Mated

Details

Chapter Twenty-Five "Details"

Kieran's heart sank to his feet. There had been another killing and in their backyard, whatever that even meant. Then it clicked. There had been a small start up Pack pushing the limits of the boundaries to the Archer property. They had learned their lesson when Dad had threatened to take them to court and present the trail cam footage of several of them in naked human form were clearly on property that said no trespassing. What had the Alpha's last name been again?

"Meteer," he whispered. "The Meteer Pack."

"Who?" Lyric asked. For the first time since the news he picked up on just how scared she was. He started to give her a rundown when Seymore demanded that they move to a separate conference room—as not to sully the good atmosphere of the current room—and they were on the move. They sat at the table according to rank and waited patiently while the pale man that had burst into the room whispered furiously to Seymore, handing him a tablet with pictures on it.

At long last, the pale man escaped the room, and Seymore held up his hand to get the room to settle. Once that was done, he looked to the Archer's. Lyric shrank down beside him.

"Maddox, the Meteer Pack, who were they to you?" he asked.

"A newly formed Pack that kept trespassing on our land and we almost had to take them to court," he replied in a soft voice. "They are—were—young and arrogant."

"And out of the usual kill zone for these humans," Seymore said. "So why are they now dead?"

"That's the million dollar question," Kieran murmured. "Who's behind it? Why? Why in ways that are only deadly to Rarities?"

"When did the killings start?" Lyric asked softly.

"Well, just after you two were mated," Mirabelle said. "Correct?"

"After the Packs had been notified of the mating," Seymore said.

"So, everyone knew you were mated to a Rarity," she murmured. "And now they are killing werewolves with ways that are only deadly to me. Except for the beheading."

"Oh, you two are made for each other," his mother sighed. "Puzzle solvers."

"No, she does have a point," Seymore said. "Before we announced the mating, we had only the regular wolf on wolf killings and even those were dwindling."

For the second time that evening, the door burst open, but this time a familiar shape walked in. All of six-foot-three, Stone Wilder strolled in and plopped between Hailie and Max.

"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was a bitch. Oh," he faltered, looking at Lyric. "You must be the Rarity everyone is gushing about. Strange . . . I thought you'd be taller." Lyric snorted but held his gaze and Kieran couldn't have been more proud of her.

"And you are?" she snarled.

"Surely, Kieran has bragged," he chuckled. "About how he beat my ass and sent me Packing?"

"Stone," she growled.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" he laughed. "Smart and good looking. Two thirds of the trifecta! Tell me, Kieran, is she good in--?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Maddox roared, making the room flinch. "What in Hades are you even doing here, Stone?"

"I'm the new Beta for the Gallagher's," he grinned. "Or wait . . . has that tid bit not been shared yet? Seymore, you old coot, have you been holding out on them?"

"Stone, while you are here, you will conduct yourself with some dignity," Seymore growled. "We didn't think you'd bother showing up."

"I just had to see what all the buzz was about," he purred, his eyes falling on Lyric once more. "But this doesn't feel like a party. More like an official Summoning. What's going on exactly?"

"Another murder," Hailie whispered to her Beta. "This time close to Archer land."

"Now, that is unfortunate," he sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"Now that we are all caught up," Seymore said, giving a dark look to Stone. "Let us continue." The rest of the meeting didn't last long; Seymore called an end to the meeting and everyone left, headed for their rooms. Stone waited by the door and practically sprung on Lyric and Kieran.

"So," he drawled, throwing an arm over Kieran's shoulders, "how's being mated treating you?"

"Don't act all chummy, Stone," he growled, removing the arm with a look of disgust. "You challenged me and lost. Twice."

"Ah, let the past be the past," he laughed, clapping him hard in the middle of the back. "Move past it for the sake of all the Summonings we will have to attend."

"Aren't you supposed to be downstate?" Lyric asked.

"Oh, that Pack was worthless, honey," he sighed dramatically. He ruffled Kieran's hair. "Worse than whelps without a tit as my daddy used to say."

"Can you just go away?" Lyric asked through clenched teeth. "Clearly, we aren't gonna be best buddies now and I personally want nothing to do with you." Kieran blinked at the sudden attitude from his mate, pleased, but caught off guard. Stone mock scoffed at her then hurried off down the hall after his new Pack members.

Kieran quickly pulled Lyric along to their honeymoon suite, eager to be rid of Stone and his atmosphere. In the elevator, his mate deflated and looked to him. He gave her a smile and pulled her over, kissing her head. They were quiet the rest of the trip to their room.

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Lyric thought that the honeymoon suite was a bit over the top for them, but considering how quickly things had progressed between them, she also saw it as fitting. Kieran opened the door and scooped her up before she could cross the threshold, making her squeal in delight. He gently placed her on the large bed and shut the door, not hesitating to lock it.

"Is Stone always like that?" she asked, unable to help herself. "Arrogant and disgusting?"

"I'm afraid so, baby," he sighed. "I'm going to get a quick shower. Wash his energy off of me. Care to join?" He gave her an impish smirk.

"No," she yawned, crawling from the bed in search of her bag of clothes. Just as she finished dressing, a series of knocks lit up the door, and she jumped before asking who it was.

"Room service," a voice answered. "With the wedding . . .gifts."

She opened the door to a confused looking human and took their gifts from him before shutting the door in his face. Be rude about her gifts and expect a tip? Yeah, right! She put the meats in the small in room fridge and hid the jewels in the bottom of her bag. She grabbed the book on Rarities and crawled into bed with it. When she opened the cover, a card fell out, and she opened it up with a smile.

Congratulations on your mating. Was all the card said and a pretty pressed and dried purple flower came spilling out.

"Lyric!" Kieran shouted, running to the bathroom door. "Don't touch that flower!" He rushed over to her, snatching it away and ran back to the bathroom. She watched in horror as he flushed the flower down the toilet and then furiously scrubbed his hands.

"What the hell?" she demanded, trying to get up. When she continued to struggle, she looked down and was mortified to see her lower half was slowly becoming wolf. She had no control over it and watched as it continued to spread up her body slowly.

"Wolfsbane," Kieran growled, scooping her up non too gently. "I'll kill whoever did this."

"Kieran, I can't stop . . ." she started but darkness over took her.