All Novel Romance
19
“A private flight would be best. That will give Mischa time to get to know her new mate before he returns home.”
“The separation will not be easy for them,” she said as she laid her head on my shoulder.
“She is not of age, and they will have to find a way,” I said. “What is better, finding your mate before you are of age, or not finding your mate after?”
“Earlier the better. I want grandchildren,” she said.
We were interrupted by the incoming call. I answered immediately, and Marina sat up in my lap for the call. We could see Alpha Stan, his mate Larissa on his lap, and next to him was Beta Peter Clarke with his mate Abigail. “Alpha Viktor, Marina, is everyone all right?” Stan was clearly concerned with the sudden call.
“I’m afraid not. Somehow, Jessie’s true identity was discovered, and she was nearly killed in a Mob assassination attempt earlier today. The car bomb killed Father Kempechny, and seriously injured Jessie. Patrick and my men were able to remove her from the scene and brought her here. She is alive, but her injuries are significant.” I briefed them on what had happened, and what the doctor had said. I also told them about the good Father being a white witch, and how his last act had been to help heal her. “We are treating her as best we can until she can be moved. Long term, she needs to get out of Russia and go back into hiding. Yuri doesn’t know where she is, but you can be assured that he will find out eventually. She’s worth too much for him to let this go.”NôvelDrama.Org owns all © content.
“You think he knows that she is Yevgheny’s daughter?” Peter looked ashen.
“It’s the only explanation. Control over a Pack and a fortune is at stake, there’s no other reason she would be targeted like this.”
Peter nodded. “Patrick did well? He’s all right?”
“He was shaken up by the event, but my men report he kept his control and helped to stabilize her. That’s not all, though.”
“What else could possibly happen now,” Stan said with a shake of his head.
“When they arrived, we found out my seventeen-year-old daughter, Mischa, is his mate.” Marina and I shared a chuckle as jaws dropped, and Peter’s head turned to the side like a wolf cub trying to figure out something. “She does not come of age for four more months, but we are going to hold a claiming ceremony for them in nine days. We would like to invite you and your families to attend.”
Abigail was bouncing with joy and excitement at the news. “Of course, we’d love to visit for that.”
“It solves another problem if you can do this right. If you can arrange for a private aircraft capable of handling a medical evacuation, along with a doctor, we can release Jessie to you. This is the fastest and most secure way to remove her from danger. Traveling with you will not raise suspicions.”
I saw them look at each other, then Alpha Stan nodded. “It will take a few days to arrange, but we can do that.” He scratched his chin. “Jessie is actually being protected by the Highlands Pack. I’m sure he will want to bring her back. Is it all right if Alpha Esca or his men travel with us?”
“Of course, Alpha Esca is always welcome here. You will contact him?”
“We will.” Stan looked at his Beta female. “Can we speak to Patrick?”
I shook my head. “He was exhausted, I sent him to bed and will be letting him sleep. There is nothing he can do for Jessie now, she needs to rest and heal. I will tell him to call you when he wakes.”
“Thank you, Alpha Viktor. Thank you for everything.” Stan was pulling Abigail close to his side as he talked.
“Thank you, Alpha Stan. I’m looking forward to having blood ties with your Pack, and Patrick is a good mate for my daughter. Luna has truly blessed us.” We said our goodbyes, and Stan said he would call us as soon as they had arrangements made.
(“”(
Beta Jack McGregor’s POV
Alpha Esca Milne looked over at his mate Eleanor and just shook his head before they both just started laughing. “Hey, it was YOU that ordered him to go blow off some steam with the other guys after we got back,” she said as she snuggled into his shoulder.
“I wanted him to get drunk, not turn everything he touches into a headache!”
She smacked his chest. “He found his MATE, that’s the greatest thing he could ever find. Are you saying she isn’t worth it?” She stared into his eyes. “If I was as difficult to handle, would you have rejected me?”
“I could never let you go, you’re my life, you have been for the last twenty some years,” he said. “My only regret is I did not find you earlier.” He started to nuzzle at her neck.
“Jessie is Beta John’s mate, and she is worth any trouble her mating creates so your Protector and friend can be truly happy,” she told him after a quick kiss. “Even if he did do everything possible wrong when they met.” We all laughed at that. We were sitting next to the Alpha’s desk, his mate was in his lap. He had just ended a very interesting conference call with Alpha Viktor, the Russian Alpha we had met with at the annual Alpha Conference, and Alpha Stan Larsen of the St. Croix Pack in Minnesota. My mate and the Luna’s protector, Sarah, was sitting on my right leg, my arm around her waist.
“Sir, what does all this mean,” I asked.
“For starters, congratulations. You are now the Alpha Protector, and Sarah will remain as Eleanor’s protector. John won’t be coming back.”
“What do you mean? He gets out in about two months.”
“If Jessie doesn’t make it, he’s going to go nuts and will be in no shape to perform his duties for a while, if ever. If she does make it and they mate, she’s the true Alpha heir of the Moscow Pack- once one of the most powerful in all of Russia. If she takes the spot, even as a null with no wolf, Beta John becomes the Alpha. They inherit Yevgheny’s personal fortune, all the Pack property… in other words, he becomes our rich and powerful ally instead of our loyal Pack member.”
My head was spinning with this. “He’s going to need a lot of help.”
Eleanor nodded. “And we will give it to him. The best thing we can do is to help his mate survive and recover. She still knows nothing of us, and we should leave that explanation to John when he has built the relationship. If he cannot get her to love him enough to keep our secret, she cannot know any of us are anything but human. I’d hate to have to kill his mate to protect our kind.”
“You’d have to kill John first.” This hadn’t happened recently, but it had happened in our own Pack and others.
Eleanor sat up on Esca’s lap. “That’s why we have to do this right. After the rather eventful first meeting they had, she’s already afraid of John and that’s a huge challenge. Now she’s seriously injured, maybe permanently. We need to keep her safe and under control until John gets out. Then we have to find a way for him to overcome her fear of him and fall in love.” She smiled. “It’s about time one of you had to work for his woman. You think the mating bond is all the romance you need, that you just look in our eyes and carry us to the bedroom and all is good.”
“It’s not? It worked for us,” Esca said with a grin. “I don’t remember you complaining.”
“Our wolves pull us together, but you did learn our human sides want the love and the romance. I love you, my mate,” she said as he pulled her in for a kiss.
“Can we bring her here,” Sarah asked. “She would be safe with us and could wait for John to return.”
“I asked Alpha Stan that very question last week,” the Alpha said. “It won’t work. She overheard a conversation where they were talking about John’s obsession with her, a joke about how he might just knock her out and carry her to his hut in the Scottish Highlands to have his way with her.” I groaned, that was about the worst thing she could hear. “Plus, she knows none of us. She has found a friend in Patrick, the St. Croix beta heir, but now he’s found his mate. In four months he goes to claim her, hopefully they come back to the States together. If he isn’t there to help, I don’t know how we keep her close.”
“You’re forgetting something,” Sarah said. “Viktor said it is all over the news, a woman has filed claim in court that she is Yevgheny’s daughter and heir. The court has accepted the filing and the judge is waiting on DNA results to determine if she can be allowed to intervene in the probate case.” She showed me the article from the English version of the Russian paper. “If there are not delays, four months from now she could be one of the wealthiest women in the world. She wouldn’t need us then.”
“Then we have to gain her confidence, or find another way to protect her,” Esca said. He looked around the room. “We leave for Russia in six days, so make arrangements. It gives us a chance to deepen our ties, and to personally thank them for helping to protect and care for Jessie while she was there.”
“I’ve never been there, it should be fun,” I said.