N. Walters - Isaiah's Haven

“You sent me away. You sent me away.” His voice had become little more than a whisper until it disappeared totally.

She’d cried out and the sound had pulled her out of sleep.

She lay on the bed shivering, not with cold, but with barely suppressed desire. She didn’t want to move. Her breasts ached and her sex throbbed, empty and aching.

She could easily have stayed in bed forever. Being surrounded by Isaiah’s scent was almost as good as being held in his arms. But he wasn’t here, his smell would eventually fade from the sheets and she had a family to protect.

Sighing, she shoved the comforter down and sat up. She felt groggy and it was difficult to string a coherent thought together. Her mouth was dry and she felt sticky and uncomfortable.

She’d slept in her clothes. How grungy was that?

Sliding her legs over the side of the mattress, she paused and took a moment to collect herself. No one had come looking for her. That was a good sign. Benjamin must be resting and there had been no further threats to the security of the pack, at least for the moment. Still, she had to know.

It took more effort than she’d thought to stand, but once she was on her feet she went straight to the kitchen and grabbed the phone. She had no idea where her cell phone was and didn’t want to take the time to search for it. The phone rang twice before it was answered.

“Haven.” Michael’s voice came clearly over the line.

She tried to swallow and realized too late that she should have had a glass of water first. “Hey, honey.” She cleared her throat and kept going. “How is Benjamin?”

“He’s still sleeping. Everything is fine. Give me a sec.” She heard him call out to Kevin and then the sounds of the club receded. The sound of footsteps echoed through the receiver. She turned toward her front door just as it opened and Michael walked in.

Meredith clicked her phone off and put it back in the stand. Michael tucked his phone into his back pocket and kept coming until she was enfolded in his arms.

“Did you sleep at all?” His voice was gruff with concern.

She pulled back so she could see him clearly. “I didn’t expect to, but I did. Thank you.”

He shook his head, a pained look in his eyes. “Don’t thank me. It’s no more than I should have done.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and continued. “We called in the human staff to work the day shift. Hank and I took turns keeping an eye on things while everyone else rested. We figured it was better if only family worked tonight. Just in case.”

He didn’t need to finish that statement. They were all expecting trouble of some kind, sooner rather than later.

Meredith stifled a yawn. She really needed a cool shower to throw off the remnants of her nap, and her erotic dream. “Good thinking.”

Michael smiled at her, reached out and brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. “Why don’t you shower and come downstairs. Teague has a pot of chicken soup on the stove waiting for you.”

In spite of his rough appearance, Teague was a wizard in the kitchen. And his chicken soup was her favorite. “I think I’d like that.”

Her son leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Good.”

“I’ll check on Benjamin first.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else.” Michael kissed her again. “We’ve got it covered downstairs until you get there.”

He left her standing in her kitchen, slightly bemused. There was a change in her son, a new maturity that hadn’t been there before. Maybe something good had come out of this mess.

And maybe it was her fault he hadn’t matured as quickly as he possibly should have. She’d been guilty of overprotecting all of them.

“What’s done is done.” She headed toward the shower, tugging off clothing as she went.

Isaiah had decided to have a quick bite to eat at a restaurant just down the road before going back to settle in to his watch for the night. He was enjoying a quick dinner of lasagna and garlic bread when the hairs on the back of his neck stirred.

He lowered his fork slowly, not daring to move, barely daring to breathe. Something was wrong.

His free hand slid down to the sheath strapped to his ankle, his fingers closing around the hilt of his knife. Danger . His instincts were screaming at him.

His first thought was bounty hunters. He scanned the room but didn’t recognize anyone. Not that he expected to. They’d killed the hunters who had attacked last night. All except for the unknown sniper on the rooftop who’d gotten away.

A group of men followed a waitress to a table on the far side of the room. He studied the way they moved, the way their gazes scanned the room. Isaiah glanced down at his plate just in time to avoid being caught looking at them.

Werewolves.

There was no disguising the way they moved or their hyper-awareness of their surroundings. It took one to know one. What were three werewolves doing here?

This neighborhood was getting very crowded with paranormal creatures and hunters.

Coincidence? He didn’t think so.

The smells of the humans and the spices of the food helped mask their scent. Which was a good thing. If he couldn’t smell them, they couldn’t know about him. He’d be fine as long as he didn’t draw their attention.

He picked up his fork and forced himself to start eating. Using his preternatural sense of hearing, he tried to eavesdrop on them. It wasn’t easy. He had to tune out all the other noise around him.

The men ordered dinner and said little until the waitress returned with their meals. A waitress came up to take Isaiah’s empty dinner plate and he ordered coffee and a dessert he didn’t want. But there was no way he could leave before these men. They’d spot him in a heartbeat. And while they were no danger to him, he didn’t want them asking any questions about what he was doing here.

He would do nothing that might jeopardize Meredith and her pack.

After what felt like an eternity, but was probably no more than twenty minutes, one of the men shot a glance around the room and leaned in closer. Isaiah pretended to be absorbed with his dessert, but listened intently.

“…email…park…”

Isaiah swore under his breath. He needed to hear more. Had someone contacted them about what had happened in the park last night? Were they possibly here to search for more bounty hunters? That made sense. Werewolves hated the hunters with a passion.

“…wolves…female…”

A low growl threatened to escape him and Isaiah barely managed to swallow it back. The muscles in his arms and shoulders rippled and bunched. He forced himself to breathe deep and slow. The last thing he needed to do was change and let his wolf rip out their throats. That would surely attract unwanted attention.

The metal fork in his hand bent and he carefully set it on the table by his plate. The men shoved away from the table and headed toward the front door. He studied them surreptitiously as they paid for their meal.

When the front door closed behind them, Isaiah was on his feet and across the room. He tossed his waitress the money for his meal and a substantial tip and exited the restaurant.

As the warm air and spicy smells receded, he peered up and down the street, catching a glimpse of the men as they turned a corner. Isaiah loped down the sidewalk. He had to know what they were doing. If they were friend or foe.

Opening all his senses, Isaiah took a quick glance around the corner before following the three men into a dark alley.

The smells that masked his presence also made it more difficult to follow the wolves. Thankfully, they weren’t exactly sneaking around or he’d have had a much harder time.