No Substitutions [Welcome To Wolf's Peak] (manxman)

Chapter Sixteen - Niko's Blessing

Austin's POV

I couldn't sit still. I should be with the others apprehending Mitch and his cronies who'd abducted Jacob. Jacob was a black panther shifter who'd mated Kennedy, best friend of my brother the Alpha's mate, and he was also a firefighter. He'd been called out to a fire but it had been a set up. Now Bram was leading a rescue mission to bring him home. 

Bram was pregnant but he still felt it was his duty to personally oversee the rescue and my brother Jason had gone to keep his mate safe and to be there for his friend if anything should go wrong.

I tried to distract myself by supervising the two teenagers who were watching a movie in the living room. We'd been moved to the pack house a few hours earlier for protection and so I could do my duty and be in charge while both Alphas were gone.

Casper was making popcorn and getting more snacks for what he called our movie night. I couldn't concentrate on a movie though. Too many scenarios were playing through my head. Mitch was desperate, there was only one thing more dangerous than a desperate shifter with connections to Maurice and that was Maurice himself.

My biggest fear was that Maurice would use this distraction to attack and take Casper but it was unlikely that he even knew about what was taking place right now. I still had that gut feeling though that something was wrong.

I went to the large living room window and pulled back the curtain to peer outside. Everything appeared calm and undisturbed, it was unnatural. Even the insects and wildlife were silent.

"Who wants some homemade lemonade?" Casper came into the room with his arms laden down with packets and a stack of large plastic serving bowls and drinking glasses. In one hand he was carrying a pitcher of lemonade.

I crossed the room and took most of his burden from him, placing them on the low table between two couches. Jimmy picked up a family sized bag of chips and poured them into a bowl. William followed his lead and did the same with a bag of cheese puffs. Casper left to retrieve the bowl of popcorn and some dips for the chips.

"Are you all ready for the next movie?" Casper returned and picked up a carrot stick before dipping it in some white goo with green flecks that was resting in a bowl on the table. At first sniff I could tell that it was a sour cream dip. Yuck!

"Why don't the three of you start the movie, I'll be right back once I check on our guest." I kissed Casper's cheek and went down the hall before turning left into a downstairs bedroom. Felix, one of the members of the guard was in the room with a human named Owen. Unfortunately for Owen he'd witnessed Jacob shifting before being attacked. Now the human was a liability to us.

"Can you find Niko for me please Felix while I talk to our guest?" I asked the guard giving him a reason to leave us alone.

"Yes Beta." He inclined his head and left the room.

"Thank God. He was starting to freak me out." Owen sighed.

"Freak you out? What do you mean?" I inquired.

Owen looked around uncertainly. "I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid or maybe it's because I'm being held against my will." 

"We just want to be certain that you won't tell our secret to anyone. No one here is going to harm you but we need to know that our people, our children are safe. If you say a word to anyone, anyone at all, we could end up being exposed and then the government and scientists will be hounding us. We'll be killed, experimented on, feared. We are not harming anyone. Yes we have rogues but so do humans. No race is perfect but we try to keep our rogue problem in check, unlike the humans who turn a blind eye to the darker side of their race." Owen held up a hand to stop me and I silenced myself, curious of what he had to say.

"I get that, I do, and I have no intention of saying a word to anyone. Who would believe me anyway?" He rolled his eyes.

"You would be surprised who might believe you." I interrupted.

Owen seemed to think for a moment and then nodded. "I guess you're right but I still wouldn't say anything. Like I told that guy that was just in here when he was interrogating me, I don't know shit. I saw something that freaked me the fuck out everything after that is still kind of a blur. If you want to threaten me with bodily harm like he did then go ahead but that won't get you information when I don't have any. Now can I please go home. I'm my sister's guardian and all that she has left since our parents died." His eyes were pleading and I couldn't scent a lie on him. I had a few more questions for him though because something he'd said didn't make sense to me.

"Felix was interrogating you?" 

"Is that the guy who just left?" I nodded. "Then yeah he was."

"What was he saying? What did he ask you?" I couldn't imagine that Bram had asked him to do that. Owen wasn't a suspect, he was a victim of circumstance.

"He was asking me who I was, where I lived. Then he started asking me about what I'd seen, who was there and who I'd talked to. I don't know." He rubbed at his face in frustration. "He was asking me about people I'd never heard of, I think he's crazy."

I frowned and opened the link to Niko. ~Niko? Have you spoken to Felix? I sent him to find you.~

I received a reply almost instantly. ~No he hasn't. I'm in the living room with the boys and your mate. Do you want me to come to you?~

~Yes. I'm in the downstairs bedroom with the human. We may have a problem with Felix if you see him on your way here act normally.~ I closed the link and focused again on Owen who was waving his hand in front of my face.

"You kind of spaced out there. Can I go? I promise not to talk about anything I've seen or heard." 

"You can leave once Bram gives you the all clear." There was a knock at the door and I called out, "come in Niko."

Niko entered the room his head immediately turning in the direction of Owen and tilting in a very canine motion.

"Oh wow." Owen whispered. "You're a big one," he said more loudly and licked his lips.

"Mine!" Niko growled and crossed the room to take Owen into his arms.

"Wait, what?" My brows hit my hairline in surprise. I thought Adrian, Jacob's brother, was Niko's mate.

"I have two." Niko said a look of wonder on his face. He stroked Owen's face and the small human seemed to enjoy the shifter's touch if the way he was leaning into his hand was any indication. "What's your name my mate?"

Niko had two mates? That was rare indeed. Fate only blessed someone with two mates once every five hundred years or so and only when she found them worthy of her blessing.

"Owen." He ran his hands up Niko's chest to his shoulders. 

"Owen," Niko said trying out the name. "I am Niko."

"Hi." He smiled shyly and wet his lips again. I could see Niko taking note of the move. "You smell really good." He blushed and ducked is head.

Niko chuckled and used a finger to raise his mate's face back up to look at him. "Thank you, so do you. May I kiss you?" One of Niko's large thumbs ran across Owen's bottom lip.

"Yes please."

I cleared my throat. "I'll leave you both to..." I chuckled. "I'll explain everything later once you're no longer distracted." I left them alone to go and find Felix. Hopefully I would get some answers.