Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,136

black beard trimmed carefully. He had taken off his jacket and he was wearing suspenders with his pin-striped shirt. “This sleuth just showed up about fifteen minutes ago and demanded a meeting with all four of us to be mediated by the elders. I don’t know any details, but one of them said something about missing cubs?” He nodded at Cody. “You have any idea what they’re talking about?”

Cody, as per usual, was not very good at lying. He couldn’t quite control what his face did when Connor asked him that question, or what his face had done when he’d mentioned “missing cubs.” He was pretty sure his eyes went wide and his mouth collapsed. Or maybe he flinched. He wasn’t even certain.

But Nathan hadn’t missed it. Connor and Eric were paying attention to each other. Eric seemed a little freaked out and that made sense. He would have been the first one to meet the bears of the intimidating sleuth hanging in the lobby. If it were just them, Cody wouldn’t be very worried. Some of them were big and intimidating sure, and there were a couple of very lethal and icy looking women in the mix. But Cody and his brothers had taken down scarier types. The real danger was that the sleuth might have larger numbers waiting somewhere to take them out. And worse, they had elders with them. That was like bringing cops.

Could they take the cubs away?

That was Cody’s only thought. He clenched his fists at his side. Nathan hadn’t missed that either.

“We don’t have a choice,” Connor said. “Not with elders. You try to fight elders and you can start a damn war or they could lock us up if they wanted. We have to respect their request for a meeting even if we don’t know what it’s about. I don’t like this. Whatever it is.”

Cody managed to say, “When is the meeting?”

“Tonight,” Connor said, rubbing his bearded chin as he stared off into the distance. “We’ll use one of the conference rooms.” He looked at Eric and then at Cody and Nathan. “And nobody has anything to tell me, huh?”

Cody didn’t. Not yet at least. For once, his first priority was not to his brothers. It was to his mate and his cubs.

My cubs...

They had only just entered his life but he would fight to the death for them. They were Jessie’s and his to protect and he would, even if it meant defying Connor until he figured out what to do next.

“Nothing I can think of.” The lie slipped out of his mouth, smooth as honey. Nathan raised an eyebrow.

Connor let them go, telling them to head to the Rosewood Conference Room on the west end of the lodge at six and until then, they should avoid the sleuth and the elders.

Cody felt like he was walking a dream. But as he passed the members of the sleuth in the lobby who looked him up and down as if they somehow knew, he felt a rage he’d known only once before pouring through him. Just a few months ago he’d defended Eric against a witch who had tried to kill him and the love he had for his brother had made him fight like he’d never fought before. That fight had nearly killed him. This urge to protect was just as strong, if not stronger. His mate was threatened. He’d spill whatever blood was necessary to keep her and the cubs safe.

“Cody!” He was halfway to the kitchen when Nathan came jogging up. He hadn’t realized he was walking with his head down, his mouth a tight line, his fists clenched at his sides. He jerked a little when Nathan threw an arm around him. “We gotta talk.”

“Not right now,” Cody grumbled.

“Yes, right now.” Nathan was dragging him away from the kitchen and into one of the private dining rooms and Cody sighed, letting himself be pulled along. He should’ve figured Nathan wasn’t about to let any of this go.

Nathan shut the door behind them. The private dining room with its fine linen and candles set out on an antique table and romantic paintings of moonlit gardens on the walls made the whole thing seem rather comical.

“What’s going on Cody?” Nathan crossed his arms and glared at Cody as if he already knew everything. “I get it. You’re protecting this girl. But you gotta trust me, man. Let me help you before this blows up in your face.”

Cody narrowed his eyes. Nathan