N. Walters - Finding Chrissten

Chrissten needed to sit. Her legs were shaking and she was starting to feel a little weak. She hadn’t eaten much this evening other than the milkshake.

Quinn took one arm and Craig the other and they led her over to the table. She sank down in the chair and her brothers took up posts in the ones on either side of her. Hank stood behind her chair, his hands resting on the back. She felt his fingers playing with her braid and wanted to lean back into his touch, to acknowledge it, but didn’t dare. She had to keep her emotions compartmentalized. It was the only way she’d make it through this meeting.

Donovan pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. “Isaiah told us what happened. We’re going to get that bastard and the rest of his pack.” His upset for her seemed genuine.

Chrissten was slightly taken aback by his vehemence. She was starting to slightly thaw toward him when he dropped a bomb on her.

“You’ll come back to the Wolf Creek pack and stay with the Brody clan.” He announced it as though it was a done deal.

“Excuse me.” She put enough frost in her voice to freeze a hockey rink.

Her biological father ignored her and turned to Quinn. “As the eldest male of the clan she falls under my protection.”

“I fall under no one’s protection but my own.” Her voice shook she was trembling so hard with barely suppressed fury. “How dare you walk in here and lay down your pronouncements. You’re nothing to me. You’re as bad as Brian.” She slung the barb and knew when it hit home. Donovan flinched slightly, but it didn’t deter him.

“I demand it.” He turned to Joshua. “It’s my right as her father.”

She jumped to her feet, knocking her chair back. It would have hit the floor if Hank hadn’t been behind her. He growled low in his throat, his hands coming up to rest on her shoulders. Her brothers both stood beside her.

“You’re not my father and you have no rights over me. Depositing sperm doesn’t automatically give you a place in my life. You forfeited that years ago. I’m half human and I make my own choices.”

“Damn right.” Quinn growled. “You leave my family the fuck alone.”

Donovan was on his feet now, teeth bared. The situation was quickly deteriorating. Isaiah slowly came to his feet. “Enough.” He didn’t yell. He didn’t have to. His anger was very evident in that one word.

Chrissten was afraid. What if they took her? What if Isaiah and his pack sided with Donovan? What would she and her brothers do then? They couldn’t win a fight against these full-blooded werewolves. And Craig was human. He could be hurt, even killed.

The shadows on the far end of the room shimmered and a man stepped out from the darkness. Immense power ricocheted around the room, pressing down on her until she almost couldn’t stand.

Isaiah rubbed his hand over his face in obvious frustration and glared at the man. “How long have you been standing there, Damek?”

“Long enough.”

So this was the vampire. He certainly lived up to his reputation. His voice was as deep and compelling as the man himself. He was everything a vampire should be wearing a dark suit, his dark hair pulled away from his pale face. He was classically handsome. And he was scary as hell. Chrissten held her breath waiting to see what he would do next.

“This isn’t your business…” Donovan began.

“I said enough.” Pure steel laced Isaiah’s voice. “This is my home and Chrissten is under my protection. She goes nowhere she doesn’t want to.”

Her relief was so profound she got lightheaded and started to sway. Hank steadied her without really seeming to as she sat back down. The gesture meant everything to her. He knew how important it was for her to appear strong in front of the rest of the group. She’d only let down her guard with her brothers and with him.

Donovan looked as though he wanted to say more but subsided.

Damek strolled over to the table and picked up the thread of conversation. “It is my business, wolf, since the moment I was drawn into it. Chrissten has been through more than you can imagine. More than most could ever hope to survive.”

He knew everything. She’d forgotten that. He’d gotten into the mind of Philip Morton and discovered all his secrets and hers as well. He knew all her shame and the pain she’d suffered. It was like being totally naked in front of a stranger. Well, she’d had that happen to her before and survived. She would get through this as well.

When her eyes met the vampire’s she saw nothing but respect and compassion in his gaze. He inclined his head toward her. Then he looked at Craig and smiled. “I find I like these Lawton siblings. They are under my protection.” Damek walked behind Donovan and stopped and put his hands on the male’s shoulders. “That means they are to be left alone.”

“You can’t do that,” Donovan protested, but he didn’t move to attack the vampire.

Damek shrugged and walked away. “It is already done. They are protected by me and by this pack. You have no claim to her. If you want any kind of relationship with her I suggest you stop acting like an arrogant ass and more like a concerned parent.”

Chrissten held her breath, not knowing what to expect from Donovan. At the very least she expected an outburst of some sort, verbal if not physical.

Instead the man hung his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay. I know you’re right. It’s just that I feel so damn helpless. I want to protect her.” He raised his head. “I want to protect my children.”

At that moment, she pitied him. He’d lost both children before he’d even had them. Maybe they could forge some kind of relationship in the future but it would never be what it might have been. She and Quinn were adults with lives of their own now. The time for bonding with them was long gone. Then there was Craig. No way would either she or Quinn go anywhere without him.

“So it’s settled.” Isaiah placed his palms on the table. “Chrissten and her brothers are welcome here for as long as they want to stay.” He turned to Donovan. “You’re welcome to stay and help us search for Brian and the rest of his rogues.” Finally, he smiled at his brother and sister-in-law. “And I’m looking forward to getting all the news from you two.”

Hank gave her shoulder a squeeze to remind her he was still behind her. As if she could ever forget. He was her rock. He gave her the confidence to assert herself. In her heart, she knew he’d stand with her and her brothers against her father if it came to that. It was both comforting and scary to accept that.

Hank was getting too attached to her. And she was beginning to depend way too much on him. There was nothing she could give him. Not now. She had a messed-up family, no permanent home and a death sentence hanging over her head. That’s how she thought of Brian, a death sentence. In spite of her brave words, her life wasn’t her own and wouldn’t be until Brian was dead.

Damek seemed to flow across the floor, all his attention on Craig. “Any luck with those addresses I gave you?”

Craig shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Hmm.” The vampire tapped his finger on his chin. “I may have to do a little hunting after all. I thought you wolves could handle things, but obviously I was mistaken.”

Growls and grumbles rippled through the bar. Damek seemed totally indifferent to the display of dominance and continued as though he’d never been interrupted. “This must be dealt with before I can travel to do what needs to be done with the rest of the information Doctor Morton so generously shared. The military intelligence about werewolves must be found and destroyed and those at the top must be made to forget all about it.”