Chapter 23

Things were quiet in the kitchen as people ate. Occasionally someone would ask for a platter to be passed around.

Graeham watched as Jaxson fixed his granddaughter a sandwich. He watched the care he used holding her, the softness of his tone, the look of concern and caring that was displayed. He actually fed her. He lifted the sandwich and fed it to her. His love for her was evident, not just on his face but in every action that he used. He could see how she would flourish in that relationship. He didn't mind that Charlotte was in a relationship. In fact, he approved of this relationship. He even approved of the man that she was with.

The only thing that bothered him was the fact that these people changed into animals. There were a myriad of what-ifs in his mind.

What if he accidentally hurt her while in his animal form? What if he came across a female animal in heat? Stupid questions perhaps. But questions nonetheless.

Rio watched the older man watching his brother care for his mate.

Charly was special in his eyes. She always had been. Had his bear been drawn to her because she was his brother's mate and he knew it, instinctively? He pondered that. It wouldn't have been the first time something like this had happened.

Anders leaned over next to Graeham and said, "All mates are tender with each other. The male is the larger, stronger and more powerful of the two and so the gentlest touches are usually from there. The urge to care for, to nurture and to provide for overrides everything else. All other emotions no longer take precedence. Every sexual desire. Because the idea that your mate must trust you to take care of her, above all things. Even angry, we would never harm our mates. A mate is the singular most important person in your life. They become, in essence, your world, the center of your universe." Anders pointed to his two sons and told Charlotte's grandfather, "Look at how they treat each other. Their eyes speak. Words are not needed with a connection like this. It overpowers everything."

Indeed the care that both men showed the two women was almost the same. With one exception. The one standing wasn't holding his mate, woman, and he also wasn't hand feeding her. But, everything was almost identical. The care, the look of utter devotion, the gentleness. It was all there, for anyone who cared to see it. As a matter of fact, Graeham thought that you not overlook it. It was plain to see.

Jaxson leaned in close, placing his lips next to Charlotte's ear. "Love, you have to face everyone, sooner or later."

She nodded her head and stood up. Turning around, she looked at her grandfather, her uncle and her three cousins. "When you return home, tell Caleb to bring his salty and very proper British ass to come see me. I will be very busy soon, and most likely will be that way for a while. You see, the guy who caused all of the problems that we are facing, he got away. He's a dirty little man with no morals and no conscience. Spilled blood to taking human life, that doesn't bother him. I would say that his mental status is borderline psychopathic. That means he's incredibly dangerous. The fact that he knew we were doing something to take him down and all of our phone numbers." Charlotte shook her head, "Creepy."

Her grandfather was instantly on alert hearing her word.

"Does this person have a name? Something by which to track him with?" He asked.

"Yes sir, we have his name and everything on him in a file. A hardcopy to back up the digital, as well as a digital copy of the original." Amber replied.

Turning, she went into her and Rio's room and retrieved the folder with the papers. Coming back into the kitchen, she walked around the large table and handed it to Graeham. "You might be surprised by the names that you read in that file. You are to tell no one. This is a Federal and even Global case. If word got out to those individuals, it would cause more harm and danger. To everyone involved. Especially Charlotte. Because she is the person who gathered the information and then turned it in."

Amber went to stand at the sink and leaned against the counter. She watched as the older man and his son leaned in close to read the file, while the three cousins leaned over their shoulders to read it.

More than one cuss word colored the air as they all read the file. People in the file were some of the wealthiest and most powerful people on the planet. Graeham and Charles were glad that they had not used this man to broker anything for him, be it art, information, etc. This man was deadly and not afraid to use his power for leverage, blackmail or anything else for that matter.

When the last page was turned, Graeham looked up at Rio in surprise. "This man was just at my home two months ago. Our family hosted a fundraising gala. Many of society's elite were invited to come. We needed the donations. It was mostly for global charities. He seemed genial enough. But, something about him just didn't sit right with me. I guess now we know why." Graeham shook his head as he closed the file, before handed it back to Amber. "I have always considered myself a good judge of character, and even though something was off with this man, I still let him into my home." He said, horrified at the thought.

"He fooled a lot of people, sir, for a long time." Jaxson said.

"Explain that statement, young man." Graeham demanded.

"My last mission with my team. It was in the mountains of some arab country. One of the head guys for a terrorist organization was hiding out there. Our mission was to go in, kill everyone else and take him, alive, and bring him back for trial. We had no clue that we were lied to, until we got close. It became apparent that the intel had been wrong. About everything. Our simple snatch and grab mission turned into a fight for mine and my men's lives. Out of twelve men, I was the only survivor. That bastard caused the deaths of eleven good men. Men with families, wives, children." Jaxson stopped and took several deep breaths. Even now, he got upset. He figured it always would do that to him, because he had cared about his team. " We were supposed to come to a stick-walled compound with five people, one vehicle and some livestock for food. When we got there, we knew something was up. The walls were thick mud walls, there was a guard tower and at least fifty heavily armed men. They took us out like shooting fish in a barrel. My corporal survived until we got the bodies loaded on the helicopter, then he grabbed my arm and fell over sideways and died. When we got back to base, I helped load my men into body bags and then I went in search of that bastard. I damn near choked him to death. Probably would have if not for my CO. He pulled me off of him. Little bastard was turning an interesting shade of blue when I was forced to release him." Charlotte shuddered in his arms, where she was standing next to him. "That's a damn shame he didn't die that day." Jaxson said darkly.

"No, it's not. If you had killed him then where would I be? I would never have met you. I would most likely have been alone." She frowned. "I'm glad you didn't. Now, we have each other." She smiled and looked up at him, then leaned her head onto the side of his chest.

"Do you have any questions about this situation, gentlemen?" Anders asked Charlotte's grandfather and uncle.

"No, I believe that you have answered just about every one of them. Except one. When are you planning on marrying our Charlotte? After, it's a widely known fact in our family family that she was keeping herself pure for her husband." Charles asked.

Charlotte wanted to sink through the floor. She couldn't believe that this was the topic of conversation right now. Her virginity. She blushed to the roots of her hair and then ducked her head into the crook of Jaxson's elbow.

"Easy Charlotte. It's his right as your guardian to ask those questions." Jaxson stated.

"Ughhh! In front of everyone? Really, Uncle Charles. Did you not think about my sense of modesty when you asked that question in front of my mates parents, his brother and his mate, my mate's five friends, and my three cousins. Of course you didn't! You are a jackass!" she shouted.

Graham, his son Charles and her three cousins were taken by surprise. Charlotte never raised her voice. She had never liked to draw attention to herself. Preferring instead to blend into the background

A chuckle that turned into a full belly laugh sounded in the room. Everyone turned to look at Rio and his dad. It had been Rio who had thrown his head back and laughed so hard. Anders had been the one to chuckle.

"I told you she wasn't the same girl that she used to be."

Her uncle had the good grace to look abashed about his behavior.

"It's true. She isn't the same girl." One of her cousins said.

Graeham looked at the assembled group and then at Anders, and asked, "What do you need from me?"

"Just you and your family to be there for Charlotte. Plus, whoever she wants to walk her down the aisle." Jaxson replied, instead of his dad.

"But, traditionally the bride's family pays for the wedding and the groom's family pays for the honeymoon." Charles argued.

"We are going to pay for this wedding. If you really want to pay or help pay, pay for the caterer. Lay out a massive spread. Because shifters can put away the food. In very alarmingly large amounts." Anders said.

"Very well. How soon are we doing this?" Charles asked.

Looking at Charlotte, Jaxson raised a single brow. The ball was in her court. He was letting her make the decision. She smiled at him, knowing that if he had his way, they would go to the courthouse and get married and complete the mating tonight.

"A month. In the backyard? Out close to the orchard?" She asked hopefully.

Jaxson's eyes sparkled. She chose what he had hoped. Far enough away that this should be over, but close enough that it wasn't so far away. He nodded and she smiled brightly.

Turning to her grandfather, "I think Jaxson and I would like a meat centered buffet. Ribs, steaks, shrimp, grilled chicken and pork chops. grilled vegetables, coleslaw, several prepared salads with a choice of dressings. Desserts will be the wedding and groom's cake. But for people or kids, we can offer a substitute. Something like Jell-O or pudding and definitely kid-friendly. We can also have a selection of fruit with a milk and white chocolate fountain." She finally ran out of steam and stood looking at her grandfather and uncle, smiling.

They sat there looking at her with a vaguely shell-shocked look on their face.

"I think you broke them." Hunter said with a chuckle.

Turning, Charlotte looked at Jaxson and asked, "Was that a good menu?"

Jaxson reached out and hugged her to him, her back to his chest. "Honey, if you had it any more perfect, I would think that you were a shifter too."

Finally, Charles and Graeham snapped out of their stunned stupor and asked, "Did anyone take notes of that?"

One of Charlotte's cousins said, "I did. Ribs, steaks, shrimp, grilled chicken, pork chops. Grilled vegetables, coleslaw, prepared salads with a choice of dressings. Desserts will be the wedding cake. For kids, we can offer a substitute, Jell-O or pudding. A selection of fruit with a milk and white chocolate fountain."

"Good." Looking over at his granddaughter again. "Here? In the backyard, out by the orchard?"

Charlotte just nodded and smiled.

Suddenly, Miney squealed in a very unladylike fashion. Anders grinned because he knew his mate well. "We get to go shopping! Nashville, Knoxville or Atlanta?"

"Somewhere close, I don't want to be away from Jaxson for long." Charlotte said, leaning even farther back into him, if it were possible. "Knoxville is closest. We can try there first, then Nashville. Atlanta is somewhere I try to stay away from. It's a great town, but all of that traffic. Knoxville or Nashville is going to be bad enough." Smiling, Charlotte thought of something. "Momma Miney, maybe a spa date a day or two before the wedding?"

Miney giggled like a teenager. "Absolutely, dear girl. Amber you of course will be coming with us. You have to find your wedding dress and your bridesmaid dress. We will need shoes, undergarments, jewelry, two wedding dresses, two bridesmaid dresses and a spa day for us girls."

The two brothers and their dad just smiled indulgently, not worried at all about the money that the three of them would spend.

Graeham and Charles blanched. They both remembered both Charles and Charlotte's parents' weddings. The expense, the planning, the shopping, the absolute frustration. Both men thought that they would pull their hair out.

Anders looked over at the two men and laughed. "We don't care what they do or spend. We just want them to be happy. If this is what they want, we give it to them. That's pretty much a shifter attitude. There are things that we do that are a bit different from humans."

"Are weddings always this....pleasant? The last two weddings that I took part in were Charlotte's parents and Charles and his wife's wedding. There was so much stress and arguing that I thought that I would pull my hair out. At the last minute, Charles' wife, decided that she wanted to change the menu because her mother decided she wanted lobster. The food had been ordered and paid for. I put my foot down and told her that this wedding was not for her mother and that everything was paid for and purchased. She cried crocodile tears for three days, screaming about how I had ruined her wedding. Finally, Charles had had enough and told her that if she thought her mother was going to run their wedding, what did she think that she was going to try to do in their marriage. They had a huge fight and almost called off the wedding. But she overheard a conversation that her mother was having with someone. She was talking about getting as much money out of us as she could. Charles's wife, Ada was heartbroken, but angry. When she confronted her mother, she laughed in Ada's face and said why shouldn't she milk my family for as much money as possible. Ada tossed her out and stopped having anything to do with her."

They were shocked. Jaxson and Rio didn't know what to say. Anders just shook his head and said, "That's what happens when some people encounter money."