BK 3 - Chapter 25 - Reunited
When Melanie and Saxon walked into their room, Vilma was sitting in a chair, humming softly while the two cubs slept soundly. She stood up when she saw the couple and walked over, taking Melanie's hand.
"I'm glad you made it back safe and sound young lioness. Your cubs have been quite worried about you. I'm Vilma, the witch, and I hope to join you and your family's mission to improve the lives of others." Melanie could feel the light coming from Vilma. She had a good soul.
"We would love to have your help. Thank you for staying with Alex and Lisa." She said, smiling at the witch.
"My pleasure," Vilma said as she left.
"I think we should let them sleep," Melanie said, looking at the little ones snuggled together.
"They need to see you," Saxon said, getting ready to wake them, but she stopped him.
"Let me at least get a shower and put some clothes on first." She said quietly. Saxon nodded and showed her where he'd put her clothes. When she headed to the bathroom, he was going to lie down for a few minutes, but she pulled him with her. Once the door was closed, she smiled at his shocked face.
"We haven't had any time alone. I just need a few minutes of no one but me and you." Melanie said, wrapping her arms around him. He lifted her so she was sitting on the bathroom counter, and they were face to face.
"Sounds good to me." Saxon slammed his mouth to hers as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him as close as possible. Now that she was finally with him, she couldn't stop touching him. She had his shirt on, so he was still bare on top. Melanie ran her hands over his solid, muscled back, taking comfort in his warmth as she explored. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers, trying to catch his breath.
"All I could think about when those men had us was that I'd never get to see you again. My heart ached so much when they said they'd hurt you. Sax, I can't ever lose you." Melanie cried as he softly kissed her.
"You won't lose me, Lanie. You and I were written in the stars long before either of us was born. Our souls are connected. My life has always been with you, and that will never change." Saxon wiped her tears away, leaving kisses on her face.
Melanie wanted Saxon more than anything. She wanted him to take her to bed and make love to her but now was not the time. So she pulled him close again, sliding her fingers into his hair and holding his mouth to hers. She opened her mouth, and he did the same. Their tongues caressed each other, making them both moan in pleasure.
"When this is over, and we can have a few hours to ourselves, I want you, Sax. I want us to mark each other. I want to make love to you and spend the rest of my life with you by my side." Melanie looked into his eyes as a smile spread across his face.
"I want all that too. I'm going to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you." Saxon could smell her arousal, and if they didn't have two little cubs in the other room, he'd do something he's wanted to do for a long time. Taste Melanie. However, they had to wait.
"I'm going to shower, and then I'll be out. I would have you stay in here with me, but I don't know if I'd be able to control myself." Saxon's erection grew against his will. Knowing she wanted him as much as he wanted her wouldn't make waiting easy.
"Don't say that. I'm already having a hard time not touching you and the wetness I can smell." He said against her lips while running his hands up her smooth thighs. With her lack of clothing, nothing was stopping him from touching her where he wanted other than his own restraint.
"I don't care what happens today; tonight, we're going to spend it together. We don't need to have sex, but I know there are things I can do to help you relax." Melanie moved her hand to his jeans and cupped his growing erection through his pants. Saxon's legs buckled.
"You're not playing fair, my little lioness, but I'm willing to wait. My only request is that I get to make you come first." He kissed her again while she rubbed him through his pants. He slid his hand higher up her thigh and let his thumb gently rub over her slit. Not enough to do anything other than make her moan into his mouth. Melanie pulled back and smiled.
"I can't wait." They shared one last kiss before Saxon left so she could shower.
Melanie felt refreshed when she walked out of the bathroom. The cubs were still sleeping, and Saxon looked at her shorts and t-shirt with a frown.
"I liked you better in my shirt." He said. Melanie giggled softly.
"I bet you did. It had easy access." She winked at him before walking over to the cub's bed. She gently rubbed their backs. When they opened their sleepy little eyes, they squealed.
"Mommy," Lisa and Alex said before jumping on her, almost knocking her over.
"I've missed you guys," Melanie said, wrapping her arms around them. Saxon came over and joined in their group hug. He knew this was how it was supposed to be. The four of them together. It made them all feel whole.
"Mommy, please don't leave anymore. We have to stay together. It's too scary when you're not here," Alex said with tears running down his face breaking Melanie's heart.
"No one will take me away again, I promise." Melanie kissed his forehead and did the same to Lisa, who was also crying.
"Daddy was so sad, and we cried all the time waiting for you. I hurt right here." Lisa pointed to her chest as she sobbed.
"Oh, sweetheart, that's because you care about me. Our hearts hurt when someone we care about is hurt or away from us. Mine hurt, too, when I was away from you because I love you so much." Melanie felt the tears running down her face seeing how worried the cubs were for her.
"We love you to mommy and daddy too. Can we go to California now?" Lisa asked hopefully. Her face fell when Melanie shook her head.
"Not yet. We will soon, but we have to make sure we rescue everyone we can before we leave." She answered.
"Okay, but can we stay with you? How can we protect you if we have to stay in the hotel?" Lisa asked with her eyes narrowed. Melanie and Saxon tried to hide their chuckles. That was the little lioness they were used to.
"Yes, you can stay with us as long as it's not too dangerous. Then you might have to stay with Vilma again." Melanie said. Alex and Lisa burst into fits of giggles.
"We like Vilma; she's funny. She told us stories from a long time ago." Alex said with a small smile.
Saxon and Melanie got the cubs dressed and fed so they could meet the others downstairs. When they arrived, Alex and Lisa ran over to hug Cat. Once everyone had arrived, Wesley came in and looked around. Melanie noticed he looked worse than she and her mom.
"Thanks for coming back. Before I get started, Cat and Melanie, would you tell us what happened after they took you from the house in Rio?" Wesley asked. Melanie and Cat relayed everything from when the men showed up at the house until they landed in Venice. Cat looked at her son's mate, not wanting to tell Caitlin about Thomas.
"After they removed our blindfolds, we were taken to a car where Brandon and Ava sat in the backseat. Raul had paid them a lot of money to give him information about us. However, that wasn't the only snake we encountered," Melanie said, also looking at Caitlin.
"Thomas was the one who told them Melanie and I would be alone with the cubs and Saxon. I believe he also told them what to use on us to have the strongest effect on our lions." Cat said and saw the horror on Caitlin's face.
"My brother. He had something to do with this? Are you sure? Let me talk to him. I know there has to be an explanation." Caitlin said as her tears started to fall. Theo held onto her to keep her from falling apart. Based on his mom's and sister's faces, he already knew what happened to Thomas.
"I'm sorry, Caitlin, but he's dead. When we got free, Saira and Chika killed everyone except three men. They let them go to tell Raul what happened. Saxon, Emily, Alberto, and Claudia took the last three out when they threatened to shoot Siara and Chika." Cat saw the pain on Caitlin's face as she sobbed.
"So Thomas knew Raul?" Trey asked.
"According to him, he knew Raul had a vendetta against us. When he found out about us all being in Rio, he told Raul. You were right, Saxon; it was a setup. We were being set up long before any of us set foot in Rio." Melanie said. Everyone in the room was shocked and didn't know what to say. Wesley cleared his throat.
"I need to add something. As you all know, I'm the head of the division of INTERPOL that finds shifters being trafficked. I have a select few people who assist me with this work. Last night I found out one was working with me for the wrong reasons. I keep detailed records of where shifters go to hide once they're rescued so we can ensure we keep tabs on them and attempt to keep them safe. However, this traitor working with me also has access to these records." Everyone waited for him to continue when he stopped to take a breath. Saxon felt dread wash over him.
"What does this mean, Wesley?" He asked, holding Melanie and the cubs tighter.
"He has been feeding this information to the traffickers. So as soon as we rescue people and they're put in a safe location, he gives the information to those we saved them from. We've rescued close to a thousand people in the past six months. I've located a hundred and thirty-seven of them, but the others are once again missing. Our work just got a lot more difficult."
