Callie's Captors [Mountain Men(24)

“But you’ve already slept with her?”

Again, Pete could no more lie than a skunk could change its stench. “Yes.” He held his head higher. “You know I’ve stayed away from the females here and on The Outside for the past couple of years. Now I know why.”

Charlton arched an eyebrow and pursed his lips. “I was going to recommend that you take the woman down the mountain tomorrow before dawn arrived so she wouldn’t see any more than she already has. But now I’m not sure.”

“Let’s remember that they didn’t bring her here.” Titto slapped his hands down on the table, rattling the cups set before the members. “They didn’t seek her out.”

“So? We’ve had others who have come inside and found their mates.”

Thanks, Xnax. He shot the fire maker a grateful look.

“As long as she turns out to be their mate, then no harm is done. But do we let them take the time to find out?” Xnax tossed his ball of fire into air and caught it with his other hand. “Or would it be safer to kick her out now?”

Forget that. Thanks for nothing.

“Give us the time.”

All eyes turned to Pete. Raine jumped in to add his support. “Yes. Give us the time.”

“Is that what you want to do, Blue?”

Blue couldn’t have let his brothers stand on their own if he’d wanted to. And he didn’t want to. “Yes.”

“And if it turns out you’re just hot for her and she’s not really your mate? What do we do? She’ll know too much by then.” Tina dropped her chin and studied them one at a time.

“I don’t know.” He had to be honest.

“Another could claim her.” Xnax had yet to look at any of them.

He was right. When supernaturals lost their mate, they had the right to claim another, especially if the woman’s intended mates couldn’t or wouldn’t claim her. The thought of another man or men having Callie in their bed made Blue’s stomach churn. “That won’t happen. I’m standing here now and taking responsibility for her.”

“As do I,” added Pete. Raine nodded his agreement. Although they’d each jumped on board with Blue’s decision, he could tell that they were still nervous about it. They’d known her for less than a day and had barely spent any time with her. On The Outside, where the connection was often instant, that wouldn’t be a problem. But in The Hidden? Getting to know the intended mate was sometimes necessary first.

But what else can I do? Leave her to fend for herself? Yeah, right. That’s the reason I said I’d stand up for her.

Charlton glanced at the members to his right, then to his left. Each gave their consent with their silence. “Very well. But don’t let things get out of hand.”

How would he handle it if she wasn’t the one for them? Could he let her leave with knowledge about their home? Would The Council ever allow it? Or would he have to keep her with them, thus keeping their community’s tightly guarded secret? Blue tried to appear confident as he motioned for his brothers to leave before him, but he was anything but that.

Raine was the first to question him once they were far enough away not to be heard. “Did we just do what I think we did?”

“If you mean putting ourselves on the line for her, then yeah. We did.” Even if he’d messed up by doing so, Blue wasn’t about to go back on his word. And he didn’t think he’d messed up.

“I’m okay with it.” Pete surged ahead of them, a clear sign that he had more to spill but wanted them to coax it out of him.

Blue exchanged glances with Raine and hurried to Pete’s side. “You’re saying that because you’ve already taken her to your bed. Our bed.”

“He’s right, isn’t he? In the short time we left her with you, you got between her legs.”

Pete kept up a brisk pace, neither denying nor confirming Raine’s assessment. He’d almost reached their tent when Raine took his arm and spun him around to face him. “So what do you think? Is she the one?”

The small smile on Pete’s face said as much. “Yeah. She is. Didn’t Blue already say as much when we were bringing her back? Hell, he told her as much. He called her ours. My actions only confirmed it. She’s our intended mate.”

“I may have jumped the gun on telling her that.”

Pete gaped at him. “You’re not serious. How can you doubt it? Why else would you have taken responsibility for her?”

Raine’s perusal made him nervous. His brother had always been able to see through him. “Maybe. But I think we need to take this at a slower pace. Just to be certain.”