BK 3 - Chapter 48 - Night of Peace
Melanie and Saxon were quiet on the airplane back to Sacramento. Cat, Kitty, and Janel went to all the shifters they had rescued from Lorin's property to find out where they were from. Several were rogues, but most of the werewolves were from packs they wanted to return to. Wesley agreed to send them wherever they wanted to go. He was still in shock that Brendon had used him. It made him question his entire career.
"How are you feeling?" Mario asked Irina, who was leaning against him holding his hand so tight he was surprised he still had any circulation.
"I'm feeling better. I'm just nervous around all these people. I know they came to save us, but I can't help wondering if anyone is pretending to be something they're not." Irina said as her eyes darted around to the people on the plane. Mario would have liked to tell her he didn't think that was the case, but he couldn't. There were too many people, and he only knew a handful of them. There was no way to tell if one or more of them were there for the wrong reasons. He pulled Irina closer.
"I won't let anyone hurt you. You're my mate, and I'll be by your side forever." He said, kissing her forehead.
"What's the plan when we get to Sacramento?" Irina asked. She wanted to be part of taking down others that were terrorizing shifters, but she wasn't sure where she fit in.
"I would like to continue working with Wesley until we're done. I know that's asking a lot of you after everything, so I'll do whatever you want," Mario answered honestly. Irina was his priority now, and if she said to take her away, he would.
"I want to help too, but what can I do? They don't know me," She said softly, looking at Melanie and Cat. Irina wasn't sure what they had done to her, but she knew those two women were responsible for her still being alive.
"All you need to do is stick with me. We have so many on our side that not everyone has to fight. Now I have a question for you." Mario whispered in her ear, making her shiver. She looked into his dark eyes and smiled.
"What question?" Irina asked, snuggling closer to him. How was it possible that he was so big and muscular but still so soft and gentle?
"How soon do you want to mark each other?" Mario rubbed his thumb over the area he would mark her, and Irina felt sparks all over her body.
"As soon as we get to where we're going. I've waited for you long enough. You don't want to wait, do you?" She asked. They hadn't even kissed, but she knew she wanted to be his.
"No, I don't want to wait. I would do it now, but too many people are around. I'll understand if you want to hold off on completing the mating process after what you've been through." Mario would never force her to have sex. That was something he was willing to wait for as long as she needed.
"I didn't fight off those bastards for nothing. I was saving myself for you, and now that I have you, I want to be fully mated. They weren't able to do anything to me sexually; otherwise, my response may be different. When we get to the hotel, I want to be your mate Mario in every way possible." Irina kissed his cheek.
"I was hoping you would say that." Mario pulled her onto his lap and kissed her like he'd wanted to since the moment he knew she would be okay. Irina wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They pulled apart when they felt the plane begin to descend.
"We're almost there. We won't have to leave for anywhere right away, will we?" Irina asked, kissing him lightly and refusing to leave his lap even as they were getting ready to land.
"No. Everyone wants a few days to rest, and Wesley will want to go through that paperwork so we can figure out our next steps," Mario answered before leaving a trail of kisses along her jaw to her neck.
"Good. You and I have a lot of alone time we need to spend together." Irina put her mouth back on his as the plane touched down. She may have been through hell, but finding her mate made it all worthwhile.
Melanie smiled as she watched Mario and Irina. She was glad something good had come out of the mess they had found. She was looking forward to spending a few days with Saxon and the cubs while they waited for Wesley to tell them what was next.
"I think we should start looking for houses when we get home. After this is over, I want to be able to give the cubs stability." Melanie said as the plane came to a stop.
"I agree. It's late, but will Roger and Valerie be okay with us bunking with them tonight? We can look for houses tomorrow, and I'd like to take the cubs out to lunch and a movie. Let them be kids for a day and not worried about everything else." Saxon answered as they began walking to the front of the plane.
"I think that's a great idea. Give us a chance to connect as a family. You know my mom mentioned opening group homes for shifters. I told her we would like to help her with that. After seeing what the cubs went through and the others we rescued, we need to start thinking about shifters and vampires that are being abused." Melanie and Saxon got onto one of the buses and sat down. They would get a car to take them to Valerie and Rogers from the hotel.
"Your mom is always thinking two steps ahead. I love that about her. You're right. We need somewhere for our kind to go and heal. Everyone thinks because we're shifters, vampires, or witches, things shouldn't affect us as much, but they do. The physical wounds may heal faster, but the emotional scars impact us just as much as humans." Saxon kissed Melanie's forehead. He would never tire of her looking at him with her eyes full of love like she was doing now.
"That's why I love you so much. You're always ready to help others." Melanie leaned her head on his shoulder as they drove through the night. They hadn't had any real time to enjoy being mates, but that would all change soon. Despite what Saxon said about her not feeling guilty for refusing him initially, she still felt like she had a lot to make up for.
Wesley was impatient while waiting for the bus to get to the hotel. He was planning on going straight to Valerie and Rogers from there. He needed to be near Mindy. When the bus stopped, he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Melanie.
"We requested an Uber to take us to Granite Bay. Do you want to ride with us?" She asked. Wesley sighed with relief. He hadn't even thought about how he was going to get there.
"That would be great. Thanks. Can you help me with the boxes we took from Oregon? I want to start going over them tonight." Wesley asked as they exited the bus.
"Saxon will help you with that. I'm going to our room to get our clothes. Do you want me to get yours too?" Melanie asked.
"Yes, please." He handed her his keycard before walking with Saxon to get the boxes from the storage area on the bus. They finished loading them all into the car just as Melanie came out with their bags.
With the late hour, it didn't take long for them to get to Valerie and Rogers. Melanie had texted ahead to ensure they were up and could all stay there. Of course, Valerie readily agreed. She still loved to have her family around as much as possible. When they pulled up, Roger came out to help with the boxes. Wesley was hoping he would look through them with him. Roger was still a detective at heart, despite being retired.
"The cubs are still awake. When they heard you were returning, they wanted to wait up for you. I thought I'd let you all stay in the pool house so you could have a little time together." Valerie said, hugging Melanie.
"That would be perfect. Thank you, Grandma." She said, setting her and Saxon's bags at the door. When she walked in, the cubs ran to her in their pajamas.
"Mommy, we were so worried about you. Grandma said we could sleep in the pool house." Lisa said excitedly as she and Alex hugged her.
"We missed you. Do you need us to take Jade?" Melanie asked Valerie.
"No, she's fine. Janel said they would be here in the morning to get her. You all enjoy yourselves." She answered, waving as they walked to the pool house. She smiled when she turned to Wesley, who was bringing the last of the boxes in.
"Mindy is upstairs waiting for you. Go to your right at the top of the stairs. She's in the room at the end of the hall." Wesley hugged her before grabbing his bag.
"Thank you for letting us stay here." He said.
"It's my pleasure," Valerie said before he walked away. Wesley walked up the stairs even though he felt like running. When he got to the room, he knocked on the door.
"Come in," Mindy said. Wesley opened the door and peeked in.
"It's me. Is it okay if I come in?" He asked. Mindy jumped out of the bed and ran to him. He dropped his bag and caught her just as she flung herself into his arms.
"I missed you." She said, hugging Wesley tightly.
"I missed you too. I want to take a quick shower. Are you okay with me sleeping here, or do you want me to stay in another room?" Wesley asked, hoping she'd let him stay. In his world full of chaos, she was the only bright spot that kept him going.
"I want you to stay." Mindy kissed his cheek before he went to the bathroom.
Wesley took a quick shower and threw on a T-shirt and boxers. Mindy was lying down waiting for him when he walked into the bedroom. He had planned on going through some of the boxes but decided they could wait. He felt at peace as he crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around Mindy. He needed one night of nothing but holding his mate before the next round began.
