Hated Ties That Bind

Chapter Five

The following morning, Rowan held his son in his arms, covering the little boy’s face in kisses as the toddler squirmed manically in his father’s grip. 

‘Daddy, you is making my face all slobbery’ Ethan shouted as the warrior chuckled.

‘Sorry little man’ he replied, ’I’m just going to miss you and mummy so much while I’m gone, I need to remember every single bit of your faces.’

Gabriella walked up behind her mate and slipped her arms around his waist, pressing her swollen stomach into Rowan’s back, ‘you better miss us Rogue’ she whispered in his ear.

Shuddering, Rowan leaned back and growled lowly, ‘you keep that up mate and I won’t be leaving long enough to miss you at all.’

Giggling, the she wolf placed a kiss on the warrior’s ear before taking his hand and leading the way out of their room, down the stairs to the front door where the rest of the men were waiting.

‘Finally, I was about to send Sierra to get you’ Nathaniel grumbled as the family walked up.

‘Have some patience big brother, Ethan is going to miss his daddy’ Gabriella retorted as she took the toddler from her mate’s arms and walked over to her father so he could hug him goodbye.

‘Bye little dude, you take care of Grammy and Mummy while I’m gone OK?’ Riley said as he placed a kiss on the little boy’s forehead.

Ethan nodded as he puffed out his chest importantly, ‘my is the head warrior now that daddy is going with you, if anyone tries to hurt mummy or Grammy I will poke them with the big stick I got in the garden’ he replied loudly.

Laughing, Riley hugged the child tightly, ‘you do that little warrior, I know my girls are safe with you here’ he chuckled before releasing him.

Holding out his chubby arms, Ethan made grabby hands at his uncle Nathaniel who walked over and plucked him from his sister’s arms for a hug.  ‘My daddy will look after you Uncle Nate’ he whispered, ‘he will help you find your lady mate, just like he finded mummy.’

‘I hope so my little man’ Nathaniel replied with a smile, ‘we are sure going to give everything we have to try and find her.’

Nodding, Ethan wriggled to show he wanted to be set down, the warrior obliging so that he could run back to his father for one last hug before he left.

‘Have you got everything? Food? Water? Changes of clothes? Money?’ Isabella asked, her tone slightly worried.

‘Yes mum, we have everything’ Nathaniel replied with an exasperated smile, ‘we’ve double checked that we have everything . . ‘

‘including me’ came a voice from the top of the stairs as Daniel appeared carrying his packed rucksack.

‘What? Since when are you coming?’ Landen asked as he walked toward his father.

‘Someone needs to be the voice of reason on this trip’ Daniel replied jovially as he walked up to the group, ‘and lets be honest, it isn’t going to be any of you lot is it.’

Landen gave his father a suspicious look ‘does mum know?’ he asked shrewdly.

His question was answered by the furious voice of Vaya from the top of the stairs, ‘Stalker! Where do you think you are going?’ she shouted dangerously.

Daniel’s face paled as he began to usher the men out of the front door, looking back at his mate who was prowling down the stairs toward him, her eyes flashing angrily.

‘Babe! You know I have to go’ he called out as he pushed at the other men’s backs, ‘the Luna is going, I am his guard! It’s my duty! Obviously, I don’t want to leave you and the girls, but I can’t just shirk my responsibility, I’ll be back as soon as possible, I love you, bye! Love you!’ he shouted desperately before muttering behind him, ‘go! Before she catches us!’

Scrambling out of the door, the men jumped into the seven-seater, Riley in the passenger seat as Daniel leaned between the two front seats in agitation. ‘Drive! Now!’ He hissed as he looked back at the packhouse where Vaya was just emerging, her face thunderous.

Slamming the vehicle into drive, the warrior behind the wheel, shot off toward the gate, beeping the horn so that the guards would open it quickly. Looking up, he gave his Beta an amused smile as the man sank back into his seat in relief. Taking a quick glance through the rear windscreen, Daniel could see his mate stood in the middle of the drive, growing smaller, her arms crossed as she watched the vehicle leave.

‘She is going to be soooo pissed when we get back’ Landen murmured as the others laughed.

‘Yeah but that could be weeks away’ Daniel replied with a wave of his hand, his normal mischievous expression back on his face, ’there was no way that I was staying back there with an aggressive Alpha who was worried about her mate and son and two pregnant she wolves’ he said with a shudder, ‘I don’t love any of your asses enough to deal with that s**t, I was coming with you, Henry can deal with them.’

The men laughed as the driver said, ‘you know she’s going to have my ass when I get back for taking you Beta? You just gave me a week of sparring with Vaya man, I should take you back!’

Daniel raised his eyebrows at the warrior who was giving him a reproachful look in the rear view mirror.  ‘I will buy you a car if you keep going’ he countered seriously, ‘convertible, cream interior, sporty’ he added.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, the warrior nodded, ‘fine but I want all the upgrades’ he muttered, ‘that she wolf is going to make me cry.’

Settling in, the group watched the scenery pass as they left their territory behind and headed to the closest human village, entering the small community, the warrior slowed the car to a stop and turned around in his chair.

‘Stay safe boys, we need you all back’ he said honestly as the warriors climbed out and gave him a wave as he pulled away from the curb and set off back toward the pack.

‘OK boys, where shall we start?’ Daniel asked happily as he looked around them.

‘I suppose we should just walk through and see if Nate scents anything’ Landen replied with a shrug as the group set off together, looking around themselves in interest.

The villagers peeked at the group as they passed, taking in their tall muscular forms, a few of the girls openly staring at the younger men in hope.

‘You are getting attention’ Landen muttered toward Rowan with a wink.

‘Huh? What?’ Rowan asked, raising his head in surprise as he looked around to see a few women eyeing him lustfully.

‘You got the bad boy vibe man, even now’ Landen laughed as they kept walking.

‘Yeah well they can keep on staring but if they step near me I’m ripping their arms off their body’ Rowan growled back in annoyance, ‘none of these humans hold a candle to my Gabby.’

Riley snorted to their right, though kept his eyes averted as Rowan glared toward him.

‘Problem Riley?’ Rowan asked smoothly.

‘It’s Luna’ Riley growled back, ‘and she’s not YOUR Gabby, she was, is and always will be MY Gabby, just like her mother is.’

Rowan’s fists clenched as he let out a growl of his own, turning to take a step toward the older warrior who looked over at him in distain as Landen grabbed his arm instinctively.

‘OK boys, lets remember why we are here’ Daniel interjected as he stepped between the two men who were eyeing each other in dislike, ‘looking for a future Luna, lets leave the pissing contest until we get back.’

Shaking off the future Beta’s grip, Rowan stalked ahead, his shoulders tense, ‘you need to back off of him Riles’ Daniel warned in a low voice.

Riley shrugged, ‘he should pack himself up and get the hell away from my family’ he replied icily, ‘once a Rogue always a Rogue, I’ll not stand back and watch him hurt my daughter like he hurt my mate.’

Shaking his head, Daniel sighed heavily, ‘the guy more than paid for his sins mate, and he has been nothing but dedicated to Gabby, he’s devoted to that girl.’

Riley made to argue when Daniel quickly interrupted him, ‘dude, you know that if I thought for a second that my god daughter was in any chance of getting her heart broken that I would rip that man’s arms off.  That man loves her and Ethan more than life itself, and he’s here because she asked him to be.’

‘I don’t like him’ Riley grumbled as he glared daggers at the warrior’s back.

‘And we’re not asking you too, but you gotta try and be civil man, we have a long road ahead of us and your son is already highly strung about it, lets put our energies into finding his missing half not ripping each other apart.’

Riley let out a deep breath, his lips forming a thin line as he struggled with his own emotions, ‘fine’ he gritted out, ‘but I still don’t like him, I still don’t trust him and if he gives me any reason at all, I will rip his head off’ he threatened.

‘good luck old man’ Rowan growled from in front of them without turning around.

Looking over at his best friend, Riley snarled, ‘see? He’s a f*****g ass hole! How can you expect me to spend time with him without inflicting some sort of injury?’

Rowan laughed harshly, ‘you are so full of yourself Riley, you couldn’t lay a hand on me, you’d be dead before you even finished the thought to attack.’

‘Is that a challenge Rogue?’ Riley asked, halting as his eyes flashed, unbothered by the open stares from the people around them as he focused on the warrior who turned to face him, his own expression, one of fury.’

Stepping closer to the Luna, Rowen let out a snarl of his own, ‘maybe it is . . Luna’ he ground out, his eyes holding his father in laws unwaveringly.

‘No it wasn’t’ Daniel said quickly, stepping between the pair as Landen placed a calming hand on Rowan’s chest, Nathaniel pulling at his father’s arm to draw his attention.

Scowling at the younger warrior, Riley sneered, ‘the only reason you are still alive Rogue is because of my daughter’ he rumbled, ‘and she isn’t here with us, so if you should befall an accident she’d never know whether it was really accidental.  If something did happen to you, at least she could then find a second chance mate, one more worthy of her time’ he added with a smirk.

Rowan roared loudly as he fought against Landen, Daniel also stepping in to grab the furious warrior, ‘Rowan! Stop letting him get to you’ the Beta hissed in his ear, ‘think of Gabby, and Ethan, they know your worth.’

Breathing heavily, Rowan’s struggles ceased as he looked at the Luna with unhindered loathing, ‘you may not think I’m good enough Luna, f**k, even I don’t think I’m good enough for her, but MY mate does and her opinion is the only one I give a f**k about’ he growled before shaking off the two warriors and turning his back, stalking ahead of the group who fell into step behind him.