Chapter Five
DELLAN brEATHED easier as soon as he walked through the front door. He always did when he returned home. Maybe it was knowing Tom Prescott had built the house for his mom. He’d loved her, and while they were married, she’d been happy with him.
Mom had been on his mind a lot since Maine, and he knew why.
I never got to say goodbye.
He’d only learned of her death when he finally shifted back into human form, and that had been hard enough, but learning Fielding had murdered her had dealt him a body blow. Being home where she’d lived, laughed, loved….
That eased the pain a little. Not much, but it was a start.
They’d been home maybe half an hour before Mrs. Landon appeared. Judging by all the bags, she’d been to the store. She smiled as he walked into the kitchen.
“Oh, you’re home. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you, but I had some last-minute groceries to buy. I’ve been dashing around ever since you called. I’ve only just finished getting all the rooms ready for your guests.” She paused. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he lied. He peered into the refrigerator. “Oh my God. It looks as if you’re feeding an army.” There were plastic boxes stacked up, filling every shelf, and yet there she was, unpacking cartons of milk, butter, cooked meat, cheese, eggs….
“The downstairs refrigerator is stuffed too.” Mrs. Landon laughed when he gaped at her.
“Well, when you called to say there’d be fourteen mouths to feed, I got busy.
I was up at dawn, making three casseroles, four meatloaves, and about six batches of cookies.
” Her eyes twinkled. “Except knowing all of you, that’s probably not enough. ”
Horvan walked into the kitchen as she was speaking, and his eyes lit up. “Did someone say cookies? ”
She shook her head. “They talk about the way to a man’s heart. I guess the same is true of bears too.” She hugged him. “Good to see you. And I baked the chocolate chip ones for you.”
Horvan grinned. “You spoil me.”
It was Dellan’s turn to hug her. “Thank you.” He released her, but to his surprise, she didn’t move away but studied him for a moment. “Is anything wrong?”
“I was about to ask you both the same question.” She frowned.
“I can’t put my finger on it, but I haven’t been in the house five minutes and already it feels as though there’s an atmosphere around here.
Now I don’t know what went on while you were away—and I don’t expect you to tell me—but all I have to do is look at you to know something happened. I’m right, aren’t I?”
He swallowed. “Yes, Mrs. Landon. It was a very intense experience, one I don’t think we’ll easily forget.”
“If you ever need to talk….”
Dellan kissed her cheek. “That’s a sweet thought, but I’m not sure we can.”
“Sounds to me as though you all have a heap of emotions to deal with.”
Horvan nodded. “And you’d be correct, but what’s more important right now is reconnecting with our mates, to make the most of what time we have before….”
Before we need to go and do it all over again.
Dellan glanced at him. She’s right, you know. So much stress, so much tension, and then there were deaths to deal with.
And we will deal with all of it. But like I said, not now. Later.
Then Dellan realized he had an unpleasant task to perform. “Mrs. Landon, while we were away, we… we learned something awful. I wasn’t going to tell you, until I remembered that you knew my mom. You’ve been part of this house ever since Tom built it.”
“Something to do with your mother?”
He nodded. “It… it wasn’t a natural death.”
She clutched her chest. “Oh no. That poor woman. Hadn’t she been through enough in her life, not knowing what became of your father?” She wiped her eyes.
“There’s a reason I’m telling you this. One of our guests? It’s my dad.”
Mrs. Landon’s mouth fell open, and her eyes widened. “He’s not dead? Then where has he been all this time? ”
“That’s a long story.” And one he wasn’t prepared to answer.
She knew about shifters. They’d shared that with her because it would have been pretty difficult to explain why a bear, a lion, and a tiger were playing together outside behind the barrier Roadkill had erected, or why a Greenland shark was swimming in the lake.
But Dellan hadn’t gone so far as telling her what was going on in a world she knew nothing about.
Mrs. Landon wasn’t stupid. She knew Horvan and the others were soldiers of some kind, but she didn’t ask questions.
“Is he okay?”
Only time will tell.
He gave Mrs. Landon a smile. “I’ll introduce you.
He went upstairs to freshen up. He’s going to take Hashtag’s room.
Seth’s going to be in Brick and Aric’s room.
And Jamie and Doc Tranter will be in the basement.
Thank you again for understanding about the space issues.
” He knew he was changing the subject abruptly, but if he didn’t he’d be crying too.
Mrs. Landon waved her hand. “It’s no bother. My daughter is delighted to have me stay a while. Not that I’ll be spending much time there, not with all of you to take care of.”
“No!” Eve gasped as she walked into the kitchen. “Don’t leave me, Mrs. L. I’m feeling outnumbered here.”
Mrs. Landon beamed. “You’ll be fine. You could wipe the floor with any of them. Except maybe Brick.”
Horvan’s expression grew pained. “Hey. What about me?”
She patted his cheek. “You? You’re a sweetheart. In fact as one of you once said, you’re practically a teddy bear.” And with that she walked out of the kitchen.
“Who said that?” Horvan tried to look aggrieved, but Dellan wasn’t fooled.
He laughed. “Wow. She knows you.”
You okay?
Warmth flowed over him, and he knew that was Horvan’s doing. No, but I will be. All I need is time. And maybe a little therapy.
Hey, we all need that at some point or other.
Dellan gave Eve an inquiring glance. “Where are your mates?”
“In H’s office, where they’ve been ever since we got back here.”
“What happened to making the most of your time on your own?” Horvan demanded .
Eve rolled her eyes. “Have you ever tried to drag Hashtag away from a laptop when he’s searching for something?”
Horvan smirked. “He can be a little obsessive at times.”
“A little?” She snorted. “Herding cats would be easier than distracting that man.” Her eyes sparkled. “I did it, though.”
Dellan chuckled. “I’m not sure my delicate ears are ready to hear this, which is a pity, because I happen to have a mate who can also be quite… driven.”
Horvan gave a mock gasp. “You can’t be talking about me.”
Rael’s laughter filled Dellan’s head, and Horvan managed to appear offended.
Eve came over to where Dellan stood, leaned in close, and whispered, “Next time you want to grab his… attention? Crawl under his desk and go to work.”
“You know I heard that, right?” Horvan said with a grin. “And thanks for the suggestion. I hope he puts it to good use. Soon.”
Dellan snickered. “I’ll remember you said that the next time you’re doing a Zoom meeting with Aelryn.”
Horvan narrowed his gaze. “And you remember what I said about getting my hand on you.”
“Wasn’t I in the middle of a progress report?
” Eve said with a chuckle. “Hashtag’s linked up to the satellite, still searching for that castle.
Do you know there are about fourteen castles in Lancashire?
They don’t all have moats, however. But I think he’s whittled it down to three.
I’m here to grab them some coffee.” She grinned.
“And cookies, of course. Man cannot live by coffee alone, it seems.” She went over to the pot and filled three cups.
She glanced around the large kitchen. “Where’s Jamie? ”
“He said he wanted a nap before dinner,” Dellan told her.
That sounds like a great idea . Rael chuckled. Except sleep wasn’t what I had in mind.
Horvan’s hand was on Dellan’s back. Jamie will be fine too. Stop worrying.
Dellan wished it was that easy.
“I don’t know about shifters being the only ones who have excellent hearing and a good sense of smell,” Saul commented as he strolled into the kitchen. “I swear I could smell Mrs. Landon’s cookies all the way from our room. ”
Behind him, Crank snorted. “You wanna be careful. What do they say? ‘A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips’? I’m sure there was more for me to grab on to the last time we—”
Saul covered Crank’s mouth with his hand. “I’ve got another one for you. Something about biting the hand that feeds you? Except we’re not talking about food.”
Crank blinked as Saul removed his hand. “Okay, I’m gonna shut up now.”
Saul grinned. “Good boy.”
Dellan watched the byplay between the mates. Is it me, or are they all coping much better than I am?
Horvan sighed. They’re dealing with it the only way they know how. And sometimes that means covering up their emotions until they have the time and the space to deal with them.
At that moment Dellan’s dad came into the kitchen. “This is a beautiful house.”
“It was built for Mom.” Dellan caught the flicker of pain across his face. “Have you got everything you need?”
“Yeah, about that… I love my room, but it feels wrong, having it to myself when there’s a houseful.”
Dellan couldn’t help noticing the lines around his dad’s eyes, the dark shadows under them, the air of fatigue that clung to him.
He really isn’t okay, is he?
Give him time , Horvan said gently.
“Jamie’s in the basement, and Doc too.” Only, Dellan had a feeling Doc wouldn’t stay there for long.
You and me both. Would you be separated from either me or Rael?
His dad chuckled. “Every time you say Doc, it reminds me of the Bugs Bunny cartoons you used to watch when you were little. I think of him as Nicholas. And while he’s not here at the moment, it’s his birthday in two days’ time, and it’s a big one.
He’ll be sixty. Can we do something special for him? ”
Dellan smiled. “I’ll get Mrs. Landon on the case. Not sure we have that many candles in the house, but we can always buy more.”
Dad tilted his head. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m wanted out on the patio.” He headed for the French doors.
Dellan frowned. “Where’s Brick?” He hadn’t seen him since they’d walked through the front door .
Horvan laughed. “Do you see Seth and Aric? Where do you think he is?”
Crank smiled. “You remember the first time the three of us—”
“Yes, I do,” Saul interjected. “And you can stop right there.”
Dellan glanced at Horvan. Remember our first time? He sent a flood of images into Horvan’s head.
Horvan let out a low growl. Will you stop that? We’ve been in the house five minutes, and already I wanna take you upstairs and—
Dellan almost choked as an image filled his mind—Rael, naked on their bed, lubing up his hole.
He grabbed Horvan’s hand and dragged him from the room. “See you all later,” he called out.
“Have fun storming the castle!” Crank hollered after them. Then Dellan caught his next words, spoken under his breath. “That’s the last we’ll see of them until tomorrow. Think Horvan can survive it?”
Dellan smiled to himself. He intended finding out exactly how far Horvan’s stamina would take him.
“I don’t know,” Saul murmured. “But what a way to go.”
“If we’re not down for dinner, start without us,” Dellan called out.
There were holes to be filled—and kisses to be shared.
Didn’t you know? Sex can be therapeutic too.
Dellan chuckled. I’m so lucky to have such a wise mate.
A mate who’s about to give you nine inches of therapy.
It wasn’t until they reached their bedroom door that Dellan had second thoughts.
I can’t just leave everyone to—
To what? Fend for themselves? They’re all adults , Horvan reminded him.
What H said. Besides…. Rael’s voice grew soft. We can help you turn your mind off for a while, if you’ll let us.
Dellan sighed. That sounds perfect.
Time to close the bedroom door, shut out the world, and reconnect with his mates. It wouldn’t diminish the worries and cares that awaited them, but it would remind him how far he’d come.
From a caged tiger, unable to shift, to a man with two mates who would go to the ends of the earth for him if he asked them to.
Then he realized they’d go without being asked.
That was love.