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Joaquin held his palms up. “Whoa, Cujo. Fuck, you need to settle the fuck down already. You’re both safe here on club property. No one gets through those gates we don’t invite.”
But it wasn’t Joaquin I’d sensed, it was the woman standing beside him. She’d attract attention anywhere she went with her face like it was. She’d painted herself to look like she was wearing a skull mask, one that was broken to reveal the skin of her left temple around her eye and part of her cheek. It was all black and white except for around her right eye, tip of her chin and center of her right cheek that had a neon blue-green shimmer mixed in. Her unpainted skin was bronzed that together with the face paint, had me thinking this was Daniela. Well, that and she radiated a power and magic that would have had even me contemplating running if Joaquin hadn’t assured us she was friendly.
“That Daniela?”
Joaquin nodded at my question and stepped aside so she was revealed fully to me. She wore a long black dress that was loose and flowed around her as though there was a stiff breeze, which there wasn’t. She was one spooky female.
“May I meet your mate, wolf?”
Her voice was soft and heavily accented, but still easily understood. I reached behind me and moved Lily-Rose in front of me. Unsure what Daniela had planned, I wrapped my arm around her waist to keep my mate close. She didn’t fight my hold at all. In fact, she leaned against me.
Daniela smiled at Lily-Rose and in the evening light, it was creepy as fuck. That face paint of hers really was a great mind-fuck.
“It is nice to meet you, Lily-Rose. You, too, Cujo. I am Daniela Nunes Souza and I’m here to show you to your new home.”
Joaquin jerked his head toward the woman. “What the fuck? They’re staying here at the clubhouse until we get her father dealt with.”
With absolutely no fear, something I had to respect, Daniela faced off against Joaquin with a raised eyebrow. “You try to lock them down inside that building, Lily-Rose will escape and run. Sledge took her mother and held her within those walls while he negotiated with Kevin. Even if Lily-Rose’s fear didn’t prevent her from being comfortable here, her father knows the layout of this building. For them, at this time, the clubhouse is not safe. I have found a place close to my home near the San Luis Pass.” She turned back toward us, focusing her gaze on my mate. “It backs onto an area of swamp. There’s not much coverage during the day, but you’ll be able to roam freely at night.” She frowned, flicking her glare my way a moment. “But no chasing or hunting snakes. They are off limits.”
This had to be the most bizarre conversation of my life.
Feeling like she required a response, I spoke, “No hunting snakes. Got it.”
Stiffening, Lily-Rose pulled away from me and I loosened my hold but didn’t release her completely. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking but hoped she wasn’t going to fucking attack this woman. As much as I could withstand spells and magic, I wasn’t sure I could hold off someone of her power.
“How do you know what happened to my mother?”
She bowed her head slightly at Lily-Rose’s growled question. “I’m sorry I didn’t explain myself. You have no need to fear me. I am not now, nor have I ever been involved with your father or Sledge and his minions. I am a rainbow boa shifter, a natural born magic user. My abilities include visions. Some of the future, some of the past. It was thanks to a vision that I sent Joaquin and his men to California to aide you. I mean you and your mate no harm.”
No matter how powerful this woman was, she wasn’t the Alpha. It was Joaquin who I had to obey now, no one else. Well, aside from my mate. I caught his gaze. “What do you say to this? As Alpha.”
He looked from Daniela to Lily-Rose, then to me. “I learned some time ago not to go against her advice. You can trust that anything she tells you is the truth. Those visions of hers never fail us.” He held his finger up in the air. “But before you go, I’d like you both to come inside, meet everyone. I’ve got a few things to give you. And I’ll be sending a few brothers to keep watch over your cabin. Until Kevin is dealt with, I’m not taking any chances.”
Lily-Rose
I struggled to tear my attention away from Daniela as Cujo guided me over toward the main door. She was stunning, even with the strange face paint that now I was closer, I wasn’t so sure was paint. Could they be natural markings of her kind? Either way, it didn’t detract from her beauty. Long, thick black hair, dark eyes that looked clear into your soul. She wore a gorgeous, long dress that I’d thought was black, but now we were in more light I could see it was a dark red. She moved so smoothly, I honestly wasn’t sure if she was walking or floating.
The moment we passed inside, I forced my gaze from her and around the room. Clearly, at some point long ago this had been a grand old house. The sweeping staircase that led upstairs was stunning and looked freshly restored.
Chaos came and stood beside me. “They came up great, huh? We have a brother that’s real good with wood and building shit.”
I nodded as I let my gaze continue around the large room we were in. I guessed it may have been some sort of ballroom or something originally, but now it looked like a club or bar… but with a mix of couches and tables with chairs. Some of the walls had drywall showing, as though they were currently renovating.
“The last guys left us one hell of a mess. Even before we came in and made it worse. We’re slowly getting it all fixed up.” With a wink, Chaos moved off toward the bar calling out for a beer on his way.
Joaquin took his place beside us. “C’mon, we’ll head to my office.”
Cujo’s palm was on my lower back and he guided me along after Joaquin. I could feel eyes on me but I didn’t feel threatening energy coming from any of them, so I did my best to stay calm. I was beyond grateful that Daniela had thought to find us somewhere to stay away from here, though. As much as I was holding it together for now, I was quite sure I wouldn’t have been able to keep it together all night.
Joaquin nodded toward a couch. “Take a seat, this won’t take long.”
Cujo sat first, tugging me until I sat across his lap. Wrapping his arms around me, he tucked me in against his chest. His warmth instantly surrounded me, easing all my nervousness. With a sigh, I snuggled in as he began to play with my hair.
“You two are fucking nauseating with that shit. Right, so here’s a cut for you to wear, Cujo. I’ll order your name patch and shit to add to it. And we’ll get Lily-Rose’s old lady cut sorted too. The deal is, you’re a prospect for a year before we’ll vote on you becoming a full brother. Unlike some other clubs, we don’t treat our prospects like dirt. You have skills we need, and I expect you’ll willingly use them for us.”
Cujo grunted in response and I stayed right where I was.
“As your Alpha, I can reach out to you telepathically. As Cujo has already experienced, I can also draw away pain and other emotions, so if either of you get into trouble, you reach out to me.” He waited for us both to nod. “The pack and club are basically the same, although we do have a few humans in the club that aren’t technically part of the pack. Even though it’s been four years, we still come up against some bullshit from other clubs who had run-ins with the old guard. It doesn’t happen often thankfully, but it does happen. We took over down here with the blessing of the Satan’s Cowboys MC. Together with the Charon MC, they helped us clean the old guard out so both those clubs are allies and if you see their colors, you can be sure they’ll have your backs.”
