I knew we’d always see Ainslee that way too.
Adryan was protective of his sister, the same way he was with Ainslee. It was ingrained in us, an instinct to watch over them. We couldn’t help it any more than we could stop taking our next breath.
“I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
Da was by his mate instantly, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly.
“People have already gotten hurt, Luna. You, your family, possibly little Ainslee despite what she says.” Adryan’s face hardened at that. “I know you don’t like to hear that and want to think her mate is a good male simply because of destiny. And maybe he is. But maybe he’s not. Banner said he’s been half-turned for longer than Ainslee has been alive. Risking her being with him when he could snap at any moment isn’t a risk I’m willing to take.”
Mam pulled away from her mate and leveled a glare at her brother. “I asked you here for help, not to dominate the situation and go all commando, Adryan.”
Adryan’s lips thinned. No doubt he wasn’t used to anyone speaking to him like that, but his sister held a lot of power over him, and I knew he wouldn’t disrespect her, not only because she was blood and he loved her, but because it would start a war with us.
“And if you refuse to respect my wishes, then the three of you can take your asses right back on that jet and fly across the ocean to leave us to deal with this on our own.”
Long moments went by in which no one spoke, but then Adryan gave us another sardonic smile. It was a flash of straight white teeth and growing fangs.
I could feel the electricity in the air rising. I felt the testosterone growing. These were fully grown Otherworld males trying to concede with a situation that their alpha sides wanted to dominate. It wouldn’t end well if things weren’t neutralized.
“What about Caelan?” I blurted. It was the only thing that came to my mind to try and steer the conversation elsewhere.
The tension slowly started to fade as the topic was redirected, temporarily deterred.
“What about him?” Adryan said smoothly.
“I didn’t tell you the new stuff that happened with Caelan. It started just after you landed,” Mam said. “When we went after Ainslee, it seemed Caelan’s mate was in the right place at the right time. He clearly couldn’t control himself and let his instinct take over. She ran. He went after the chase. We haven’t seen or heard from him since, and our tracker lost their scents.”
“Fate is a fickle bitch, isn’t she,” Adryan prompted, but it wasn’t phrased as a question.
I stared at Adryan hard after that, seeing a flicker of… something move across his face. Huh, Adryan has a secret he’s trying to hide.
“He’s far too young to control his Lycan. And his instinct with the Linking Connection taking hold will make him even more volatile. So I know that’s why he took off.” My Mam whispered.
“A dog with a bone,” Adryan said and started chuckling. “At thirty, there’s no fucking way Caelan has control of his wolf. He’s just as on edge and dangerous as Ainslee’s mate.”
My Da growled in warning, and Mam smoothed a hand over his chest, trying to calm him.
“Careful, Adryan,” Mam warned.
That earned her a shit-eating grin from her brother.
“Caelan can handle himself. It’s Ainslee who is the priority right now.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. If Caelan’s mate was human, she’d know nothing about the Otherworld, and this would be one hell of a shock to her. And she’d seen us, so that meant she was no doubt scared as hell.
And so it seemed the drama just kept unfolding in our lives.
“Yeah, I agree. Let Caelan have his fun.”
My stomach twisted as my uncle casually said those words. And for the first time ever, I thought about what he’d be like if he found his mate. God help her, because he’d be one sadistic bastard.
“We can worry about Caelan once we figure out the Ainslee situation.” Everyone focused on Mam after she spoke.
“Not worried that poor girl is in danger of being devoured by the big bad wolf?” The cousins chuckled after Adryan spoke.
“We’re going to wait here,” Mam said, ignoring Adryan’s words. Her voice was strong and carried through the room. “We’re going to wait until she calls us again, and then we’re going to see what she wants to do.” My mother crossed her arms over her slender chest and stared hard at Adryan, then the cousins, before looking at Tavish and me. She ended her stare on her mate. “She's safe, not hurt, and she said he’s taking care of her. And she will call us when she’s ready for everyone to talk.” Her and my Da had a stare-down, one that made even me a little uncomfortable.