Page 43 of Love Bites

CHAPTER11

“How the hell did he get through the wards?” Gideon yelled once more, knowing he wouldn’t like the answer.

Kameron cursed, continuing his pacing through Gideon’s living room. “I don’t know. Someone had to have helped him. He didn’t come through any of the sentry stations, meaning that a Pack member pulled him through willingly.”

Gideon cursed then slammed his fist into the wall, breaking through the plaster.

“Gideon,” Brie whispered then put her hand on his arm. He looked down at the small hand on his large muscles and sighed. His wolf was right at the edge, but with her single touch, he calmed. Not fully, but at least enough to be able to breathe for a moment.

“You’re going to hurt yourself.” She smiled softly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “We already fixed one wall in this house this week, do you really want to make it a weekly thing?”

He sighed then pulled Brie to his side. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he let out a breath, his wolf calming at the feel of her. She soothed him like no other. At any other time, he’d rage and growl and would probably need to fight to let off his aggression, with Brie near him, he didn’t need to.

It was…pleasant.

“Better?” she asked, patting his chest.

He nuzzled the top of her head, aware that his family was staring at him as though he was a lunatic. They’d never seen him react like this, and while it was a personal moment, he liked the fact that they were there witnessing it as well. Brie was part of his life now, and he was trying to figure out where she fit. This was just one step of many.

“For now,” he whispered then kissed her temple. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, what are we going to do about this Leo?”

He let out a breath then tugged her toward the sofa. She didn’t complain when he pulled her into his lap. He needed her touch to settle down, but he wasn’t about to admit it. If she really wanted her space, she’d have pulled away. That much he knew.

As soon as they figured out Leo had used witch magic to disappear, they’d searched for him before heading back to Gideon’s. He had the largest home of all his family, and it was their unofficial meeting place—even if now he wanted to be alone with Brie when he could find the time.

“I’m going to kill him,” Mitchell vowed, his voice low. Dangerous. Considering Leo was the man’s father, he didn’t blame him.

“I can’t believe he’s alive,” Max breathed. “I…I don’t know what to think.” Max sounded so lost…yet the underlying thread of anger hit Gideon’s wolf hard.

“Leo couldn’t have just gone poof and disappeared through the wards,” Brynn said once he and Brie were settled. “That’s the whole point of the wards. You can’t move through them without being Pack or without help from the Pack.

“True, but he could have used dark magic to move to another placewithinthe den.” Ryder ran a hand over his face. “Meaning our favorite uncle probably moved to a place near the wards and then moved through them to get out. Most times, it doesn’t take the help of a Pack member to leave the wards. Only to get through them.”

Brie let out a curse, and Gideon raised his brows. Interesting.

“I’d forgotten that,” she said. “It takes extra magic from the witches you have on hand to make that layer of protection available. When my Pack—” She cut herself off then shook her head. “My apologies. Force of habit. When myoldPack needed that layer, it took a couple of days, but the extra layer held.” She turned to meet Gideon’s eyes. “I will say though that my Aunt Hannah was pivotal in that. She’s a very strong witch, and the fact that she was also the Redwood Healer at the time helped. I don’t know the strength of the witches you have mated in the Pack.”

“We don’t have many,” Gideon answered honestly. “We had a period of time when the Talons didn’t mate at all if you remember.”

Brie nodded. “Yes, and it was my cousin Gina and one of our lieutenants, Quinn, who broke that streak.”

“And then Quinn went on to be a Redwood anyway,” Brynn teased.

“Well, Ginaisthe Enforcer of the Redwood Pack,” Brie teased back. “It only made sense.”

“Anyway,” Gideon interrupted, though he liked the way Brie interacted with his family. “Like I was saying, we didn’t have any matings for awhile. And in the times of my father’s rule, those who mated with witches…didn’t stay.”

Brie sighed. “Probably for the same reasons my Aunt Lexi and Uncle Logan left the Pack.”

Gideon closed his eyes and nodded. That time within the Pack hadn’t been the easiest. Far from it. In fact, it was a time he wished he could forget. However, back then, he’d found the man he was today and became the Alpha in spite of it. Lexi and Logan were siblings within the Pack, their bloodlines pure, descendants of the original hunter. And when Lexi almost died, finding herself with child from a man who had been an enemy to not only the Talons but the Redwoods as well, she had been kicked out. Logan followed, and Gideon never forgave himself for not being able to help.

Loyalties were mended now, and Lexi and Logan were mated into the Redwoods, but the scars remained.

Brie ran her hand up and down his arm, and his wolf calmed yet again. She was good for him; he knew that much. Now he just had to figure out what the next step would be, not only with their mating, but also with her position in the Pack and his Uncle Leo. The other man showing up might have taken center stage, but the reaction to Brie’s presence at the Pack circle was not lost on him. There were others out there who needed to learn the true meaning of Gideon being the Alpha. He was not a vengeful man, but he was not a man at all.

He was a wolf.

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