Saint Ives Whelan Chronicles Ch. 13

His bloodied snout just peaked out from under the bushes that surrounded a tidy, organized back yard. A little whimper escaped his throat as he saw the innocent looking woman gather some herbs and vegetables from her garden. When their eyes locked only one word came to mind MINE. He saw her eyes widen in surprise at what she saw, but once he picked up she wasn't scared, he gave up his inner battle and passed out.

How she did it was a mystery at first to him, but the next time he woke up, he was inside a barn. He was back in human form and he noticed several bandages covering his arms, legs and ribcage. He felt stiff and sore all over, even breathing slowly was uncomfortable. Several bruises in all kinds of colors graced his large body.

With a grunt he twisted his head as he heard the barn doors open and close gently, followed by almost silent footsteps in his directions. Not sure what to expect he huddled in a corner, biting his lower lip to prevent him from grunting out his pain as he tried to move.

"Shhhh, it's ok, I mean you no harm," he heard a gentle voice say. The beast within him stirred at the sound of it bring back a few flashes from before he passed out. Again his beast called out Mine! and a soft rumble rose in his chest.

The female gave him a quizzical look, but decided he meant her no harm and approached further. He looked at the things in her arms and concluded she was only wanting to redress his bandages. Relaxing visibly, he scooted a bit closer, out of his corner and watched with great interest how she prepared everything. There seemed to be a method in her actions, a fluency, a grace. Every little thing she did caught his attention.

Richard shook his head as he felt a gentle hand on his thigh, bringing him back to the present time. He smile reassuringly at Gwen, she picked up where his mind had wandered to. As always her gentle touch brought him back and calmed him, soothed his beast.

Following the conversation for a while he stepped in, "This ends, once and for all. Chris I'd be grateful if I'd get the backing of the Alpha Alpha on this, but it's time to put an end to this charade my dad's been having. I'm done hiding, but I want to be sure there will be no reprisals against Gwen or Mia."

"They'll be safe, nothing will happen to them," Chris cut in. "I won't allow it and I'm sure Merlin has a thing or two up his sleeve to make sure nothing or no one will harm them."

Merlin grunted affirmatively. He wouldn't let anything happen to his family, not now he had found them again.

"Timing will be crucial. I just have to add that I've promised Mia not to tell my brothers who she really is. Maybe I shouldn't have promised that so soon, I'll talk to her about it and maybe she'll change her mind. Though I have to admit I don't mind keeping a low profile for a while longer and introducing her to the pack on the next full moon. Something tells me she'll get a nice surprise then," he told the others as a smile formed on his lips.

"Not a bad surprise, I hope?" Gwen asked.

"Of course not. You see I got a call from my eldest brother the other day, he told me he'd found his mate. I think you may know her, Fran?" Chris replied.

Gwen smiled at that revelation, "That is indeed going to be a surprise for her and the other way around. It's one I'll welcome too, she always seemed to belong to our family and soon she'll be family. Thank you for telling us Chris."

"Let us recap on how we want to handle things?" Richard jumped in. "You'll talk to Mia and see if she'll revoke your promise, so we can get the Alpha Alpha on board. When would be a good time to settle this do you think?"

"As I said, I'll talk to her about it, I hope she agrees, but I'm not so sure about it. From what I could feel she's very protective of you two and she won't want anything to happen. If she doesn't then we'll have to wait till after the full moon, I said I'd wait till then," Chris answered. "As much as I want this situation settled as well, I'm starting to understand why she's being so careful. She kept me at a distance too until she dropped her shield, or whatever you'd call it. I wouldn't mind some time together before we set this all in motion."

At the same time he did worry about Mia and their unborn child, a little fact that wasn't known by the others just yet. He wanted some time alone with her to strengthen their bond. A little chuckle escaped him, it wasn't only that he wanted, he wanted to devour her, make her his over and over again. He wanted her in his bed and to never let her out again.

"If you want this done before the full moon and she hasn't revoked my promise, I will accompany you instead of my brother. You are not alone in this. We never knew the real facts about what had happened back then but even so our dad made sure something similar could be prevented. If a mating is set up between two adults, who aren't true mates, the AA-council has to approve it and only on very few occasions are they allowed. The timing may be a bit awkward, but we'll take care of this," Chris reassured the others at the table.

"There isn't much more we can finalize right now as to pick a date to confront your dad, Richard. So what do you say we help Chris clean up the table and dishes and then give those two youngsters a bit of privacy?" Gwen asked her mate.

He wanted to argue that they had more to discuss, but Gwen gave him a knowing look and a mental image that had him quickly changing his mind. Jumping up it was as if the table couldn't be cleared fast enough. Chris and Merlin looked at each other and burst out laughing. Both had figured out what had happened between them.

A few moments later the table was cleaned, the dishes done and a plate with leftovers placed in the oven. They said their goodbyes and exchanged promises to stay in touch. Gwen and Richard left the same way as they came and Merlin did the same. All were gone in a spilt second as if they never stood there in the first place.

Chris let out a relieved breath, checked the time and decided, despite it still being so early, he'd join Mia. He'd prefer just holding her close for a while, than pacing endlessly hoping for her to wake up. Maybe she'd sooth him enough he'd join her in her sleep.