“You got yourself a deal.” Tessa looped her arm through Josie’s and led her away from the males. Kai smiled and shook his head, but he was happy Tessa had taken a liking to his mate. He and Gregor followed their females into the house. Tessa was introducing Josie to Priscilla who was gushing over how pretty Josie was.
Rafael and Kaya were there, welcoming Josie both to their home as well as to the Clan. When Josie asked to hold Sebastian, Kaya handed her son over without hesitation. Something in Kai settled seeing his mate holding a baby. It was a natural look for Josie, and Kai couldn’t wait for the day they were blessed with their own child.
Tessa rubbed her hands together. “Okay, you badasses go have your meeting, and we’ll get everything ready to grill when you’re finished.”
“I would like the mates to join us this time,” Rafael countered. “This concerns all of us, and I would like your input. Let’s go to the game room. Priscilla, if you would please watch over Sebastian?”
Priscilla beamed with pride. “Come, my darling Prince. Let’s go read you a story.” Josie placed a kiss on Sebastian’s head before transferring the infant to Pricilla’s waiting arms.
Rafael offered everyone a drink while they waited on the others. Tessa sauntered up to Josie and clanked their beer bottles together. The two females couldn’t look more different, but they had formed a fast friendship. Gregor stood next to Kai. “Is it my imagination, or do we have trouble on our hands with these two?”
“All I’m going to say is if you ever run out of money, send them into a pool hall, and they’ll come out loaded because as good as Tessa is? Mine’s a hustler.”
Julian ran into the room with Nikolas and their mates right behind them. “We have trouble. I don’t know how he did it without my alerts going off, but somehow Hagen managed to bypass the voice activation on all our gates. Not only that, but he managed to install a tracker that allows him to copy the numeric codes. I need to get back to the lab.”
“How do you know who it is?” Rafael asked.
“I caught him on your security feed. He’s doing this shit in broad daylight too. We need to get to the armory, and Rafe, I know you’re King, but might I suggest you put the mates and children on the jet and get them the hell out of New Atlanta?”
Rafael ran a hand through his long, black hair. “You think Drago’s that close to coming after us?”
“I do. And look around this room. The only one in our family missing is Sinclair.” Julian’s fangs and claws were showing. Kai grabbed Josie and pulled her a few steps back.
It was Dante who got in his cousin’s face. “Jules, settle. This isn’t your fault.”
“How the fuck did that little shit bypass my systems? He’s not that good!”
Isabelle ran out of the room toward the back door. Kai hadn’t thought about Connor and Amelia until then. “Connor!” Isabelle yelled. Dante ran after his mate and child, with Frey and Abbi on his heels. The kids and Molly had remained outside to play.
Rafael turned to Kaya. “Go pack a bag and get Sebastian ready.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Kaya cried.
“Do as I say, Love. I’d rather spend a few days away from you than lose you altogether. Have Priscilla pack as well. Nikolas, you and Julian take your mates home to pack. I’ll call you when the plane is ready.”
Willow walked up to Kaya. “Would you like some help?”
Kaya nodded at the young woman. “Yes, please.”
Malakai was overwhelmed by Kaya’s mixture of emotions. Rafael must be experiencing them ten times over. Kai didn’t want to be away from Josie so soon after having completed the bond. Hell, he didn’t want to be away from her ever, but he would do it to keep her safe.
“Rafe, I need to fix this,” Julian said.
“We can take Katherine,” Tessa offered.
Rafael opened his mouth to respond to Tessa, but Gregor held up his hand. “Don’t go there, Brother. I’ll deal with Red.”
“Deal with me? You think I’m letting you stay here and fight without me?” Tessa got in Gregor’s face. “I will shoot you, Stone.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time. But listen to me; I need you to help keep the other mates safe. Can you do that for me, Red?”
Tessa’s face softened, and her whole body relaxed. “Yeah, I can do that.”
“Where are you sending the mates?” Kai asked.
“I’m not sure. I can’t send them to the West Coast; Drago will expect that.”
“Send them to my home,” Kai suggested.
“Remind me where home is for you,” Rafael said, but his eyes were on the door his mate walked out of.
“Samoa. A small island called Manono. My parents as well as most of my brothers and their mates are there. Nobody gets on the island they don’t know about. It’s mostly Gargoyles, but the humans who live there are like Priscilla.”
“And you’re sure they won’t mind?”
“Not at all. Especially when I tell them Josie will be among them.” Kai had yet to tell his parents he and Josie had completed the bond, but they would be ecstatic. He only wished he would be introducing Josie in person, not sending her off to meet them for the first time without him. But he would do what his King thought best.
Rafael took a deep breath. He called on his Gargoyle to center him while he decided what was best for everyone. Was he being hasty in sending the mates away? How was he going to live without Kaya and Sebastian? Having most of his family gathered together was risky, but there was strength in numbers. If he sent everyone
