A Were Story Ch. 04

"I'm very sorry for not giving you the attention you deserve, henceforth, I'll be all up in your business." He promised with a teasing smile.

Caleb!

Rinaldi's wolf was screaming through their bond

Fuck Rinaldi! I have a situation here!

Caleb replied angrily

Fuck you! I have a bigger situation. Five more minutes and I'll be without balls by the time you arrive

Caleb grunted at his intruding beta, what the hell was Rinaldi making such a fuss over? For someone who prided himself in his ability to charm the pants off any woman, he was doing a poor job with just two. How hard could it be to keep two young women occupied? He had spoken to Kylie, she was as airy as a warm summer day, surely her sister wasn't that hard to contain.

****

"You better point me to whichever room you have my cousin locked in or I'll rip your balls off you." Kennedy threatened the big man that had brought them all the way from Michigan to be some circus shows. They had been in the foyer for ten minutes and the only people they had seen were some random men and women staring at them like they were aliens from outer space.

Sure, she noticed that none of the over twenty people who had suspiciously walked by was black, but they were in freaking America! Surely they weren't getting the funny looks because of their race.

Rinaldi had suggested they find somewhere to seat in one of what she was sure was many living rooms in this mansion, but she vehemently refused moving further than the distance she could see the exit before they saw who they came for. Now she was really starting to think these people had other reasons for bringing them here and they had unwittingly fallen into some sick trap.

He rolled his eyes at her, "First off, once again, my friend seems to be running late with your cousin for reasons best known to him, and secondly, once again, I implore you to mind your language. Those who live in this house are not accustomed to such vulgar words."

"My words are going to be the least of your problems if I don't see Cassandra walking towards me in five minutes tops."

"Kennedy."

"You better shut your mouth before I slap your tongue out Kylie. God help me, if we die in this place, I'll still beat your ass on our way to heaven cuz it's your fault we're in this place to begin with."

"I greatly doubt you'll be going anywhere near heaven with that mouth of yours." Rinaldi interjected

"Why don't you do us both a favor and shut up?" She spat him

He gave her a bright smile, "I have a better idea, why don't I do the world a favor and shut you up?"

"Maybe if you produce my cousin, you could achieve that" she spat back at him. She had had enough of dilly-dallying about, if Cassandra was really here and was hale and hearty as they were being told, surely she ought to have long rushed down here to meet them in the midst of this raucous, Cassandra knew her voice, no matter the size of the house, she should have heard them and come down here. So her cousin was either not in this house, or not as well as Rinaldi wished her to believe and neither of those possibilities appealed to her. She knew she was being unreasonable to some extent, but that was she supposed to do? She and Kylie were in a strange city, and not just that, far away from the city center as well. They had never been this deep in unfamiliar terrain, there was no way she could possibly be calm in such a situation, and then the presence of this cocky, self-assured man was another thing that seemed to bother her greatly. Thoughts of that had long been shoved in the recesses of her mind, but even the damned mind wouldn't cast him out.

Rinaldi sucked his teeth in, the belligerence of this woman could test the patience of the calmest of men, even less him who was anything but, he almost regretted that he was the one who was given such an unfavourable assignment- almost, her smart mouth notwithstanding, he was even more eager to introduce her to the pleasures only a mate could bring to another's body...but he made a mental note to give her a good spanking for her terrible behaviour before he schooled her nubile body. It would be a well-earned spanking. She was lucky he was the one she was dealing with, if Roy had been sent on such a task, he would have had her tied up and her mouth stuffed with a cloth and cello-taped for good measure. The thought of his mate being bundled in like some stubborn animal brought a brief smile to his face considering the grief she had put him through so far. His wolf didn't fancy the imagery so much, but it wasn't like she was talking its ear off.

"Wipe that disgusting smirk off your face." Kennedy's sharp tongue cut through the brief haze of mirth he had found himself in for a few golden seconds. If Caleb took any longer, he would be the one to shove a sock in her mouth.

"Kennedy?" Kylie's voice called.

"What Kylie?" she asked her sister, though her glare remained on him.

"Kennedy."

"Wha..." Kennedy paused, taking note that the voice that called her this time was nothing like Kylie's. it was soft and feminine of course, but Kylie's was much tinier. For the first time, she let her eyes leave Rinaldi and looked toward the elegant staircase.

At the head of the stairs stood Cassandra, she had her hand in that of some tall man that looked more like a character from some magical island, but Kennedy didn't dwell on him. She never assumed she could miss anyone so much, not since the death of their mothers, but when she finally sighted her cousin after months of not knowing if she was alive or dead, Kennedy felt relief and happiness wash over her.

"Cassie" she screamed, before she could stop herself, she ran to the staircase, it was rather long by any standards, but as Kennedy moved two steps at a time, she had never felt such lightness. Once she made it to the top of the stairs she grabbed her cousin from the strange man and wrapped her in an embrace as she repeatedly called her name in disbelief. It felt so surreal that she was holding Cassie in her arms, she had held her many times in her dreams, but she always woke to the sad reality that Cassie was only a figment of her imagination. She didn't know if this was a dream, but like always, she wanted to savor this moment.

She felt Cassie's arms wrap around her and then a second pair of arms which she realized belonged to Kylie embraced both of them, "We've missed you so much Cass." She muttered into the nook of her cousin's neck and shoulder.

"I've missed you guys too." Cassandra replied, her voice was a bit weak, but the joy was unmistakable.

"We thought you were dead." Kylie muttered.

The three cousins disengaged from their embrace, all three had smiles on their face, but Kennedy had tears in her eyes and Kylie's face was wet with her tears.

"You look so pale." Kennedy noted as she ran her hand over Cassandra's hair. It didn't matter that Cassandra was the tallest of the three at 5ft.8", Kennedy still treated her like she did when they were younger. Back then, whenever they would go out to play, Kennedy would make sure both she and Kylie were void of injuries before they returned home, and always cleaned any injuries she spotted.

Cassandra smiled at her cousin, "I haven't been in the sun for a while." She supplied, but failed to elaborate on those words.

"Hello, I'm..."

"Caleb!" Kylie cut in before the man Kennedy had briefly wondered about could finish.

He turned to Kylie with a smiling face, "And you must be Kylie." He concluded.

Kennedy watched her sister beam proudly, "Yes, you look so much better than Rinaldi said." Kylie blurted out.

Caleb raised a brow at her words and let his gaze stray to his beta, "Well, considering how jealous he is of my looks, I can imagine how much he downplayed it."

Kylie giggled once again, a sound Kennedy found irritating. This was obviously the man her younger sister had been conversing with on the plane, so they were somewhat familiar, but there was no reason for Kylie to act this way. She looked like some love-struck teenager fawning over her high school crush, she understood the man was gorgeous, and he did have very nice hair if the mane that went past his mid-back was all his, but certainly nothing to giggle about. Now, Rinaldi, that was a man that could give the laughing gas effect. Kennedy shut those thoughts in as soon as they strayed out, what the hell? None of these men was worth giggling over, in fact now that they had Cassie, it was time they left.

"Caleb."

A booming voice that reverberated around the house caught Kennedy's attention and she turned to the foot of the stairs, where some blond giant of a man seemed to be giving Caleb a death glare. She knew she had been using the term 'giant' to describe these men, but this time, this man fit the description to the T. He beat Rinaldi's 6ft4" height by at least three inches and was anything but lean; sturdy legs reminding her of tree trunks were encased in dark jeans, those biceps he had inconspicuously hidden in a grey cotton henley shirt looked like they could crush steel, a wide chest threatened to rip the weak material in two, dirty blond hair fell against broad shoulders and a scowl was set upon a rugged, but otherwise handsome face. He looked exactly how Vikings were portrayed in movies, she would have compared him to Thor but she greatly doubted he would fit in the superhero's suit.

Who was this new addition and why did he look like he wanted to rip Caleb's head off? What the hell was going on in this place?

*****

He knew the minute they arrived upon pack grounds that she was here. As soon as he stepped into the house, her delicious scent wafted into his nose and sent him into overdrive, he ran to his wing of the house, house staff giving him curious looks as he sped past them, but none crazy enough to get in his way. It was a rare sight to find him running through the house, Roy was a big guy and he knew that enough to not rattle the occupants of the house by running, but there were exceptions and today was one of those days that he had to implement such exceptions.

He was in the bathroom in record time and scrubbed through his large frame even faster. The excitement of his wolf to meet their mate resonated through him, causing him to smile stupidly at intervals throughout his preparation whenever he remembered her pretty face. She seemed so delicate in the picture though, that thought gave him pause. He was a brute in every sense of the word, how would he act around a delicate female? He didn't even know how to act around the hardened ones within the compound, how much more one who was mostly innocent of the wiles of the world? He figured he would just have to learn; maybe he would approach Rinaldi on that topic. He paused in his movement when the thought occurred to him. Rinaldi? He would probably have to give that further thought.

He quickly searched through his wardrobe for some decent wear, cursing under his breath when he couldn't find something human women would find impressive, unlike his friends, his wardrobe didn't have one corporate wear in it. He never considered it important to have such clothes, after all, he was a woods man. He hardly ever found his way into the outside world, even less, an event he would have to put on such clothes. Yes, he did have two pairs of suits courtesy of Caleb and his constant nagging him to get something he could wear to a business meeting. Suits were too stuffy for him, he was much too big to look good in those things, so he hardly bothered with them. This time though, he didn't need a suit, but something close enough.

Unfortunately, he couldn't find a dress shirt and maybe some cotton pants.

His wolf was barking at him to hurry up knowing his mate was out there, unattended to, some eager dog was probably salivating over her in that moment. That thought caused him to move faster, he grabbed the first shirt that caught his eye and pulled it over his head, a pair of jeans followed the shirt on his body. He slipped his large feet into a pair of leather slippers, his mind briefly touched on some form of cologne, but he forewent that and rushed out of the room.

He took caution not to run this time, knowing his approach would make a thudding sound that was sure to rattle more than a few occupants including their guests, that was not the kind of impression he was looking to make at their first meeting. He breezed through the house with an airiness that surprised him greatly until he reached the foyer where he could make out some voices.

He heard the excited chatter, a particularly tiny voice resonated in his head when the owner spoke, he heard her mention Caleb's name and then give a compliment about his looks. A knot formed his belly, his wolf sending thoughts to him in relation to his mate. That had to be the other sister talking, but the discomfort that settled within him told him he would be wrong.

He steeled himself and finally walked into the foyer to join the party. Rinaldi was standing at the foot of the grand stairs, his hand in his pants, the man looked a bit tired which was a strange look on an otherwise spritely person. Roy's eyes did not remain on his friend too long though, rather, they strayed upwards toward the others. All four of them were at the top of the stairs; Caleb, Cassandra, and the sisters.

He recognized the one who belonged to him immediately, he also noticed much to his chagrin that she was standing a bit too close to Caleb and her sheepish smile did nothing to soothe the fire that was beginning to rage within him. He glared at his friend, who was yet to notice his presence and let out a thunderous rumble of "Caleb."

Immediately, all eyes fell on him, but in that moment, Roy didn't notice anyone else but the ray of sunshine whose full attention he had now captured. She was stunning. He watched her full lips part invitingly as she stared at him with eyes the size of a saucer, her hand which had been on Caleb's arm dropped to her side. That slight movement was all the proof he needed to know she recognized him.

On his part, Caleb did well to step away from her and towards his mate. Of course, she didn't notice his movement, because her eyes remained on Roy the entire time.

"Roy, you're here just in time to meet Cassandra's cousins." Caleb began in an attempt to break the ice, "Kylie, Kennedy, that's Roy, he's my...deputy, Roy, meet Kylie and Kennedy, Cassandra's cousins."

"Hi." Roy said, his eyes never leaving his mate. She was so much more beautiful in person than in those dull pictures, he particularly loved her head of full, springy curls. There was no doubt in his mind that he would fully enjoy grabbing hold of all that hair while he had his way with her or playing with the curls while they spoke lengthily about any and everything.

"Hi." Kylie replied softly. He couldn't control the burst of pride that filled him knowing he still had her unwavering attention, he wasn't even dressed up or anything like that, but she was staring at him like he was some sort of apparition. Maybe he had been making a fuss out of an irrelevant thing all this while.

"Now that everyone is here, we have a nice little meal set up for our guests, if they wouldn't mind the offer that is." Caleb said, his eyes falling to the older sister. She looked a little combatant, as if getting ready to protest, but she seemed to give it further thought and eased her stance slightly.

"Y'all are lucky I'm famished." She grunted.

She proceeded to walk down the stairs with Cassandra following behind her and Caleb right behind his mate, leaving Kylie still standing at the top of the stairs, she was still staring at him in wonder, Roy wanted to run up to her and introduce himself properly, but he didn't want to scare her off by being too forward.

"Kylie, are you going to stand there all day?" Kennedy called out to her sister.

Roy glared at her, offended that this little woman was raising her voice at his mate in his presence, but she didn't notice, because her attention was on the girl at the top of the stairs who seemed to return to reality once she heard her sister's voice. She blinked a couple of times, with one last glance, she proceeded to come down the stairs.

Roy continued to watch her until he realized someone was standing close to him, he looked down to find Kennedy staring daggers at him, "You better keep your eyes off her, I've floored guys much bigger than you to keep her safe." She warned, with that, she walked away from him, leaving him flabbergasted. As much as Roy admired the strength that oozed off of Kennedy and how protective she was of his mate, he also didn't like the sound of her warning him off of Kylie. He appreciated her efforts so far, but a new Sheriff was in town and it was only a matter of time before she relinquished her protective badge to a much better-qualified person.

"I know how much you want to wring her neck, you unfortunately won't get the chance to do that because she's under my protection." Rinaldi said to Roy.

Roy swiftly turned his gaze to his friend whose eyes was on Kennedy's retreating form, "Yup, I got the balls smasher." He sighed before walking towards the rest of the party.

With Rinaldi gone, Roy's full attention was once again captured by his mate who was now a few inches away. She looked a bit unsure as she continued to stare at him. It was much easier when there were other people with them, now, he felt a bit awkward and just as unsure as she seemed to be. What would he say to break the ice?

"Hi." He spoke softly, he didn't want to scare her off. She was quite petite and much shorter than his 6 ft. 6" height, at least a foot shorter. He would enjoy wrapping her in his arms

"Hi." She replied in that tiny, adorable voice.

His wolf urged him to step forward, take advantage of their brief moment alone and introduce himself properly, the impatient beast wanted to get the formalities over with and claim its mate immediately, but the conservative man it was tied to was ruled by uncertainty. It was a battle of wills in that brief moment, the stronger, more dominant will won over finally and Roy began to close the gap between himself and Kylie.

"Kylie!" the sharp sound caused Roy to halt his movement and Kylie to turn toward the direction it was coming from- the banshee Rinaldi was tied to, had interrupted the moment before Roy could get another word in, by the time he returned his attention to his mate, she was scurrying off towards the others.

His wolf scolded him thoroughly through their bond, accusing him of letting a golden opportunity go by, calling him weak and indecisive. The scolding was well deserved and Roy didn't put in a word of defense on his behalf. He waited a few minutes in the foyer to calm himself down and sooth his bristling wolf, assuring the enraged beast that he wouldn't let another opportunity slip by with their mate. He didn't wait over two hundred years to end up pussyfooting when he finally met his mate.

*****

The feast that awaited them was nothing like they had expected, the table was set with all types of food, some of which none of the three women had ever seen. It looked like a feast for at least ten people, not the small meal Caleb had made it sound like.

The hall in which they ate was large, like the rest of the house and indeed the entire compound, it obviously served more than just one purpose as it could easily be converted to a grand hall once the furniture was moved. The table was a medium sized one, though one could easily deduce such a house would have a much larger table at their disposal. It could contain eight people, but only six of them sat for dinner. Caleb was at the head of the table, Cassandra sat right next to him by his left, Kylie was next to her and Kennedy, next to Kylie. On Caleb's right sat Rinaldi and Roy.