A Place to Call Home (Hollow Crest Wolf Pack Book 3) Page 9

  “Lori,” Kannon said hesitantly as he pulled away. “I need to tell you something.”

  “What is it?” I asked with a frown.

  He cleared his throat. “I haven’t…done this before. I just don’t want you to think-”

  I pressed my fingers to his mouth. “That just makes it more special. We’re discovering this together.”

  Kannon gave me a smile of relief. “I wanted my first time to be with my mate. I’m just incredibly lucky to have found you this soon in my life.”

  I felt even more sure that this was the perfect moment to lose my virginity and the right guy to do it with. It would probably go smoother if one of us were experienced, but I liked that we were on equal footing. “I love you,” I confessed to Kannon. “And I’m ready to take this step with you.”

  Kannon leaned in to kiss me again but suddenly jumped back. “Grayson said you’re close to going in heat, so, um, if we…”

  “We should use protection?” I guessed. I was a little embarrassed the guys had been talking about the potential of sex, but I understood why. Grayson would always put our safety and happiness above anything else. I wasn’t even close to being ready to have pups, and our lives were too unstable to be able to care for little ones right now.

  Kannon nodded and got up to grab a condom from inside his dresser drawer. I started to get more nervous as he put the condom on and got back on the bed. My heart was beating fast, but my skin was flushed from desire, and my body ached for him.

  We kissed and touched until we were both ready. When Kannon slid inside me, I felt a pinch and a little too full. I forced myself to try to breathe naturally and relax my body. Kannon waited until I was comfortable before he started to move inside me. I opened the bond entirely between us and felt something change. Our bond shifted into something new, and our connection intensified. Our sensations and pleasure mingled together, and I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began. I’ll admit the sensation was a little uncomfortable at first, but once the bond was fully open between us, it felt like I was flying.

  We soared higher and higher together until our pleasure reached a crescendo. A wave of sensation crashed over me, and my entire body spasmed. Kannon was breathing just as heavily as I was, and he gave me one last kiss before withdrawing.

  I winced as I sat up a little. Now that the pleasure was draining away, I could tell that I was going to be sore from this. “Are you okay?” Kannon asked with concern.

  “Of course,” I said with a smile. “I’m glad we shared this together.”

  “Next time it’ll be better,” Kannon promised me with a kiss.

  “It was already perfect,” I assured him.

  We cleaned up, and Kannon put a movie on his iPad for us to fall asleep to. I gave a contented sigh as I curled up to his warmth. It was unreasonable to think this was going to change anything for us - but my stupid heart was convinced that everything was going to be okay now. I just wanted a couple more minutes where I could pretend to be safe and happy in bed with one of the wolves I loved. My pleasant afterglow wasn’t enough to make me forget my problems, but it was enough to silence my anxiety. Tomorrow I’d go back to the daily struggle.

  Chapter 13

  Lori

  I yawned as I slammed the door to my locker shut. Sleep had fallen low on my list of priorities. Kannon and I had been working hard to keep up with our classwork, build the jammer, and keep an eye on Mr. Reaven while trying to keep it under the noses of our pack mates. With a blush, I also admitted that we’d been busy exploring the new aspect of our relationship. Sex was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.

  Grayson and Wyatt were stressed about closing down Four Guys Auto, but they were keeping Kannon and me out of the discussions. Grayson said he wanted Kannon and me to stay focused on school, but I hated being treated like a pup. We were all equals in this.

  A snide little voice in my head pointed out that I was keeping just as many secrets from them as they were from me, but I tried to silence it. I was protecting the other guys until I had substantial evidence against Mr. Reaven. What if I was wrong? And I couldn’t confess my plans to break the humans out of the university, Grayson had already told me it was suicidal. I needed a foolproof plan before I could bring it to the others.

  “How do you know Pierce?” an angry voice broke into my thoughts.

  I glanced up to see Tiffany backed by her two minions. Tiffany had her hands on her hips like she was ready for a confrontation, but her eyes were unsure. She had made my life unpleasant from the start, and now she was here because she wanted something from me.

  “Go away, Tiffany,” I said dismissively as I turned and walked down the hall.

  I kept my smile hidden as I could practically feel the steam coming out of Tiffany’s ears. Miss Queen Bee didn’t like being ignored. Unfortunately, Tiffany and her cronies didn’t give up, they just followed close behind me. Whatever.

  “Are you fucking Pierce, too?” Britney said derisively.

  I rolled my eyes but whirled around to face them. “Yup. I have Wednesdays reserved for college guys only.”

  Tiffany snorted. “If you could have Pierce anytime you wanted, why would you bother with the old dudes in town?”

  I raised an eyebrow at her pointedly, and she had the grace to look slightly admonished. She took a deep breath, and I waited while she worked up the courage to say whatever she came here for.

  “I heard you’ve been living on the university campus,” Tiffany said hesitantly.

  I just shrugged, unwilling to give her an answer either way.

  “The guys on campus there are freakishly hot,” Lacey piped up. “My eyes couldn’t handle all the man candy there.”

  I sighed. “Believe me, you don’t want to hang out there.”

  Tiffany’s eyes got icy, and I knew I had just ruined the temporary peace she had been trying to broker. “You’re going to try to blackball us?” she sneered. “Afraid they’ll lose interest in you once they have the three of us?”

  I put my hand on my hip as I faced all three of them. “Just because a guy is hot, doesn’t mean that he’s a good person. Sometimes a pretty exterior hides a rotten core.”

  Britney narrowed her eyes at me. “We could make your life a lot more pleasant here. If we let you sit at our lunch table for just one day, your popularity would skyrocket.”

  I laughed out loud and shook my head. I wish I had the type of life where the worst thing I had to worry about was which table I was going to sit at lunch, or which popularity tier I was on. “I’m sure I’ll be fine at the loser table,” I said drily.

  I heard Tiffany’s huff of exasperation as I walked away, and I knew she wasn’t going to give up. If I were truly a terrible person, I would bring her right onto that university campus and leave her to her fate.

  I took a seat in my next class and opened the textbook. I wanted a chance to read ahead so I could follow along with the lesson, but it was also easier to keep my head down as everyone else in the class ignored me. I was surprised when Lynn scuttled up to me and sat close. “Hey,” I greeted her with a smile. “How are things going?”

  Lynn ignored my question. “Have you thought more about what we told you?” she asked in a whisper.

  “It’s kind of hard not to,” I admitted. I was at a loss for how to convince the humans that their concerns about the university being controlled by ‘vampires’ who were kidnapping their loved ones were completely unfounded. Especially since their accusations were correct. It was even more difficult to imagine a scenario where the lamia let the humans go – we were past the time where a little mind control could reset their memories. Death was the only possible fate for them if the lamia found out what they knew.

  “What if I located your stolen items in the lost and found?” I asked Lynn cryptically, hoping she would pick up on my hidden meaning.

  She clenched her jaw. “Then I would want to find a way to punish the thieves,” she said defiantly. “They deserve to suf
fer for what they’ve done, and we need to shut down their operation.”

  I sighed. The humans and lamia were going to clash – it was just a matter of time. Unfortunately, I already knew who the winners would be. Lynn and her small group of high school students were doomed.

  The bell rang, signaling that class was about to start. “Come to a meeting today at my house,” Lynn urged.

  I shook my head. “I can’t,” I said regretfully. Even if Dr. Green wasn’t expecting me at the lab, I needed to stall the humans, not help them move forward with their crusade.

  Lynn glared at me with accusation in her eyes. “You had better not be taking their side,” she said viciously.

  I recoiled from her unexpected attack. “I’m not,” I reassured her. “I just need more time to investigate the things you told me.”

  Lynn stared at me with accusing eyes as the teacher asked everyone to take their seats. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said hesitantly.

  Lynn didn’t respond and instead whirled around to go back to where she had left her pile of belongings. It looked like Lynn and I had reached an impasse. We were either going to be friends or enemies. There wasn’t any room for innocent bystanders or neutral parties.

  Chapter 14

  Lori

  Grayson put his arm around me as we waited for Dr. Green. The professor had been so busy with the twins that I'd gotten a little break from our sessions. I'd been dreading resuming our regular schedule because I knew Dr. Green was going to pressure me about agreeing to the procedure. I did feel a little guilty at letting them bear the brunt of Dr. Green's attention, but I was dreading facing the proposition he had offered me. I was tempted by all the abilities that being a full wolf shifter would give me. I hated always being less than everyone around me, I wanted to stand tall as an equal member of my pack. But I knew Dr. Green was hiding something sinister behind his kind words.

  "Lori, Grayson," Dr. Green greeted us with a warm smile. "I'm all set up for you."

  I reluctantly followed Dr. Green into his lab, taking comfort at the feel of Grayson's hand on the small of my back

  "Have a seat, Lori," Dr. Green offered as he gestured to a steel exam table.

  I sighed and used the small stool in front of the table to hop up on it. Grayson leaned against the wall next to me and crossed his arms as he watched Dr. Green approach me. I relaxed a little bit, knowing that nothing would get past Gray's watchful eyes. I was safe as long as he was here.

  Dr. Green brought out his stethoscope to listen to my heart. "Your heart rate is a little faster than usual," he murmured to me. "Are you nervous?"

  "Not really," I mumbled.

  Dr. Green moved the stethoscope over my right lung. "Breathe in," he ordered.

  I followed his directions as he moved the stethoscope over my lungs and then to my back.

  "Go ahead and lay back," he said kindly. I did as he asked, and he used the stethoscope to listen to my belly.

  I felt Grayson's agitation and glanced over at him. "Are you okay?" I asked him with the pack bond.

  "Fine," he growled back at me as he clenched his fists.

  Dr. Green slung the stethoscope around his neck and smile down at me. "I think Grayson is getting agitated at how close I am to you." He turned to Gray. "She's getting close to going into heat, isn't she?"

  My eyes widened as Grayson gave a sharp nod. It would be a couple more weeks until I went into heat, but I wondered if my scent had changed enough to affect the behavior of the guys? It was one thing to know it was coming, but another to have to deal with the consequences this early. I sat up when Dr. Green moved away from me to scribble in a notebook.

  Grayson hadn't spoken to me about how my relationship with Kannon had progressed, but he was definitely aware. All the guys were. I'd initially worried that would make things more awkward between all of us, but I'd been wrong. If anything, it seemed to make the rest of my pack mates more comfortable being affectionate with me.

  "Lori, have you thought more about the procedure I mentioned?" Dr. Green asked as he looked up from his notes.

  I cleared my throat. "You mentioned that you were going to share the results of testing it on one of your people first?"

  Dr. Green smiled. "Yes. As you may already know, most lamia have human blood. After all, we've been mixing with humans for centuries now."

  I blinked in surprise. I hadn't known that.

  "Every generation gets closer to obtaining more genetic purity, but human DNA gets passed down just as often as the unique genetic code that makes us lamia. The offspring of a lamia and a powerful witch can be completely human."

  My jaw dropped. Dr. Green was sharing more information about his species than I had ever known before. But this must be why he was so intent on developing his procedures. His race considered human blood to be a contaminant, just like the wolves did. Those of us with human blood would always be regarded as second class citizens.

  "And the procedure to eliminate human DNA?" I asked cautiously. "How did that go?"

  Dr. Green smiled. "It went well. Two of my test subjects are transitioning now, and I expect them to convert into a full-blooded lamia."

  "What about the others?" Grayson asked quietly. "I take it there were more than two that chose to attempt the change?"

  "There were," Dr. Green admitted. "Three others were resistant to the change."

  "Were they hurt?" I asked.

  "Disappointed, but physically well," Dr. Green said with a shrug.

  Grayson and I exchanged glances. Dr. Green wasn't telling us the whole story.

  "What do you think, Lori?" Dr. Green asked with a friendly smile. "We can plan on doing your procedure over Christmas break, so you don't need to miss any school. I know that's important to you."

  "Um," I said hesitantly. "I'm still not sure if it's worth the risk." Magic always came with a cost, and I'd already experienced the negative side. There was no guarantee that this procedure would work, and it sounded like Dr. Green wasn't going to be forthcoming with his actual results.

  Dr. Green looked down at his notebook in disappointment and tapped his pen absentmindedly. "I'll give you some more time to think about it," he said eventually. "In the meantime, I'll continue to work on isolating the DNA sequences that are tied to your wolf abilities. I'll also need to continue working with the pack to get a better feel for the energy and magic that flows between you."

  Grayson grunted in acknowledgment, but I stayed quiet. Dr. Green was going to keep planning as if I had already agreed. Would he accept my answer if my final decision was no?

  Dr. Green continued with what turned out to be a short and relaxed session, but I could feel the jaws of a trap closing in around me. Time was slipping by, and I worried that we had waited too long to make our move. We'd hesitated because we thought we could be successful at running an auto shop, and we hoped we'd be able to blend into the town.

  We were stupid.

  We kept making the wrong decisions and kept thinking things would get better. They wouldn't. Now that we were being watched so closely, our chances for escape were even slimmer. The next opportunity we had, we wouldn't be able to hesitate or think it through. We'd have to act quickly.

  Chapter 15

  Lori

  I darted through the darkness and huddled in the shadows. It only took seconds for Kannon to catch up and crouch next to me. Kannon and I were about to break into Mr. Reaven's house to uncover what he’s been hiding.

  Kannon had finished making the jammer we needed to disable Mr. Reaven's security system, and we were confident that the house was going to be empty for several hours. Mr. Reaven was at a city council meeting tonight, so he and his wife should be gone long enough for us to get what we needed and get back out. Mrs. Reaven always went with him so that she could whisper in his ear and influence council votes.

  "It's clear," Kannon said with our pack bond.

  I nodded in acknowledgment. Kannon swung his backpack in front of him to unload our tools for
the break-in. Mr. Reaven had a camera at his front door, but not by the back. We'd spied on him enough to realize that he also kept a key under the back mat for the maid service that came by once a month. Luckily for us, he and his wife were too lazy or forgetful to pick it back up – it stayed there after her last visit yesterday.

  Kannon activated the homemade jammer, and I flipped up the mat to grab the key. I held my breath as I inserted the key into the lock and turned it. The door creaked open, and no alarms went off. Kannon hung back in the hall near the alarm control panel. We didn't want the system coming back up while we were in the house and had decided that Kannon would be the one to keep watch while I searched.

  I crept down the hall to the office. If Mr. Reaven had anything incriminating in the house, it would be in his office, away from his wife's curious eyes. I knew he would want to do his evil deeds in private – he always played the respectable businessman in public. I didn't turn on any lights as I made my way through the house and to the office. Once there, I made sure the curtains were tightly drawn before I turned the computer on.

  When I had worked with Mr. Reaven in the ice cream shop, he had always written down his passwords on squares of paper. He was always so worried about not being able to log into his accounts that he kept his notes right near where he would need to use his password. I was betting that he did the same here at home.

  While the computer started up, I searched through the desk drawers and found nothing. There were only office supplies mixed in with random odds and ends that seemed to have accumulated over time. I started to get frustrated with how long this was taking and then searched again, this time more thoroughly. I looked through each sheet of paper and ran my hands along the inside of the drawers for hidden compartments.