Three Brothers

Chapter 20

--- Nathan's POV---

Wood crackled and snapped in the fireplace, pouring heat into the room as I read over the report. Movement in my lap made me reach down, petting through Alec' hair as he stirred in his sleep before he buried his face in my stomach and sighed happily.

The sound made me grin though my smile quickly evaporated as I skimmed over the reports once more. The small group of wolves was coming closer, obviously following the scent trail of my mate and his siblings as they had picked up something in the previous town they've visited.

I'd already told the pack to keep an eye out and not act suspicious when these men entered our village. There was no doubt in my mind that something was going to happen one way or another and I had the sinking feeling that these people weren't part of Marcus' mate.

As a matter of a fact, every scent-sample that Dante had managed to get his hands on were all unfamiliar. Marcus had seemed even more worried, knowing there was no trace of his mate, but he had reassured us that his mate was quite a powerful being, yet for some reason, he didn't disclose any more information.

Rubbing over my face and scratching through my hair, I tried to keep the curiosity at bay and instead focused more on these strangers. A small group of six wolves, which would be enough to outnumber the brothers two to one. Alec had suggested that they'd act as bait to see what these strangers wanted, both Marcus, Liam and I had all protested vehemently against the mention of the idea.

I wasn't going to entertain any plan that could end up with my mate getting hurt. Over my dead body I'd let someone else touch him or worse, hurt him. I'd go berserk and slay each and everyone of those wolves if that were to happen.

A knock on the door made me look up before I smiled as Dante walked in, a soft smile on his lips when he noticed Alec deeply asleep.

"Found anything?"

He shook his head, as I suspected but it still left a bitter taste in my mouth. "Nothing, zilch, nada. All I could tell that its a group of six, three lycans, three werewolves. Where they came from or who they work for is a mystery, though we can guess for the first one."

Nodding, I growled lowly. "Prague." Dante nodded as well, drumming his fingers on the back of the couch as his eyes scanned the room. He glanced at Alec, as if to reassure he was asleep before he spoke lowly, "I have a feeling there's something else going on besides them being followed."

Moving around the couch, he slowly sat down, though his form stayed tensed, as if he expected something to barge in at any moment. "Why would Marcus be mute about his mate? Hell, why would they need to leave in the first place? Either his mate is someone very well known with a lot of enemies..."

"Or something shady is going on behind the scenes." I agreed, growling to myself before relaxing when Alec huffed in his sleep. My hands traced his features until he calmed down, curling around me as best as he could.

"Personally, " Dante started, "I think the later. Why would he keep his own mate a secret from his brothers, his close brothers, if there wasn't a dire reason behind it. Even if his mate was famous, I'd doubt either Alec or Liam would reveal anything to anyone if it endangered Marcus' mate."

I agreed to that, but still. The mere idea that Marcus was mated to someone shady was...hard to think of. The man was nothing but honest and compassionate, so I couldn't imagine him being with a criminal, mated or not.

Ruckus outside made Alec snap up, blinking sleepily as one of the local vampires bolted inside. "They're here." The young woman spoke, making us both nod before she slipped outside, no doubt warning the others about the intruders.