, having just met you, Viv. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize for me,” Kate snapped. “I knew exactly what I was doing. Maria kept me in the loop about what happened to her while asking for my help. We knew she would end up here with us before the war broke out. It doesn’t leave us much time to get her ready for what she’s going to have to face. ”
Now it was my turn to growl, as I looked around for the old meddlesome bat who mysteriously wasn’t present, nor were Tim and his family.
Wait till I give that hag of a battle-ax a piece of my mind. How could she blind side us like that?.
Just when you think you’re on good terms with her… she flips the table on you.
Oh, I’ll flip something alright, just you wait.
“Welcome to what we deal with all the time,” Neveah commented as she came up beside me. “My grandmother is an amazing woman, but you always have to keep an eye on her. Should’ve known something was up when she hightailed it out of here with the others before Kate made her appearance.”
Kate eased out of Christian’s arms and clapped her hands twice to get our attention.
“Alright, it’s late and everyone needs some sleep.
Follow me and I’ll show you to your rooms for the duration of your stay, however long that might be.
We currently don’t have any others staying with us since they have found permanent homes and new packs to be a part of. ”
Tristan set me on my feet, but he refused to let go of me, taking my hand in his and intertwining our fingers.
As we walked up the flight of stairs to the second level and down the walkway to the last door, Kate took a key out of her pocket and opened it.
“Dama, this will be your room with your mates. It’s the largest we have, since we took the wall down in the middle to connect the two rooms,” Kate explained as she handed Rik the key she used.
“When you wake up, come find me. Our house is on the back side of the office. I’ll have food ready for you all.
Neveah, Nick, your room will be a few doors down. ”
As they backtracked to their room, Rik and Darius entered first, while Tristan held me back until they gave the all clear. “Did you really think I was going to be in danger here?” I asked when I entered the room.
The room had a modern feel to it, with stainless accents, along with a simple streamline cream-and-white aesthetic.
There was a couch that could fit four people, and two armchairs, making up a living room of sorts, with a small kitchenette that could be used to make simple meals.
The door led into the bedroom. It looked like they took two king-sized beds and put them together, taking up most of the space, but leaving room for everyone to sleep together comfortably.
The bathroom had a tub large enough to fit at least two people and an equally roomy shower, with two sinks, making the whole process of having eight people in a room as easy as possible.
“They’ve put a lot of work into this place,” I mused, watching the guys set their bags off to the side then start stripping.
All other thoughts left my mind as they stripped down to their boxers and crawled onto the bed. My wolf and I both took a moment to appreciate the fine-looking men we called mates.
Damn, I’ll say it a thousand times—do I know how to pick ’em or what?
Mmmhmm, are we sure you get credit for picking them? I mean, I’m pretty sure Koit and Bentley are my picks. You didn’t like them. Hell, you didn’t like Darius either.
Really, you’re going to hold that against me forever? What about Orion, who picked him out?
“I picked you, my dearest, and would again in a heartbeat. Now, you two stop arguing and get in this bed with us before your fuck-me eyes make us do something rash,” Orion teased, crashing into our internal argument.
What kind of rash are we talking about? I might be into it.
Orion let out a growl and started to crawl across the bed toward us.
Fuck yeah, I’m totally into this. Question is, do we stay, or do we run?
Taking a moment to glance at the others, whose eyes shimmered with hunger and lust, I knew there was only one choice—run.