Claimed by Her Panthers Page 11

  “Did you not think I was capable of getting one myself?” she asked calmly, though she felt anything but.

  “No, of course not,” Owen insisted. “We just wanted to make sure you were safe and close. When we found out you were our mate, we needed to make sure that you were taken care of.”

  “And safe from persecution,” Stephan added. “If you were going to be with us, we wanted to make sure that wouldn’t impact on your career.”

  Angelica was torn. Furious at the men for controlling her life so damn much, she also felt the love they had for her, even before they understood who she was to them. The need to wring their necks and to kiss them clashed. And her inability to decide between both reactions prompted her even more to heed Jenika’s words. She needed space from these men. They could quite easily take over her life, control every aspect, and she wouldn’t even know until it was too late.

  More than anything, Angelica needed them to see her as an equal. Not someone to handle and look after. While she loved that they had been there for her as a child, she resented that they still treated her like one now. So willing and eager to make love to her, yet so much less in their eyes.

  Rubbing her forehead, she sighed. “Listen, let’s just table this for now. My head hurts, and I’m tired.”

  “Would you prefer we take the spare room and lounge tonight?” Stephan asked, sounding so defeated.

  “No. Come to bed.” She beckoned them both to follow her.

  Halfway down the hall, Owen stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. “We are sorry, sweetheart.”

  She mustered up as much of a smile as she could manage. “I know.”

  And she did know. Now, Angelica needed to find out exactly what it was that she felt.

  ****

  The next morning Owen had been reluctant to leave Angelica. Even though their fight had been resolved and she had told them numerous times the evening before that she was fine, he could still scent her anger and sadness at them. They had expected a lot from her already and knew that pushing her for answers before she was ready to give them was the wrong way to go about it. She wasn’t fine. In fact, Angelica hated that word, so her using it was as much an answer to them as a deflection from her. There had been something else there with her sadness and anger as well, but he just couldn’t quite put his finger on it, and that made him even more nervous.

  With the school holidays starting, Owen hoped that whatever their issues were, they would be able to resolve them. Splitting their rosters, he and Stephan had agreed to dedicate more time to their mate. Owen knew they had handled the morning’s events badly.

  Things hadn’t gone according plan however when both he and Stephan were called in to deal with a high profile client. Though he cursed at having to leave Angelica while she was still obviously upset with them, their mate reassured them that everything would be fine.

  He should have known.

  Returning home late that evening, he and Stephan found the place empty. Panicking, Owen raced to the phone, ready to dial Joel’s number when he noticed a pad on the table beside it. Picking it up with unsteady fingers, Owen read the note, before passing it to Stephan. He watched his friend visibly pale, and sympathized.

  Owen and Stephan,

  I love you both, you know I do. I have not left you for good. I just need some space. Jenika and I have gone on our holiday to the Gold Coast. I will call you when we get settled in. It was all arranged quickly, and I need it. I need you both to treat me as an equal, but your actions prove you don’t see me that way.

  This may be irrational, this may be seen as immature, and the fact that I feel like I can’t even tell anymore is even a little frightening. When I am around you both I forget who I am, and I feel like I could just give in to anything you want. I’m afraid I’ll lose who I am then.

  Everything will be fine, and like I said, I’ll call. Just give me time. I have accepted so much so quickly.

  I love you

  Angelica

  xxx

  “Christ. What have we done?” Stephan whispered.

  “It doesn’t matter right now. Did you see where she said they were going?” he spit out.

  Owen was furious at Angelica for taking off, and at Jenika for talking her into it, and at himself for allowing his mate to think he didn’t see her as an equal. In his bid to keep her safe and protected, he had hurt her.

  “Dammit, we need to fix this.”

  Stephan nodded. “Yeah, but we need help, and we need to call Joel.”

  “Shit.”

  Chapter Eight

  “I’m still not sure this was a good idea,” Angelica said for the one hundredth time as they entered their hotel room.

  “It’s a great idea,” Jenika sighed. “We need to get away from those idiots. Seriously. They think they can forbid us from doing something. Ah, hello, not the eighteenth century, boys.”

  Angelica chuckled.

  “Oh God.” Jenika’s sudden gasp had her turning around.

  “What?”

  “I just had a thought. Draken is from the eighteenth century. Hell, he’s older than that. Oh my God.”

  Angelica threw her head back and laughed. “You’re just working this out?”

  “Shut it,” Jenika muttered. “I’m hungry, and it’s already night. I’m getting room service.”

  After dinner was ordered, they settled into their room. Angelica struggled to keep her eyes open as Jenika went on and on about what she had planned for them. Just hearing it all exhausted her.

  When their meals finally arrived, Angelica was famished. She scarfed at least half of her chicken parmesan before even taking a sip of her sparkling water.

  “Hungry?”

  “God, I feel like I haven’t eaten in forever.”

  “What are you talking about? You ate a huge breakfast before we left and lunch at the airport.”

  Angelica shrugged. She was hungry, so sue her.

  “So, what do you think?”

  She blinked up at Jenika. What had she said?

  Jenika groaned. “You weren’t even listening, were you?”

  “Ummm…”

  “I just want to make sure that you’ve made the right decision. You know … with them.”

  Angelica frowned. “If you mean Stephan and Owen, then yes, I know I have. They may act like pompous, overprotective arses, but they love me. And I love them.”

  Jenika grimaced. “As long as you are sure.”

  “What is this about? You were fine with me being with them until you found out their secret.”

  “Because it’s a huge fucking secret,” Jenika snapped. “And now I’m being … what? Claimed by some Vampire and I need to know if I’m going out of my mind, if this is real. Is it okay?”

  Angelica sighed, finally working out what was going on with her friend. “You like him, don’t you?”

  “What’s not to like? He’s good looking, intelligent … except for where women seem to be concerned. He’s got a great laugh, a sense of humor when he isn’t acting like a douche.”

  “So?”

  “So there is that whole little thing about being a Vampire and drinking blood,” Jenika drawled in her best Dracula voice.

  “Oh, that.” Angelica covered her mouth with her hand, trying hard not to laugh.

  “Yes, oh that.”

  “Just give it time. It needs to sink in. Shock is totally normal,” Angelica reassured her. “I had the advantage of knowing Stephan and Owen all of my life. And really, I feel like that has made a world of dif—” Angelica cut herself off as her stomach turned.

  “Ang? Are you okay?”

  She took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’m fine. I just felt a lit—”

  Angelica scrambled off the bed and bolted for the bathroom, making it just in time to empty her stomach. Jenika’s soothing hand rubbing up and down her back helped her center. She moaned as her stomach continued to roll. She didn’t think she had anything left, but it seemed determined to try.

&nbs
p; “Ang, Are you okay?”

  “Don’t know,” she muttered. “Been feeling off all day. Little twinges coming and going, but that was the first time I couldn’t control it.”

  “All right. How about we get you to bed.”

  Jenika helped her to the sink where she rinsed out her mouth and then ushered her to bed. Angelica barely registered her head hitting the pillow before she passed out.

  Hours later she woke up, the sun shining through the curtains and blinding her.

  “Oh God. That’s bright,” she groaned as she levered herself to sit up.

  The bed next to her was empty, but she assumed Jenika had gone to grab breakfast. Though why she wouldn’t have just called room service was beyond her. The moment she was sitting straight, her stomach lurched, and she found herself running to the bathroom again. Minutes later, or it could have been half an hour, Angelica stumbled out of the bathroom and over to the bed. She had just lain down when Jenika came through the door, shopping bag in hand.

  “Hey, how are you feeling?”

  “Like crap.”

  Jenika gave her a concerned look. “Were you sick again?”

  Angelica nodded with a grimace. “As soon as I got up.”

  “Okay.” Jenika seemed to be working herself up to something, then finally spoke. “I got you something, and I need you to listen.”

  Angelica frowned. “Okay, what?”

  Jenika reached into the bag and pulled out a box. No, not a box. A pregnancy kit.

  “Jeni—”

  “Just hear me out,” Jenika insisted. “You told me you hadn’t used protection, regardless of any pill you might be on. And you’re throwing up, tired, and kinda emotional. I mean, as much as I love that you got cranky and agreed to come with me, you’re usually a lot harder to convince than you were this time. More irrational.”

  “Wait. So because I agreed to come on vacation with you so easily, I must be pregnant?”

  “Just … just take one, okay. If it’s negative, I’ll keep my trap shut, and we can have a great time away. But if I’m right … then I think you should at least call them.”

  Angelica hated to admit it, but Jenika had a damn point. She was sick, and tired. And she had come here with very little prompting. But there was still no way. Stephan and Owen would have been able to scent something like that, her being pregnant. And they wouldn’t have kept that from her, right?

  She stood up and snatched the box and headed for the bathroom, closing the door and ripping it open. There were two of them, Jenika no doubt knowing that even if the first was positive, then Angelica would want to take a second one to confirm.

  Following the instructions, she waited impatiently for the minutes to tick by. When time was up, she slowly walked over to the counter where the stick sat. Peering down, she felt the blood drain from her face.

  Two lines.

  Oh crap.

  Her breathing came quicker, her heart beating rapidly. Oh God. She wasn’t ready for this.

  “Angelica?” Jenika thumped on the door. “Are you okay? Time should be up.”

  Trying to gain control, she slowly moved to the door and unlocked it. Jenika had the door pushed open before she could, and it only took her best friend five seconds to grab her and pull her into a warm embrace.

  “Shhh, it’s gonna be fine. It’s all going to be fine,” Jenika murmured, and it was only then that she realized she had started crying.

  “I just … I’m just—”

  “You’re freaking out. I know.”

  Angelica wasn’t sure how much time passed, but eventually she calmed. Swiping away the tears, she allowed Jenika to lead her over to the bed. Slumping down, a million things ran through her mind. Had Stephan and Owen known? What would they say if they didn’t? What would she say to them if they did? Were they ready? Was she ready?

  “I know that look, and you just need to stop,” Jenika said, breaking through her panic. “You are over-thinking. Stop.”

  “But I—”

  “No. Stop.” Jenika held up a hand to silence her, much like Angelica did to her students. “Let’s just focus on this. Yes, you are pregnant, to two men you love. You have already told me you plan on spending forever with them, and well, forever just got a bit crowded for a while.”

  “This isn’t a time to joke,” Angelica grumbled.

  “No, it’s a time to celebrate. You are young, happy, healthy … apart from the whole puking thing … and you are going to have a baby.” Jenika’s smile was bright.

  “You’re right,” she sighed.

  “And hopefully you’re having a beautiful little bundle of you and not those two big oafs you call mates,” Jenika said sweetly, patting her hand. “Now let’s go grab something to eat, do a little shopping, and then go out tonight to celebrate, huh?”

  ****

  That night they decided to hit the town. The night life was pumping, and while Angelica couldn’t have a drink, she could dance. Dressed in a knee length little black dress, she added some emerald accessories she had picked up that day at a small market stall. With heels to match her new purchases, she was dressed to kill.

  Jenika joined her outside the room, wearing a red number and black strap heels, and they left the room. As they walked out of their hotel and down the street, the night air was cool and crisp, which was a nice break from the humidity that had been weighing them down all day.

  About a block away from the club they were headed to, Angelica’s phone rang. Glancing down she saw it was the boys.

  “Answer it,” Jenika prompted.

  Taking her friend’s advice, she swiped the green circle across the phone. “Stephan? Owen?”

  “It’s me, Stephan.” Her mate’s voice was low and husky. She could hear the concern and felt guilty.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  Silence met her, and she didn’t know what to say. If neither of them had reacted the way they had, then she wouldn’t have felt the need to prove a point. At the same time, her overly emotional state led her to make a snap judgment that she normally wouldn’t have made. And then there was the whole reason she was overly emotional, which finally gave her something to say.

  “Did you know?”

  “Know what?”

  “Think about it, Stephan. Did you and Owen know? When did you plan on telling me? Was it when I had spent a whole week throwing up every morning?”

  A small gasp flittered through the phone. “You know?”

  Anger swelled in her. “Yes, I know, and by the sounds of it I was right and so did the both of you. What the hell, Stephan?”

  “We’re so sorry, cupcake. Things were just starting to settle down, and we wanted to wait. We just wanted you to have some sort of calm before another storm.”

  He sounded so sad, so defeated, that some of her anger broke away. “You still should have said something.”

  “We know,” they said in unison.

  “Do you have me on speaker?”

  There was a grunt. “Well, I figured if you were going to blast my ear off, it was only fair that Owen copped it, too.”

  “Idiots,” she chuckled affectionately.

  A sudden noise off to the side startled her. She looked at Jenika to see she had heard something, too.

  “What was that?” she asked her friend.

  “What was what?” Stephan piped up.

  “Not you, I was asking Jenika. We’re on our way to a club and thought we heard something.”

  “What? Club?” he shouted.

  She frowned. “Yes, club. Don’t start. Things were going so well.”

  “No, cupcake, listen, please. Go back to your hotel room. It isn’t safe.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake. It’s fine.”

  A deep almost cackle-like sound reached them, and she froze, Jenika bumping into her from behind.

  “You should listen to your mate, little girl,” whispered the silky voice. “You never know what truly goes bump in the night.”

&nbs
p; Angelica tried to back out of the small passage way she had entered, but Jenika stopped her. One glance behind her and she saw that they had been boxed in.

  Oh crap. How stupid am I?

  “Stephan. Owen.” Her voice trembled.

  “Angelica!” he shouted. “What’s going on?”

  “There are people. They look strange. There is something wrong with them,” she whispered. “I don’t think they’re human.”

  “What do you mean?” he snarled through the phone. “Can you get away?”

  “No, we’re blocked in.”

  Their figures moved closer. One was a woman, strikingly beautiful, dangerously so. The others with her were different, though. A few had skin that looked to be a green tinge, though the darkness of the passage made it hard to see. Others seemed larger and almost deformed. Whoever they were, Angelica knew they weren’t human, Shifter, or Vampire. Maybe the woman, but not those with her.

  A hand clamped over her mouth instantly, blocking her scream as they were ambushed. She could hear her mates growling through the phone. Something sharp pricked her arm, and her vision began to dim. Shit!

  Before she blacked out, Angelica saw the woman pick up her phone Angelica had dropped and speak into it. “Tell Draken I said hello.”

  ****

  “What the hell do you mean they are missing?” Joel shouted, pacing back and forth as they waited for the plane to be ready.

  “We’re not sure.” Owen held his hand up before Joel began shouting again. “The girls took off to the Gold Coast. We were on the phone to Angelica when they ran into trouble. She tried describing what they looked like, but then there was screaming.”

  He could barely get the words out. Fear, guilt, and pain all ate away at him until he struggled to breathe. The emotions reached the point of overwhelming when a solid force slammed into the side of his head.

  “Ah, fuck.” Owen glanced up to see Joel looming above him.

  The fucker had hit him?

  “I told you to keep her safe. You promised no harm would come to her.” The man balled his fists as though he meant to start laying into him. “So don’t waste time with a damn panic attack, and fix this.”

  “Have you met your sister? She doesn’t exactly make it easy,” Owen grumbled, picking himself up from the floor. “And her best friend? That woman is a menace.”