BK 3 - Chapter 34 - Unexpected
Melanie was lying in bed, plastered to Saxon's side, staring out the window. So many things had happened within a few days that had changed the lives of everyone around her.
It was only a little over a week ago that she had turned eighteen, left for Brazil to help shifters, realized she wanted Saxon more than anything, rescued the cubs, was kidnapped twice, and opened up a can filled with all kinds of evil. Not to mention one of her childhood friends was murdered as she watched. That was a lot for her to process.
Melanie started thinking about Karlee, Vincent, Harper, and Eli. Everything had started with them. They were still in Brazil, as far as she knew, trafficking shifters. She wasn't going to forget what they had done. Their time to die would be coming too.
"What's got you looking so angry?" Saxon asked in his sleepy morning voice. Melanie felt her face soften as she looked up at him.
"I was thinking about Karlee and the others. We can't let them continue what they're doing just because we're temporarily sidetracked." Saxon pulled her closer, rubbing his hand up and down her back, still reveling in the afterglow of the night before.
"We'll get them. Let's deal with protecting everyone here, and then we'll take care of those four. We may want to get up and put some clothes on before the cubs come in here." He said with a smirk rubbing his hand down over her bare bottom. Melanie giggled, rubbing her hand over his bumpy abs.
"Yeah, we should get up. I want to get downstairs and see how many people have arrived to help us. When mom said to call in everybody, I thought it was overkill, but now I think she's right. Raul isn't going to be working alone, and we need to have eyes everywhere." She moved to get out of bed, but Saxon stopped her. He pulled her mouth to his and kissed her. It started out soft but quickly got deeper.
He ran his tongue over her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth, allowing him access. Melanie moaned when he stroked her tongue as though he was making love to her mouth. She could feel her body wanting more. When Saxon pulled back, she felt lightheaded.
"I promised you that every day would start with a kiss. I also wanted to remind you what you have to look forward to when we get done today." He said, kissing her lightly along her collarbone. Melanie leaned over and put her mouth close to his ear.
"You got to taste me last night. Tonight it's my turn to taste you." She sucked lightly on his ear lobe, making his eyes roll back in his head as he moaned. How was that such a turn-on? When he was getting ready to push her onto her back, she had sprung off the bed and was in the bathroom laughing before he knew what happened.
"You're a tease," He said. Saxon heard the shower water turn on and thought about joining her but quickly changed his mind. They would never come out if he saw her naked body wet and soapy. He got out of bed and pulled on his boxers just as Melanie walked out wrapped in a towel.
She saw how he watched her as she walked to the dresser and pulled out a pair of short jean shorts and a tight white tank top. He almost growled when she dropped the towel and began pulling on a pink lace thong. Saxon came up behind her pulling her back to his front, letting her feel how hard he was.
"I know what you're doing, and it's working. If you're going to be around all those men dressed like that, you better not leave my side. I would hate to tear someone's head off for looking at what's mine." Melanie watched him walk into the bathroom with a grin. She loved winding him up to bring out his possessive, jealous side.
After getting dressed, Melanie put her hair in a long braid down her back. Saxon walked out wearing only his boxers just as she finished. She let her eyes roam over his muscular body, taking in every inch of him. He quickly pulled on a pair of athletic shorts and a T-shirt.
"Hey, I was enjoying the view." Melanie teased.
"Yeah, that's the problem. When you look at me like I'm a piece of meat that Chika will come out and devour, I want to hand you the knife and fork. We have a lot to do, and I don't think anyone would be happy if we spent the day in bed." They both laughed when they heard Chika purr her approval. They turned toward the door at the sound of running little feet just before it burst open. Lisa and Alex ran over, pulling them all into a group hug.
"Good morning, mommy and daddy. Are we going to catch that bad man today?" Lisa asked excitedly.
"We're going to try. Are you ready to go downstairs for breakfast and see who is here?" Melanie asked, picking her up as Saxon picked up Alex.
"Yeah, we're hungry. We dressed ourselves. Do we look okay?" Lisa asked. She had on pink shorts and a matching shirt. Alex was wearing blue shorts and a white shirt.
"You both look perfect." She answered, noticing Lisa looking at her braid. "Do you want me to braid your hair like mine?"
"You can do that? It's not long like yours, though." Lisa replied.
"It's long enough." Melanie sat on the couch with Lisa on her lap. Using her fingers to comb through her silky blonde hair, she began putting it into a French braid like her own. It fell to just below her shoulders. Saxon handed her a rubber band to put on the end.
"All done." She took Lisa into the bathroom so she could see how they matched in the mirror. The little cub was so excited she could hardly contain herself. Saxon noticed Alex was feeling a little left out. He grabbed his bottle of cologne that he rarely used and put a tiny bit on himself and Alex.
"Now we smell like real men," Saxon said to Alex, who beamed at him. They left the room and took the elevator downstairs. What greeted them made them all gasp in surprise. How were so many here so fast?
Melanie stepped off the elevator and looked around at all the people. It was so crowded there was barely room to walk. When she saw her parents across the lobby, they slid their way past everyone, who appeared to mostly be made up of werewolf warriors. Saxon growled when he saw some men gawking at Melanie or if they got too close to her.
"I'm glad you're here. Wesley wanted to round everyone up to go over the plan he worked on last night, but he got pulled away. He didn't say what it was, but apparently, there was an incident last night that may have something to do with Raul. He assured me it was not another murder and had nothing to do with anyone we knew." Cat hadn't liked the look on Wesley's face when he left. She knew it couldn't be good news. She hugged the cubs and their parents before looking around the hotel lobby.
"How many came?" Saxon asked, trying to glare at anyone looking at his mate.
"We have over two hundred here, but there's more at other hotels. I think in all, there are close to five hundred. We have shifters of all kinds: a few witches and vampires. Once word got out about what Raula and his people were doing, everyone wanted to help. Those who couldn't come sent others on their behalf. We have representatives from at least twenty packs so far." Trey answered, trying to hide his smirk at how Saxon was marking his territory around Melanie.
"Where's the rest of the family?" Melanie asked, taking Saxon's hand, trying to calm the rage she saw in his face. Seeing him like that was sweet, but she didn't want to cause trouble with the people trying to help them.
"They're around. Wesley arranged for a caterer to bring enough food to feed everyone at each hotel. It should be here soon." Cat said. They stayed to the side, waiting for Wesley to return. Saxon worried about the reason he was called away.
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Wesley had received a call from a member of his team that a woman had shown up at the ED who had been raped. At first, he wondered why they were calling him. However, the woman's description of the attacker sounded like Raul, and he'd left DNA all over her. Wesley told Cat and Trey he had to leave but would return soon.
He didn't know why but something was pulling him to the hospital. Wesley felt like he had to talk to this woman as soon as possible. When he walked into the ED, he went to the desk and showed his badge.
"I'm here to speak with a patient named Mindy Black," He said to the nurse quietly, not anyone else to hear the victim's name. The nurse looked from his badge to his face and nodded.
"We were expecting you, but I'm not sure why INTERPOL is interested in a rape victim." The nurse answered while leading him down the hall.
"I can't disclose any information at this time," Wesley said distractedly. He was catching the faint scent of something, making his wolf Sankar go wild. It was the smell of freesia mixed with warm honey. The smell wrapped around him like a tether as the scent got stronger. When he stopped in front of a door where the scent was the strongest, the nurse looked at him in confusion as she caught up to him.
"How did you know this was her room?" Wesley shook his head, having no idea what she was talking about.
"Whose room?" He asked.
"Mindy's," She answered. Wesley looked from the nurse to the closed door and back again. Was the victim his mate? If that was true, then Raul had raped his mate. Sankar began growling in Wesley's head as he pushed the door open after knocking lightly. He froze when he stepped inside. Who was his mate? Mindy or the young nurse at her bedside.
