Chapter 316 Chapter 316
“Is this true?” Dani asked quietly.
Oren nodded. “Shepard gave me a heads up a few weeks ago, that something was happening.”
Her mother looked quickly back to Gia, “should you be involved in this.”
Giana took a deep breath and blew it out. Deacon noticed she looked to Walker before she held her chin up and answered her mother. “It’s no different than what’s been happening since before I was born, Mom.”
“They almost took you,” Nash said.
Giana shook her head, “no they didn’t. They never would have found me. Jesse said if Deacon hadn’t been there, he probably wouldn’t have.”
Everyone in the room turned to look at him.
“You were under the ground, weren’t you?” Walker asked.
Giana shrugged, then turned back to her mother, “I was alone that time,” she pointed to Deacon, “now I’m not. The Co-ord team travels with a member of the incursion team everywhere they go now.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to continue with this,” Nash waved his hand around, “ridiculous fantasy of working for the coordination team.”
His animal was poised for a fight, and he didn’t blame him. Deacon wasn’t doing much better.
“It’s a good thing I don’t need your permission then, isn’t it?” She put her hands on her hips and looked around the room. “In case you forgot, I’m an adult and able to make my own decisions.”
Tension filled the room so suddenly that Deacon had to force his hand to move away from his gun and focus on keeping his animal under control.
“That’s enough.” Her father said, using that tone only an Alpha could get away with. He turned to Nash and held out the paper with the number on it. “You and Vance go over to the offices, use the landline and call this. Find out the protocol going forward. If our cell phones aren’t to be used, find out what is acceptable.”
Nash took it and nodded. He gave Giana a hard look and turned on his heel.
Walker opened the door and stood holding it as they went out of it.
“If you’ll excuse us, my mate and I would like a word with our daughter.”
Deacon looked at Giana, he searched her eyes for a moment, there was no fear or self-doubt in them.
She nodded her head slightly. “I won’t be long.”
Deacon inclined his head to her father and went over to the door. When he stepped out, Walker followed and closed the door behind them.
“Never a dull moment when my sister is home.”
Deacon glanced at him to acknowledge he’d heard, then looked back at the door.
“So, funny thing, I didn’t sense that Gia was mated, but,” he made a point of looking at Deacon’s neck, “it looks like you’ve been claimed.”
Rubbing his hand over his beard, Deacon tried to figure out how to answer. Walker stood there, watching him with interest. There wasn’t a trace of the judgemental look the other two brothers had given him. He was different. He was important to Giana.
“I’m actually relieved to see you’re thinking this through instead of spouting off something that will piss me off and force me to deck you,” he looked at Deacon’s weapon, “and probably get shot as a result.” He gave him a lopsided grin.
“I can see why Giana speaks highly of you.” Deacon told him in a distracted way. He was still trying to contain his animal side and hear if Giana needed him on the other side of the thick door. Before he could offer him some sort of answer to his question, his phone buzzed in his pocket. “Excuse me.” Pulling it out, he hit the button to answer it, thankful for the interruption. “Yeah?” He cringed, probably not the best way to answer, considering the Prince of the Alliance could be on the other end.
“That sounds like a mood.” It was Calum.
“Yeah, it’s turning out to be that kind of day.”
“Where are you?”
“Giana’s clan.” Deacon glanced at the door again.
“Ah, I understand the tone now. Her father is of the old school variety.”
“I noticed.” He watched the door, wishing she would come out of the room so the urge to kick it down would subside.
“I’ll keep it short then, I wanted to finish the last conversation you hung up on.”
He scowled, trying to think through the moment’s tension to remember what the conversation was. It came back to him; he’d been freaking out about Giana marking him. “Oh, that.” He said, moving a few more feet from Walker.
“There are some things you don’t know that I should have told you a long time ago, but you had enough shit to wade through at that time.”
“What are you talking about?” Deacon rubbed the back of his neck, trying to release some of the tension.
There was a long pause, “Shit. I’ll call you right back, we have to do this the proper way.” He hung up.
Deacon looked at the phone. Do what right? Had something happened that would affect the operation? Tucking the phone back in his pocket, he turned back to face the door and Walker.
Walker gave him a curious look.
Deacon shook his head, “I don’t even know.”
The door opened and Giana came out. The expression on her face told him how well that conversation went. Not well at all.
A door opposite the office door opened and a teen boy came running in. “Walker.” He gasped for a breath, “Zariah and her sister are trapped down by the gorge,” he took a ragged breath, “by a bear, I don’t know what’s wrong with it.”
Walker jolted and ran into the office.
Giana looked at the boy and ran down the hall to the front of the house. She went out the door.
Deacon caught up to her and put his arm out to stop her. “Where’s the gorge?”
She pointed.
Turning he looked to where she pointed, “how far?”
“If you go down to the end of that street, there’s a drop-off that leads down to it.” Giana watched Walker come running out, he took off in a different direction than she’d pointed. “Walker’s going down the trail.” She grabbed his arm, “a fox isn’t a match for a bear.” Her voice shook.
Deacon nodded and jogged to the van, he opened it reached in, and grabbed her run pack. “Go,” he tossed it to her, “wait,” pulling his shirt over his head, he gave her a quick look, “use this when you shift back.”
She caught the shirt. “What are you going to do?”
Deacon opened the side door and pulled out his rifle. “I’ll deal with the bear.”
Giana nodded, then turned and took off running.
Slipping the case over his shoulder, Deacon ran full out down the street she’d pointed to.