Chapter 31
“Jasper shouldn’t go babysit some leech on vacation. I’ll handle this responsibility,” Zeke snapped, reiterating the same protest he’d been harping on about for the past hour.
While Murphy didn’t want any of his bears venturing into vampire territory, he didn’t understand Zeke’s insistence that he take the younger male’s place, especially given his loathing for vampires in general.
Murphy didn’t blame the other male for his hatred; he didn’t know the full details, but Zeke had lost his mate to a vampire a few years back. Ever since, he’d despised their kind far more than any shifter Murphy had ever met.
Zeke believed them to be foul, abhorrent monsters.
“Jasper is going, and there won’t be any more suggestions otherwise,” Jasper cut in with a roll of his eyes. “I swear, you’re acting worse than my mom.”
“Because Tabitha has a point.” Zeke gnashed his teeth, nostrils flaring in irritation. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”
“If I’d known bringing you two along to Murphy’s house would involve whining back and forth, I wouldn’t have invited you,” Colter commented dryly, slouching in his place on Murphy’s leather sofa.
Murphy ran a hand down his face, more than ready for this exchange to be over. His bear agreed, letting out an exasperated huff.
He’d come back to his territory to catch up on some work while Nessa shopped with Hunny; making sure the clan’s financial assets were fine, that there weren’t any disruptions among the members, and to check in with his dad.
But the main reason he’d come home and asked Colter to swing by? He wanted the male to locate—discreetly—Nessa’s brother and ex-fiancé, and to ensure those two worthless, pathetic humans never came near his mate again.
He’d rather hunt them down himself and rip them to shreds, but he doubted Nessa would approve of his burning desire to murder her abuser and her complacent brother. But she’d trusted him with the truth, and he didn’t want to take advantage of that.
He’d need to tell her of his plans, though, and he would, as soon as he got back to her place.
Given that he hadn’t gotten to talk to Colter alone yet, though, and the last hour had been filled with Zeke and Jasper bickering back and forth, Murphy wasn’t sure if he ever would.
“You’re worried I’ll die?” Jasper placed a hand over his heart, pouting at Zeke. “Aw, I didn’t know you cared about me so much.”
“You’re not a bodyguard; you’re a party animal,” Zeke grated out, his irritation spiking at Jasper’s playful response. “You won’t take this seriously.”
“And you will? Jesus, Zeke,” Jasper responded hotly, his good humor about the situation finally fading. “I’m an enforcer, and I take my role within the clan as seriously as anyone else. I assure you, keeping some vampire princess in line won’t be an issue.”
“She isn’t a princess,” Murphy corrected tiredly.
Jasper waved a hand at Murphy dismissively. “You know what I mean. She’s the coven leader’s daughter. That’s about as royal as they get.”
Fair enough. Murphy glanced up from his own spot on the couch, finding the wall clock for the hundredth time over the past hour. He still had so much to do, and then a long drive back to Nessa’s home.
Damn, I miss her.
His bear whined in his mind, mirroring the sentiment.
Last night and this morning had been the best moments of Murphy’s life. He’d never been so open, so vulnerable with another person before, and sharing himself like that with Nessa had left him changed in ways he couldn’t explain.
She had changed him.
This morning, when he’d looked down at the scars covering his body, he hadn’t felt the same revulsion he’d experienced every day over the last fifteen years.
He hadn’t felt that familiar burn of anger and pain that always bubbled in his gut when he thought about them too much, nor had he cringed away, the horrid memories surging forth before he bottled them down.
No. He’d simply acknowledged them and moved on.
It had been so … easy. Effortless. It might not stay that way—he couldn’t ascertain how long this ambivalent feeling would last—but while it did, he felt lighter. Better than he had in a long time.
Hopefully, now that Nessa had laid her confessions bare at his feet, she’d start to feel the same way. He’d seen it reflected in her eyes, a certain peace in discussing her past—she’d finally unleashed her burdens.
He was honored that it was with him, even if hearing what she’d struggled through made an animalistic fury burn through his veins.
He’d done everything in his power to remain composed while she’d revealed the horrors of her past, not wanting to say anything that would make her clam up or regret her words.
But the rage, the primal need to destroy the ones responsible, was nearly overwhelming for him and his bear. She was theirs to avenge. Theirs to protect.
And they would protect her; he’d ensure that. If he had to do so by killing the male who’d spent years emotionally and physically abusing her, then it would be his pleasure.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Colter shouted, pushing to his feet and interrupting Murphy’s red-hot thoughts. He pointed a finger at Zeke. “How about you both go? Please, for all that is holy, both of you go to this damned convention—”
“Transition ceremony,” Murphy amended helpfully.
Colter threw his hands up into the air with an exaggerated huff. “Whatever! Please, Alpha, send them away so I don’t have to listen to their bitching anymore.”
Zeke paused, sharing a long, unblinking stare with Jasper.
“Fine,” Jasper muttered.
“Fine,” Zeke echoed.
Jasper narrowed his eyes at Zeke. “For the record, you’ll be going as additional protection for the princess. You won’t be babysitting me. I’ll be in charge. And the first time you let your prejudice impede our obligations, you’re out of there.”
Murphy’s brows rose at the commanding tone in his younger brother’s voice.
Every male in the room was a dominant shifter, and while Murphy was the most powerful among them there, Jasper was a close second.
Usually, however, Jasper didn’t assert his dominance over others physically, magically, or otherwise.
He didn’t see the point.Obviously, he did now.
“Sounds good to me,” Zeke answered, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Murphy let out a relieved breath, grateful that they’d come to a reasonable conclusion. “I’ll have to run it by Constantine, but I can’t imagine he’d object to an additional guard.”
“Now that we have that settled, I’d like to get down to business.” Colter dropped back onto the couch. “What did you want to talk about, Murphy?”
Murphy stilled, noting the curious looks that passed between Zeke and Jasper. Clearly, they hadn’t known Murphy had asked Colter here for a particular reason.
“Is something wrong?” Jasper asked, turning toward his older brother and giving him his full attention.
“Everything is fine.”
“Then why do you want to talk to Colter?” Jasper sent him a pointed look. “You only go to him when you want him to help you hunt down enemies.”
“Not true,” Colter replied. “He hasn’t asked me to look for Dante.”
“Because Marcus is handling that,” Zeke answered gruffly. “You know how hard he took his twin’s betrayal. He can’t handle anyone else but himself bringing Dante back to face clan judgment.” He shrugged. “It’s a matter of principle.”
“See? Obviously you’ve got an issue that needs solving,” Jasper continued, a light flashing in his eyes that usually meant he was ready to annoy the hell out of Murphy until he got answers. “So what is it?”
Too bad for him that Murphy wouldn’t be divulging anything to his little brother. What Nessa shared with him was private, and he didn’t want his brother taking any information back to their mother. “This isn’t clan business, and therefore, it’s not your concern.”
Jasper grinned. “You’re so easy to read, Murph. If it’s not ‘clan business,’”—he air quoted—“then that means it’s about Nessa. But since Nessa is your mate, and you two are now official, that makes her part of our clan. Ergo, clan business.”
“I’ll shove that ‘ergo’ right up your ass if you keep hassling me about this,” Murphy bit out.
Jasper’s grin disappeared, replaced with a worried expression Murphy rarely ever saw from the male. “Is she okay?”
“Nessa is fine,” Murphy answered softly, appreciative that his brother cared about her welfare, especially when he barely knew her. But his youngest brother had always been empathetic toward those he considered family, and Nessa was no exception.
“But you want Colter to dig something up,” Jasper guessed, undeterred by Murphy’s response. “He ran that background check on her a while back. Is it related?”
Murphy cocked his head toward Colter before leveling a hard stare at Jasper. “He told you about that?”
Jasper grimaced. “Well, not exactly.”
“Hell no, I didn’t tell him,” Colter argued, obviously offended at the accusation. “I wouldn’t betray your trust like that.”
“I’m sorry, Colter. After Dante, it just brought up a lot of bad memories,” Murphy admitted. “I shouldn’t have implied anything nefarious. I know you would keep whatever we discussed in confidence.”
“Damn right.” Colter nodded. “And I accept your apology. Now you.” He glared at Jasper. “Tell us how you found out about that.”
“You all know I like to nap in my bear form,” Jasper began sheepishly.
“One day, after patrol, I was tired, and as I was walking home, there was this big pile of leaves up against the side of Murphy’s house.
So I crashed on it for a few hours.” He looked up at the ceiling.
“We all know my hearing is the best in the clan. Well, I might have woken up to you two discussing a background check you’d run on Nessa. ”
“What?” Murphy gaped at his younger brother. “How often do you sleep outside my house?”
First, Murphy found out his brother had willfully spied on him for their mother for weeks, and now the little shit was admitting to spying on him just for the hell of it?
And why had Murphy never suspected a damned thing? It was one thing to be consumed by mating sickness, but it hadn’t even set in yet when he’d had Nessa investigated. How had Jasper gone undetected on his property, right under his very nose?
Jasper scoffed, his brows pinching together in frustration. “As often as any bear, Murphy. Damn.”
Zeke and Colter exchanged amused looks.
Colter snorted out a laugh. “We don’t do that, dipshit. Just you.”
“What? No way.” Jasper shook his head in denial. “All bear shifters nap outside.”
“I mean, I guess. But not on a pile of leaves beside Murphy’s house like some kind of weirdo,” Zeke chimed in. He shuddered a second later. “You were probably covered in ticks by the time you woke up, huh?”
Jasper sniffed. “Of course not.”
Zeke cackled. “That’s so disgusting.”
“I bet if I asked Marcus, he’d back me up,” Jasper stated quickly. “I’m not a weirdo.”
“Well, Marcus didn’t want to come with us, so you’ll have to ask him about that later,” Colter suggested.
Murphy furrowed his brow. “He didn’t want to come?”
Colter shook his head. “Said he wasn’t feeling well. I offered to send Tabitha over since I was at the clinic for a checkup, but he said it was just a small cold and that he’d feel better in a day or two.”
Shifters didn’t often get sick, but sometimes when the seasons changed, like now, it messed with their sinuses, causing minor ailments.
Usually, when that happened, it affected them all, though.
Not just a single bear. Still, Marcus had been under a lot of stress lately regarding his brother, possibly making him more susceptible.
Before Murphy could respond, a loud buzz sounded from the coffee table in front of him. Startled, he looked down at the surface, taking a moment too long to register that it was his cellphone.
Typically, Murphy only kept it in his office to receive alerts about the weather or other human emergencies, but since Nessa couldn’t communicate with him telepathically, he’d begun carrying it around when he was away from her, just in case she needed him.
He reached for his phone, snatching it up. The screen lit up, showing a text preview from Nessa. Murphy smiled to himself. She must have been thinking about him and wanted to check in.
Using the passcode, he clicked on the text icon, scanning over the message. His smile slowly faded.
‘Hey. I’m probably just being ridiculous, but I saw someone in town. I thought it was Angelo, and now I’m worried. Can you meet me and Hunny at this pizza place?’
A growl left Murphy’s throat, and he all but leaped from the couch, his senses going haywire.
“What is it?” Jasper asked immediately.
Another text popped up—a pin drop to Nessa’s location.
“Nessa needs me.” Murphy hurried toward the front door. “I have to go.”
“We’re coming with you,” Jasper stated, quickly moving to Murphy’s left side.
“Absolutely,” Colter chimed in as Zeke moved to Murphy’s right.
Pride and affection swelled in Murphy’s chest at their insistence to help without even knowing what the problem was. He led a bear clan full of good shifters, despite the fiasco with Dante.
His phone buzzed again, and Murphy looked down as he reached the door.
‘Actually, I think I’m overreacting. Talking last night probably just stirred up old memories of my brother, and I’m sure I just imagined seeing him.’
That was a plausible explanation.
But he wouldn’t risk the safety of his mate and his pregnant sister-by-mating.
Quickly, he sent her a reply.
‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
He pocketed his phone, pulling open the door and moving onto his porch. The footsteps of his family echoed behind him. “I’ll reach out to Tank; we’ll pick him up on the way.”