Gordon waited until the doctor left her room before he went to the door again. The past three times he'd tried to see her someone, usually her aunt Glad, was blocking his path. He could have moved her out of his way, but Alexis was upset enough without him physically moving her aunt so that he could explain. And this time wasn't any different.

"You could have handled that a little better."

Gordon leaned back against the wall near Alexis' door before he answered his mom. "I know. I should have guessed she'd been hurt more than just today by him." Gordon glanced over at the kids. "If she's that terrified of him, I wonder what he's done to those guys."

Tim kept giving him that look. The one that said "I'm watching you." The little girl, Sis, would talk your arm off, but even with the little time he'd spent with her he could tell she was afraid. She also kept reaching for someone's hand to hold as if she was terrified of being left behind. Jake wasn't a typical kid. Quiet and reserved, but friendly when he spoke. It was Darcy who he was worried about the most. She'd been hurt and hurt badly.

She didn't speak, at least not since they'd come in with the aunts. She simply sat next to Glad and stared at the floor. When someone spoke to her she would look toward them, but she never made eye contact, nor did she acknowledge anyone in any way. He would bet his last dollar that the father had done something to her or she'd seen him do something that had terrified her.

"What are you going to do?" his mom asked, bringing his mind away from whatever Darcy's father may have done. "I'm sure I don't have to remind you that she's your mate, Gordon. You need her."

He nodded. "But I don't know what happened so I can't show her I won't hurt her." He looked over at the kids. "Or the kids. And I think that alone will keep her from trusting me."

The door opened beside them and Alexis came out in a wheel chair. He knew she'd been released AMA, or against medical advice, and he wondered if she'd be all right. He didn't say anything to her, but followed behind her, the nurse, and Jessie. He waited until they were outside before he knelt down in front of her. Speaking softly, he looked at her.

"I won't hurt you. Not ever. It's in my DNA to never be able to harm you or your family." Not unless they harmed her, he thought, but didn't share that with her. "Friday was going to be my last day on the job, but under the circ.u.mstances, the boss is letting me-"

"He knows what you are? What you're capable of?"

He'd expected this from her, but it still hurt him that she would have so low an opinion of him. "Yes, he knows I'm a werewolf. He also knows I can be trusted." She snorted, but he continued. "I won't hurt you, Alexis. I know this is a lot to take in, but after a little bit of time, you'll be-"

"No, I won't. You'll need to stay away from me and the children, Officer Force. I want nothing to do with you. I have enough going on right now and I don't want you coming around messing things up for me and the children." He heard the car pull up behind him as she continued. "Now if you don't mind, I need to get home."

When she stood, so did he. He was hurt and p.i.s.sed off or he might have been a little gentler with her. But he wanted her, right now. He wanted her with all his being. Pulling her to him, he took her mouth. When she whimpered a little, he pulled back, but didn't let her go. Cupping her a.s.s in his hand, he rocked her into him, letting her feel just what she did to him.

His c.o.c.k ached to be free and buried deep inside of her. Moving down her jaw with his lips he tasted her blood again, this time from her cut lip. The sweetness of it from when he'd bitten her earlier came rushing back to him. Need coiled in his belly and groin and had his wolf snarling at him to claim her.

She tangled her fingers into his hair and he pulled her tighter. With his mouth he worked his way down her throat to his mark. The need to bite her again almost as overwhelming as the need to mate with her, he felt her shift and then there was pain. It was slowly making him aware of his b.a.l.l.s and that she'd kicked him. It blossomed in his lower belly and then out to every part of him. He could almost feel it in his hair follicles.

As he dropped to his knees he heard someone behind him say, "f.u.c.k." It might have been any one of his brothers, he just didn't care. He curled into a ball just as the car was pulling away. He watched it from the level of the sidewalk, wondering if he could get it to come back and run over him at least once to take away the pain.

He decided he was going to have to make her pay for this. He could think of one or two ways right off the top of his head he was going to enjoy. Spanking her tight little a.s.s sounded very good right now.

"Hurts, huh?" Gordon glanced at his brother Connor who had just spoken. "Women just don't play fair when they knee you like that. I wonder who the first man was they did that to and how he reacted." Connor looked out across the lot before he spoke again. "Mom and CJ went to get the car for you. Austin and Dallas are over there still laughing at you."

Gordon could hear them now. The pain was receding enough that he could think around it. He decided they were going to pay as well. It just wouldn't be as pleasurable as the plans he had for Alexis and him.

He groaned as he sat up. "I did this, not her. I should have been a lot better about this. I didn't explain things well enough and now she's scared." He hoped that he'd have the opportunity to do so anyway.

Connor was nodding before he finished speaking. He looked off to where their brothers were talking to CJ when Connor spoke again. This time his voice was hard.

"I think I might have met the one that hurt her. Well, not met him per se, but I have seen his dirty work. I could smell him on her." Connor leaned back and took something out of his pocket. "This is the notice that I got from one of the guys I work with. He doesn't know what we are, but he gave this to me to invite me to it."

Gordon took the sheet of paper and started to read it. He was about halfway through it when Dallas and Austin came up beside him. Without saying a word he handed it up to them then stood. He waited for them to finish.

"Where did you get this?" Austin asked as he flipped the sheet over. "This has to be a joke. Why on earth would you put something out like this for real?"

It was an open invitation to come see a wolf fight. And not just any normal wolves fight either. It said that a werewolf was going to take on anyone that cared to step into the ring with him. There was a picture of a wolf standing over the body of a man who'd had his throat ripped out. The wolf was covered in blood and his fangs still dripped with it.

"This guy I work with gave it to me. He'd been handing them out for about an hour at the beginning of the shift and I didn't get to see what it was until later." Gordon looked at Austin before he shuddered. "The guy in the picture, he was there too, only he was in the parking lot. I could smell him, smell his wolf. His scent was on the woman just now."

Connor was a detective now, homicide. He'd worked his way up the ranks and had taken on extra cla.s.ses and jobs to be one. And in less than three years he'd finally made detective first grade. He was the best of the best in detective work. Gordon was very proud of his twin and wished him the best of luck. Gordon, however, was very content to be the second in the pack just under his brother Dallas.

"This is against our pack law. I wonder who he thinks he is just..." Austin looked at both of them. "Have either of you been to one of these? Maybe not this one, but ones like this?"

They both shook their heads, but Gordon spoke up. "I've been clean up on them though. There was a ring of these fights about six months ago and there were several men killed. They simply left the bodies behind when they moved on."

Connor nodded. "Yeah, I remember that. Seven dead with two of them wolves. They were cubs, not much older than seventeen. I couldn't say much because of the other department in charge, but the wolves had more than likely been in over their heads and had shifted back after they'd been killed."

Austin handed the paper back to Connor. "Find out what you can and be quiet about it. I don't need to tell you if the humans get wind of this they'll hunt us down. Gordon, take care of your mate. And find out if she knows anything about this and if not, then she'll need more protection."

The ride back to the pack house was noisy. They had a plan in the works before they pulled into the driveway. And when they saw Phil there sitting on the porch they got his help as well.

Alexis looked at her face in the mirror. She looked like she'd gone a few rounds with a champ and had come out a loser. In addition to her split lip and black eye she had several cracked ribs and the color of her torso was vivid. She pulled her shirt back down over the worst of them when she went to answer the door to her bedroom. She was surprised to see Phil there. She wasn't, though, to see Gordon with him.

"You've been busy, I see. I don't suppose I could persuade you to take me to your office to talk? I love the view from that room." She let Phil kiss her cheek and ignored the growl from the idiot behind him.

"Sure, but just so you know, if whatever you want involves him, it's a no." She led the way to her office. She, too, loved the view. "The windows were put in last week and the floors are all finished too. You should see my bedroom. Oh Phil, its perfect."

"He will not be going to your bedroom. I don't care how nice the view is. Do you hear me, Phil? I'm serious." Alexis huffed at Gordon, but didn't comment. "I'm not kidding, Alexis. Wolves are a very jealous bunch and he'll stay out-"

"If I want to take him down there and f.u.c.k his brains out, it'll be none of your f.u.c.king business." She heard Phil tell her to stop, but she'd had enough. "What business is it of yours-"

She was suddenly against the wall with Gordon pressing against her. He was different and it took her several seconds to realize what it was. His eyes had changed. They were a light brown, but now there were dark, almost black, and he smelled different. He smelled... She leaned her face into his neck and sniffed. Ever nerve in her body woke up at the scent. His low growl only made her want more. More of something only he could give her, she was sure.

"Christ," she heard Phil say from behind them. "You're making me crazy over here. Mate with her later. Right now we need to speak to her. Your scent is driving me over the edge."

Breathing hard, she looked up at Gordon again. His eyes were now the normal shade of brown, but his smell made her dizzy. She swallowed hard when he looked down at her mouth.

"He's right. We need to talk to you. But you should know that I can smell you too." He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I can smell your arousal. Are you wet, baby?"

She wanted to tell him that the sound of his voice had made her that way since yesterday. The climaxes that he'd given her a few days ago seemed to have made her a walking nymphomaniac and he was her only cure. She stood against the wall when he stepped back. She was afraid to look at him, so she looked at Phil.

"You need to talk to me about what? And as a lawyer, why are... Please tell me that you're not here to tell me he's won custody of the children. Oh Phil, you a.s.sured me that he didn't have a s...o...b..ll's chance in h.e.l.l for-"

"No, no that's not it. We're here to...to explain. You need to be aware of what I am and what... Perhaps you should have a seat." Phil glared at Gordon before he continued. "You know, this is the second time I've had to do this for your family to take the heat off one of you. I don't think this is such a good idea."

"But you'll help. CJ said you really helped her when she needed it and she did tell you she really like her. Come on, Phil, please?"

Alexis was about to remind them that she was in the room with them when Phil suddenly turned to her.

"You need to have a seat. And what I'm going to tell you is very...dangerous. Not only to me, but to you as well. Understand?"

She started to nod then shook her head as she sat down. "No, I don't. You come in here wanting to see the view in my office and...s.h.i.t, you were getting me alone. Oh no, something's happened. What is it? Is it your mom?"

"Okay." Phil sat on the floor in front of her. "You know he's a were, correct? And what that means to you?"

"I know that he did something to me that made Pa...made someone p.i.s.sed off at me. What did he do, Phil? Please tell me the truth and I'll believe you."

"Oh, honey, I hope you're right. I've really come to enjoy you and your family." Phil turned and glared at Gordon then looked back at her. "He's your mate. And as I'm aware he didn't tell you this before he marked you. I'll explain."

"Marked me? I don't...he bit me." She stood and nearly knocked Phil over. "You son of a b.i.t.c.h. What the f.u.c.k gave you the right to-"

"Sit the f.u.c.k down," Phil thundered, and she sat. She was really glad she was near a couch or she might have ended up on the floor. "Now, we are going to do this like adults without name calling and certainly not with anger."

When Gordon came and sat next to her she tried to scoot away from him, but he kept moving over. With a low growl from Phil, which surprised her to no end, she sat still. Something was going on here and she wasn't all that thrilled about finding it out.

"Now, as I was saying. He marked you. Yes, I agree that he should have spoken to you before he bit you, but that is over with. He's your mate for better or worse." He glared when Gordon started to speak. "I'm doing this my way, wolf, or I walk. Your family is not on my best buddy list right now so I suggest you shut up as well."

"Well, why don't you get to the point already? There are things going on that you're well aware of and I can't be responsible for how she reacts later." Gordon started to stand, but waited for some approval from Phil before he started pacing. "There are things going on, things that could come to hurt you, and Phil has agreed to help me keep you safe."

She looked at them again. Seriously? Phil was a nice man and all, but protect her from Paddy? She didn't think he had a violent bone in his entire body. She grinned at him when he sat next to her.

"What do you suppose you can do that I can't. No offense, but you're not really the type of man I'd call if I had a bully. You're more the...behind the desk and sue their a.s.s sort of bully." She took his hand as she continued. "I think the world of you and your family, but I think you might want to sit this one out."

"Honey," he told her with a grin that was not at all nice, "I'm more scary than anything in this room. I'm a vampire."

Chapter 5.

Phil waited for her to say something. He could see that she really didn't believe him. He didn't blame her. There were days when he didn't believe it himself. He sat back and waited for the questions, hysterics...something. What he got was a complete surprise.

"Vampire. Okay, so if there are werewolves, there should be something...someone bigger right?" Alexis got up to pace as she talked seemingly to herself. "Paddy wasn't nice before he did whatever and now he's...well, I was going to say monster, but I don't want to be mean to that species either."

"Alexis," Gordon started, only to be ignored. When he looked at him, Phil simply shook his head. He thought she might be able to work this one out on her own.

"You can walk during the day. Is that the norm for your...what are you, a species or a race?"

Phil grinned. "Race. Species makes us sound like we were invented in a lab somewhere. We're real. And no, it's not normal for a vampire to walk in the daylight hours. My mother is a pureblood and my father isn't. I can eat food as well as drink from a person. Part of my natural charm, I suppose you could say. Are you all right, honey?"

She nodded as she continued pacing and speaking. "So there are more of you. Okay. Probably lots of people I know are...aren't what they seem. I guess I'll have to pay more...CJ? Is she a...what did you call it, a were?"

"Yes," Gordon said. "CJ was turned when she mated to Austin. She's a white wolf, rare for us even as a natural wolf. She's a gift to our pack."

"Doesn't that make it hard for her to hunt?" Before either man could answer, she answered her own question. "Of course I suppose it doesn't matter if you can just go down to the local meat market and pick up your meal. Sorry," she said flushing. "I'm trying to absorb this."

"You're doing great. Go on, work it out, love." She glared at Gordon and had Phil nearly laugh out loud from her expression.

"You'd do well to take the vampire's advice and shut up." She paced some more before she suddenly stopped and took several deep breaths. "I just told a werewolf to take the advice of a vampire and shut up. OhmyG.o.d, ohmyG.o.d, ohmyG.o.d. I need to...I need to take... I'll be-you'll have to-I'll be right back."

Neither man moved when she suddenly dashed out the side door to her office. She was running across the field and toward the waterfall before either man stood. When Gordon started to go after her, Phil stopped him.

"She needs this. Let her go. You've taken her blood so if she gets into trouble, you'll know it." Phil looked around the room. "You should see if there is anything in here that you can get a clue about your mate."

"What do you mean? Snoop?" Gordon shook his head. "I can't do that to her. She already doesn't trust me not to hurt her. If she figures out that I've gone through her things it'll make matters worse."

Phil looked around the room that was so much a part of the girl outside that he could see why she loved it here. He sighed heavily. He'd been a vampire for nearly four hundred years and still couldn't understand the human psyche. Even this wolf seemed to have no clue about women. Not that he was having any luck with his own mate, but that was another story.

"What do you see in this room? Take away the fact that you're a cop and look at this room as if you're looking through her eyes." Phil did the same. "The windows, the sheer size of them, what does that tell you?'

Phil looked out the large wall of windows. They'd been specially made for this room, he knew. There were three of them and they didn't just come together as much as they blended to give the room the natural setting. He didn't doubt that the woman who designed this room was as in love with nature as the man she'd been fated to be mated to.

The first window was nearly ten feet at its widest width. At the top it was about four feet and then got larger as it went to the floor. The trim around it was an old oak log. The wood had been cut in a way that the gla.s.s looked like it was there naturally. The next pane of gla.s.s was nearly fifteen feet in width. It was only a few feet smaller at the top and it too fit into a log of dark cherry. Phil could actually smell the wood now that he was in here. The last panel of gla.s.s was over thirty feet and overlapped the next wall, which was stone from the mountain the house rested against. The masonry work alone to put the wall together had cost Alexis a fortune, but she could well afford it.

"She likes the outdoors. She has a lot of it in here as well as outside." Gordon was looking at the room from the window. "She said her bedroom had a view. The one time I was there, I don't...she and I got distracted and I can't remember what it looked like."

"Yes. When the house was being renovated I was onsite. Her room, the master suite, is below us. Much more below us. She can not only see what's behind you, but more. Most of the room's view is of the waterfalls and the stream goes right past her windows. When she purchased this house she did it because of the way it sat. The builders told her that she'd never get what she had in the house, but she told them to...well, they built it to her specs, but made fun of her ideas while they did it. I think once the house was finished they were the ones eating crow."

Gordon nodded. "She spends a lot of time in here. So do the children. She has a lot of wood worked into the room. Almost as if she was trying to keep the world that's just out there at her fingertips. She...she's going to be a beautiful wolf."

Phil thought so too. Not only did he think she would be a more beautiful wolf than CJ, but he thought she'd be a bigger gift to the pack now forming. There was something about Alexis that made him think she wasn't simply a woman with a great deal of brains. He'd bet anything she was a woman with a little magic too.

Gordon spoke and brought him from his musings. "She doesn't trust me. Not at all, and I'm not sure what to do about that. She's been hurt, hurt more than what the other wolf did to her the other day, hasn't she? And more than...more than her sister's death. What happened, do you know?"

He did, but he didn't feel it was his story to tell. He also knew that the little girl, Darcy, was hiding behind more than her not speaking. The little girl was suffering in ways that no one could really see. He just hoped that someone reached her before it was too late.

"I can't tell you that. That tale is going to have to come from her." Phil saw her coming across the field. "Gordon, you know that she took this all very well, but I doubt that it will help you overly much in what you want from her. You should simply mate with her and then try to make her understand what you're trying to do."

Phil winced when he thought about the advice he was giving the wolf. His own mate, Gordon's sister, was driving him crazy right now. And if he could just get her in a room for more than five minutes without her taking a strip off his hide he'd do the same thing and take her. She was his mate and d.a.m.n it, he was tired of waiting on her. He frowned when he thought about where she was. He wasn't thrilled about her not telling anyone where she was all the time either. He wasn't even sure that Austin knew and he was her alpha.

Alexis came in the door just as her office door opened. Sis walked in, took one look around, and started for Gordon. No one said anything as she took his hand and led him to the couch. When she pointed to it he sat down and she crawled up into his lap. Phil wasn't sure who was more shocked by the move, Alexis or Gordon. Phil decided they didn't really need him anymore and slipped out of the room.

Gordon looked down at the little blond bundle in his lap. She was sucking her thumb and her eyes were closed. He could see her lashes as they fanned across her cheeks. He leaned down and buried his nose in her hair. Sunshine and warmth was all he could think about. He looked up at Alexis when she sat down across from him.

"She's never done that before. Not since my sister...she doesn't trust others since Judith died." Gordon had a moment to wonder if the child was more like her aunt than either of them realized. "When she died they were so lost. Darcy most of all, but Sis seemed to bounce back. At least during the day. She still screams in her sleep."

"Were they there? The children, were they there when it happened?" He knew that the boys hadn't been there. They'd been away at camp he'd read in the report from Dallas.

"Darcy was home from school for a doctor's appointment. Sis isn't old enough to go to school yet and Judith couldn't manage day care on what little she'd get from the state. I told her that I'd pay, but she was very prideful and wouldn't let me." Alexis stood to take the baby from him. He stood with her and she led him out of the room.

They put her into her little bed. Gordon could see that the two girls shared a room. He could even tell which sibling shared what part of the room. The side that held the bed that Sis now occupied was covered in dolls and books, pink stuffed animals, and a bright pink spread. The room looked like a child played here. The other was in deep contrast to this one.

The spread was a dark purple. That, as far as he could see, was the only color on that side of the room. It wasn't as though the room was done in black, but it was devoid of color of any other kind. The walls were white, the dresser and the desk as well. There were no books on the shelf and the bed was neatly made and nothing was out of place. He looked at Alexis when she cleared her throat.

"She didn't want it any other way." She looked at the bed. "Nothing I could do could make her chose a color. The spread was picked out by Sis or she'd have a white comforter too." She nodded toward the door. "Let me show you out. Sis will sleep better if we leave her be."

Gordon followed her out without a word. He wasn't leaving her. Not tonight or any other night if he could help it. She was his and he needed to claim her before Patrick Booth hurt her. And he would once the pack started to come down on him. He'd do whatever he could to hurt her more than she'd already been hurt by him.